Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering

Unit III
Voltage Regulators

By
Siddhasen R Patil
 Contents
• Three terminal voltage regulators (317 & 337):
– Block diagram of linear voltage regulator
– Features and specifications,
– Typical circuits
– Current boosting
– Low Dropout Regulator (LDO).

• SMPS:
– Block diagram, Types
– Features and specifications
– Typical circuits buck and boost converter.
 Three Terminal Voltage Regulators
(317 & 337)
• Regulator maintains a fixed output voltage
• Two types of voltage regulators:
–  Linear voltage regulators
– Switching voltage regulators
• Three terminal voltage regulators have three
terminals
– Input which is unregulated (Vin),
– Regulated output (Vo)
– Adjust.
Block Diagram IC317 Regulator
 Features of IC317
• Output voltage range adjustable from 1.25 V to 37 V

• Output current greater than 1.5 A

• Internal short-circuit current limiting

• Thermal overload protection

• Output safe-area compensation

 Specifications of IC317
• Input-to-output differential voltage: 40V
• Operating virtual junction temperature: 150°C
• Lead temperature 1,6 mm (1/16 in) from case for 10s: 260°C
• Electrostatic discharge (Human body model): 2500V
• Output voltage: 1.25V to 37V
• Input-to-output differential voltage: 3V to 40V
• Output Current: 1.5Amp
• Line Regulation: 0.07%/V
• Load Regulation: 25mV
• ADJUST terminal current: 100μA
 Typical Circuit
• The LM317 require only two external resistors i.e. R1 and R2, to set the required
•  
output voltage.

• Apply KCL at point A IR2=IAdj+IR1

• Apply KVL at output side loop

– Vout = IR1.R1+IR2.R2
IR1
– Vout = IR1.R1+(IR1+IAdj).R2
A
IAdj
– Vout +IR1 .R2 +IAdj.R2 IR2

– Vout .R1 + .R2+IAdj.R2

– Vout =Vref + .R2 + IAdj.R2

– Vout =Vref (1+ + IAdj.R2

– Vout =Vref (1+ Since Iadj is very small (i.e.100 μA)

 Design Details
• Thus output voltage is a function of R1 and R2.
• R1 is fixed and by varying R2 Vo can be
adjusted.
• Generally R1 is 240 Ω.
• VO is calculated as shown in Equation 1.
• IADJ is typically 100 μA and negligible in most
applications.
• VO = VREF (1 + R2 / R1) + (IADJ × R2)
Typical Circuit

A
 Typical Circuit
• R1 and R2 are required to set the output voltage.

• CADJ is recommended to improve ripple rejection. It prevents amplification of the ripple as

the output voltage is adjusted higher.

• Ci is recommended, particularly if the regulator is not in close proximity to the power-supply

filter capacitors. A 0.1-μF or 1-μF ceramic or tantalum capacitor provides sufficient bypassing
for most applications, especially when adjustment and output capacitors are used.

• CO improves transient response, but is not needed for stability.

• Protection diode D2 is recommended if CADJ is used. The diode provides a low-impedance

discharge path to prevent the capacitor from discharging into the output of the regulator.

• Protection diode D1 is recommended if CO is used. The diode provides a low-impedance

discharge path to prevent the capacitor from discharging into the output of the regulator.
Current Boosting
 Current Boosting
• If IL is 50mA
– VBE = 50mA.10 Ω = 0.5Volt
– So BJT is in off state and IL supply through the LM317.

• If IL is 70mA or more
– VBE = 70mA.10 Ω = 0.7Volt
– In this case BJT turns ON state
– And most of IL flows through the BJT.
Low Dropout Regulator

1.8+1.8=3.6V

5.1-0.7=4.4V
1.4V 3.6+1.4=5V
 Low Dropout Regulator
• IC LM317 itself is low dropout voltage regulator i.e. (Vi-Vo)=3V
• To minimize differential voltage i.e. Vi-Vo with maximum output current, the
external components PNP transistor and two LEDs are used shown in figure.
• If we need 5V at output with 5.1V at input, then the circuit shown in figure is
used.
• In this circuit, when both the LEDs turns on then (1.8+1.8=3.6V) drop across
both the LEDs.
• Q1 is used to boost the current.
• 0.7V drop across base and emitter junction.
• So the input of LM317 is (5.1-0.7=4.4V).
• To operate the LM317 Vdiff should be 3V.
• So the Vo = 4.4-3=1.4V
• The voltage drop across LEDs are 3.6V.
• So if we apply KVL at output side then the Vo=1.4+3.6=5V
Block Diagram IC337 Regulator
 Features of IC337
• 1.5-A Output Current
• Line Regulation 0.01%/V
• Load Regulation 0.3%
• Variable output voltage in the range of -1.2 V and -37 V.
• Built-in short circuit, over current-limiting and over heat
protection.
 Specifications of IC337
• Input-to-output differential voltage: -3V to -40V
• Output junction temperature: 125°C
• Electrostatic discharge (Human body model): 2000V
• Output voltage: -1.25V to -37V
• Output Current: 1.5Amp
• Line Regulation: 0.01%/V
• Load Regulation: 3%
• ADJUST terminal current: 100μA
 Typical Circuit
• Resistor R1 is fixed and generally 120ohm

• Resistor R2 is variable to set output voltage.

• C1 Capacitor generally 1micro farad and required for stability

 Typical Circuit
• C2 Capacitor is 1micro farad and required if the regulator is
more than 4” from power-supply filter capacitor.

• The output voltage equation is

 Switch Mode Power Supply
• Power supply is classified into two categories namely,
– Linear power supply
– Switched mode power supply

• A linear power supply is the one that is used to convert

the unregulated ac or dc input signal into regulated dc
output. 
 Switch Mode Power Supply
• SMPS is a type of power supply unit that produces regulated
dc output by using semiconductor switching techniques.
• MOSFET or BJT are used as switching devices.
 Switch Mode Power Supply
• SMPS is a type of power supply unit that produces regulated
dc output by using semiconductor switching techniques.
• MOSFET or BJT are used as switching devices.
 Switch Mode Power Supply
• Input Stage:
– The AC input is given to the rectifier
– Filter circuit used to block ac components.
– This unregulated dc is given to the switching section of SMPS.

• Switching Section
– A fast switching device i.e. Power transistor or a MOSFET is used in
this section
– Transistor switches ON and OFF according to the variations.
– This output is given to the primary of the transformer present in this
section.
– The transformer used here are much smaller and lighter ones unlike the
ones used for 50 Hz supply.
– These are much efficient and hence the power conversion ratio is
higher.
 Switch Mode Power Supply
• Output Stage
– The output signal from the switching section is again rectified and
filtered, to get the required DC voltage.
– This is a regulated output voltage which is then given to the control
circuit, which is a feedback circuit.
– The final output is obtained after considering the feedback signal.

• Control Unit
– This unit is the feedback circuit which has many sections
shown in figure.
 DC-DC Converter
• The input D.C. Supply is chopped at a higher frequency around 15 to 50 kHz
– using an active device like the BJT, power MOSFET or SCR and the converter
transformer.
• Here the size of the ferrite core reduces inversely with the frequency.
– The lower limit is around 5 kHz for silent operation
– An upper limit is 50 kHz to limit the losses in the choke and in active switching
elements.
• A sample of the output voltage is used as the feedback signal
– for the switching transistor to achieve regulation.
 DC-DC Converter
• Use of oscillator
– To allow control element to be switched ON and OFF.
• For each switch ON
– Energy is pumped into the magnetic field associated with the inductor which is a
transformer winding in practice.
– This energy is then released to the load at the desired voltage level.
• By varying the duty cycle or frequency of switching
– the stored energy can vary in the inductor in each cycle and thus control the output
voltage.
• The major feature of SMPS:
– The elimination of physically massive power transformers.
– The net result is smaller, lighter package and reduced manufacturing cost
• Reducing primarily from the elimination of the 50 Hz components.
 Types of SMPS
• SMPS can be classified into two types based on its circuit
topology:
– Non-isolated Converters
• Non – isolated Converters are a type of SMPS Topology where the
switching circuit and output are not isolated i.e. they have a
common terminal.
• The basic and important types in Non – isolated SMPS are:
– Buck Converter or Step – down Converter
– Boost Converter or Step – up Converter
– Isolated Converters.
 Step – down Converter
• Buck Converter is a DC to DC Converter
– where the output voltage is less than input voltage.
– So known as a Step – down Converter.

• A simple buck converter can build by

using two switches 
– One transistor and one diode and
– An energy storing element (inductor)
 Step – down Converter
• A simple Buck Converter or Step down Converter is shown in
the figure below and it consists of a switching transistor,
diode, inductor and capacitor.
• The combination of Inductor , Diode and Capacitor is called as
Flywheel Circuit.
 Step – down Converter
• The Buck Converter when the input pulse is HIGH
– The switching Transistor is ON.
– As a result, the transistor will supply current to the load.
– The Diode D is reverse biased and will not be a part of the circuit
during this period.
– Initially, the inductor resists the change in current
• So, the current to the load will increase gradually with expanding magnetic field.
• Also, the charge on the capacitor is built up gradually up to the supply voltage.
 Step – down Converter
• The Buck Converter when the input pulse is Low
– The switching Transistor is OFF.
– The magnetic field that is built up during the Transistor ON state, starts
collapsing now and releases the energy back in to the circuit.
– The energy from the inductor starts collapsing and keeps the current
flowing in the circuit through load and the diode, as the diode D is
forward biased.
 Step – down Converter
• The Buck Converter when the input pulse is Low
– Once the energy from the inductor is completely utilized,
• the capacitor starts discharging and acts as the main source of supply until the
transistor is turned ON.
– When the transistor is turned ON, it will once again supply current to
inductor, capacitor and load and the process continues.
– The output voltage is dependent on the ON and OFF time i.e. the Duty
Cycle of the square wave pulse
– The formula for output voltage is VOUT = D x VIN, where D = TON/(TON+TOFF)
 Step – down Converter
• The Buck Converter when the input pulse is Low
– With Buck Converter, we can achieve more than 90% efficiency
– As a result, it often employed in computer systems where they convert
12V supply to typically 1.8V (for RAM, CPU and USB).
 Step – Up Converter
• Boost Converters are also known as Step – up Converters as
the output voltage is higher than the input voltage.
• This simple Boost Converter consists of
– A Switching Transistor (BJT or MOSFETS can be used) and a Diode
– An energy storing element i.e. Inductor, Capacitor
– A high frequency square wave oscillator with controllable duty cycle.
 Step – Up Converter
• When the pulse is HIGH, the transistor is turned ON
– It closes a part of the circuit consisting of Inductor, Transistor and input supply.
– Current flows from the input through the inductor and transistor.
– The inductor, initially resists the change in current but the magnetic field will
increase gradually allowing inductor to store energy.
– The impedance of the rest of the circuit i.e. Diode, Capacitor and Load is much
higher and hence, there will be no flow of current in that part of the circuit.
 Step – Up Converter
• When the pulse is Low, the transistor is turned Off
– This action will cause a drop in the current through the inductor, producing a
back e.m.f in the circuit due to collapsing magnetic field.
– Also, the voltage across the inductor is in series with the input voltage.
 Step – Up Converter
• When the pulse is Low, the transistor is turned Off
– The combination of the input voltage and Inductor back e.m.f cannot pass
through the transistor as it is turned OFF. Hence, the diode is forward biased
and charges the Capacitor and also supplies current to load.
– An important point to note here is that the voltage supplied to the capacitor and
load during the Transistor OFF state is a combination of input voltage and
inductors back e.m.f, which is higher than the input voltage.
 Step – Up Converter
• When the pulse is High, the transistor is turned On again
– The current flows again through the inductor and transistor.
– As the diode is reverse biased, the capacitor discharges its potential, which is
sum of input voltage and inductor voltage, through the load acting as its source
during this period.
– The output voltage is given by the formula
– VOUT= VIN x 1/(1-D) where D = TON/(TON+TOFF)
 Features of SMPS
Features SMPS
 
Efficiency 65-75 %
Temperature rise 20-40oC
Ripple value 25-50 mV
Overall regulation 0.3 %
RF interference Can cause problem if not properly shielded
Magnetic material Ferrite core
Reliability Depends on the switches
Transient response Slower (in ms)
Complexity More
 Specifications of SMPS
Specification SMPS
Regulation Method By varying duty cycle of PWM
Circuit Complexity Very complex; consists of switching element, high
frequency transformer, rectifiers and filters, feedback
circuit
Noise and High interference and noise due to frequent switching of
Interference current
Size and weight No transformer at input but requires a tiny high frequency
transformer
Applications High power, complex and stable power requirements