Three Terminal IC Regulators

and
Switching Regulators
 Introduction

• Unregulated Power Supply: An unregulated power supply

does not give a constant output voltage for a range of
load resistance. In short, the output voltage varies with
the change in load resistance.

• Regulated Power Supply: A regulated power supply gives

a constant output voltage for a range of load resistance.
In short, the output voltage does not vary with the
change in load resistance.
 Introduction

• 3-terminal IC are IC regulators with only three pins:

- one for unregulated input voltage,
- one for the regulated output voltage and
- one for common ground.

They can supply load currents from 100mA to 5A. The

commonly used IC regulators are the LM 340 Series(LM
78XX Series), the LM 320 Series(LM 79XX Series) and
the LM 317 Series.
 The LM 340 Series
• The LM 340 Series is available with preset output
voltages of 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15 and 24volts.

• For example the LM 340-5 produces a regulated output

voltage of 5 volts. The LM 340-12 produces a regulated
output voltage of 12 volts and so on.

• The chip includes a pass transistor that can handle more

than 1.5A of load current provided that adequate heat
sinking is used. Also included are the thermal shutdown
and current limiting circuit.
 The LM 340 Series
• The block diagram of a typical three terminal IC regulator is
shown below.

• The built-in reference voltage Vref drives the non-inverting

input of the amplifier.

• The amplifier consists of several stages of voltage gain.

Because of the high gain of the amplifier, the error voltage
between the two amplifier input terminals approaches zero.
 The LM 340 Series
• Therefore the inverting input voltage is approx equal to Vref . This
means the current through the voltage divider R1 and R2 is
I = Vref/ R2.
• Since the same current flows though R1, hence the output voltage
is
Vout = Vref (R1 + R2)
R2
• This shows that the output voltage of the regulator can be
precisely controlled by setting up the desired values of R1 and R2.
 The LM 340 Series
• If the output voltage increases, then the voltage at the
inverting terminal increases, hence output of the
amplifier becomes less. The Pass transistor thereby
conducts less, hence the output voltage decreases.
 The LM 340 Series
• If the output voltage decreases, then the voltage at the
inverting terminal decreases, hence the output of the
amplifier becomes more. The Pass transistor thereby conducts
more, hence the output voltage increases.

• Hence if the output voltage increases or decreases,

the 3 – terminal IC regulator maintains the same voltage.
 The LM 340 Series
• Referring to the block diagram it also includes a thermal
shutdown and a current limiting circuit. Thermal shutdown
means that the chip will automatically turn-off itself if the
internal temperature increases upto 1750C.

• This is a precaution against excessive power dissipation.

 The LM 340 Series
• The figure shows an LM 340-15 connected as a fixed voltage
regulator. Pin1 is the input, Pin2 is the output and Pin3 is the
ground.

• When the IC is more than a few inches from the filter capacitor of
the unregulated power supply, the lead inductance may produce
oscillations within the IC. Hence C1 is used to bypass it. To improve
the transient response of the regulated output voltage, a bypass
capacitor C2 is sometime used.
 The LM 340 as a Variable Voltage Regulator
• The LM 340 can also be made as a variable
voltage regulator by connecting two
external resistors as shown in the figure.

• In this case the common terminal is not

grounded, but it is connected to the top of
R2. This means that the regulated output
voltage Vreg is across R1. This produces a
current of
I =Vreg
R1
• This current flows through R2, therefore
the total output voltage is
Vout = Vreg (R1 +R2)
R1
 The LM 340 as a Variable Voltage Regulator
• The output voltage is given as:
Vout = Vreg (R1 +R2)
R1
This equation is an approximation because
it ignores the quiescent current IQ out of
Pin3. The current IQ flows through R2 to
ground. Hence there is an additional
voltage drop across R2.

• Therefore the final output voltage is:

Vout = Vreg (R1+R2) + IQR2
R1
 The LM 340 as a Current Source
• The LM 340 can also be made as current source
or current regulator as shown in figure. The
current Iout, flowing through R1 is
Iout = Vreg
R1
• This current flows through RL also, therefore the
Iout
exact current Iout is
Iout = Vreg + IQ
R1
• Since IQ is nearly constant. Also Vreg and R1 are
also constant. In other words, Iout is constant and
is independent of RL. This means that we can
change RL and still have a fixed output current. In
other words, the circuit appears as like a current
source to the load.
 The LM 320 Series
• The LM 320 Series is a group of negative voltage
regulators with preset voltages of -5, -6, -8, -12, -15,
-18 and -24 volts.

• For example the LM 320-5 produces a regulated

output voltage of -5volts and LM 320-15 produces an
output of -15 volts and so on.
 The Dual Power Supply
• By combining an LM 340 and a LM 320 we can regulate the output
voltage of a split supply as shown in the figure.
• The LM 340 regulates the positive output and the LM 320 handles
the negative output.
• The input capacitors prevent oscillations and the output capacitors
improve the transient response. The manufacturer’s data sheet
recommends the addition of two diodes to ensure that both
regulators can turn ON under all operating conditions.
 The LM 317
• The LM-317 is a 3 – terminal positive variable voltage regulator. It
can supply 1.5A of load current over an adjustable output range of
1.25v to 37 volts.

• The Figure shows an LM-317 as a voltage source. For LM-317 the

load regulation is 0.1%. The line regulation is 0.01% per volt. This
means that the output voltage changes only 0.01% for each volt of
input change. The ripple rejection is 90dBs.
 The LM 317
• The voltage across R1 is called the Vref
voltage, hence the current flowing through
R1 is
I = Vref
R1
• The same current also flows through R2.

• In operation, The LM-317 develops

Vref = 1.25 volts. This reference voltage is
a constant voltage. Hence the current I is
also constant for a particular value of R1.
Therefore the output voltage is given as:
Vout = I(R1+R2) + IADJR2
Vout = Vref (R1+R2) + IADJR2
R1 where IADJ is the current flowing from
Vout = Vref (1 + R2) + IADJR2 the ADJ pin through R2 to ground
R1
 The LM 317
• When external capacitors are used with any IC regulator, it is
sometimes necessary to add protection diodes to prevent the
capacitors from discharging through low current points into the
regulator and damaging the IC.

• The Figure shows a practical LM 317 voltage regulator with

protection diodes.

D1 protects against Co
D2 protects against CADJ
 The LM 317
• When an output capacitor is connected to a regulator, the input
when shorted, the output capacitor will discharge into the
output of the regulator damaging the IC. Hence in order to avoid
this, a protection diode D1 is connected between Vout and Vin.

• Similarly, the bypass capacitor C2 on the adjustment terminal can

discharge through a low current junction, discharge occurs when
either the input or output is shorted. hence for this, a protection
diode D2 is connected between the Vout and ADJ terminal.

D1 protects against Co
D2 protects against CADJ
 Switching Regulators
• The main disadvantage of the series regulator is the
power dissipation of the pass transistor.

• Heat sinks are used or even sometimes a fan may be

needed to remove the heat generated by the pass
transistor.

• The series regulators are sometimes also called as

linear regulators because the pass transistor operates
in the active region.
 Switching Regulators
• One way to reduce the power dissipation of the pass transistor
is by using a switching regulator.

• This type of regulator does not allow the pass transistor to

operate in the active or linear region; instead it alternately
saturates and cuts-off the pass transistor.

• This results in much less power dissipation in the pass

transistor.

• Switching regulators can provide large load currents at low

voltages, precisely what is needed in PCs.
 Switching Regulators

• Switching regulators come in three basic configurations:

- Step-down

- Step-up and

- Inverting
 Step-Down Switching Regulator
• The step-down switching regulator is shown below.

• Referring to the figure, the rectangular pulses to the base

saturate and cut-off the pass transistor during each cycle.

• This produces a rectangular voltage at the input to the LC-filter.

This filter blocks the ac component but passes the dc component
to the output.

• Because of the ON-OFF switching, the average value is always

less than the input voltage. This is why the circuit is called as the
step-down regulator.
 Step-up Switching Regulator
• The Figure shows the step-up version of the switching
regulator.

• Referring to the figure, the transistor is alternately saturated

and cut-off because of the pulses applied to the base of it.

• When the transistor is saturated, current flows through the

inductor.
 Step-up Switching Regulator
• When the transistor suddenly cut-offs, the magnetic
field around the coil collapses and induces a large
voltage across the coil of opposite polarity.

• This keeps the current flowing in the same direction.

The inductive kickback voltage is larger than the input
voltage, which is why the circuit is called as the step-up
configuration.
 Inverting Switching Regulator
• The Figure shows the inverting version of the switching
regulator.

• Referring to the figure, when the transistor is saturated,

current flows through the inductor.
 Inverting Switching Regulator
• When the transistor cuts-off, the magnetic field collapses
and the inductive kickback keeps the current flowing in the
same direction.

• Since the transistor is off, the only path is through the

capacitor. If you check the direction of charging current
through the capacitor, you can see that the output voltage
is negative.
 Switching Regulator Circuit
• The Figure shows a low-power circuit of a switching regulator.
• It consists of a square-wave generator, an integrator, a triangular
to pulse converter, a comparator, a series pass transistor etc.
 Switching Regulator Circuit
• The square–wave generator produces a square-wave whose frequency is set
by R5 and C3.

• The square–wave is integrated to get a triangular wave, which drives the non-
inverting input of the triangular-to-pulse converter.

• The pulses out of this circuit then drive the pass transistor.

• The duty cycle of these pulses will determine the output voltage.
 Switching Regulator Circuit
• The output of the LC-filter is sampled by a voltage-divider, which returns
a feedback voltage to the comparator.

• This feedback voltage is compared with a reference voltage Vref from a

zener diode or other source.

• The output of the comparator then drives the inverting input of the
triangular-to-pulse generator.
 Switching Regulator Circuit
• If the regulated output voltage tries to increase, the comparator produces
a higher output voltage, which increases the inverting–input voltage to
the triangular-to-pulse converter.

• This results in narrower pulses to the base of the pass transistor. Since the
duty cycle is now(less) lower, the filtered output voltage is less, which
tends to cancel almost all the original increase in the output voltage.
 Switching Regulator Circuit
• In other words, the attempted increase in output voltage produces
a negative-feedback voltage that almost eliminates the original
increase.
 Switching Regulator Circuit
• If the regulated output voltage tries to decrease, the output of the
comparator decreases the inverting-input voltage to the triangular-to-
pulse converter.

• This results in a larger duty cycle, so that more voltage comes out of the
LC-filter. The final effect is a smaller increase in output voltage than
would occur without the negative feedback.