A.

B.

Linear Regulators
Switched Mode Power Supply

Inelectronics,alinear regulatorisavoltageregulatorbasedonan
activedevice(suchasabipolarjunctiontransistor,fieldeffect
transistororvacuumtube)operatinginits"linearregion"(incontrast,
aswitchingregulatorisbasedonatransistorforcedtoactasanon/off
switch)orpassivedeviceslikezenerdiodesoperatedintheirbreakdown
region.Theregulatingdeviceismadetoactlikeavariableresistor,
continuouslyadjustingavoltagedividernetworktomaintainaconstant
outputvoltage.Itisveryinefficientcomparedtoaswitched-modepower
supply,sinceitshedsthedifferencevoltagebydissipatingheat.

Linearregulatorsexistintwobasicforms:seriesregulatorsandshuntregulators.

Seriesregulatorsarethemorecommonform.Theseriesregulatorworksby
providingapathfromthesupplyvoltagetotheloadthroughavariableresistance.
Thepowerdissipatedbytheregulatingdeviceisequaltothepowersupplyoutput
currenttimesthevoltagedropintheregulatingdevice.

Theshuntregulatorworksbyprovidingapathfromthesupplyvoltagetoground
throughavariableresistance.Thecurrentthroughtheshuntregulatorisdiverted
awayfromtheloadandflowsuselesslytoground,makingthisformevenless
efficientthantheseriesregulator.Itis,however,simpler,sometimesconsistingof
justavoltage-referencediode(Simplezenerregulator),andisusedinverylowpoweredcircuitswherethewastedcurrentistoosmalltobeofconcern.

The Basic Linear Regulator

Theoutputvoltageiscontrolledusingafeedbackloop,whichrequiressometype
ofcompensationtoassureloopstability.Mostlinearregulatorshavebuilt-in
compensation,andarecompletelystablewithoutexternalcomponents.

Thedesignlimitofthecurrentsourcedefinesthemaximumloadcurrentthe
regulatorcansourceandstillmaintainregulation.

Anothercharacteristicofany linear regulator is that it requires a finite amount

of time to"correct"theoutputvoltageafterachangeinloadcurrentdemand.
This"timelagdefinesthecharacteristiccalledtransient response

Control Loop Operation

Thepass device (Q1) in this regulator is made up of an NPN Darlington

driven by a PNPtransistor.Thecurrentflowingouttheemitterofthepass
transistor(whichisalsotheloadcurrentIL)iscontrolledthevoltageerror
amplifier.

ThefeedbackloopwhichcontrolstheoutputvoltageisobtainedbyusingR1and
R2to"sense"theoutputvoltage.

Thefeedbackloopactioncontinuouslyholdstheregulatedoutputatafixedvalue
whichisamultipleofthereferencevoltage(assetbyR1andR2),regardlessof
changesinloadcurrent.

Linear Regulator Types

Therearethreebasictypesoflinearregulator

designswhichwillbecovered:

Standard(NPNDarlington)Regulator
LowDropoutorLDORegulator
QuasiLDORegulator
8

Thesinglemostimportantdifferencebetweenthesethreetypesisthe
dropout voltage, which is defined as the minimum voltage drop
required across the regulator to maintain output voltage regulation.
TheLDO requirestheleast voltage across it, while the Standard
regulator requires the most.

Thesecondimportantdifferencebetweentheregulatortypesisthe
ground pin current required by the regulator when driving rated load
current. The Standard regulator has the lowest ground pin current,
while the LDO generally has the highest.Increasedgroundpincurrent
isundesirablesinceitis"wasted"current,inthatitmustbesuppliedby
thesourcebutdoesnotpowertheload.
9

THE LOW-DROPOUT (LDO) REGULATOR

12

Theminimum voltage drop required across the LDO regulator to

maintain regulation isjustthevoltageacrossthePNPtransistor:-

Themaximum specified dropout voltage of an LDO regulator is usually about

0.7V to 0.8V at full current, with typical values around 0.6V. TheLDO
regulator has the lowest (best) dropout voltage specification of the three
regulator types.

ThegroundpincurrentinanLDOregulatorisapproximatelyequal to the load

current divided by the gain of the single PNP transistor. Consequently, the
ground pin current of an LDO is the highest of the three types.
13

ThelowerdropoutvoltageisthereasonLDOregulatorsdominate
battery-poweredapplications,sincetheymaximizetheutilizationofthe
availableinputvoltageandcanoperatewithhigherefficiency.The
explosivegrowthofbattery-poweredconsumerproductsinrecentyears
hasdrivendevelopmentintheLDOregulatorproductline.

TheStandardregulatorisusuallybestforAC-poweredapplications,
wherethelowcostandhighloadcurrentmakeittheidealchoice.InACpoweredapplications,thevoltageacrosstheregulatorisusuallyatleast
3Vormore,sodropoutvoltageisnotcritical.

16

Selecting the Best Regulator For Your Application

Thebestchoiceforaspecificapplicationcanbe
determinedbyevaluatingtherequirements
suchas:

MaximumLoadCurrent
TypeofInputVoltageSource(BatteryorAC)
OutputVoltagePrecision(Tolerance)
Quiescent(Idling)Current

17

Switched Mode Supply Circuit.

18

switched mode supply circuit

Aswitched-mode power supply(switching-mode power

supply,SMPS,orsimplyswitcher)isanelectronicpowersupplythat
incorporatesaswitchingregulatorinordertobehighlyefficient.

Thelinearpowersupplycontainsamainstransformerandadissipative
seriesregulator.Thismeansthesupplyhasextremelylargeandheavy
50/60Hztransformers,andalsoverypoorpowerconversionefficiencies,
bothseriousdrawbacks.Typicalefficienciesof30%arestandardfora
linear.Thiscompareswithefficienciesofbetween70and80%,currently
availableusingS.M.P.S.designs.

19

Basic switched mode supply circuit.

20

Theacsupplyisfirstrectified,andthenfilteredbytheinputreservoir
capacitortoproducearoughdcinputsupply.

FastswitchingpowersemiconductordevicessuchasMOSFETsand
Bipolarsaredrivenonandoff,andswitchtheinputvoltageacrossthe
primaryofthepowertransformer.Thedrivepulsesarenormallyfixed
frequency(20to200kHz)andvariabledutycycle.Hence,avoltagepulse
trainofsuitablemagnitudeanddutyratioappearsonthetransformer
secondary.

Thisvoltagepulsetrainisappropriatelyrectified,andthensmoothedby
theoutputfilter,whichiseitheracapacitororcapacitor/inductor
arrangement,dependinguponthetopologyused.
21

Regulationoftheoutputtoprovideastabilizeddcsupplyiscarriedoutby
thecontrol/feedbackblock.Generally,mostS.M.P.S.systemsoperateon
afixedfrequencypulsewidthmodulationbasis,wherethedurationofthe
ontimeofthedrivetothepowerswitchisvariedonacyclebycycle
basis.Thiscompensatesforchangesintheinputsupplyandoutputload.

22

Inmostapplications,theS.M.P.S.topologycontainsapowertransformer.This
providesisolation,voltagescalingthroughtheturnsratio,andtheabilityto
providemultipleoutputs.However,therearenon-isolatedtopologieswherethe
powerprocessingisachievedbyinductiveenergytransferalone.

Non-Isolated converters:i)BUCKREGULATOR
ii)BOOSTREGULATOR
iii) BUCK-BOOST(INVERTING)REGULATOR.

23

The Buck Converter

24

Operation:

TheBuckconverterusesatransistorasaswitchthatalternatelyconnects
anddisconnectstheinputvoltagetoaninductor.
WhenswitchTR1isturnedon,theinputvoltageisappliedtoinductorL1
andpowerisdeliveredtotheoutput.Inductorcurrentalsobuildsup
accordingtoFaradayslawshownbelow:-

Whentheswitchisturnedoff,thevoltageacrosstheinductorreverses
andfreewheeldiodeD1becomesforwardbiased.Thisallowstheenergy
storedintheinductortobedeliveredtotheoutput.Thiscontinuous
currentisthensmoothedbyoutputcapacitorCo.
25

Thepeak-to-peakdifferenceintheinductorcurrentwaveformisreferred
toastheinductor ripple current, and the inductor is typically selected
large enough to keep thisripplecurrentlessthan20%to30%ofthe
ratedDCcurrent.
Neglectingcircuitlosses,theaveragevoltageattheinputsideofthe
inductoris(Vin)D,whileVoistheoutputsidevoltage.Thus,inthesteady
state,fortheaveragevoltageacrosstheinductortobezero,thebasicdc
equationofthebuckissimply:-

WhereDistransistorswitchdutycycle,definedastheconductiontime
dividedbyoneswitchingperiod.
26

CONTINUOUS vs. DISCONTINUOUS OPERATION

InmostBuckregulatorapplications,theinductorcurrentneverdropsto
zeroduringfull-loadoperation(thisisdefinedascontinuous mode
operation).Overall performanceisusuallybetterusingcontinuousmode,
anditallowsmaximumoutputpowertobeobtainedfromagiveninput
voltageandswitchcurrentrating.

Discontinuousmodeoperationatlowerloadcurrentvaluesisgenerally
harmless,andeven converters designed for continuous mode
operation at full load will become discontinuous as the load current is
decreased (usually causing no problems).

27

The Boost Converter

28

Operation:

TheBoostregulatortakesaDCinputvoltageandproducesaDCoutputvoltagethatis
higherinvaluethantheinput(butofthesamepolarity).
Whentheswitchison,diodeD1isreversebiased,andVinisappliedacrossinductor,
L1.Currentbuildsupintheinductortoapeakvalue.
Whentheswitchturnsoff,thevoltageacrossL1reverses,causingthevoltageatthe
diodetoriseabovetheinputvoltage.Thediodethenconductstheenergystoredinthe
inductor,plusenergydirectfromthesupplytothesmoothingcapacitorandload.
HereVoandViisrelatedas

Again,theoutputonlydependsupontheinputanddutycycle.Thus,bycontrollingthe
dutycycle,outputregulationisachieved.

29

OUTPUT CURRENT AND LOAD POWER

AnimportantdesignconsiderationintheBoostregulatoristhatthe
output load current and the switch current are not equal, and the
maximum available load current is always less than current rating of
the switch Transistor.

Itshouldbenotedthatthemaximum total power available for

conversion in any regulator is equal to the input voltage multiplied
times the maximum average input current (which is less than the
current rating of the switch transistor).

30

BUCK-BOOST (INVERTING) REGULATOR

31

Operation:TheBuck-BoostorInvertingregulatortakesaDCinputvoltageand
producesaDCoutputvoltagethatisoppositeinpolaritytotheinput.The
negativeoutputvoltagecanbeeitherlargerorsmallerinmagnitudethan
theinputvoltage.

Whentheswitchison,theinputvoltageisforcedacrosstheinductor,
causinganincreasingcurrentflowthroughit.Duringtheontime,the
dischargeoftheoutputcapacitoristheonlysourceofloadcurrent.

Whentheswitchturnsoff,thedecreasingcurrentflowintheinductor
causesthevoltageatthediodeendtoswingnegative.Thisactionturnson
thediode,allowingthecurrentintheinductortosupplyboth the output
capacitor and the load.

Closeinspectionrevealsthatthecontinuousmodedctransferfunctionis:

32

Some of the Standard isolated topologies

are below:FLYBACK REGULATOR
PUSH-PULL CONVERTER
HALF-BRIDGE CONVERTER
FULL-BRIDGE CONVERTER

33

Transformers in S.M.P.S. converters

1)Inputtooutputisolationisprovided.Thisisnormallyalwaysnecessaryfor
220/110Vmainsapplications,whereadegreeofsafetyisprovidedfor
theoutputs.
2)Thetransformerturnsratiocanbeselectedtoprovideoutputswidely
differentfromtheinput.Byselectingthecorrectturnsratio,theduty
cycleoftheconvertercanalsobeoptimizedandthepeakcurrents
flowingminimized.Thepolarityofeachoutputisalsoselectable,
dependentuponthepolarityofthesecondaryw.r.ttheprimary.
3)Multipleoutputsareveryeasilyobtained,simplybyaddingmoresecondary
windingstothetransformer.Therearesomedisadvantageswith
transformers,suchastheiradditionalsize,weightandpowerloss.The
generationofvoltagespikesduetoleakageinductancemayalsobea
problem.
34

FLYBACK REGULATOR

35

Operation:

ThemostimportantfeatureoftheFlybackregulatoristhetransformer
phasing,asshownbythedotsontheprimaryandsecondarywindings.
Whentheswitchison,theinputvoltageisforcedacrossthetransformer
primarywhichcausesanincreasingflowofcurrentthroughit.
Thedot-negativevoltageappearingacrossthesecondarywindingturnsoff
thediode,preventingcurrentflowinthesecondarywindingduringthe
switchontime.Duringthistime,theloadcurrentmustbesuppliedbythe
outputcapacitoralone.
Whentheswitchturnsoff,thedecreasingcurrentflowintheprimary
causesthevoltageatthedotendtoswingpositive.Atthesametime,the
primaryvoltageisreflectedtothesecondarywiththesamepolarity.The
dot-positivevoltageoccurringacrossthesecondarywindingturnsonthe
diode,allowingcurrenttoflowintoboththeloadandtheoutputcapacitor.
36

Converterefficiency=80%;Maxdutycycle,Dmax=0.45.
Maxtransistorvoltage,

MaxTransistor current,

Dcvoltagegain:-

Applications:-Lowestcost,multipleoutputsuppliesinthe20to200W
range.E.g.mainsinputT.V.supplies,smallcomputersupplies,E.H.T.
supplies.

37

GENERATING MULTIPLE OUTPUTS

38

Inthisapplications,oneoftheoutputs(usuallythehighestcurrent)is
selectedtoprovidePWMfeedbacktothecontrolloop,which means this
output is directly regulated.

Theothersecondarywinding(s)areindirectly regulated, as their pulse

widths will followtheregulatedwinding.Theloadregulationonthe
unregulatedsecondariesisnotgreat(typically5-10%),butisadequate
formanyapplications.

39

PUSH-PULL CONVERTER

40

Operation:

Theconverteroperatesbyturningoneachtransistoronalternatecycles
(thetwotransistorsarenever on at the same time). Transformer
secondary current flows at the same time as primary current (when
either of the switches is on).

AnimportantcharacteristicofaPush-Pullconverteristhattheswitch
transistorshavetobeablethestandoffmorethantwicetheinputvoltage:
whenonetransistorison(andtheinputvoltageisforcedacrossone
primarywinding)thesamemagnitudevoltageisinducedacrosstheother
primarywinding,butitis"floating"ontopoftheinputvoltage.Thisputs
thecollectoroftheturned-offtransistorat twice theinputvoltagewith
respecttoground.
41

TIMING DIAGRAM FOR PUSH-PULL CONVERTER

42

Figureshowsatimingdiagramwhichdetailstherelationshipoftheinputandoutputpulses.

Itisimportanttonotethatfrequencyofthesecondarysidevoltagepulses
istwicethefrequencyofoperationofthePWMcontrollerdrivingthetwo
Transistor.

TheDCoutputvoltageisgivenbytheequation:-

Thepeakamplitudeofthesecondarypulses(Vpk)isgiven
by:-

43

Advantage&Disadvantage

veryhighutilizationoftheavailableinputvoltage.

Itcanalsogeneratemultipleoutputvoltages(byaddingmoresecondary
windings),someofwhichmaybenegativeinpolarity.Thisallowsa
powersupplyoperatedfromasinglebatterytoprovideallofthevoltages
necessaryforsystemoperation.

AdisadvantageofPush-Pullconvertersisthattheyrequireverygood
matchingoftheswitchtransistorstopreventunequalontimes,sincethis
willresultinsaturationofthetransformercore(andfailureofthe
converter).

44

45