EN1802 - Basic Electronics

S3_A - Voltage regulation and power supplies By : Dr. S. Thayaparan

Source of Origin:

1. Basic Electronics Lecture Notes, ENTC 2010 (EN1802-09S2)

Outline
Power supply basics Unregulated power supply Regulated power supply Voltage regulators Voltage regulation using zener diode Worked example

Power supplies basics

In many applications different devices need constant DC supply that can provide a sufficient current Batteries are good solution for this as they give almost stable/constant voltage. But batteries usually unable to supply larger currents Selection of power supply depends on the required voltage and current As an example your cell phone uses a battery which is re-chargeable and you need a power supply unit that can charge the battery
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Power supplies basics

DC Power supplies

Transformer type power supplies

Switched mode power supplies

(will not be discussed here)

Unregulated

Regulated

Unregulated power supply

Transformer type unregulated DC power supply
Vin (ac)
Transformer (Usually step down) Rectifier (using diodes) Filter circuit (using capacitors)

Vout (dc)

Usually the ac input is 230V in Sri Lanka. (commercial supply from the national grid) Depending on the application the transformer has to be chosen. (230 to 12, 230 to 20 etc.) Capacitor filter reduce the ripple of the rectifier output. But still there are fluctuations in the end output
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Unregulated power supply

This is called un-regulated because if there a sudden (momentary) increase in the input supply (voltage spike in Vin) that will be transferred to the output as well

Regulated power supply

Vin (ac)
Transformer (Usually step down) Rectifier (using diodes) Filter circuit (using capacitors) Voltage regulator

Vout (dc)

Regulated power supplies use a voltage regulator in order to regulate the output of the filter circuit. After being regulated, the fluctuation that were there in the previous case, are removed and the output would be a stable constant DC supply As because the output is regulated any voltage spike in the input would not be transferred to the output as long as it is with in the protective range of the voltage regulator
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Regulated power supply

Voltage regulators
How is this voltage regulator realized?. The simplest form is using a zener diode (a special type of diode). Other than the zener regulator, ready made IC regulators are available in the market. During this lecture we will study in detail about the zener regulator. Regulator ICs 7805 7809 7812 5V regulator 9V regulator 12V regulator

Voltage regulation using zener diode

Zener diode is a special diode used for regulating voltage. Recall the characteristic curve of a diode ! o Zener diode is a diode that is used in the reverse break down region. When it is forward biased it acts as a normal diode. (as an ON switch) Unlike a normal diode, zener diode is manufactured in a way that it can operate during the reverse breakdown region. Therefore zener diode is always used in reverse bias condition.

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Voltage regulation using zener diode

Circuit symbol for zener diodes is as follows.

What is the special feature of the reverse breakdown region that makes the zener diode suitable for voltage regulation? o If you carefully inspect, you would realize that during the reverse breakdown region the voltage across the diode remains almost constant while the reverse current varies over a large range. That is, zener diode can conduct different currents keeping the same voltage across its terminals. (This doesn't obey the ohms law !)
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Voltage regulation using zener diode

This ability to maintain a constant voltage across its terminals irrespective of the current, makes the zener diode suitable for voltage regulation. This constant voltage is called the zener voltage and denoted by VZ The current (reverse current) that can vary is called the zener current and is denoted by IZ Note that in order to use the zener diode as a voltage regulator two things must be ensured.
It has to be reverse biased It has to be driven in to the reverse breakdown region. (that is the reverse current flowing through the zener diode should be large enough to drive the diode in to the reverse breakdown region.)

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Voltage regulation using zener diode

Therefore we say, in order to ensure the voltage regulation, IZmin < IZ < IZmax
To make sure that the zener diode enters to the reverse breakdown region To make sure that the zener diode is not destroyed

Where, IZmin minimum zener current needed for enter to the reverse breakdown region IZ zener current flowing in any given instance
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Voltage regulation using zener diode

Typical circuit for zener regulator is as follows.
Vin here is the fluctuating DC voltage coming out from the capacitor filter. Irrespective of the input fluctuations output voltage Vout will be regulated to the zener voltage VZ

Lets analyze the above circuit and see how the regulation is done. (complete the note by your self after the explanation)

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Example
If R = 20, VZ = 18V and Rload = 200 and Vin varies from 20V to 30V. Find, 1. Minimum and maximum currents in the zener diode 2. Minimum and maximum power dissipated in the diode 3. The rated power dissipation that the R should have.

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Triac

Once triggered, the device continues to conduct until the current through it drops below a certain threshold value, called holding current

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