555 TIMER IC

The 555 timer IC is an integrated circuit chip used in a variety of timer, pulse generation and oscillator applications. The IC design was proposed in 1970 by Hans R. Camenzind and Jim Ball. After prototyping, the design was ported to the Monochip analogue array, incorporating detailed design by Wayne Foletta and others from Qualidyne Semiconductors. Signe tics (later acquired by Philips) took over the design and production, and released the first 555s in 1971. The full part numbers were NE555 (commercial temperature range, 0 C to +70 C) and SE555 (military temperature range, 55 C to +125 C). As with most parts of the era, these were available in both high-reliability metal can (T package) and inexpensive epoxy plastic (V package) packages. Thus the full part numbers were NE555V, NE555T, SE555V, and SE555T. It has been hypothesized that the 555 got its name from the three 5 k resistors used within .The part is still in widespread use, thanks to its ease of use, low price and good stability. As of 2003, it is estimated that 1 billion units are manufactured every year. The circuit arrangement of the 555 is said to be even more common, being incorporated in the charge pump of many singlevoltage Flash and other electrically-erasable ICs.

Depending on the manufacturer, the standard 555 package includes over 20 transistors, 2 diodes and 15 resistors on a silicon chip installed in an 8-pin mini dual-in-line package (DIP-8) The 555 has three operating modes: Monostable mode: in this mode, the 555 functions as a "one-shot" pulse generator. Applications include timers, missing pulse detection, bounce free switches, touch switches, frequency divider, capacitance measurement, pulse-width modulation (PWM) Astable free running mode: the 555 can operate as an oscillator. Uses include LED and lamp flashers, pulse generation, logic clocks, tone generation, security alarms, pulse position modulation and so on. Bistable mode or Schmitt trigger: the 555 can operate as a flip-flop, if the DIS pin is not connected and no capacitor is used. Uses include bounce free latched switches.

USAGE
The connection of the pins is as follows:
PIN NAME GND TRIG OUT RESET CTRL THR DIS V+, VCC PURPOSE Ground, low level (0 V) OUT rises, and interval starts, when this input falls below 1/3 VCC. This output is driven to +VCC or GND. A timing interval may be interrupted by driving this input to GND. "Control" access to the internal voltage divider (by default, 2/3 VCC). The interval ends when the voltage at THR is greater than at CTRL. Open collector output; may discharge a capacitor between intervals. Positive supply voltage is usually between 3 and 15 V.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

MONOSTABLE MODE
In the monostable mode, the 555 timer acts as a one-shot pulse generator. The pulse begins when the 555 timer receives a signal at the trigger input that falls below a third of the voltage supply. The width of the output pulse is determined by the time constant of an RC network, which consists of a capacitor (C) and a resistor (R). The output pulse ends when the charge on the C equals 2/3 of the supply voltage. The output pulse width can be lengthened or shortened to the need of the specific application by adjusting the values of R and C. The output pulse width of time t, which is the time it takes to charge C to 2/3 of the supply voltage, is given by

Where t is in seconds, R is in ohms and C is in farads.

Astable mode
In astable mode, the 555 timer puts out a continuous stream of rectangular pulses having a specified frequency. Resistor R1 is connected between VCC and the discharge pin (pin 7) and another resistor (R2) is connected between the discharge pin (pin 7), and the trigger (pin 2) and threshold (pin 6) pins that share a common node. Hence the capacitor is charged through R 1 and R2, and discharged only through R2, since pin 7 has low impedance to ground during output low intervals of the cycle, therefore discharging the capacitor. In the astable mode, the frequency of the pulse stream depends on the values of R1, R2 and C:

The high time from each pulse is given by

And the low time from each pulse is given by

Where R1 and R2 are the values of the resistors in ohms and C is the value of the capacitor in farads. To achieve a duty cycle of less than 50% a diode can be added in parallel with R2 towards the capacitor. This bypasses R2 during the high part of the cycle so that the high interval depends only on R1 and C.

BISTABLE MODE
In bistable mode, the 555 timer acts as a basic flip-flop. The trigger and reset inputs (pins 2 and 4 respectively on a 555) are held high via Pull-up resistors while the threshold input (pin 6) is simply grounded. Thus configured, pulling the trigger momentarily to ground acts as a 'set' and transitions the output pin (pin 3) to Vcc (high state). Pulling the reset input to ground acts as a 'reset' and transitions the output pin to ground (low state). No capacitors are required in a bistable configuration. Pins 5 and 7 (control and discharge) are left floating.

SPECIFICATIONS
These specifications apply to the NE555. Other 555 timers can have different specifications depending on the grade (military, medical, etc). Supply voltage (VCC) 4.5 to 15 V Supply current (VCC = +5 V) 3 to 6 mA Supply current (VCC = +15 V) 10 to 15 mA Output current (maximum) 200 mA Maximum Power dissipation 600 mW Power Consumption (minimum operating) 30 mW@5V, 225 mW@15V Operating temperature 0 to 70 C