NMJ20303/Analogue Electronics II

Chapter 6:
Voltage Regulator
 Objective
• Describe the concept of voltage regulation
• Describe and analyze the operation of linear series
regulators
• Describe and analyze the operation of linear shunt
regulators
• Discuss the principles of switching regulators
• Discuss integrated circuit voltage regulators
• Describe applications of IC voltage regulators
Outline
• Introduction
• Voltage Regulation
• Line Regulation
• Load Regulation
• Series Regulator
• Shunt Regulator
• Switching Regulator
• IC Voltage Regulator
Introduction: Line transmission & voltage regulator
 Voltage Regulators

• Used to regulate input voltage from a power source

• Maintains power level to within set tolerance
• Prevents damage to components by acting as a buffer

Voltage Regulators

Line Regulation Load Regulation

maintain a nearly constant output voltage maintain a nearly constant output voltage
when the input voltage varies. when the load varies
Line Regulation

Line regulation: A change in input (line) voltage does not significantly affect
the output voltage of a regulator (within certain limits)
Line Regulation
• Line regulation can be defined as the percentage change in
the output voltage for a given change in the input voltage.

 VOUT 
Line regulation    100%
 VIN 

• Line regulation can be calculated using the following

formula:

Line regulation 
VOUT / VOUT 100%
VIN
Load Regulation

Load regulation: A change in load current (due to a varying R L) has practically no

effect on the output voltage of a regulator (within certain limits)
Load Regulation
• Load regulation can be defined as the percentage change in
the output voltage from no-load (NL) to full-load (FL).

 VNL  VFL 
Load regulation    100%
 VFL 
• Where:
VNL = the no-load output voltage
VFL = the full-load output voltage
Load Regulation
• Sometimes power supply manufacturers specify the
equivalent output resistance (Rout) instead of its load
regulation.

• RFL equal the smallest-rated load resistance, then VFL:

 RFL 
VFL  VNL  
 ROUT  RFL 
Load Regulation
• Rearrange the equation:
 ROUT  RFL 
VNL  VFL  
 RFL 
 ROUT  RFL 
VFL    VFL
Load regulation   RFL  100%
VFL
 ROUT  RFL 
Load regulation    1  100%
 RFL 
 ROUT 
Load regulation    100%
 RFL 
Example
1. The input of a certain regulator increases by 3.5 V. As a result, the output
voltage increases by 0.042 V. The nominal output is 20 V. Determine the line
regulation in both % and in %/V.

line regulation in % :

0.042
Line Regulation  100  1.2%
3.5
and in %/V.
 0.042 / 20 
Line Regulation    100  0.06% / V
 3.5 
Example
2. If a 5 V power supply has an output resistance of 80 mΩ and a specific
maximum output current of 1 A. Calculate the load regulation in % and
%/mA.

load regulation in % :

Rout 80m
Load Regulation  100  100  1.6%
RFL 5

and in %/mA.
 1.6 
Load Regulation     0.0016% / mA
 1000 
Types of Regulators
Regulators

Linear Switching

Shunt Step-up

Series Step-down

Inverting
Linear Regulator
• Two basic types of linear regulator are the series regulator
and the shunt regulator .
• The series regulator is connected in series with the load and
the shunt regulator is connected in parallel with the load.
Series Regulator Circuit
 Control element in series
with load between input
and output.
 Output sample circuit
senses a change in output
voltage.
 Error detector compares
sample voltage with
reference voltage →
causes control element to
compensate in order to
maintain a constant
output voltage.
 Series Regulators
Series Regulator block diagram:
Control
VIN VOUT
element

Reference
voltage
Error
detector
Sample
circuit
Basic series regulator circuit:
Control element
VIN VOUT

R1 Q1

+
VREF
The control element maintains
– R2
a constant output voltage by D1
Error detector
Sample
varying the collector-emitter R3
circuit

voltage across the transistor.

Op-Amp Series Regulator
• The resistor R2 and R3 sense a change in the output voltage and provide a feedback
voltage.
• The error detector compares the feedback voltage with a Zener diode reference
voltage.
• The resulting difference voltage causes the transistor Q1 controls the conduction to
compensate the variation of the output voltage.
• The output voltage will be maintained at a constant value of:
Control element

 R2  VIN VOUT

Vo  1   VREF R1 Q1

 R3  VREF
+

– R2
Error detector
D1 Sample
circuit
R3
Example
• Determine the output voltage for the regulator below.

Solution:
 Transistor Series Regulator

 the response of the pass-transistor to a change in

load resistance as follows:
 If load resistance increases, load voltage also increases.
 Since the Zener voltage is constant, the increase in Vo
causes VBE to decrease.
 The decrease in VBE reduces conduction through the pass-
transistor, so load current decreases.
 This offsets the increase in load resistance, and a
relatively constant load voltage is maintained
Example
A series voltage regulator is required to supply a current of 1 A at a constant
voltage of 6 V. If the supply voltage is 10 V, and the Zener operates in the
breakdown region, design the circuit. Assume β = 50, VBE = 0.5 V, and minimum
zenner current = 10 mA.
Solution
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 6 𝑉, 𝐼𝐶 = 1 𝐴, 𝑉𝑖𝑛 = 10 𝑉, 𝛽 = 50, 𝑉𝐵𝐸 = 0.5 𝑉, 𝐼𝑧 = 10 𝑚𝐴
• Zener breakdown region:
• Collecter-emitter terminal are in series with load. So, the load current must
pass through the transistor.
𝐼𝐶 = 1 𝐴
𝐼𝐶 1
𝐼𝐵 = = = 20𝑚𝐴
𝛽 50
• Output voltage
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝑉𝑍 − 𝑉𝐵𝐸 ⟹ 𝑉𝑍 = 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 + 𝑉𝐵𝐸
𝑉𝑍 = 6 + 0.5 = 6.5 𝑉
• Value of Rs
𝑉𝑅𝑠 = 𝑉𝑖𝑛 − 𝑉𝑍 = 10 − 6.5 = 3.5 𝑉
𝑉𝑅𝑆 3.5 𝑉
𝑅𝑠 = = = 117 Ω
𝐼𝐵 + 𝐼𝑍 20 + 10 𝑚𝐴
Shunt Regulator Circuit
 The unregulated input voltage provides
current to the load.
 Some of the current is pulled away by the
control element.
 If the load voltage tries to change due to
a change in the load resistance, the
sampling circuit provides a feedback
signal to a comparator.
 The resulting difference voltage then
provides a control signal to vary the
amount of the current shunted away from
the load to maintain the regulated output  The control element parallel with the load. While,
voltage across the load. the resistor, RS, is in series with the load.
 The operation of the transistor shunt regulator is
similar to that of the transistor series regulator,
except that regulation is achieved by controlling the
current through the parallel transistor
 Shunt Regulators
Shunt Regulator block diagram:
R1
VIN VOUT

Control
Reference Error element
voltage detector (shunt) Basic shunt regulator circuit:
Sample VOUT
circuit VIN
R1
R2
Error detector
Control
VREF – element

The control element

Q1
R3 RL
+
maintains a constant output D1 Sample
voltage by varying the circuit
R4
collector current in the
transistor.
Op-Amp Shunt Regulator
VOUT
VIN
• When the output voltage tries to decrease R1
due to a change in input voltage or load R2
Error detector
current caused by a change in load Control
VREF –
resistance, the decrease is sensed by R3 and element
R4. Q1
R3 RL
• A feedback voltage obtained from voltage +
divider R3 and R4 is applied to the op-amp’s D1 Sample
circuit
non-inverting input and compared to the
R4
Zener voltage to control the drive current to
the transistor.

• The resulting difference voltage reduces the op-amp’s output driving

less, thus reducing its collector current (shunt current) and increasing
the collector voltage. Thus, the original decrease in voltage is
compensated for by this increase, keeping the output nearly constant.
Transistor Shunt Regulator

• Resistor RS drops the unregulated voltage depends on current supplied to

load RL.
• Voltage across the load is set by zener diode and transistor base-emitter
voltage.
• If RL decrease, a reduced drive current to base of Q1  shunting less
collector current.
• Load current, IL is larger, maintaining the regulated voltage across load.
Transistor Shunt Regulator
 The output voltage to the load is: Vo  VL  VZ  VBE
 voltage across the load is set by the Zener diode voltage and the transistor base-
emitter voltage.
 If the load resistance decreases, the load current will be larger at a value of:
VL
IL 
RL
 The increase in load current causes the collector current shunted by the transistor
is to be less:
IC  I S  I L
 The current through RS:
Vi  VL
IS 
RS
Example
• Determine the regulated voltage, VL and circuit currents.
Switching Regulator
• The switching regulator is more efficient than the linear series or shunt
type.
• This type regulator is ideal for high current applications since less power
is dissipated.
• Voltage regulation in a switching regulator is achieved by the on and off
action limiting the amount of current flow based on the varying line and
load conditions.
• With switching regulators 90% efficiencies can be achieved.
• Three basic configuration of switching regulators are step down, step up
and inverting.
• Example:
• The display typically will use an inverting type
• The microprocessor would use a step down type
• Disk drive may use a step up type
Advantages vs Disadvantages in Comparison with
Linear Regulator
 Switching Regulator
• All switching regulators control the output voltage by rapidly switching
the input voltage on and off with a duty cycle that depends on the load.
Because they use high frequency switching, they tend to be electrically
noisy.
• The capacitor charges during the on-time (ton) and discharge during the
off-time (toff).
An increasein
A decrease inthe
theduty
dutycycle
cycledecreases
increases the output voltage.

on/off tonton ton tofftoff toff tonton ton tofftoff toff tonton ton tofftoff toff tonton ton
contro
VC
l
VC
VC
VOUT

 Vout=(ton/ T)Vin  ton/ T = duty cycle

where T= ton+ toff
Switching Regulator
Step-Down Configuration (buck converter)
• With the step-down (output is less than the input)
configuration, the control element Q1 is pulsed on and off at
variable rate based on the load current.
• The pulsations are filtered out by the LC filter.
 Switching Regulator
Step-Down Configuration (buck converter)
A step-down switching regulator controls the output
voltage by controlling the duty cycle to a series transistor.
The duty cycle changes depending on the load
requirement. Q C charges
L reverses
L
Because the transistor
1 VOUT
VIN off
on polarity
-+ +-
is either ON or OFF on D1 C RL

all switching regulators, Variable

pulse-width
R2

the power dissipated in R1 oscillator

–
the transistor is very +
small and the regulator R3

is very efficient. The D2

VREF

pulses are smoothed by

an LC filter.
• The capacitor charges during the on-time (ton) and
discharges during the off-time (toff). When the on-
time is increased relative to the off-time, the
capacitor charges more, thus increasing the output
voltage.
• When the on-time is decreased relative to the off-
time, the capacitor discharges more, thus
decreasing the output voltage.
• The inductor further smoothes the fluctuations of
the output voltage caused by the charging and
discharging action.
Switching Regulator
Step-up configuration
• The difference is in the placement of the inductor and the
fact that Q1 is shunt configured.
• During the time when Q1 is off the VL adds to VC stepping the
voltage up by some amount.
Switching Regulator
Step-up configuration (boost converter)
In a step-up switching regulator, the control element
operates as a rapidly pulsing switch to ground. The
switch on and off times are controlled by the output
voltage. + +V
Step-up action is due
OUT
VIN
L D1
to the fact the C

inductor changes Variable RL

pulse-width Q1
polarity during R1
oscillator
R2

switching and adds

to VIN. Thus, the – +

output voltage is D2
larger than the input
R3

voltage.
Switching Regulator
Step-up configuration (boost converter)
• When Q1 turns on, Vin = VL. During ton of Q1, VL decrease from max and
diode D1 is reverse biased. Longer Q1 is on, smaller VL becomes. During
ton, the capacitor discharge an extreme amount through the load.
Switching Regulator
Step-up configuration
• When Q1 turns off, VL suddenly reverse polarity and adds to Vin. Diode
D1 is forward biased and allow capacitor to charge. Vout is equal to Vc
and can be larger than Vin because the capacitor is charged to Vin plus
the voltage induced across inductor during toff.
Switching Regulator
Step-up configuration
• Voltage regulation is achieved by the variation of ton of Q1 as
related to changes in Vout due to changing load or Vin.
• If Vout tries to increase, the ton of Q1 will decrease, resulting
in a decrease in the amount that C will charge.
• If Vout tries to decrease, the ton of Q1 will increase, resulting
in an increase in the amount that C will charge.
• The regulating action maintains Vout at constant level.
Switching Regulator
Voltage-inverter configuration
• output voltage is the opposite polarity of the input.
• This is achieved by VL forward-biasing the diode during the
off times producing current and charging the capacitor for
voltage production during the off times.
• With switching regulators 90% efficiencies can be achieved.
Switching Regulator
Voltage-inverter configuration
In a voltage-inverter switching regulator, the output is
the opposite polarity of the input. It can be used in
conjunction with a positive regulator from the same
input source.
Q
Inversion occurs 1 1D –VOUT
+V
IN

because the L C
inductor reverses Variable R2 RL
R pulse-width
polarity when the 1
oscillator

diode conducts,
+
–
charging the R3

capacitor with the D 2

opposite polarity of
the input.
Switching Regulator
Voltage-inverter configuration
• When Q1 turns on, VL  Vin – VCE(sat) and magnetic field
rapidly increase.
• While Q1 is on, diode is reverse biased and VL decrease
from initial max.
Switching Regulator
Voltage-inverter configuration
• When Q1 turns off, magnetic field collapses and inductor’s polarity
reverses.
• Forward bias the diode, charges C and produce a negative output
voltage.
• Repetitive on-off action Q1 produces a repetitive charging and
discharging that smoothed by LC filter.
Switching Regulator
Voltage-inverter configuration
• When –Vout tries to decrease, ton decrease,
causing VL to increase. This compensate for
the attempted decrease in –Vout.
• When –Vout tries to increase, ton increase,
causing VL to decrease. This compensate for
the attempted increase in –Vout.
Checkup Question
• What are the three type of switching regulators?
• What is the primary advantages of switching
regulators over linear regulators?
• How are changes in output voltage compensated in
the switching regulators?
Example
A basic switching regulators is shown below. If the switching
frequency of the transistor is 10kHz with an off-time of 60μs.
Calculate the output voltage and the duty cycle of the
transistor.
(Answer : 4.8 V)
 Solutions

the output voltage : the duty cycle of the transistor:

f  10kHz, toff  100 s
T  100 s
ton  T  toff  100 s  100 s  40 s
ton 40 s
duty cycle    0.4
T 100 s
IC Voltage Regulators
• Regulation circuits in integrated circuit form are widely used.
• Their operation is no different but they are treated as a
single device with associated components.
• These are generally three terminal devices that provide a
positive or negative output.
• Some types have variable voltage outputs.
• A typical 7800 series voltage regulator is used for positive
voltages.
• The 7900 series are negative voltage regulators.
• These voltage regulators when used with heatsinks can
safely produce current values of 1A and greater.
• The capacitors act as line filtration.
IC Voltage Regulators
• Several types of both linear (series and shunt) and switching
regulators are available in integrated circuit (IC) form.
• Single IC regulators contain the circuitry for:
(1) reference source
(2) comparator amplifier
(3) control device
(4) overload protection
• Generally, the linear regulators are three-terminal devices
that provides either positive or negative output voltages that
can be either fixed or adjustable.
Fixed Voltage Regulator
 The fixed voltage regulator has an unregulated dc input
voltage Vi applied to one input terminal, a regulated output
dc voltage Vo from a second terminal, and the third terminal
connected to ground.
Fixed-Positive Voltage Regulator
 The series 78XX regulators are the three-terminal devices
that provide a fixed positive output voltage.
Fixed Voltage Regulator
• An unregulated input voltage
Vi is filtered by a capacitor
C1 and connected to the IC’s
IN terminal.
• The IC’s OUT terminal
provides a regulated +12 V,
which is filtered by capacitor
C 2.
• The third IC terminal is
connected to ground (GND)
Fixed Voltage Regulator
Positive-Voltage Regulators in the 78XX Series

IC Part Output Voltage (V) Minimum Vi (V)

7805 +5 +7.3
7806 +6 +8.3
7808 +8 +10.5
7810 +10 +12.5
7812 +12 +14.5
7815 +15 +17.7
7818 +18 +21.0
7824 +24 +27.1
Fixed Voltage Regulator
Fixed-Negative Voltage Regulator
 The series 79XX regulators are the three-terminal IC
regulators that provide a fixed negative output voltage.
 This series has the same features and characteristics as
the series 78XX regulators except the pin numbers are
different.

(2) (3)

(1)
Fixed Voltage Regulator
Negative-Voltage Regulators in the 79XX Series

IC Part Output Voltage (V) Minimum Vi (V)

7905 -5 -7.3
7906 -6 -8.4
7908 -8 -10.5
7909 -9 -11.5
7912 -12 -14.6
7915 -15 -17.7
7918 -18 -20.8
7924 -24 -27.1
Fixed Voltage Regulator
Adjustable-Voltage Regulator
 Voltage regulators are also available in circuit
configurations that allow to set the output voltage to a
desired regulated value.
 The LM317 is an example of an adjustable-voltage
regulator, can be operated over the range of voltage from
1.2 to 37 V.
Summary
• Voltage regulators keep a constant dc output despite input
voltage or load changes.
• Line regulation is the percentage change in the output
voltage for a given change in the input voltage of a
regulator.
• Load regulation is the percentage change in output voltage
for a given change in load current.
• A basic voltage regulator consists of a reference voltage
source, an error detector, a sampling element, and a control
device. Protection circuitry is also found in most regulators
• The two basic categories of voltage regulators are linear and
switching.
Summary
• The two types of linear voltage regulators are series and
shunt.
• In a linear series regulator, the control element is a
transistor in series with the load.
• In a linear shunt regulator, the control element is a
transistor in parallel with the load.
• The three types of switching are step-up, step-down, and
inverting.
 Switching regulators are more efficient than linear making
them ideal for low voltage high current applications.
Summary
 Three-terminal linear IC regulators are available for either fixed output
or variable output voltages of positive or negative polarities.
 The 78XX series are three-terminal IC regulators with fixed positive
output voltage.
 The 79XX series are three-terminal IC regulators with fixed negative
output voltage.
 The LM317 is a three-terminal IC regulator with a positive variable
output voltage.
 The LM337 is a three-terminal IC regulator with a negative variable
output voltage
 Both linear and switching type regulators are available in IC form.
 Current capacity of a voltage regulator can be increased with an
external pass transistor.
Key Formulas
Key Formulas
Exersices
1. The change in output voltage of a voltage regulator is
measured at 100μV when the input voltage changes by 5V.
Determine the value of line regulation for this regulator.
(Answer : 20 μV/V)
2. A Voltage regulator has a line regulator of 1.4 μV/V. Determine
the change in its output voltge of the input voltage changes by
10 V.
(Answer : 14 μV)
3. A certain regulator has a no load output voltage of 10V and a
full-load output voltage of 9.9V. The full-load current is 250mA.
Calculate the percent load regulation and express the load
regulation in %/mA.

(Answer : 1.01%, 0.00404%/mA )

Exercises
• Label the functional block for the voltage regulator
in figure below.

B : Control
Element
Control
VIN B
element
VOUT

A:
Reference Error Sample D : Sampling
Reference A C D
voltage detector circuit Circuit
Voltage
C : Error
Detector
Exercises
• Determine the output voltage for the regulator
shown below.

Control element
VIN VOUT

R1 Q1

+
VREF

– R2 33kΩ
Error detector
D1 Sample
2.4 V circuit
R3
10kΩ
 Exercises
• State TWO (2) categories for voltage regulator and
the purposes for each of them.

 Two basic categories of voltage regulation are:

line regulation and the purpose of line regulation is to
maintain a nearly constant output voltage when the input
voltage varies.
load regulation and the purpose of load regulation is to
maintain a nearly constant output voltage when the load
varies
Exercises
• The nominal output voltage of a regulator is 8 V.
The output changes 2 mV when the input voltage is
increased from 12 V to 18 V. Determine the line
regulation in both % and in %/V.

Answer: 0.033 %, 0.00417 %/V

Exercises
VIN VOUT

10kΩ R1 Q1

+
VREF

– R2 5.6kΩ
D1
2.4 V

R3
2.2kΩ

i. Determine the output voltage.

ii. Evaluate the output voltage if R3 is increased to 4.7 kΩ.
Discuss your answer.
iii. Calculate the output voltage if the zener voltage is 2.7V
instead of 2.4 V. Discuss your answer.