DC Power Supply and

Voltage Regulators
• Starting with an ac voltage, we obtain a steady dc voltage by rectifying
the ac voltage, then filtering to a dc evel, and, finally, regulating to
obtain a desired fixed dc voltage.
• Filtering is necessary because electronic circuits require a constant
source of dc voltage and current to provide power and biasing for
proper operation.
 DC POWER SUPPLY

A block diagram containing the parts of a typical power supply and the voltage at various points in the unit
• The ac voltage, typically 120 V rms (abroad) or 220 V rms (Philippines), is connected to
a transformer, which steps that ac voltage down to the level for the desired dc output.
• A diode rectifier then provides a fullwave rectified voltage, which is initially filtered by
a basic capacitor filter to produce a dc voltage. This resulting dc voltage usually has
some ripple or ac voltage variation.
• A regulator circuit can use this dc input to provide a dc voltage that not only has much
less ripple voltage, but also remains at the same dc value even if the input dc voltage
varies somewhat or the load connected to the output dc voltage changes. This voltage
regulation is usually obtained using one of a number of popular voltage regulator IC
units.
GENERAL FILTER CONSIDERATIONS
A rectifier circuit is necessary to convert a signal having zero average
value into one that has a nonzero average. The output resulting from a
rectifier is a pulsating dc voltage and not yet suitable as a battery
replacement. Such a voltage could be used in, say, a battery charger,
where the average dc voltage is large enough to provide a charging
current for the battery.
For dc supply voltages, such as those used in a radio, stereo system,
computer, and so on, the pulsating dc voltage from a rectifier is not
good enough. A filter circuit is necessary to provide a steadier dc
voltage. The small amount of fluctuation in the filter output voltage is
called ripple.
GENERAL FILTER CONSIDERATIONS
 Filter Voltage Regulation and Ripple
Voltage
The filtered output has a dc value and some ac variation (ripple). Although a battery
has essentially a constant or dc output voltage, the dc voltage derived from an ac
source signal by rectifying and filtering will have some ac variation (ripple). The
smaller the ac variation with respect to the dc level, the better is the filter circuit’s
operation.
 Ripple (r)
• Consider measuring the output voltage of a filter circuit using a dc
voltmeter and an ac (rms) voltmeter. The dc voltmeter will read only
the average or dc level of the output voltage. The ac (rms) meter will
read only the rms value of the ac component of the output voltage
(assuming the ac signal is coupled through a capacitor to block out
the dc level).
• Ripple is defined as:
 Voltage Regulation
• Another factor of importance in a power supply is the amount the dc
output voltage changes over a range of circuit operation.
• The voltage provided at the output under no-load condition (no
current drawn from the supply) is reduced when load current is drawn
from the supply (under load). The amount the dc voltage changes
between the no-load and load conditions is described by a factor
called voltage regulation.
 Voltage Regulation (VR)
• Voltage regulation is given by

• If the value of full-load voltage is the same as the no-load voltage, the
voltage regulation calculated is 0%, which is the best expected. This means
that the supply is a perfect voltage source for which the output voltage is
independent of the current drawn from the supply. The smaller the voltage
regulation, the better is the operation of the voltage supply circuit.
 CAPACITOR FILTER
Avery popular filter circuit is the capacitor-filter circuit.
A capacitor is connected at the rectifier output, and a dc voltage is
obtained across the capacitor.
CAPACITOR FILTER
 CAPACITOR FILTER
• Ripple Voltage, (rms)
• The filtered voltage, as shown in the
figure, shows the output waveform to
have a dc level Vdc and a ripple voltage
Vr(rms) as the capacitor charges and
discharges. The ripple voltage can be
calculated from:

Where:
 CAPACITOR FILTER
• DC Voltage,
• We can express the dc value of the waveform across the filter capacitor as,

Where:
is the peak rectifier voltage
is the load current
is the filter capacitor
 CAPACITOR FILTER
• Filter Capacitor Ripple (r)
• With Vdc approximately equal to Vm, we can obtain the expression for the
output waveform ripple of a full-wave rectifier and filter- capacitor circuit:

Where:
 CAPACITOR FILTER
• Other Formula

• For a full-wave rectifier with a capacitor-input filter, approximations for the peak-
to-peak ripple voltage, Vr(pp), and the dc value of the filter output voltage, VDC,
are given in the following equations. The variable Vp(rect) is the unfiltered peak
rectified voltage. Notice that if RL or C increases, the ripple voltage decreases and
the dc voltage increases.
Note: For a half-wave rectifier, the output frequency f is the same as the input frequency. For a full-wave rectifier, the output
frequency f is double the input frequency.
 Example(s)
• Using a dc and ac voltmeter to measure the output signal from a filter
circuit, we obtain readings of 25 V dc and 1.5 V rms. Calculate the
ripple of the filter output voltage.

Ans.
 Example(s)
• A dc voltage supply provides 60 V when the output is unloaded. When
connected to a load, the output drops to 56 V. Calculate the value of
voltage regulation.

Ans.
 Example(s)
• Calculate the percentage ripple of a half-wave rectified signal.

Ans.
 Example(s)
• Calculate the ripple voltage of a full-wave rectifier with a 100-mF filter
capacitor connected to a load drawing 50 mA.

Ans.
 Example(s)
• Calculate the filter dc voltage of a full-wave rectifier with a 100-mF
filter capacitor connected to a load drawing 50 mA if the peak
rectified voltage for a simple filter circuit is 30 V.

Ans.
 Example(s)
• Determine the ripple factor for the filtered bridge rectifier with a load
as indicated in the figure below.

Ans.
Bipolar Junction Transistor
(BJT)
• All of the complex electronic devices and systems today are an outgrowth of early
developments in semiconductor transistors. One of the two basic types of
transistors is the bipolar junction transistor (BJT). The BJT is used in two broad
areas—as a linear amplifier to boost or amplify an electrical signal and as an
electronic switch.
• The advantages of three-terminal solid-state device over the vacuum tube were
immediately obvious: It was smaller and lightweight; it had no heater
requirement or heater loss; it had a rugged construction; it was more efficient
since less power was absorbed by the device itself; it was instantly available for
use, requiring no warmup period; and lower operating voltages were possible.
• You will find that all amplifiers
(devices that increase the voltage, current,
or power level) have at least three
terminals, with one controlling the flow or
potential between the other two.
 Brief History
• During the period 1904 to 1947, the vacuum tube was the electronic device of
interest and development.
• In 1904, the vacuum tube was introduce by J. A. Fleming. Shortly thereafter, in
1906, Lee De Forest added a third element, called the control grid, to the vacuum
diode, resulting in the first amplifier, the triode.
• On December 23, 1947, Dr. S. William Shockley, Walter H. Brattain and John
Bardeen demonstrated the amplifying action of the first transistor at the Bell
Telephone Laboratories.
• Advantages over the tube:
• It was smaller and lightweight.
• It had no heater requirement or heater loss.
• It had a rugged construction.
• It was more efficient since less power was absorbed by the device itself.
• It was instantly available for use, requiring no warp-up period.
• Lower operating voltages were possible.
 Transistor Construction
• The transistor is a three-layer semiconductor device consisting of either two n-
and p-type layers of material or two p- and one n-type layers of material.
• The former is called npn transistor, and the latter is called is called pnp transistor.
• Both are shown in the figure below with the proper dc biasing.
 Emitter, Base, Collector
• Emitter layer – is heavily doped.
• Base and Collector – lightly doped.

• The outer layers have width much greater

than the sandwiched p- or n-type material.
• Outside width ratio to the center (150:1)
 Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)
• Term often applied to the three-terminal device.
• The term “bipolar” reflects the fact that holes and electrons
participate in the injection process into the oppositely polarized
material.
• If only one carrier is employed (electron on hole), it is considered a
unipolar device. The “Schottky Diode” is such a device.
 Transistor Operation
• The basic operation of pnp transistor is described using the figure below. The
operation of the npn transistor is exactly the same if the roles played by the
electron and hole are interchanged.
• In the figure shown, the pnp transistor has been
redrawn without the base-to-collector bias. Note
the similarities between this situation and that of
the forward-biased diode. The depletion region has
been reduced in width due to the applied bias,
resulting in a heavy flow of majority carriers from
the p- to the n-type material.
 Transistor Operation
• Let us now remove the base-to-emitter bias of the pnp transistor.
• Consider the similarities between this situation and that of the
reverse-biased diode. Recall that the flow of majority carriers is zero,
• resulting in only a minority-carrier flow, as indicated in figure below.
 Transistor Operation
• In summary,
One p–n junction of a transistor is reverse-biased, whereas the other
is forward-biased.
 Majority and minority carrier flow
(pnp transistor)
• If both biasing potentials have been applied to a pnp
transistor, the resulting majority- and minority carrier
flows will be as indicated in the figure.
• Since the sandwiched n-type material is very thin and
has a low conductivity, a very small number of carriers
will take this path of high resistance to the base
terminal.
• The magnitude of the base current is typically on the
order of microamperes, as compared to milliamperes for
the emitter and collector currents.
• The larger number of these majority carriers will diffuse
across the reverse-biased junction into the p-type
material connected to the collector terminal.
 Majority and minority carrier flow
(pnp transistor)
• The reason for the relative ease with which the majority
carriers can cross the reverse-biased junction is easily
understood if we consider that for the reverse-biased
diode the injected majority carriers will appear as
minority carriers in the n-type material.
• In other words, there has been an injection of minority
carriers into the n-type base region material. Combining
this with the fact that all the minority carriers in the
depletion region will cross the reverse-biased junction of
a diode accounts for the flow indicated in the figure.
 Majority and minority carrier flow
(pnp transistor)
• Applying Kirchhoff’s current law to the transistor:

• The emitter current is the sum of the collector and base

currents.
• The collector current, however, comprises two
components—the majority and the minority carriers.
The minority-current component is called the leakage
current (IC current with emitter terminal Open).
• The collector current, therefore:

For general-purpose transistors, IC is measured in milliamperes and ICO is measured in microamperes or

nanoamperes. ICO, like Is for a reverse-biased diode, is temperature sensitive and must be examined carefully
when applications of wide temperature ranges are considered.
 Transistor Configurations
• Configuration Types:
1) Common-Base Configuration
2) Common-Emitter Configuration
3) Common-Collector Configuration
 Common-Base Configuration
• The common-base terminology is derived from the fact that the base
is common to both the input and output sides of the configuration. In
addition, the base is usually the terminal closest to, or at, ground
potential.
 Common-Base Configuration
• All current directions will refer to
conventional (hole) flow rather than
electron flow. The result is that the
arrows in all electronic symbols have
a direction defined by this
convention.
• Recall that the arrow in the diode
symbol defined the direction of
conduction for conventional current.
• For the transistor: The arrow in the
graphic symbol defines the direction
of emitter current (conventional
flow) through the device.
Notation and symbols used with the common-base configuration:
(a) pnp transistor; (b) npn transistor.
 Common-Base Configuration
• To fully describe the behavior of a three-
terminal device such as the common-base
amplifiers requires two sets of
characteristics—one for the driving point or
input parameters and the other for the
output side.
• The input set for the common-base
amplifier as shown in the figure relates an
input current () to an input voltage () for
various levels of output voltage ().
 Common-Base Configuration
• The output set relates an output
current () to an output voltage () for
various levels of input current () as
shown in figure.
• The output or collector set of
characteristics has three basic regions
of interest, as indicated in figure: the
active, cutoff, and saturation regions.
Common-Base Configuration
 Active, Cut-off, Saturation Region
• Active Region
• The active region is the region normally employed for linear (undistorted) amplifiers.
• In particular: In the active region the base–emitter junction is forward-biased, whereas
the collector– base junction is reverse-biased.
• Cut-off Region
• As inferred by its name, the cutoff region is defined as that region where the collector
current is 0 A.
• In addition: In the cutoff region the base–emitter and collector–base junctions of a
transistor are both reverse-biased.
• Saturation Region
• The saturation region is defined as that region of the characteristics to the left of = 0 V. The
horizontal scale in this region was expanded to clearly show the dramatic change in
characteristics in this region. Note the exponential increase in collector current as the
voltage VCB increases toward 0 V.
• In the saturation region the base–emitter and collector–base junctions are
forward-biased.
 For DC Analysis
• Once a transistor is in the “on” state, the base-to-emitter voltage will be assumed
to be:

• The figure specify that with the transistor in the

“on” or active state the voltage from base to emitter
will be 0.7 V at any level of emitter current as
controlled by the external network.
 Example(s)
a) Using the characteristic figure,
determine the resulting collector
current if and
b) Using the characteristic figure,
determine the resulting collector
current if remains at 3 mA but is
reduced to 2 V.

Ans.
a)
b) (regardless of )
 Alpha ()
• DC mode
• In the dc mode the levels of and due to majority carriers are related a
quantity called alpha and defined by the equation:

Where and are the levels of current at the point of operation.

• Even though the characteristic curve would suggest that , for practical devices
alpha typically extends from 0.90 to 0.998.
• Since alpha is defined solely for the majority carriers, will be:
 Alpha ()
• AC mode
• For ac situations where the point of operation moves on the characteristic
curve, an ac alpha is defined by:

Where:

• The ac alpha is formally called the common-base, short-circuit, amplification

factor.
• For most situation the magnitudes of and are quite close, permitting the use of
the magnitude of one for the other.
 Biasing
• The proper biasing of the common-base configuration in the active region can be
determine quickly using the approximation and assuming for the moment that
 Breakdown Region
• As the applied voltage increases
there is a point where the curve
take a dramatic upswing as shown
in the figure.
• This is due primarily to an
avalanche effect when the reverse
bias voltage reaches the
breakdown region.
• The largest permissible base-to-
collector voltage is referred to as .
 COMMON-EMITTER
CONFIGURATION
• The most frequently encountered transistor configuration for the pnp
and npn transistors is the common-emitter configuration.
• It is called common-emitter configuration because the emitter is
common to both the input and output terminals (in this case common
to both the base and collector terminals).
 COMMON-EMITTER
CONFIGURATION

Notation and symbols used with the common-emitter configuration:

(a) npn transistor; (b) pnp transistor.
 COMMON-EMITTER
CONFIGURATION
• The emitter, collector, and base currents are shown in their actual conventional
current direction.
• Even though the transistor configuration has changed, the current relations
developed for the common-base configuration are still applicable.
That is, and
 Common-Emitter
(Characteristic Curves)
• For the common-emitter configuration
• The output characteristics are a plot of the output current () versus output
voltage () for a range of values of input current ().
• The input characteristics are a plot of the input current () versus the input
voltage () for a range of values of output voltage ().
 Common-Emitter
(Characteristic Curves)
 Common-Emitter
(Regions of Operation)
• The active region for the common-emitter configuration is that portion of the
upper-right quadrant that has the greatest linearity, that is, that region in which
the curves for are nearly straight and equally spaced. In the figure, this region
exists to the right of the vertical dashed line at and above the curve for equal to
zero.
• The region to the left of is called the saturation region.
• In the active region of a common-emitter amplifier, the base–emitter junction is
forward-biased, whereas the collector–base junction is reverse-biased.
• You will recall that these were the same conditions that existed in the active
region of the common-base configuration.
• The active region of the common-emitter configuration can be employed for
voltage, current, or power amplification.
 Common-Emitter
(Regions of Operation)
• The cutoff region for the common-emitter configuration is not as well defined as
for the common-base configuration.
• Note on the collector characteristics of the figure that is not equal to zero when is
zero.
• For the common-base configuration, when the input current was equal to zero,
the collector current was equal only to the reverse saturation current , so that the
curve = 0 and the voltage axis were, for all practical purposes, one.
• The collector current defined by the condition = 0 mA will be assigned the
notation indicated by the following equation:
Where:

• For linear (least distortion) amplification purposes, cutoff for the common-emitter configuration
will be defined by IC = ICEO.
Common-Emitter Characteristic Curve
 Transistor as a Switch
• A transistor will have a two points of operation of interest when
employed as a switch:
• one is the “cut-off” and the other is “saturation”.
• The cutoff condition should ideally be for a chosen voltage.
 Example(s)
• Using the characteristic curve of common-emitter configuration,
a) Determine at and
b) Determine at and .

Ans.
a)
b)
 Beta ()
• In the dc mode the levels of IC and IB are related by a quantity called beta and
defined by the following equation:

Where and are determined at a particular operating point on the characteristics.

• For practical devices the level of typically ranges from about 50 to over 400, with most in the
midrange.
• On specification sheets is usually included as with the italic letter derived from an ac hybrid
equivalent circuit. The subscript derived from forward-current amplification and common-
emitter configuration, respectively.
 Beta ()
• For ac situations, an ac beta is defined as follows:

Where:
• The formal name for is common-emitter, forward-current, amplification factor.
Since the collector current is usually the output current for a common-emitter
configuration and the base current is the input current, the term amplification is
included.
• On specification sheets is normally referred to as .
 Example(s)
• Using the characteristic curve, determine the and defined by an
operating point of and .

Ans.

Although not exactly equal, the level of and are usually reasonably close and are often used interchangeably. That is, if
is known, it is assumed to be about the same magnitude as , and vice versa.
 Relationship between and
• A relationship can be developed between and using the basic relationships
introduced thus far.
• Using , we have , and from we have .
 Biasing
• The proper biasing of a common-emitter amplifier can be determined in a
manner similar to that introduced for the common-base configuration.
• Let us assume that we are presented with an npn transistor and asked to apply
the proper biasing to place the device in the active region. (draw the diagram)
• The first step is to indicate the direction of as established by the arrow in the
transistor symbol. Next, the other currents may be defined using the Kirchhoff’s
law.
• The same approach can be applied to pnp transistors.
 Breakdown Region
• As with the common-base configuration,
there is a maximum collector-emitter voltage
that can be applied and still remain in the
active stable region of operation.
• In the figure shown, the graph is extended to
demonstrate the impact on the
characteristics at high levels of .
• At high levels of base current the current
almost climb vertically, whereas at lower
levels a region develops that seems to back
up on itself.
• This region is particularly noteworthy because
an increase in current is resulting in a drop in
voltage; which is totally different from that of
any resistive element.
• Region of this nature are said to have a
negative-resistance characteristic.
 Common-Collector Configuration
• The third and final transistor
configuration is the common-collector
configuration, shown in the figure with
proper current directions and voltage
notation.
• The common-collector configuration is
used primarily for impedance-matching
purposes since it has a high input
impedance and low output impedance,
opposite to that of the commonbase and
common-emitter configurations.

Notation and symbols used with the common-collectorconfiguration:

(a) pnp transistor; (b) npn transistor
 Common-Collector Configuration
• A common-collector circuit configuration is provided in the figure
with the load resistor connected from emitter to ground.
• Note that the collector is tied to ground even though the
transistor is connected in a manner similar to the common-
emitter configuration.
• For all practical purposes, the output characteristics of the
common-collector configuration are the same as for the common-
emitter configuration.
• For the common-collector configuration the output characteristics
are a plot of versus for a range of values of .
• The input current, therefore, is the same for both the common-
emitter and common-collector characteristics.
Common-collector
• The horizontal voltage axis for the common-collector used for impedance-matching.
configuration is obtained by simply changing the sign of the
collector-to-emitter voltage of the common-emitter
characteristics.
 LIMITS OF OPERATION
• For each transistor there is a region of operation on the
characteristics that will ensure that the maximum ratings are not
being exceeded and the output signal exhibits minimum distortion.
• The maximum dissipation level is defined by:
 Maximum Dissipation
• For the device of the example figure, the
collector power dissipation was specified as
300 mW.

• At
At any point on the characteristics, the
product of and must be equal to 300 mW. If
we choose to be the maximum value of 50
mA, then
 Maximum Dissipation
• At
If we now choose to be its maximum value of
20 V, then

• At
If we now choose a level of in the midrange
such as 25 mA, then the resulting is
 Maximum Dissipation
At a rough estimate of the actual curve can
usually be drawn using the three points
defined earlier.
Of course, the more the points the more
accurate is the curve.
 LIMITS OF OPERATION
• If the characteristic curve are unavailable or do not specification
sheet, one must simply be sure that , and their product fall into
these following range:

• For common-base configuration, maximum power is

 Example(s)
a) Determine the and the emitter current for a transistor where and
b) The maximum dissipation level is equal to 300 mW. If we choose to
be the maximum value of 50 mA, what is the voltage across
collector-emitter?

Ans.
a)
b)
 Example(s)
a) Given an of 0.998, determine IC if IE = 4 mA.
b) Determine if IE = 2.8 mA, IC = 2.75 mA and ICBO = 0.1 mA.

Ans.
a)
b) .946
 Example(s)
a) Given that = 0.980, determine the corresponding value of .
b) Given = 120, determine the corresponding value of .
c) Given that = 120 and = 2.0 mA, find and .

Ans.
a)
b)
c) and