Homework Assignment 03

Problem 1 A full-wave, 4-diode bridge rectifier circuit with a 1 kΩ load operates from a 120-V
(rms) 60-Hz household supply through a 10-to-1 step-down transformer. It uses silicon diodes
that one can model to have a 0.7-V drop for any current. (a) What is the peak voltage of the
rectified output? (3 points) (b) For what fraction of the time does the diode conduct? (5 points)

Solution

Part (a)

The peak voltage after the 10-to-1 step down is 𝑉𝑃 = (12)�√2� = 16.97 V so the peak voltage
of the rectified output is this, minus two diode drops, or

𝑉𝑃(𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑) = 16.97 − 1.4 = 15.57 V

Part (b)

Since the rectified wave is periodic, we need to consider only one cycle of the rectified wave.
Conduction starts when the output voltage from the transformer (i.e., 16.97 sin(𝜔𝑡) equals two
diode drops. In other words, when 16.97 sin(𝜔𝑡) = 1.4. Solving yields 𝜃 = 𝜔𝑡 =
0.083 radian. The rectified half- cycle represents 𝜋 radians, so conduction starts (0.083⁄𝜋) ×
100 = 2.63% into the half-cycle. By symmetry, conduction stops at 100 − 2.63 = 97.37% of
the half-cycle, and the diodes conduct 100 − 2 × 2.63 = 94.7% of the time.

Question 2 The output voltage of a three-terminal voltage regulator is 5 V @ 5 mA load, and

4.96 V @ 1.5 A load. What is the regulator’s output resistance? (2 points)

(a) ≈ 27 mΩ
(b) ≈ 1K
(c) ≈ 3.3 Ω

Solution 𝑅 = Δ𝑉⁄Δ𝐼 = 0.04⁄1.495 = 27 mΩ, so (a)

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Question 3 Below is the schematic of a circuit that use a 5 V, three-terminal regulator to
generate some higher regulated output voltage. The data sheet for the LM7805 indicate that the
quiescent bias current, 𝐼𝑄 , is less than 8 mA. Design, by specifying values for 𝑅1 and 𝑅2 , a 12 V
regulator. Given that 𝐼𝑄 could be less that 8 mA, what is the minimum value for 𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 ?
(10 points)

Solution

The regulator maintains a constant 5 V across 𝑅1 so that the current flowing through 𝑅1 is
𝐼𝑅1 = 5⁄𝑅1 . The current flowing through 𝑅2 is then 𝐼𝑄 + 𝐼𝑅1 . The output voltage is

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𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 5 + �𝐼𝑄 + 𝐼𝑅1 �𝑅2 = 5 + 𝐼𝑄 𝑅2 + 𝑅
𝑅1 2
𝑅2
= �1 + � 5 + 𝐼𝑄 𝑅2
𝑅1

Choose 𝐼𝑅1 ≫ 𝐼𝑄(max) so that variations in 𝐼𝑄 are minimized. For example, choose 𝐼𝑅1 =
5𝐼𝑄(max) = 40 mA. Then, 𝑅1 = 5⁄(0.04) = 125 Ω. Choose 𝑅1 = 130 Ω, the nearest standard
value. Then

𝑅2
12 = �1 + � 5 + 0.008𝑅2
130
Solving for 𝑅2 yields 𝑅 = 150 Ω. These calculations assume 𝐼𝑄 = 8 mA, the maximum value.
If 𝐼𝑄 → 0 , then

𝑅2 150
𝑉𝑜𝑢𝑡 = �1 + � 5 = �1 + � 5 = 10.77 V
𝑅1 130

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Question 4 The datasheet for a 5 V, three-terminal regulator indicate that the output voltage
typically changes by 3 mV when the input voltage is varied from 7 V to 25 V, and by 5 mV
when the load current is varied from 0.25 A to 0.75 A. Further, the ripple rejection ratio is 78 dB
at 120 Hz. (8 points)

(a) Estimate the typical line- and load regulation for the regulator.
(b) What is the output resistance of the regulator?
(c) Estimate the output ripple amplitude for every volt of input ripple at 120 Hz.

Solution

Part(a)

Δ𝑉𝑂 3 × 10−3
Line Regulation = × 100% = × 100% = 0.017%
Δ𝑉𝐼 (25 − 7)

𝑉𝑂(𝑁𝐿) − 𝑉𝑂(𝐹𝐿) 5 × 10−3

Load Regulation = × 100 = × 100 = 0.1%
𝑉𝑂(𝑁𝐿) 5

Part (b)
Δ𝑉𝑂 5 × 10−3
𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = = = 10 mΩ
Δ𝐼𝑂 (0.75 − 0.25)

Part (c)

𝑉𝑅𝐼
Ripple Rejection (dB) = 20 log10 � � = 78
𝑉𝑅𝑂
𝑉𝑅𝑂 = (0.126 × 10−3 )𝑉𝑅𝐼

Thus, a 1-V, 120-Hz ripple at the input will result in an output ripple of 0.126 mV

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Question 5 Each of the circuits below has a serious flaw. Identify and briefly describe the
problem. (6 points)

(a)

(b)

(c)

Solution

(a) The 7915 cannot generate a negative voltage from a positive voltage. (b) There no smoothing
capacitor before the 7815 regulator. (c) The current-limiting resistor for the Zener diode is
missing.

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Problem 6 An engineer designs a power supply that consists of a transformer, a full-wave, 4-
diode bridge rectifier and a smoothing capacitor. She designed the supply to operate in the U.S.
where the power line (mains) frequency and voltage is 60 Hz and 120 V respectively. The ripple
voltage at full load is 20 mV. Estimate the ripple voltage when the unmodified supply is used in
regions of Japan where the corresponding values are 50 Hz and 100 V respectively. Assume that
the equivalent load resistance stays the same. (5 points)

Solution

The ripple voltage for a full-wave, 4-diode bridge rectifier is (see chapter 2 of 4th edition of
Neaman’s text book):

𝑉𝑀
𝑉𝑟 =
2𝑓𝑅𝐶

Here 𝑉𝑀 is the maximum (peak) voltage of the input sine wave, 𝑓 is the frequency, 𝐶 is the
capacitance of the smoothing capacitor, and 𝑅 is the load resistance. With new mains voltage
𝑉𝑀′ = (100⁄120)𝑉𝑀 and new mains frequency 𝑓 ′ = (50⁄60)𝑓, the new ripple voltage is

𝑉𝑀′ (100⁄120)𝑉𝑀 100 60 𝑉𝑀 𝑉𝑀

𝑉𝑟′ = ′ = =� �� � � �=� � = 20 mV
2𝑓 𝑅𝐶 2(50⁄60)𝑓𝑅𝐶 120 50 2𝑓𝑅𝐶 2𝑓𝑅𝐶

That is, the ripple voltage will not change.

Problem 7 An engineer designs a power supply that consists of a transformer, a full-wave, 4-

diode bridge rectifier and a smoothing capacitor. The nominal load current is 1.2 A. By what
percentage will the ripple voltage increase/decrease if the supply is used with an actual load of
1.5 A? Assume the transformer and rectifier diodes are capable of handling the increase in load
current. (5 points)

Solution

The ripple voltage for a full-wave rectifier is (see chapter 2 of 4th edition Neaman’s text book):

𝑉𝑀 1 𝑉𝑀
𝑉𝑟 = = � �
2𝑓𝑅𝐶 2𝑓𝐶 𝑅

The 𝑉𝑀 ⁄𝑅 term has units of current and represents the peak current though the load resistance 𝑅,
𝑓 is the input sine wave frequency, and 𝐶 is the capacitance of the smoothing capacitor.
Clearly, increasing the load from 1.2 A to 1.5 A (a 25 % increase) will increase the ripple
voltage by the same percentage, or 25 %.

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Problem 8 An engineer designs a power supply that consists of a transformer, a full-wave, 4-
diode bridge rectifier and a smoothing capacitor. The nominal load current is 1.2 A. By what
percentage will the ripple voltage increase/decrease if the supply is used with an actual load of
1.5 A? Assume the transformer and rectifier diodes are capable of handling the increase in load
current. (5 points)

Ignore, since this is the same as the previous problem.

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Question 9 The circuit below is from the datasheet for the LM117 adjustable linear regulator
under the heading “slow turn-on 15 V regulator”. The purpose of the BJT,𝐶1 , and 𝑅3 is to delay
turn on, and the purpose of 𝐷1 is to provide a discharge path for 𝐶1 when 𝑉𝑖𝑛 is removed. The
datasheet does not provide information on how to choose 𝑅3 and 𝐶1 to achieve a desired turn-on
delay.

Use SPICE to simulate the circuit and measure the time it takes to reach 90% of the final output
value. Try different values of 𝐶1 to establish an empirical relationship that one can use for
designing for specific turn-on delay. (20 points)

Solution

The schematic below is a screen capture of a Micro-Cap SPICE simulation for the circuit. In the
Transient Analysis menu, the stepping feature was used to change the 𝐶1 over a range 12.5 𝜇F to
50 𝜇F for a fixed 𝑅3 = 50K. Next, a simulation with 𝐶1 fixed at 𝐶1 = 25 𝜇F, while changing 𝑅3
from 25K to 100K was performed. The graphs on the next page summarizes the results

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One can use either case for designing. The simplest is to use a 50K resistor and then find a
corresponding capacitor. Say, for example we want a 2 s startup time. Then

𝑇90 = 5.2(𝑅𝐶)
2 = 5.2(𝑅𝐶)
𝑅𝐶 = 0.385 𝑠

Thus, the required 𝑅𝐶 time constant must be 0.382 s and with a 50K resistor the corresponding
capacitor is 7.7 𝜇F. When building the circuit one would use an 8.2 𝜇F capacitor.

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Question 10 In the circuit below an LM117 is used as a constant current source. (a) What is the
output current? (b) Estimate the output resistance of the current source. Hint: consult the
datasheet for the LM117 for its line- and load regulation. (10 points)

Part (a) The nominal output current is 𝑉𝑅𝐸𝐹 ⁄1.2 = 1 A.

Part (b) As the load changes, the circuit adjust the voltage across the load to keep the current
constant. The maximum voltage it can generate is 𝑣𝑖𝑛 − 𝑉𝐷𝑂 − 𝑉𝑅𝐸𝐹 = 20 − 2 − 1.2 = 16.8 V
and this compliance voltage.

Part (c) From the data sheet, the worst-case line regulation is 0.07%⁄V. This means that for
every volt the regulator adjusts to keep the current constant, the voltage across 𝑅1 (= 𝑉𝑅𝐸𝐹 )
changes by 0.07% or 0.84 mV. This in turn means for every volt the regulator adjusts, the
constant current changes by 0.84 mV⁄𝑅1 = 0.7 mA. Thus, the output resistance of the current
source is 𝑅𝑜 = 1 V⁄(0.7 × 10−3 ) = 1.43 K.

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Question 11 The circuit below is from the datasheet for the LM117 adjustable linear regulator
under the heading “high gain amplifier”. Estimate the gain of the amplifier.

The LM117 and 2.4 Ω resistor form a constant current source that sources 𝐼𝑜 = 𝑉𝑅𝐸𝐹 ⁄2.4 and
taking 𝑉𝑅𝐸𝐹 = 1.2 V, this gives 𝐼𝑜 = 0.5 A. Next, estimate the output resistance of this current
source. From the data sheet, the worst-case line regulation is 0.07%⁄V. This means that for
every volt the regulator adjusts to keep the current constant, the voltage across 𝑅1 (= 𝑉𝑅𝐸𝐹 )
changes by 0.07% or 0.84 mV. This in turn means for every volt the regulator adjusts, the
constant current changes by 0.84 mV⁄𝑅2 = 0.35 mA. Thus, the output resistance of the current
source is 𝑅𝑜 = 1 V⁄(0.35 × 10−3 ) = 2.486 K.

The LM195 is a complete IC designed to emulate a super-reliable power transistor, but for our
purposes we will assume the LM195 is an ordinary power transistor. With 𝐼𝑐 = 𝐼𝑜 = 0.5 A, the
transconductance is 𝑔𝑚 = 40𝐼𝑐 = 20 A⁄V, and 𝑟𝜋 = 𝛽 ⁄𝑔𝑚 = 100⁄20 = 50 Ω. A small-signal
analysis of the amplifier gives the gain as

𝑟𝜋 50
𝐴𝑉 = −𝑔𝑚 𝑅𝑜 = −(20)(2.486 × 103 ) = −247
𝑟𝜋 + 𝑅1 50 + 10 × 103

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Question 12 Specify values for the unknown resistors in the circuit below so that one can
achieve the following output voltages: 6 V, 9 V, 15 V, and 18 V. (8 points)

Solution

We will assume the BJTs saturation voltage is 0. Also, since there are 4 BJTs and 4 voltages we
need to generate, we will keep things simple and state that only one BJT will be on at any time.
Assuming 𝑉𝑅𝐸𝐹 = 1.2 V for the LM117, the output voltage is

𝑅
𝑉OUT = �1 + � 1.2 V
𝑅1

where 𝑅 = 𝑅2 ‖𝑅𝑣 and 𝑅𝑣 is the resistor required to achieve a certain voltage. Also, we will
pick 𝑅2 much larger than 𝑅𝑣 so that 𝑅 ≈ 𝑅𝑣 . We can rearrange the expression for 𝑉OUT to get

VOUT
𝑅𝑣 = (240) � − 1�
1.2
Substituting the 6 V, 9 V, 15 V, and 18 V into this expression gives the corresponding
resistors𝑅6 = 960 Ω, 𝑅9 = 1.56K, 𝑅15 = 2.76K, and 𝑅18 = 3.36K. If we pick 𝑅2 = 390K, the
error in the output voltage is less than 1%. In practice the tolerances of the resistors, differences
between BJTs and the BJTs’ saturation voltages will have a much bigger effect.

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