A PROJECT REPORT ON

ADJUSTABLE VOLTAGE POWER SUPPLY

USING LM317

Report submitted to the University of Kerala in partial fulfillment

of the requirement for the award of B.Sc. Degree in Physics

Submitted by
Name of the student Candidate code

1. ALEENA S 230-18113023
2. MUHAMMED SAHAD A 230-18113028
3. BHEEM AMJITH A S 230-18113006
4. SHANIMA S 230-18113019

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

IQBAL COLLEGE
PERINGAMMALA

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695501
 DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
IQBAL COLLEGE, PERINGAMMALA

CERTIFICATE

Certified that the project entitled “ADJUSTABLE VOLTAGE

POWER SUPPLY USING LM317” is an authentic record of the work carried

out by ... BHEEM AMJITH A S ……Reg. No. … 230-18113006 ... in

partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of B.Sc. Degree in Physics

from Kerala University.

Kiran C G Sree Roop S S

Assistant Professor Head of Dept. of Physics

Dept. of Physics Iqbal College,

Peringammala Iqbal College, Peringammala

Examiners

1. 2.
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this project is a genuine record of original work

carried out by me under the supervision and guidance of Mr. KIRAN C. G,

Assistant professor, Department of Physics, Iqbal college, Peringammala,

Thiruvananthapuram in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of

BSc. Degree in Physics from Kerala University.

BHEEM AMJITH A S

Peringammala

Date:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is with special thanks we express our deep gratitude to the persons

who have helped us in completing this project report.

We express our sincere thanks to Sri. Sree Roop S S, Head of the

department of Physics, for his help and support which proved to be invaluable

all throughout the course of study. It is a matter of great pleasure to express our

deep gratitude to Sri. Kiran. C. G, Assistant Professor of physics, for his

valuable guidance and supervision of this academic venture.

We also thank the respondents for giving us valuable information.

BHEEM AMJITH A S
 CONTENTS
Page. No.

1. ABOUT THE PROJECT 1

2. INTRODUCTION 2

3. VOLTAGE REGULATORS 3

4. INTEGRATED CIRCUIT 9

5. LM317 19

6. ADJUSTABLE VOLTAGE POWER SUPPLY USING LM317 28

7. CONCLUSION 30

8. BIBILIOGRAPHY 31
 ABOUT THE PROJECT

ADJUSTABLE VOLTAGE POWER SUPPLY

USING LM317T

The power supply circuit described in this project uses a three terminal

adjustable positive voltage regulator named LM317 which is capable of

supplying more than 1.5 A over an output-voltage range of 1.25 V to 37 V. It

requires only two external resistors to set the output voltage. The device

features a typical line regulation of 0.01% and typical load regulation of 0.1%.

1
 INTRODUCTION

Power is the backbone of any electronic system and the power supply is

what feeds the system. Choosing the right supply can be the critical difference

between a device working at optimum levels and one that may deliver

inconsistent results.

Devices nowadays are all powered and run on batteries that supply a

specific voltage. Some devices require more voltage than others and thus

require a different type of battery. In order to prevent damage to the device

when using a battery with a higher voltage than is required to power the device,

a voltage regulator can be used in conjunction with the input voltage in order to

output a specific voltage that will make the device work. With the use of the

voltage regulator it is possible to use a battery with a higher voltage than is

necessary and essentially output a different voltage. The purpose of this project

is to design, build, and test the LM317 voltage regulator to output different

voltages

2
 VOLTAGE REGULATORS
A voltage regulator is one of the most widely used electronic circuitry

in any device. A regulated voltage is very important for the smooth functioning

of many digital electronic devices. Its main function is to keep the terminal

voltage of the dc supply constant even when

(i) Ac input to the transformer varies (Line Variation)

(ii) The load varies (Load Variation)

In an unregulated power supply, output voltage changes whenever the

input supply voltage or load resistance changes. It is never constant. The

change in voltage from no load to full load condition is called voltage

regulation. The aim of a voltage regulator circuit is to reduce these variations to

zero or, at least, to the minimum possible value.

Voltage regulators are of different types:

A common type of classification is 3 terminal voltage regulator and 5 or multi

terminal voltage regulator. Another popular way of classifying IC voltage

regulators is by identifying them as linear voltage regulator & switching

voltage regulator. There is a third set of classification as,

1) Fixed voltage regulators (Positive & negative)

2) Adjustable voltage regulators (positive & negative) and finally

3) Switching regulators.

3
Electronic Voltage Regulator

All electronic voltage regulators will have a stable voltage reference

source which is provided by the reverse breakdown voltage of operating diode

called zener diode. The main reason to use a voltage regulator is to maintain a

constant dc output voltage. It also blocks the ac ripple voltage that cannot be

blocked by the filter. A good voltage regulator may also include additional

circuits for protection like short circuits, current limiting circuit, thermal

shutdown, and over voltage protection.

Zener diode shunt regulator

A zener diode, when working in the breakdown region, can serve

as a voltage regulator. A sample shunt voltage regulating system using a

zener diode is shown in the figure.

4
 The input voltage Vin, in fact, is the unregulated output of a rectifier.

This sample regulator restricts output voltage variations within reasonable

limits around Vz in the face of changing load current or hanging input voltage.

Obviously, the Zener diode will regulate so long as it is kept in reverse

conduction.

Transistor series voltage regulator

In this set up, transistor behaves like a variable resistor whose resistance

is determined by the base current. It is also called pass transistor because the

entire load current must pass through it.

Considering the polarities, they are related by the equation,

VL + VBE – VZ = 0 (Kirchhoff voltage law)

Therefore, VBE = VZ - VL

5
 When current demand increases by decreasing RL, VL tends to decrease.

As seen from the above equation, it will increase V BE because, VZ is fixed. This

will increase forward bias of the transistor thereby increasing its level of

conduction. This will lead to the decrease in collector emitter resistance of the

transistor which will slightly increase the input current to compensate for the

decrease in RL so that, VL (= ILRL) will remain at constant value.

Transistor Shunt Voltage Regulator

It employs the transistor in shunt configuration as shown in figure:

Since path AB is in parallel across VL,

VL - VZ - VBE = 0 - Kirchhoff ‘s Voltage Law

Since VZ is fixed, any decrease or increase in VL will have a

corresponding effect on VBE. Suppose VL decrease, then as seen from the above

relation VBE also decrease. As a result, IB decreases, hence IC (= βIB) decreases,

6
thereby decreasing I and hence VR(=IR). Consequently, VL increases because at

all times

Vin = VR + VL or VL = Vin - VR

IC based voltage regulator

An IC voltage regulator is a T0-220 style package. Such devices are

popular because they require few or no external components and provide the

functions of passive elements, voltage reference and protection from over current

in one package.

Block Diagram of IC based Voltage Regulator

7
Different type of IC based voltage regulators are fixed voltage regulators and

adjustable voltage regulators.

Fixed Voltage Regulators

These regulators provide a constant output voltage. A fixed voltage

regulator can be a positive voltage regulator or a negative voltage regulator. A

positive voltage regulator provides with constant positive output voltage. All

those IC’s in the 78XX series are fixed positive voltage regulators.

A negative fixed voltage regulator is same as the positive fixed voltage

regulator in design, construction & operation. The only difference is in the

polarity of output voltages. These IC’s are designed to provide a negative

output voltage.

Adjustable Voltage Regulator

An adjustable voltage regulator is a kind of regulator whose regulated

output voltage can be varied over a range. There are two variations of the same;

known as positive adjustable voltage regulator and negative adjustable

regulator. LM317 is a classic example of positive adjustable voltage regulator,

whose. LM337 is an example of negative adjustable voltage regulator.

8
 INTEGRATED CIRCUIT

Electronic circuitry has undergone tremendous changes since the

invention of triode by Lee De Forest in 1907. With the invention of the

transistor in 1948 by W.H Brattain and I. Bardeen, the electronic circuits

became considerably reduced in size. Development of printed circuit boards

(PCBs) further reduced the size of electronic equipments by eliminating bulky

wiring and tie points.

In the early 1960s, a new field of microelectronics was born primarily to

meet the requirements of the military which wanted to reduce the size of its

electronic equipment to approximately one-tenth of its then existing volume.

This drive for extreme reduction in the size of electronic circuit has led to the

development of microelectronic circuit called integrated circuits (ICs) which

are also smaller that their actual construction is done by technicians using

microscopes.

An integrated circuit (IC) is just a packed circuit. An IC is a complete

electronic circuit in which both the active and passive components are

fabricated on an extremely tiny single chip of silicon.

ICs are produced by same process as are used for manufacturing

individual transistors and diodes etc. In such circuits, different components are

isolated from each other by isolation diffusion within the crystal chip and are

interconnected by an aluminum layer that serves as wires.

9
 J.S Kilby was the first to develop (in 1958) an integrated circuit – a

single monolithic silicon chip in which active and passive circuit elements were

fabricated by successive diffusions and depositions. He was soon followed by

Robert Noyce who successfully fabricated a complete IC including the

interconnections on single silicon.

Advantages of ICs

 Extremely small physical size

 Very low weight

 Reduced cost

 Extremely high reliability

 Suitability for small–signal operations

 Low power consumptions

 Easy replacement

According to the mode of operations, ICs are classified into

1. Digital

2. Linear

10
Digital IC

Digital ICs are complete functioning logic networks that are equivalent

of basic transistor logic circuits. They are used to form such circuits as gates,

counters, multiplexers, DE multiplexers, shift registers etc. Since a digital IC is

a complete predesigned package, it usually requires nothing more than a power

supply input and output.

Digital circuits are primarily concerned with only two levels of voltage

(or circuit): “high” and “low”. There for accurate control of operating region

characteristics is not required in digital circuits, unlike in linear circuits. For

this reason, digital circuits are easy to design and are produced in large

quantities as low cost devices.

Examples of Digital ICs are:

1. BEL CA -3020

2. BEL-CA-3065

3. SSD 710

Linear IC
Linear ICs are equivalent of discrete transistor network, such as

amplifier, filters, frequency multiplayer and modulators that often require

additional external components for satisfactory operation. In linear circuits the

output of electrical signals varies in proportion to the input signal applied or the

physical quantities (parameters) they represent. Since the electrical signals are

11
analogous

12
to the physical quantities, linear circuits are also referred to as analog circuits.

Of all presently available linear ICs the majority are operational amplifier

(OPAMPs).

A wide variety of special purpose linear ICs available for uses in

comparators, voltage regulators, digital- interface circuits and in radio-

frequency and power amplifiers.

Types of IC
ICs may be classified as either monolithic or hybrid. Most linear ICs are

processed by the monolithic in that all transistors and passive elements (resistor

& capacitor) are fabricated on a single piece of semiconductor material usually

Silicon. Monolithic is a Greek based word meaning “one stone”.

In monolithic ICs all components (active & passive) are formed

simultaneously by a diffusion process. Then a metallization process is used in

interconnecting these components in monolithic ICs can be achieved by any

one of three isolation technique: dielectric, beam load or PN junction.

However, the PN junction isolation is most economical and is there for

commonly used. The monolithic process makes low cost mass production of

ICs possible. Also, monolithic ICs exhibit good thermal stability because; all

the components are integrated on the same chip very close to each other.

However, the large values of resistance & capacitance that required in

some linear circuits cannot be formed using monolithic process. Moreover,

there

13
is no method available to fabricate transformers or to form large values of

inductors in IC form.

In hybrid ICs passive components and the interconnection between them

are formed on an insulating substrate. The substrate is used as a chassis for the

integrated components. Active components such as transistors & diodes as well

as a monolithic ICs, are then connected to form a complete circuit. For this

reason, low –volume production methods are best suited to hybrid IC technology.

Hybrid ICs are further classified as thin film or thick film depending on

the method used to form the resistors, capacitors, and related interconnections

on the substrate. When a suitable material is evaporated on a substrate in

forming resistors, capacitors and interconnections, in a thin film hybrid IC the

resistors, capacitors and interconnections are etched on the substrate by silk

screening.

Scale of Integration

Level of integration in ICs has been increasing ever since they were

developed some two and a half decades back. The number of electronic circuits

or components that can be fitted into a sauntered size IC has been dramatically

increasing with each passing year. In fact, whole electronic systems rather than

just a circuit are incorporated in one package.

An approximate method of classifying the amount of circuit or

components density is as follows:

14
1. SSI - Small Scale Integration

In this case, the number or circuits contained in one IC package is less than

30(or number of components is less than 50)

2. MSI - Medium Scale Integration

Here, number of circuits per package is between 30 and 100(or number

of components is between 50 and 500).

3. LSI - Large Scale Integration

In this case, circuit density is between 100 and 100,000 (or components

density is between 500 and 300,000).

4. VLSI - Very Large Scale Integration

VLSI is a major electronic system constructed on a single wafer of silicon

containing circuits in excess of 100,000.

In summary,

SSI <30

MSI 30-100

LSI 100-100,000

VLSI > 100,000

15
Integrated circuit package types

There are three basic types of linear packages:

1. The flat pack

2. The metal com or transistor pack

3. The dual in line package (for short, DIP)

In the flat pack, the chip is enclosed in a rectangular uremic case with

terminal leads extending through the sides. The flat pack comes with 8, 10, 14,

or 16 leads. These leads accumulate the power supplies, inputs, outputs and

several special connections required to complete the circuit.

In the metal com or transistor pack, the chip is encapsulated in a metal

or plastic case. The transistor pack is available with 3, 5,8,10 or 12 pins. Most

of the voltage regulator ICs such as the LM117 has three pins. Power op-amps

and audio power amplifier are usually available in 5 pin packages. The metal

can package is best suited for power amplifier because metal is a good heat

conductor and consequently has better dissipation capability than the flat pack

or dual –in- line package. In addition, the metal van package permits the use of

external heat sinks. Most of the general purpose op-amps come in 8, 10 or 12

pin packages.

In the dual line package (DIP), the chip is mounted inside a plastic or

ceramic case. The DIP is most widely used package type because it can be

mounted easily. The 8 pin dual in line packages are available with 12, 14, 16

and
16
20 pins. In general, as the density of components integral on the same chip

increases, the number of pins also goes up. This is especially true in digital ICs.

Temperature Ranges

All ICs manufactured fall into one of the three basic temperature grades,

1. Military temperature range : -55 to +125

2. Industrial temperature range : -20 to +85

3. Commercial temperature : 0 to +70

The military and commercial grade ICs differ in specifications for

supply voltages, input current and voltage offset and drifts, voltages gains and

others. The military grade devices are almost always of superior quality, with

tightly controlled parameters and consequently cost more. Commercial grade

ICs have the worst tolerances among the three types but are the cheapest. In

short, performance and cost are the important factors in selecting an IC.

Manufactures Designations for ICs

Each manufactures uses a specific code and assigns a specific type

number to the ICs it produces. Initials use by some of the well-known

manufactures of linear ICs is as follows.

17
Fairchild - µA, µAF

National semiconductor - LM, LH, LF,

TBA Motorola - MC, MFC

RCA - CA, CD

Texas instruments - SN

Sprague - ULN, ULS, ULX

Intersil - ICL, IH

Siliconix, Inc - L

Singnetics - N/S, NE/SE, SU

Burr-Brown - BB

The initials used by manufactures in designing digital ICs may differ

from those used for linear ICs. For example, DM and CD are the initials used

for digital monolithic and CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor)

digital ICs respectively, by National semiconductor.

In addition to producing their own ICs, a number of manufactures also

produce one another’s popular ICs, in second-sourcing such ICs, the

manufactures usually retain the original type number of the IC in their own IC

designation, as follows:

18
National semiconductor - LM741

Motorola - MC1741

RCA - CA3741

Texas Instruments - SN5274

19
 LM317

General Description

The LM317 device is an adjustable three-terminal positive-voltage

regulator capable of supplying more than 1.5 A over an output-voltage range of

1.25 V to 37 V. It requires only two external resistors to set the output voltage.

The device features a typical line regulation of 0.01% and typical load

regulation of 0.1%. It includes current limiting, thermal overload protection,

and safe operating area protection. Overload protection remains functional even

if the ADJUST terminal is disconnected.

Features of LM 317

1. Adjustable 3-terminal positive voltage regulator.

2. Output voltage can be set to range from 1.25 V to 37V.

3. Output current greater than 1.5 A.

4. Maximum input to output voltage difference is 40V.

5. Operating virtual junction temperature is 125°C

6. Available in TO-220, SOT223, TO263.

7. Internal short-circuit current limiting

8. Thermal overload protection

9. Output safe-area compensation

20
Standard Package Type

21
Pin Configuration and Functions

22
Electrical Characteristics

23
24
Load Regulation

The LM317 is capable of providing extremely good load regulation, but

a few precautions are needed to obtain maximum performance. For best

performance, the programming resistor (R1) should be connected as close to the

regulator as possible to minimize line drops which effectively appear in series

with the reference, thereby degrading regulation. The ground end of R 2 can be

returned near the load ground to provide remote ground sensing and improve

load regulation.

External Capacitors

A 0.1 F disc or 1.0 F tantalum input bypass capacitor (Cin) is

recommended to reduce the sensitivity to input line impedance. The adjustment

terminal may be bypassed to ground to improve ripple rejection. This capacitor

(CAdj) prevents ripple from being amplified as the output voltage is increased.

A 10 F capacitor should improve ripple rejection about 15 dB at 120 Hz in a 10

V application. Although the LM317 is stable with no output capacitance, like

any feedback circuit, certain values of external capacitance can cause excessive

ringing. An output capacitance (CO) in the form of a 1.0 F tantalum or 25 F

aluminum electrolytic capacitor on the output swamps this effect and insures

stability.

25
Typical Positive Voltage Regulator Circuit Using LM317

LM317

RH

C1
Vin C2 Vout

RL

A classic voltage regulator circuit using LM317 is shown in figure. The

three terminals are input pin, output pin and adjustment pin. Input voltage is fed

to the pin3(Vin) of the IC and regulated output voltage is available from pin

2(Vout) of the IC. The circuit consist of a low -side resistor and high-side

resistor connected in series forming a resistive voltage divider which is a

passive linear circuit used to produce an output voltage which is a fraction of

its input voltage. Decoupling capacitors are used for decoupling or to prevent

undesired coupling of one part of an electrical circuit from another part. To

avoid the effect of noise caused by some circuit elements over the remaining

elements of the circuit, the decoupling capacitors in the circuit are used for

addressing the input noise and output transients. A heat sink is used with the

circuit to avoid the components getting over heated due to more power

dissipation.

26
Typical Applications of LM317

• DVR and DVS

• Desktop PCs

• Digital signage and still cameras

• ECG electrocardiograms

• EV HEV chargers: levels 1, 2, and 3

• Electronic shelf labels

• Ethernet switches

• Fingerprint and iris biometrics

• HVAC: heating, ventilating, and air conditioning

• High-speed data acquisition and generation

• IP phones: wired and wireless

• Intelligent occupancy sensing

• Point-to-point microwave backhauls

• Power bank solutions

• Power line communication modems

• Power over Ethernet (PoE)

• Power quality meters

• Power substation controls

• Programmable logic controllers

• Signal or waveform generators

27
Comparative Study with The Other Ic Voltage Regulators.

Output
Part Number Suffix Package
Current

LM117,LM317 K TO-3 1.5A

LM317A,LM317 T TO-220 1.5A

LM317 S TO-263 1.5A

LM317A,LM317 EMP SOT-223 1.0A

LM117, LM317A, LM317 H TO-39 0.5A

LM117 E LCC 0.5A

LM317A, LM317 MDT TO-252 0.5A

LM317 L TO-92 0.10A

LM150 K TO-90 3A

LM350 T TO-220 3A

LM138 K TO-3 5A

LM338 K TO-3 5A

28
ADJUSTABLE VOLTAGE POWER SUPPLY
USING LM317
Circuit Diagram

Parts List
Label Description
U1 LM317 Adjustable regulator
T1 240V/12V 1A, transformer
D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, D6 IN4007 Diodes
R1 220 Ohm
R2 1K Ohm
R3 5K Potentiometer
C2, C4 1000µF Electrolytic capacitor
C1, C5 100nF Electrolytic capacitor
C3 10µF Electrolytic capacitor
LED 3mm Red

29
 WORKING

This circuit has an inbuilt bridge rectifier using four IN 4007 diodes, so

we can directly provide 220V / 110V AC supply at the input of the LM317

circuit. The circuit converts 230V / 110V AC to 0V – 12V DC. The step-down

transformer reduces the voltage from 220V /110V AC to 15V AC. The

inbuilt bridge rectifier converts 15V AC to 15V DC. To get the maximum

12volt DC at the output, 15volt DC is required at the input of the LM317 IC.

The output voltage can be adjusted by the potentiometer. The maximum

current limit for this circuit is 1.5Amps and the maximum output voltage is 12V

DC. The input voltage will be always greater than the output voltage, as the

LM317 is a linear voltage regulator.

30
 CONCLUSION

The LM317 voltage regulator is designed to scale an input voltage so

that the output can be properly adjusted for the load circuit. It is a reliable

voltage regulator for obtaining the exact voltage output one needs. The circuit

we built has an inbuilt bridge rectifier, so we can directly supply 220V or 110V

AC supply at the input of the LM317 circuit. The circuit converts 230V / 110V

AC to 0v – 12v DC. In conclusion, our results were accurate enough to use this

circuit as an adjustable voltage power supply for different electronics projects.

31
 BIBILIOGRAPHY

1. Principle of Electronics

- V.K.Mehta

2. Electronic Devices Application and integrated circuits

- Mathur kulushreshta chadha

3. Operational Amplifier & Linear integral circuits

- Ramakant.A.Gayakwad

4. Basic Electronics

- B.L. Theraja

5. The websites:

https://www.ti.com/ - Texas Instruments

https://easyelectronicsproject.com/ - Electronic Projects

32