Three Terminal Fixed Voltage Regulators

As the name suggests, three terminal voltage regulators have three terminals namely input which
is unregulated (Vin), regulated output (Vo) and common or a ground terminal. These regulators
do not require any feedback connections. Figure shows the basic the 3 terminal voltage regulator.

Block diagram of Basic Three Terminal IC Regulator

The figure shows the functional block diagram of basic three terminal IC regulator.

This is basically a series voltage regulator circuit. A part of output voltage is taken with the help
of potential divider formed by R1 and R2. This is compared with reference voltage, Vref
internally generated with the help of zener diode.
After comparison, a control signal is generated which is applied through protective circuit to the
series pass transistor working as control element. This element works as a variable resistance.
The control signal adjusts the control element in such a way that output voltage remains constant
Thermal shutdown means that the chip will automatically turn itself off if the internal
temperature exceeds, typically, 175°C. The current limiting circuit will protect the chip from
excessive load current. Because of the thermal shutdown and current limiting, the IC voltage
regulator chip is almost indestructible.
IC Series of Three Terminal Fixed Voltage Regulators
The popular IC series of three terminal regulators is μA78XX and μA79XX. The series μA
78XX is the series of three terminal positive voltage regulators while μA79XX is the series of
three terminal negative voltage regulators. The last two digits denoted as XX, indicate the output
voltage rating of the IC.

These ICs are provided with adequate heat sinking and can deliver output currents more than 1A.
These ICs do not require external components. These are provided with internal thermal
protection, overload and short circuit protection.
Typical Connection of IC 7805 Regulator
The Figure shows the typical connection of IC μA 7805 regulator. The maximum input voltage
which can be applied to IC 7805 is 35 V. The maximum dropout voltage is 2.5V. The output of
7805 regulator is 5 V fixed. Hence minimum input voltage required is 5 + 2.5 = 7.5. So input
range of IC 7805 regulator is 7.5 V to 35 V to get fixed 5 V as regulated output. This is indicated
in the Figure
Positive 5 V Power Supply using IC 7805
A 5V output voltage supply system using full wave bride rectifier, capacitor filter and IC
regulator 7805 is shown in the Figure. The a.c. line voltage is 230 V which is stepped down to 15
V using a transformer. A full wave rectifier along with the capacitor voltage provides the
unregulated voltage input to IC 7805 regulator. This input contains a.c. ripple of few volts. The
IC 7805 regulator provides the regulated output of 5V.

Applications of IC 78XX and 79XX

These ICs are regulator ICs and are basically used to provide constant d.c. voltages to various
components in complex electronic circuits. The IC 7805 is typically used to provide constant 5V
supply to the digital circuits.
VR = 5V for 7805 IC
Three Terminal Adjustable Regulator: LM 317
Besides fixed voltage regulators, IC voltage regulators are available which allow the adjustment
of the output voltage. The output voltage can be adjusted from 1.2 V to as high as 57 V with the
help of such regulators. In such regulator ICs the common terminal plays the role of control input
and hence called and ADJUSTMENT (ADJ) terminal. The LM317 series is the most commonly
used three terminal adjustable regulators. These devices are available in a variety of packages
which can be easily mounted and handled. The power rating of such regulators is 1.5 A. The
maximum input voltage of LM317 is 40V. The following table shows the various types of
adjustable regulators and the corresponding output voltage range and maximum output current
rating.
Connection Diagram of LM 317 Regulators
The typical connection diagram of LM 317 regulator is shown in the Figure.
Thus the output voltage is a function of R1 and R2. Keeping R1 fixed and varying R2, the
output voltage can be adjusted. The program resistor R1 is generally 240 W. Generally no
capacitors are required. But if LM 317 is located far from the power supply filter then the
capacitors C1 and C2 are required. The input capacitor C1 is generally 0.1 μF disc or 1 μF
tantalum while the output capacitor C2 is in the range of 1 to 1000 μF. To get high ripple
rejection, the capacitor C3 is used. To avoid the discharging of the capacitors through low
current points into the regulator, the protecting diodes are used. The diodes are necessary if
output voltage is higher than 25 V. The functional diagram of LM 317 along with the capacitors
and the protecting diodes is shown in the figure.
Limitations of Linear Voltage Regulators
The regulators discussed up till now are called as linear regulators because the series pass
transistor used in such regulators operates in the linear region. But such linear regulated power
supplies have following limitations:
1. The required input step down transformer is bulky and expensive.
2. Due to low line frequency (50 Hz), large values of filter capacitors are required.
3. The efficiency is very low.
4. Input must be greater than the output voltage.
5. As large is the difference between input and output voltage, more is the power dissipation in
the series pass transistor.
6. For higher input voltages, efficiency decreases.
7. The need for dual supply is not economical and feasible to achieve with the help of linear
regulators.
The switching regulators overcome all these limitations.