Dr.

Meenakshi Rana
Semiconductor Devices, Analog and Digital Deptt- Physics
Electronics
UOU, Haldwani
BLOCK – I SEMICONDUCTOR DIODES, TRANSISTORS AND AMPLIFIERS

UNIT 3: Power Supply

Dr. Meenakshi Rana

Academic Consultant
Department of Physics
Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Content Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani
1.Objectives
2. Introduction
3. Types of power supply
1. Linear regulated power supply
2. Switched mode power supply (SMPS)
4. Linear regulated power supply
5. Advantages of Traditional Power supply
6. Defects in the Traditional Power Supplies
7. Advantages of SMPS over Linear Power Supplies
8. Switched Mode Power Supply (SMPS)
9.Types of SMPS
10. Working of SMPS
11. Applications of SMPS
12. Some Useful Links
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
Objectives
UOU, Haldwani

After studying this unit, you should be able to-

•Define power supply

•Understand different types of power supply
•Know linear regulated power supply
•Understand working, advantages of traditional Power supply
•Defects in the traditional power supplies
•Understand working advantages of SMPS over linear power supplies
•Get knowledge applications of SMPS
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
Introduction
UOU, Haldwani

•The electric power is not normally used in the form in which it is produced or distributed.
• Practically all electronic systems require some form of Power conversion.
•A device that transfers electric energy from a source to a load using electronic circuits is
referred to as power supply.
• A typical application of a power supply is to convert utility AC voltage into regulated
DC voltages required for electronic equipment.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
Categories of Power Supplies
UOU, Haldwani
There are two broad categories of power supplies:

• Linear regulated power supply

• switched mode power supply (SMPS)

In some cases one may use a combination of switched mode and linear power supplies to
gain some desired advantages of both the types.

Block diagram of power supply

Parts of power supply

 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
Power Supply
UOU, Haldwani

•The AC voltage 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 full-wave rectified voltage.
•This is initially filtered by a simple capacitor filter to produce a dc voltage.
•This resulting dc voltage usually has some ripple or ac voltage regulation.
• A regulator circuit can use this dc input to provide a dc voltage that not only has much
less ripple voltage but also remains 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 the voltage regulator IC units.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
Transformer
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Transformer convert Ac electricity from one voltage to another

with little loss of power.
• Transformers work only with AC & this is one of the reasons
why mains electricity is AC.

TYPES OF TRANSFORMER
• Step-up Transformer
• Step-down Transformer

•Step-up transformers increase voltage, step-down transformers reduce voltage.

•The input coil is called the primary & the output coil is called the secondary.
•There is no electrical connection between the two coils, instead they are linked by the
alternating magnetic field created in the soft iron core of the transformer.
•The two lines in the middle of the circuit symbol represent the core.
• Transformers waste very little power , so the power out is almost equal to the power in.
So, as voltage is stepped down current is stepped up.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
Transformer Only
UOU, Haldwani
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Rectifier Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

• In mains supplied electronic systems the AC input voltage must be converted into a DC
voltage with the right value & degree of stabilization.
• Rectifier does this work.
• In other words a rectifier circuit is necessary to convert a signal having zero average value
into one that has a nonzero average.

Types of rectifiers:
a. Half wave rectifier.
b. Full wave rectifier.

•Figure uses a center-tapped transformer with

two rectifier diodes.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

•Figure below uses a simple transformer & four rectifier diodes usually known as a bridge
rectifier.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
Smoothing/filter
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•We need a way to smooth out the pulsations& get a much cleaner dc power source for the load
circuit.
•This is done by a filter circuit.
• In power supply, a filter must remove or reduce the ac variations while still making
the desired dc available to the load circuitry.
• Any given filter involve capacitors, inductors,&/resistors in some combination.

Types of filters

• Capacitor Filter : Used to obtain essentially a dc voltage with some ripple.

• RC Filter : It is possible to reduce the amount of ripple across a filter capacitor by using an

additional RC filter .

• LC Filter : This reduces Hum & ripple (Used where noise should be reduced).
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Capacitor filter Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

• Smoothing is performed by a large value electrolytic capacitor connected across the DC

supply to act as a reservoir, supplying current to the output when the varying DC voltage
from the rectifier is falling.
• The diagram shows the unsmoothed varying DC (dotted line) & the smoothed DC (solid
line).
• The capacitor charges quickly near the peak of the varying DC, & then discharges as it
supplies current to the output.

Note: The smoothing significantly increases the average DC voltage to almost the Peak
value(1.4×RMS value).
Ex: A 6V RMS AC is rectified to Dc of about 4.6V RMS, with smoothing this increases to
almost giving 1.4×4.6=6.4V smooth DC.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

Smoothing is not perfect due to the capacitor falling a little as It discharges, giving a small
ripple voltage.
• For many circuits a ripple which is 10% of the supply voltage is satisfactory & the equation
below gives the required value of the smoothing capacitor.
C= 5×Io ÷ Vs × f
• A large capacitor will give less ripple.
• Capacitor value must be doubled when smoothing half-wave DC.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
RC filter
UOU, Haldwani

In order to reduce the ripple still more , we need to extend the filter a bit.

LC filter

RC filter reduces ripple voltage with lot of resistive losses, we can replace R with L as shown
below.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Regulator Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

• Regulator - eliminates ripple by setting DC output to a fixed voltage

• Voltage regulator IC’s are available with fixed (typically 5,12 &15V) or variable output
voltages.
• They are also rated by the maximum current they can pass.
• Negative voltage regulators are available, mainly for use in dual supplies.
• Many regulators include some automatic protection from excessive current (overload
protection) & overheating (thermal protection).
• Many of the fixed Voltage regulator IC’s have three leads & look like power transistors, such
as shown here.
•They include a hole for attaching a heat sink if necessary.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

The regulated DC output is very smooth with no ripple. It is suitable for all electronic
circuits.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Zener diode Regulators Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

• For low current power supplies a simple voltage regulator can

be made with a resistor & a zener diode connected in reverse as
shown in the diagram.
• Zener diodes are rated by their breakdown voltage Vz &
maximum power Pz.
• The resistor limits the current (like an LED resistor).
• The current through resistor is constant, so when there is no
output current all the current flows through zener diode & its
power rating must be large enough to withstand this.

Choosing a zener diode and resistor

• The zener voltage Vz is the output voltage required
• The input voltage Vs must be a few volts greater than Vz (this is to allow for small
fluctuations in Vs due to ripple)
• The maximum current Imax is the output current required plus 10%
• The zener power Pz is determined by the maximum current: Pz > Vz × Imax
• The resistor resistance: R = (Vs - Vz) / Imax
• The resistor power rating: P > (Vs - Vz) × Imax
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Dual supplies Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

•Some electronic circuits require a power supply with

positive & negative outputs as well zero volts(0V).
•This is called “dual supply” because it is like two ordinary
supplies connected together as shown in the figure.
• Dual supplies have three outputs +V, 0V, -V.

Negative voltage regulator

 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics

Advantages of Traditional Power Supply

UOU, Haldwani

• The linear regulator is the building block of nearly every power supply used in electronics.

• The IC linear regulator is so easy to use that it is virtually fool proof, & so inexpensive that it

is usually one of the cheapest components in an electronic assembly.

• Power supply discussed till now are also known as linear regulators and maintains desired

output voltage by dissipating excess power .

• Thus for proper operation of these supplies heat sinks are a must.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
Defects in the Traditional Power Supplies
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Efficiency is very low save 45% to 55% only,

 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
Defects in the Traditional Power Supplies
UOU, Haldwani
A large amount of energy is wasted.
1. Unstabilized D.C voltage / current should be greater than the stabilized voltage / current. So,
the energy loss is in the form of heat due to the power transistor, etc.
2. Energy loss in the form of heat etc. is in the main transformer.
a. Due to eddy current loss.
b. Copper loss.
• The size & weight of the transformer is also large for high current.
In transformer, number of turns is inversely proportional to frequency.
So less frequency means more turns & high frequency means less turns.
3. Very large value of capacitor is needed for reservoir for high current say 10,000
mfd to 50,000 mfd.
Similarly at low frequency, capacitor value will be increased( so size will increase). At
high frequency, capacitor value will decrease & hence size will also decrease.
• The low frequency ripple from the main is always difficult to remove completely,
even large capacitors are used.
• Get shock from the chassis if accidentally touch it.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

Answers to many of the problems for making high current, low

dissipation, light weight, less space and without low frequency ripple
is….

Switched Mode power Supply

 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Advantages of SMPS over Linear Power Supplies Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

1. Lower weight
2. Smaller size
3. Higher efficiency
4. Lower power dissipation
5. Wide ac input voltage range
6. Reduced costs

Disadvantages of SMPS:
1. Complexity of the circuit
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Switched Mode power Supply Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani SMPS

•The SMPS owes its name to dc-to-dc switching converter for conversion from unregulated dc
input to regulated dc output voltage.
• Typical frequency range of SMPS is from 50 kHz to several MHz.

Requirements of SMPS

• Less bulky transformers

• Less energy loss / Eddy currents
• Capacitors of small size
Switched-mode power supply
• The input supply drawn from ac mains is first rectified & filtered using a capacitor.
• The unregulated dc voltage across the capacitor is then fed to a high frequency dc- to dc
converter.
• Most of the dc-to-dc converters used in SMPS circuits have an intermediate high frequency ac
conversion stage to facilitate the use of a high frequency transformer for voltage scaling &
isolation.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
Block diagram of SMPS
UOU, Haldwani
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
DC to DC conversion in SMPS Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

• One method is to use a High frequency transformer for voltage scaling & isolation.
• Another popular method is to use simplified switching circuits that omits the transformer
action.
• In such SMPS, the unregulated input dc voltage is fed to a high frequency chopping circuit
which switches between “ON” & “OFF” states.

Types of SMPS

SMPS can be classified into four types according to the input & output wave forms as follows:
• AC in, DC out: rectifier, off-line converter input stage.
• DC in, DC out: Voltage converter or current converter, DC to DC converter.
• AC in, AC out: Frequency changer or cyclo converter.
• DC in, AC out: Inverter
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
AC in DC out (Ordinary SMPS) Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

This type of power supply previously used in TV receivers / instruments having used the
main at full voltage to provide a power for an oscillator / inverter whose output is in turn is
fed to high frequency transformer, then to rectifier, switcher, stabilizer and then to regulator.
The correct of the error signal and output signal is also done by negative feedback loop from
output to the input switch.

How an SMPS works

 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
View of SMPS
UOU, Haldwani
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Working of SMPS Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

Input Rectifier

• The first stage is to convert AC input to DC output (Rectification).

• The rectifier produces an unregulated DC voltage which is sent to a large filter capacitor.
• The current drawn from the mains supply by this rectifier circuit occurs in short pulses around
the AC voltage peaks.
•These pulses have significant high frequency energy which reduces the power factor.
• Special control techniques can be employed by the following SMPS to force the average input
current to follow the sinusoidal shape of the AC input voltage thus the designer should try
correcting the power factor.
Inverter

This converts DC, Whether directly from the input or from the rectifier, to AC by running
it through a power oscillator,whose output transformer is very small
with few windings at a frequency of tens or hundreds of kHz.
• The frequency is usually chosen to be above 20 kHZ, to make it inaudible to
humans.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani

Output transformer

• If the output is required to be isolated from input, (as is usually the case in mains power
supplies) the inverted AC is used to drive the primary winding of a high frequency
transformer.
•This converts the voltage up or down to the required output level on its secondary winding.
Output rectifier & filter

• If a DC output is required, the AC output from the transformer is rectified.

• For output voltages above ten volts or so, ordinary silicon diodes are commonly used.
• For lower voltages Schottky diodes are commonly used as rectifier elements (they have
faster times than silicon diodes, thus allowing low-loss operation at higher frequencies).
• For even lower output voltages, MOSFETs may be used as synchronous rectifiers.
• The rectified output is then smoothed by a filter consisting of inductors & capacitors.
• For higher switching frequencies, components with lower capacitance & inductance are
needed.
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics
Applications of SMPS
UOU, Haldwani

• 1. Machine tool industries

• 2. Security Systems
• (Closed circuit cameras)
• 3. Support supplies with PLC’s
• 4. Personal Computers
• 5. Mobile Phone chargers
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani
Some useful links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf3LnLNl_eo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hARkxPid54o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaUMBKjkOjg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJJU4Zars3g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj2uoTztDl8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qoyjp_8TcY
 Dr. Meenakshi Rana
Deptt- Physics

UOU, Haldwani