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VoltageComparatorInformationAndCircuits
Thispageprovidesbasicinformationaboutvoltagecomparatorintegratedcircuitsandistoactasreference
materialforothercircuits.ThecircuitsshownarebasedontheLM339QuadVoltageComparatorchiporthe
LM393DualVoltageComparatorchip.Thesedevicesarefunctionallythesame.TheLM311Voltage
Comparatorcanbeusedfortheseapplicationsaswellbutitalsohasanumberofuniquefeatures.

VoltageComparatorOpenCollectorOutputs
Theoutputsofvoltagecomparatorsareopencollectoroutputs.
Opencollectortypeoutputscanonlysinkcurrent.Thismeansthatthereisnotrueoutputfromacollector
butaratheracurrentorvoltagemustbesuppliedtotheoutputterminalfromasourceelsewhereinthelarger
circuit.
Insomecircuitsapullupresistorisusedattheoutputofacomparatortoprovideanoutputvoltagesignalto
theinputofanotherdevice.
NOTE:OperationalAmplifiers(OPAMPS)suchasLM324,LM358andLM741arenotnormallyused
voltagecomparatorcircuitsduetotheirbipolaroutputs.However,OPAMPScanbeusedasvoltage
comparatorsifadiodeortransistorisaddedtotheamplifiersoutputtocreateandopencollectortypeoutput.
Adiagramshowingthisadditionisfurtherdownthispage.

InputsVs.OutputRules

1. CurrentWILLflowthroughtheopencollectorwhenthevoltageatthePLUSinputislowerthanthe
voltageattheMINUSinput.
2. CurrentWILLNOTflowthroughtheopencollectorwhenthevoltageatthePLUSinputishigherthan
thevoltageattheMINUSinput.

PinDiagramForAnLM339

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PrintthediagraminthecentreofasheetofpaperandthendrawacircuitusingtheICspinlocations.

PinDiagramForAnLM393

PrintthediagraminthecentreofasheetofpaperandthendrawacircuitusingtheICspinlocations.

PinDiagramForAnLM311

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PrintthediagraminthecentreofasheetofpaperandthendrawacircuitusingtheICspinlocations.

ComparatorEquivalentCircuits
ForSinglePowerSupplies

Anintegratedcircuit"VoltageComparator"isequivalenttoanOperationalAmplifier,SuchastheLM358or
LM324,withtwoNPNtransistorsaddedtotheoutputofeachamplifier.(Refertotheaboveschematic.)This
arrangementproducesan"OpenCollector"outputforeachofthefourcomparatorsinanLM339chip.Each
outputcansink15Milliampsandcanwithstandvoltagesofupto50Volts.
TheoutputisswitchedONorOFFdependingontherelativevoltagesatthePLUSandMINUSinputsofthe
comparator,seetherulesbelow.Theinputsarequitesensitiveandadifferenceofonlyafewmillivolts
betweenthemwillcausetheoutputtoturnonoroff.
TheLM339,LM393andLM311comparatorchipscanoperatefromasingleordualpowersupplyofupto
32voltsmaximum.
WhenoperatedfromDualorSplitpowersuppliesthebasicoperationofcomparatorchipsisunchanged
exceptthatformostdevicestheemitteroftheoutputtransistorisconnectedtothenegativesupplyrailandnot
thecircuitcommon.AnexceptiontothisistheLM311whichhasaseparateemitterterminalthatcanbe
connectedtoeithertheminusorneutralofthesupply.

DualSupplyComparatorEquivalentschematic

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WhenoperatedfromDualorSplitpowersuppliestheinputvoltagescanbeaboveorbelowthecommonor
zerovoltageofthesupply.Also,oneofthecomparator'sinputscanbeconnectedtothecommonsothata
'ZeroCrossing'detectoriscreated.

ComparatorOperation
Thefollowingdrawingshowthetwosimplestconfigurationsforvoltagecomparators.Thediagramsbelow
thecircuitsgivetheoutputresultsinagraphicalform.
ForthesecircuitstheREFERENCEvoltageisfixedatonehalfofthesupplyvoltagewhiletheINPUT
voltageisvariablefromzerotothesupplyvoltage.
IntheorytheREFERENCEandINPUTvoltagescanbeanywherebetweenzeroandthesupplyvoltagebut
therearepracticallimitationsontheactualrangedependingontheparticulardeviceused.

InputVs.OutputResults
1. CurrentWILLflowthroughtheopencollectorwhenthevoltageatthePLUSinputislowerthanthe
voltageattheMINUSinput.
2. CurrentWILLNOTflowthroughtheopencollectorwhenthevoltageatthePLUSinputishigherthan
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thevoltageattheMINUSinput.

InputOffsetVoltage
Voltagecomparatorsarenotperfectdevicesandtheirperformancemaysufferfromtheeffectsofa
parameterknownastheInputOffsetVoltage.TheInputOffsetVoltageformanycomparatorsisonlyafew
millivoltsandinmostcircuitscanbeignored.
ProblemsrelatedtotheInputvoltagenormallyoccurwhentheInputvoltagechangesveryslowly.
ThenetresultoftheInputOffsetVoltageisthattheoutputtransistordoesnotfullyturnonoroffwhenthe
inputvoltageisclosetothereferencevoltage.
Thefollowingdiagramattemptstoillustratetheeffectoftheinputoffsetvoltagewithaslowlychanging
inputvoltage.ThiseffectincreasesastheoutputtransistorcurrentincreasessokeepingthevalueofRLhigh
willhelpreducetheproblem.

Theeffectsoftheinputoffsetvoltagecanbecounteredbyaddinghysteresistothecircuit.Thiscausesthe
referencevoltagetochangewhenthecomparatorsoutputgoeshighorlow.

InputOffsetVoltageAndHysteresis
FormostcomparatorcircuitsHysteresisisthedifferencebetweentheinputsignalvoltagesatwhicha
comparator'soutputiseitherfullyONorfullyOFF.Hysteresisincomparatorsisgenerallyundesirablebutit
canalsobeaddedtoacircuittoreducethesensitivitytonoiseoraslowlymovinginputsignal.
InternalhysteresisthatisnormalforcomparatorscausestheoutputofthecomparatortogofromOFFtoON
andviceversarelativelyslowly.
Externalhysteresisusespositivefeedbackfromtheoutputtothenoninvertinginputofthecomparator.The
resultingSchmitttriggertypecircuitgivesadditionalnoiseimmunityandacleaneroutputsignal.
Theeffectofaddedhysteresisisthatastheinputvoltageslowlychanges,thereferencevoltagewillquickly
changeintheoppositedirection.Thisgivesthecomparator'soutputa"snap"action.
Amechanicalanalogofaddedhysteresiscanbefoundinmanytoggleswitches:Asthehandlemovespastits
centerpoint,aspringintheswitchforcesthecontactsoftheswitchtoopenorclose,ensuringthattheswitch's
contactssnaptotheONorOFFposition.

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ThewidthoftheloopoutlinedbyanOFFONOFFcycleistheinputhysteresisvoltage.
Theinherenthysteresisvoltageformostcomparatorsisonlyafewmillivoltsandusuallyonlyaffectscircuits
wheretheinputvoltagerisesorfallsveryslowlyorhasvoltagespikesknownas"noise".

AddingHysteresisToAComparatorCircuit
Acomparator'sHysteresisrangecanbeincreasedbyaddingaresistorbetweenthecomparator'soutputand
thePLUSinputterminal.Thiscreatesafeedbackloopsothatwhentheoutputmakesatransitionthefeedback
changesthevoltageatthepositivewhichincreasesthevoltagedifferencebetweenthePLUSandMINUS
inputs.
ThefeedbackcanonlybemadetothePLUSinputterminal.

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IncreasingTheInput'sHysteresisRange
Ifthecomparator'soutputisinitially'OFF',theMINUSinputvoltagehastobecomeabovethePLUSinput
voltagebythehysteresisvoltagerangebeforethecomparatoroutputturns'ON'.
Ifthecomparatoris'ON',theMINUSinputvoltageneedstodropslightlybelowthePLUSinputvoltageby
thehysteresisvoltagerangebeforeitturns'OFF'.
Thehysteresisvoltagerangecanbemadelargeinordertoforcethecomparator'soutputtochangeasquickly
aspossible.TheFLIPFLOPcircuitsshownlateronthispagemakeuseofalargehysteresistocreatethe
memoryeffectwithlargeinputvoltagechangesneededtotriggerachangeintheoutput.

HysteresisResistorCalculatorPageAtAKAWAElectricDesign
('Vref'isthesupplyvoltageinthisexample.)

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OtherHysterysisSchemes

AddingSeparatingDiodesToAComparator'sOutput
AdiodecanbeaddedtotheoutputofacomparatortoallowaLEDtoindicateiftheoutputofthe
comparatorisHIGHorLOWwithoutaffectingthecircuitthatthecomparatorisconnectedto.
Diodescanalsobeusedtoseparatemultiplecircuitsconnectedtoasinglecomparator.

OutputDiodes

VoltageWindowDetectorCircuit
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ComparatorswithOpenCollectoroutputssuchastheLM339orLM393mustbeconfiguredsotheboth
outputsareHIGHwhenthevoltageiswithinthedesiredlimits.TheLM311comparatorcanhaveotheroutput
arrangementsasithasbothanopencollectorandopenemitterontheoutputtransistor.

WindowComparator

ComparatorOscillatorCircuit
Comparatorscanalsobeusedasoscillatorsbutarenotwellsuitedforthistypeofapplication.

OscillatorMadeFromAComparator

BasicComparatorCircuits
Thefollowingdiagramsareofsomebasiccomparatorcircuits.MosthaveaCadmiumSulfidephotocell
inputbutcouldjustaseasilyuseaphototransistororavoltagesignalfromanothercircuitasaninput.The
resistancevaluesarenotcriticalbutshouldbeusedasaguide.Inmostcomparatorcircuitstheratioofthe
resistancesismoreimportantthantheiractualvalues.
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PhotocellCircuits

PhotocellCircuitsSchematic
IfhighercurrentloadsaretobedrivenaPNPtransistorcanbeaddedtothecomparatorsoutputthiswill
allowloadsofupto300Ma.tobecontrolled.

RelayDriverOutputSchematic

TimeDelayCircuits
Shorttimingfunctionssuchasapulsedoutputsortimedelayscanalsobecreatedwithoneortwo
comparatorsections.
ComparatorTimeDelaySchematic1

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Noticethatthesecondcomparatorsectioninthetimedelaycircuitsharesthesamereferencevoltageinputas
thefirst.Inmostcasesanynumberofcomparatorscanhavethesamevoltagesourceatoneinput,thiscan
makecircuitsmuchlesscomplicated.
MoreDelaycircuits.
ComparatorTimerDelaySchematic2

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ComparatorTimerDelaySchematic3

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ComparatorPowerOnDelayCircuit

BasicMemoryFunctions
Comparatorscanbemadetoperformabasicmemoryfunctionbywiringthemasa'SET/RESET'typeof
FLIP/FLOP.Thistypeofcircuitcanbeusedinunplugablewalkaroundthrottlestorememberthedirectionof
thetrainwhenthecontrollerisdisconnected.Inthenextdiagramthecomparatorwillrememberwhichswitch
waspushedlast.Ifthe'SET'buttonispushedtheLEDwillbeon,the'RESET'buttonwillturntheLEDoff.A
highercurrentversionisalsoshown.

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ComparatorFLIP/FLOPSchematic
HowtheFlipFlopworks.Averybasicdescription.
1. WhentheoutputofthecomparatorisoffthevoltageatthePLUSinputwillbethesameasthesupply
voltage.WiththePLUSinputvoltagehigherthantheMINUSinputvoltagetheoutputwillremainoff.
2. WhentheSETbuttonispushedthevoltageatthePLUSinputwillgotozeroandtheoutputwillturn
on.
3. WhentheSETbuttonisreleasethevoltageatthePLUSinputwillriseto1/2ofthesupplyvoltageand
theoutputwillremainturnedonbecausethevoltageatthePLUSinputisremainsbelowthevoltageat
theMINUSinput.
4. WhentheRESETbuttonispressedvoltageattheMINUSinputwillgotozerofromitsnormallevel
of3/4ofthesupplyvoltage.TheoutputwillturnoffbecausethevoltageattheMINUSinputisbelow
thevoltageatthePLUSinput.WhentheoutputturnsoffthevoltageatthePLUSinputwillrisetothe
supplyvoltagelevel.
5. WhentheRESETbuttonisreleasedthevoltageattheMINUSinputwillriseto3/4ofthesupply
voltage.ThePLUSinputvoltagewillstayabovethevoltageattheMINUSinputandtheoutputwill
stayturnedoff.

OpenCollectorOutputTransistors
Becausetheoutputtransistorofthecomparatorhasanopencollectorthesupplyandloadvoltagesdonot
havetobethesame.Thismeansthatthecomparatorcouldusea12Voltpowersupplywhiletheloadcould
bea24Voltrelayor5VoltLEDcircuit.
ThefollowingthreediagramsaresomeexamplesofDualvoltagecircuits.Inthefirsttwothevoltageatthe
outputofthecomparatorscouldevenbefullwavedirectcurrent.

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DualVoltageOutputSchematic

DualVoltageRelayDriverOutputSchematic

DualVoltageFLIP/FLOPSchematic

4LevelVoltageDetector
Thiscircuitcansequentiallyindicate4voltagelevels.ThevoltagesthattheLEDsturnonataredetermined
bythevaluesofresistorsR1throughR5arrangedinasimplevoltagedividercircuit.

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4LevelDetectorSchematic
Thiscircuitlacksastablereferencevoltageandisthereforenotsuitableforindicatingthevoltagesof
batteriesasthereferencevoltageswilldecreaseasthethebatteryvoltagedecreases.
AnICthatisdesignedforvoltagelevelindicationistheLM3914Dot/BarDisplayDriver.TheLM3914is
amonolithicintegratedcircuitthatsensesanalogvoltagelevelsanddrives10LEDs,providingalinearanalog
display.
ThereisalsotheLM3915Dot/BarDisplayDriver.TheLM3915isamonolithicintegratedcircuitthat
sensesanalogvoltagelevelsanddrivestenLEDs,LCDsorvacuumfluorescentdisplays.

4LevelBidirectionalDelay
ThiscircuitturnstheLEDsonoroffinroughlyequalstepsinbothdirections.ForexampleON1234
andthenOFF4321.

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BidirectionDelaySchematic
ThisresistornetworkatS1bringsthereferencevoltageclosertothethresholdvoltagestominimizethe
charging/dischargingdelayinC1whenS1isswung.

ExclusiveORcircuit
InthiscircuitonlyoneLEDcanbeonatatime.

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ExclusiveORSchematic

UsingAnOPAMPAsAComparator
OperationalAmplifierscanbeusedascomparatorsbyaddingadiodeortransistortotheOPAMP'soutput.
Usingatransistorallowsforagreateroutputcurrentcapacitythanthatofatypicalcomparator.

ComparatorMadeFromAnOperationalAmplifier

SomeOtherCircuits
LM311ComparatorUsedToControlAn'HBridgeCircuit

LightActivatedRelayWith5SecondReleaseDelay

VoltageComparatorPageOnWikipedia

ComparatorHysteresisNetworkCalculatorPage

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PleaseReadBeforeUsingTheseCircuitIdeas
Theexplanationsforthecircuitsonthesepagescannothopetocovereverysituationoneverylayout.
Forthisreasonbepreparedtodosomeexperimentingtogettheresultsyouwant.Thisisespeciallytrue
ofcircuitssuchasthe"AcrossTrackInfraredDetection"circuitsandanyothercircuitthatrelieson
otherthandirectelectronicinputs,suchasswitches.
Ifyouuseanyofthesecircuitideas,askyourpartssupplierforacopyofthemanufacturersdata
sheetsforanycomponentsthatyouhavenotusedbefore.Thesesheetscontainawealthofdataand
circuitdesigninformationthatnoelectronicorprintarticlecouldapproachandwillsavetimeand
perhapsdamagetothecomponentsthemselves.Thesedatasheetscanoftenbefoundonthewebsiteof
thedevicemanufacturers.
Althoughthecircuitsarefunctionalthepagesarenotmeanttobefulldescriptionsofeachcircuitbut
ratherasguidesforadaptingthemforusebyothers.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsorcommentsplease
sendthemtotheemailaddressontheCircuitIndexpage.
ReturntotheMainPage
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