RC Circuits and Applications

Lab Ticket and Write-up Comments

Read this lab write-up and write an outline of the procedure you will follow during your two-week investigation. Also, derive equation [22]. Your lab write-up should summarize all of the investigations you undertook in the lab. Include all important plots and findings; motivate your arguments and discuss the method you used to come to your results. Be sure to discuss possible sources of error. Feel free to explore questions not specifically asked in the lab. In the guided section of this lab, you should measure the time constant for an RC circuit, build high- and low-pass filters and measure their gain curves.

Introduction
RC circuits are among the most useful, simple and robust passive electric circuits, and play integral roles in everyday equipment such as traffic lights, pacemakers and audio equipment. While their applications are numerous and varied, they are mostly used for their signal filtering capabilities and surprisingly precise timing abilities. In this lab you will explore these fundamental uses of RC circuits, filtering and timing. You will also interface RC circuits with a simple but powerful IC1 called the 555 timer circuit and control its functioning through the RC circuit. The coupling of the 555 timer to an RC circuit gives the user many interesting applications, some of which you will be able to explore on an open-ended basis.

Theory and Application

RC Charging, Discharging and Timing When the switch S is closed in the battery powered circuit of Figure 1a, current begins to flow. Electrons pile up on the side of the capacitor connected to the negative side of the battery and are drawn off of the side of the capacitor connected to the positive side of the battery. The value of the resistor (it can be attached to the negative or positive side of the battery), as will be shown, regulates the rate at which current flows. As more charge is effectively taken off one side of the capacitor and placed on the other the potential difference between the sides of the capacitor grows, hindering the flow of electrons. This in turn slows down the rate of increasing potential difference between the sides of the capacitor.

Integrated Circuit. An IC a set of electronic components and their interconnections that are etched or imprinted on a semiconductor chip.

Figure 1: a) The battery powered RC circuit with switch. b) The capacitor charging curve when the switch S is closed. c) The capacitor charging curve when the capacitor is fully charged (with the battery taken out of the circuit) and switch S closed.

Mathematically, using Kirchhoff's loop rule, the circuit is governed by the equation

= IR +

Q C

[1]

where is the emf of the battery, I is the current, Q is the charge on the capacitor and C the capacitance of the capacitor. Both Q and I are functions of time and are related by I = dQ/dt. Knowing this relation between I and Q, we may rewrite equation [1]:

=R

dQ 1 + Q, dt C

[2]

which has the solution (you should check it)

Q = C(1 et / RC ) .

[3]

Since voltage V is related to charge on a capacitor by the equation V = Q/C, the voltage across the capacitor is given by

V = (1 et / RC ) .

(charging)

[4]

This mode of operation of an RC circuit is called charging, simply because the charge on and potential across the capacitor increases asymptotically from zero to a maximum value of the battery's emf, (Figure 1b). Another mode of operation, sans battery power, of an RC circuit is called discharging, in which the capacitor with some initial potential of (not necessarily related to a battery emf) asymptotically decreases to a value of zero (Figure 1c). Mathematically, this is given by

0= R

dQ 1 + Q, dt C

[5]

which has solution

Q = Cet / RC
implying that the voltage across the capacitor is

[6]

V = et / RC .

(discharging)

[7]

The quantity RC, which must have dimensions of time, appears conspicuously in both the charging and discharging solutions. It is called the time constant of the circuit and is represented by the symbol :

RC .

[8]

In a circuit that is charging (equation [4]) the potential across the capacitor at time t = , starting with no charge at time t = 0, is

V[ ] = (1 e / ) = (1 e1 ) .63 .

[9]

In other words, during the first time constant the voltage has increased from zero to approximately 63% of its ultimate value (the value after an infinite amount of time), . In a time of 2 the voltage will reach a value of

V[2 ] = (1 e2 / ) = (1 e2 ) .86 .

[10]

For a discharging circuit initially fully charged, the potential after time t = is

V = e / = e1 .37 ,

[11]

meaning the voltage has dropped to about 1 - .63 = .37 or 37% of its ultimate value. First we saw that a charging capacitor takes time to reach 63% of its final value ( ). Now we see that a discharging capacitor also takes time to reach 63% of its final value (0V). So a circuit's time constant is a measure of how quickly it charges or discharges. RC Low Pass Filter

One common use of RC circuits is for analog AC filtering (Figure 2a). Imagine that a sinusoidal signal generator instead of a battery is powering the RC circuit. What would the voltage across the capacitor as a function of time look like? The equation governing the circuit, derived from Kirchhoff's loop rule, is

V0 sin[2 f t] = IR +

Q , C

[12]

Figure 2: a) The RC low-pass circuit. The voltage is measured across the capacitor. b) The gain curve for the low-pass filter as a function of frequency where is angular frequency equal to 2! f.

where V0 sin[2 f t] is the signal from the signal generator with signal amplitude V0 and frequency f. If the time derivative is taken and the equation is written in terms of I the equation becomes

2 fV0 cos[2 f t] =
The solution to this equation is

dI I R+ . dt C

[13]

I[t] = Acos[2 f t ] ,

[14]

where A and are constant with regards to in time. To be exact,

A = V0

1 R + 1/(2 f C)2
2

and tan[ ] = 2fRC = 2f .

[15]

This means that the voltage across the capacitor is

V[t] = Q[t]/C =

I[t]dt = Asin[2 f t ] .
C 2 f C

[16]

We are interested in the gain of the system, the ratio of the output to the input voltage (Figure 2b). The gain is a measure of how attenuated or amplified the output signal is, relative to input signal. Roughly speaking, it is a measure of how much of the the input signal has gotten through the circuit. The gain is computed as the output amplitude divided by the input amplitude:

g=

A /2fC 1 . = V0 1+ (RC2f ) 2

[17]

Notice that the gain is dependent on the frequency of the input signal; for low frequency signals (2f <<RC), the gain is close to 1 and for high frequency signals (2f >>RC) the gain is close to zero. This means that low frequency signals are passed with almost no attenuation, while high frequency signals are almost completely blocked, hence the name low-pass filter. Filters are often characterized by their -3 dB point, the frequency at which the gain of the circuit is 1/ 2 . For an RC circuit (both low- and high-pass) this frequency happens to be 1 /( 2 RC ) :

RC High Pass Filter

f3dB =

1 . 2 RC

[18]

If we switch resistor and capacitor in the low-pass circuit (so that were now the measuring the voltage across the resistor), what will the output voltage look like (Figure 3a)? Luckily, by finding the current through an RC circuit, given by equation [14], all that has to be done to find the voltage drop is to use Ohms law and multiply the current by the value of the resistor:
V[t] = RAcos[2 f t ] ,

[19]

where A is given by equation [15] and is given by 1 1 tan = = . 2fRC 2f This means that the gain of the circuit is

[20]

g=

1 1/(RC2 f ) 2 + 1

[21]

For low frequency signals ( 2f << RC ) the quantity 1/(RC2!f) is large, and the gain is close to zero (Figure 3b) while at high frequencies ( 2f >> RC ) the quantity 1/(RC2!f) is small, and the gain is close to one so most of the input signal gets through. This circuit allows signals with high frequencies to make it through while attenuating low frequency signals, hence the name high-pass filter.

Figure 3: a) The RC high-pass circuit. The voltage is measured across the resistor. b) The gain curve for the high-pass filter as a function of frequency where is angular frequency equal to 2! f.

Figure 4: a) The 555 timer chip with pin numbers and names. b) The pin configuration of the 555. Note that pins 3 and 5 are not connected while pin 1 is connected to ground.

The 555 timer and RC Circuits The 555 timer is a cheap, important and relatively simple IC that produces very accurate sequences of digital signals2, called pulse trains" (for example, a series of square waves is a periodic pulse train). Among their many uses, 555 timers can be used to control everything from simple robotic motors called servos to complex electrical circuits.

Digital signals, unlike analog signals, can have only one of two voltage values, in this case zero and five volts. In general, the lower voltage signal is called low" or off and the high voltage signal is called high or on. While not all digital signals operate on the same voltages, they all operate on this same basic principle.

Figure 5: The output signal (above) of a 555 timer when the input signal (below) comes from an RC circuit in which the capacitor continually charges through the resistors and discharges through RB to pin 7, jumping back and forth from 2/3 Vcc to 1/3 Vcc. When the capacitor is charging, the output of the 555 is a digital high signal, when it is discharging, the output is a digital low signal.

The 555 is relatively simple... for an IC. To describe why the 555 works the way it does is beyond the scope of this lab and only how the 555 functions, the basic ideas and rules behind it, will be explained. As shown in Figure 4a, the 555 has 8 pins which link the internal circuitry to the outside. Figure 4b shows the manner in which the 555 should be setup. This configuration of the 555 is called the astable mode of the 555. In this mode the chip will generate a periodic pulse train. The 555 is controlled through and functions in the following manner, depicted in Figure 5. 1. Initially, when the power is first turned on (Vcc is applied to the circuit) the output pin is low (zero volts). 2. The capacitor charges through the combined resistance of RA and RB (i.e. charges like an RC circuit with resistance equal to RA + RB). 3. When the capacitor charges to a value of 1/3 Vcc, pin 2 is triggered, causing the output of the 555 goes high (five volts). 4. The capacitor continues to charge until the voltage across it reaches 2/3 Vcc, at which point pin 6 will cause the output go low (zero volts) and the discharge pin 7 to open (it now provides a connection to ground), allowing the capacitor to discharge through RB.

Figure 6: This chip contains six NOT gates, shown by triangle/circles symbols. The lead going into the triangle is the input to the gate and the lead coming from the circle is the output. Vcc for the chip should be 5 volts.

5. The capacitor continues to discharge until the voltage across the capacitor reaches 1/3 Vcc, at which point pin 2 causes the output to go high again the discharge pin 7 to close. Now the capacitor begins to charge again through the combined resistance of RA and RB. 6. This charging and discharging continues indefinitely (as long as power is supplied) and the output continues to flip-op between zero and five volts. The 555 turns an analog timing signal into a digital, pulsed timing signal. The time the output is high, TH (also called the pulse width), is controlled by the values of RA, RB and C. The pulse width is given by the time it takes the capacitor to charge from 1/3 to 2/3 Vcc. The time the output is low TL is controlled by the value of RB and C, and is equivalent to the time it take the capacitor to discharge from 2/3 to 1/3 Vcc through RB. TH and TL are given by
TH = C ln[2](RA + RB ) , TL = Cln[2]RB

[22]

which you derived in the lab ticket. Notice that TH must always be greater than TL, since RB 0 . In other words the duty cycle, the percent time the circuit is high, can never be less than 50 percent. This is unfortunate, there are many times when it is desirable to have short pulse widths and low duty cycles, such as when controlling a servo! To get around this simply add a basic digital circuit called a NOT gate (Figure 6) which inverts the input; if the input is low, the output will be high and visa versa.

Experiment and Analysis

Measuring the Time Constant You can easily measure of an RC circuit by fitting its charge/discharge curve to an exponential and literally reading off the value of . Set-up the circuit and proceed as directed below. First, pick values for the capacitor and resistor which give a value of on the order of one second with the value of resistor somewhere between 10 k and 100 k. Use the Impedance meter to measure the values for capacitance and resistance. Be sure to note the uncertainty in these values. Connect the resistor and capacitor in series on an op amp board and use pieces of wire and banana cables to connect either end of the circuit to the PASCO Power Amplifier and its ground. Change the settings on the Power Amplifier so that it outputs a 5 volt DC signal. Remember to turn on the Power Amplifier before launching DataStudio. Place the voltage sensor across the capacitor and change the sensor's sampling rate such that you take 100 samples in each period . Start collecting data and then start Power Amplifier. To do this, turn Auto off on the Signal Generator control window, start taking data, then press the ON button on the Signal Generator window. Stop collecting data after a few seconds, but leave the Signal Generator turned on. This graph should look like a charging curve, as pictured in Figure 1b. After 15-20 seconds (so the capacitor has plenty of time to charge) collect another run and turn the Signal Generator off. This graph should look like a discharging curve as pictured in figure 1c. Finally, measure directly by finding the time it took for the circuit to charge to 63% of its final voltage. Low and High Pass Filters To study the low and high pass filters choose values for R and C which give values for the -3 dB point between 100 and 500 Hz. Use the signal generator of the PASCO interface to generate the input sine waves. Measure the gain curves for both the low and high pass filters using DataStudios Scope feature (ask your TA if you are unfamiliar with this feature). Try to get at least 10 data points around both sides of the -3 dB point. Are the curves as you would expect them to be? If you like you can fit your data with a user defined fit, as mentioned in the previous section. The functional forms for the gain of the low and high pass filters are given by equations [17] and [21] respectively. To fit the data in DataStudio, you will have to enter it into a data table by selecting Experiment>>New Empty Data Table. The 555 Timer

To set-up and study the 555, follow the directions below. Hook up the 555 to the op amp board as shown in Figure 4b, with Vcc being the five volt power supply on the board. Use values for the resistors of between 5k and 10k, and for the capacitor a value between .1 and 1 F. Use values which give the circuit a duty cycle between 50 and 80 percent. Use two voltage sensors: place one across the capacitor and hook the other one up to the output of the 555 timer, pin 3 (Figure 4a). Change the sampling rate of both sensors to somewhere between 4000 and 5000 Hz. Open the scope and turn on the power supply. If you are interested, hook up a variable resistor to the circuit and change the width of the pulse train. How close are TH and TL, for both the RC circuit charging/discharging and the digital output, to being what equation [22] predicts them to be, and is the duty cycle what it is expected to be? Are these values within uncertainty? Does the potential on the capacitor jump from 1/3 Vcc to 2/3 Vcc continually? Now, choose values for the resistors which make the duty rate around 90 percent. Set-up and use one of the NOT gates from the 7404 IC chip (the long rectangular chip has 6 NOT gates as shown in Figure 6, well only use one) on the op amp board and attach the output of the 555 to the input pin of the NOT gate. Hook the voltage sensor formerly attached to the output of the 555 to the output of the NOT gate and monitor the output. Is the NOT gate acting like an inverter, changing the duty rate to around 10 percent? Some Possible Extensions The number of uses for the 555 and RC related circuits are wide and varied. Below are some ideas for an open-ended study of such circuits. The input and output of an RC filter have different voltage phases, as given by equation [20]. Explore this difference. If an inductor is included in an RC circuit, making it an RLC circuit, the circuit will allow only mid-range frequencies to pass. Explore the RLC circuit. See pages 776-779 in your text to learn about RLC circuits and their filtering properties. Explore RC circuits as circuits that integrate/differentiate their input signals. See the appendix for details. Use the 555 in astable mode (meaning it generates a periodic pulse train) to control a motor called a servo. See the appendix for details.

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 Using an RC circuit and/or a 555 to create a simple function generator which generates square and sine waves (Hints: Choose circuit elements such that the 3dB point is well below the fundamental frequency of the square wave, so that any higher frequencies will be severely attenuated. See pages 401 and 402 in your text to learn about frequency components. Generating a triangle wave is tricky, do it if you can, using an RC circuit as an integrator and integrate a square wave). A 555 can also be operated in monostable mode, meaning the 555 outputs only one pulse, with the pulse width controlled by an RC circuit. This would be desirable to do if you wanted to trigger a piece of equipment once (like a camera). See the website http://www.play-hookey.com/digital/timer_555.html or the 555 technical sheet on mononstable operation (despite the name, it's not to dense) called mononstable.pdf located on the lab computers hard drive at Lab Extras >> RC circuit or talk to an instructor. Using multiple 555s you can generate a pulse train consisting of a number of pulses having different pulse widths and starting times. Warning: this application of the 555 can be involved, but also quite useful and interesting! See the website http://www.play-hookey.com/digital/timer_555_sequencer.html for instructions or an instructor for help. Explore the myriad of other projects/applications associated with the 555. The web can be a good resource for finding this kind of information.

Appendix A
RC Integrator/Differentiator A high pass filter will function as a differentiator, when operated at a frequency well below the -3 dB point. In this regime

Vout (i RC)Vin
and hence, if the input is mostly sinusoidal,

[A.1]

Vout (RC)

dVin (for <<1/RC). dt

[A.2]

Apart from the constant factor RC, the output is the time derivative of the input. 11

A low pass filter at frequencies well above the -3 dB point functions as an integrator, for in this regime

Vout (
and hence, if the input is mostly sinusoidal,

1 )V . i RC in

[A.3]

Vout = (

1 ) V dt (for >> 1/RC). RC in

[A.4]

Apart from the constant factor (1/RC), the output is the integral of the input. Servo Control This particular servo, called an HS-303 and used in many robotic applications, is controlled by a signal of a periodic pulse train with a pulse width from one to two milliseconds with a time between pulses of 20 to 30 milliseconds. The time between pulses controls the position (not the angular velocity) of the servo. For example, it might be the case that with a time between pulses of 20 milliseconds the servo is at an angular position of zero degrees, while with a time between pulses of 30 milliseconds the servo is at an angular position of 180 degrees. Of the three wires coming out of the servo the black wire should be grounded, the red wire should be hooked up to a voltage source (either the five, 12 or 15 volt supply on the op amp board should suffice) and the yellow wire is where the controlling signal is attached. Use a 555 with a NOT gate (to have the signal low most of the time) as the controlling signal. Let RA = 10 k and have RB be a 10 k variable resistor, which will allow you to easily control the servo. Use a 1 F capacitor.

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