AN ELECTRONIC SYSTEM

POWER SUPPLY

PREREQUISITES
TO UNDERSTAND THIS PRESENTATION, YOU SHOULD HAVE
THE FOLLOWING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
DRAW THE STRUCTURE OF AN ATOM, INCLUDING ELECTRONS,
PROTONS, AND NEUTRONS.
DEFINE RESISTANCE AND CONDUCTANCE.
LABEL AN ELECTRONIC SCHEMATIC, INDICATING CURRENT FLOW.
DEFINE OHMS AND KIRCHHOFFS LAWS.
DESCRIBE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF DC AND AC (SINE WAVE)
VOLTAGES.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

UPON COMPLETION, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
DEFINE POWER SUPPLY.
NAME THE MAIN COMPONENTS IN A COMMON LINEAR AC TO DC
POWER SUPPLY AND EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE AND FUNCTION OF EACH.
DEFINE RECTIFIER AND NAME TWO COMMON TYPES.

NAME THE COMPONENT THAT TRANSFORMS PULSATING DC INTO

CONSTANT DC.
DEFINE RIPPLE AND IDENTIFY ITS ORIGINS.

POWER SUPPLY
ALL ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS NEED A POWER SOURCE
TO WORK.
FOR ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS MADE UP OF
TRANSISTORS AND/OR ICS, THIS POWER SOURCE
MUST BE A DC VOLTAGE OF A SPECIFIC VALUE.
A BATTERY IS A COMMON DC VOLTAGE SOURCE FOR
SOME TYPES OF ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT ESPECIALLY
PORTABLES LIKE CELL PHONES AND IPODS.
MOST NON-PORTABLE EQUIPMENT USES POWER
SUPPLIES THAT OPERATE FROM THE AC POWER LINE
BUT PRODUCE ONE OR MORE DC OUTPUTS.

POWER SUPPLY CHARACTERISTICS

THE INPUT IS THE 120 VOLT 60 HZ
AC POWER LINE. ALTERNATELY, THE
INPUT MAY BE 240 VOLT AC.
THE POWER SUPPLY CONVERTS THE
AC INTO DC AND PROVIDES ONE
OR MORE DC OUTPUT VOLTAGES.
SOME MODERN ELECTRONIC
CIRCUITS NEED TWO OR MORE
DIFFERENT VOLTAGES.
COMMON VOLTAGES ARE 48, 24,
15, 12, 9, 5, 3.3, 2.5, 1.8, 1.5, 1.2
AND 1 VOLTS.
A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A MODERN
POWER SUPPLY IS THE ONE INSIDE
A PC THAT FURNISHES 12, 5, 3.3
AND 1.2 VOLTS.

COMPONENTS OF A POWER SUPPLY

MAIN CIRCUITS IN MOST POWER SUPPLIES.

A presentation of eSyst.org

POWER SUPPLY
THE AC LINE IS FIRST PASSED
THROUGH A LOW PASS FILTER
OF THE FORM SHOWN IN
FIGURE.
THIS ELIMINATES NOISE ON THE
AC LINE FROM BOTHERING THE
POWER SUPPLY CIRCUITS AND
PREVENTS UNWANTED SIGNALS
FROM THE POWER SUPPLY
FROM BEING TRANSFERRED
BACK INTO THE AC LINE WHERE
THEY MIGHT INTERFERE WITH
OTHER EQUIPMENT.
A presentation of eSyst.org

TRANSFORMER

A TRANSFORMER IS A STATIC DEVICE THAT TRANSFERS

ELECTRICAL ENERGY FROM THE PRIMARY WINDING TO THE
SECONDARY WINDING WITHOUT AFFECTING THE
FREQUENCY. IT IS USED TO STEP-UP OR STEP-DOWN THE AC
VOLTAGE LEVEL AND ISOLATES THE REMAINDER OF THE
ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FROM THE AC POWER.

TRANSFORMER
THE PRIMARY WINDING OF THE TRANSFORMER IS
CONNECTED TO AN AC VOLTAGE SOURCE THAT PRODUCES
ALTERNATING CURRENT WHILE THE SECONDARY IS
CONNECTED TO THE LOAD. THE PRIMARY AND THE
SECONDARY WINDINGS ARE NOT PHYSICALLY CONNECTED
TO EACH OTHER BUT DUE TO ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION
FOLLOWING FARADAYS LAW THERE IS AN INDUCED
VOLTAGE IN THE SECONDARY.

TRANSFORMER
A TRANSFORMER IS COMMONLY USED TO STEP THE INPUT AC
VOLTAGE LEVEL DOWN OR UP. MOST ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
OPERATE FROM VOLTAGES LOWER THAN THE AC LINE
VOLTAGE SO THE TRANSFORMER NORMALLY STEPS THE
VOLTAGE DOWN BY ITS TURNS RATIO TO A DESIRED LOWER
LEVEL.
FOR EXAMPLE, A TRANSFORMER WITH A TURNS RATIO OF 10
TO 1 WOULD CONVERT THE 120 VOLT 60 HZ INPUT SINE
WAVE INTO A 12 VOLT SINE WAVE.

TRANSFORMER
TRANSFORMER EQUATION
FOR AN IDEAL TRANSFORMER

=
THE TURNS RATIO
A=

THE VOLTAGE RATIO

TRANSFORMER LOSSES
COPPER LOSS IS THE I2R LOSS IN THE PRIMARY AND
SECONDARY WINDINGS OF THE TRANSFORMER.
CORE LOSS OR IRON LOSS IT EQUALS THE EDDY CURRENT
LOSS PLUS THE HYSTERESIS LOSS.
EDDY CURRENT LOSS THIS IS DUE TO CHANGING MAGNETIC
FIELD AND THE IRON CORE CONDUCTIVITY. THIS CURRENT IS
PRODUCED IN THE IRON CORE THAT DOES NOT AID
TRANSFORMER OUTPUT. IT CAN BE MINIMIZED THROUGH
LAMINATING THE CORE.
HYSTERESIS LOSS SINCE AC CURRENTS CONSTANTLY CHANGE
IN MAGNITUDE AND DIRECTION, THE TINY MOLECULAR AGENTS
WITHIN THE CORE ARE CONSTANTLY BEING ARRANGED AND
THIS PROCESS REQUIRES ENERGY THAT CAUSES SOME LOSS.

TRANSFORMER EFFICIENCY
THE PRACTICAL TRANSFORMER DOES NOT MEET ALL THE CRITERIA FOR THE
IDEAL 100% EFFICIENT DEVICE BECAUSE OF ENERGY LOSSES. THE
TRANSFORMER EFFICIENCY IS THE RATIO OF ITS OUTPUT POWER, WHICH
IS THE POWER DRAWN BY THE LOAD TO THE INPUT POWER WHICH IS THE
POWER DEVELOPED BY THE TRANSFORMER.

X 100%

WHERE:
= (P.F.)
= +

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
1. WHAT IS THE SECONDARY VOLTAGE ON A
TRANSFORMER HAVING A PRIMARY TO
SECONDARY TURNS RATIO OF 14:1 ?

ANSWER: 15.7 VRMS

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
2. THE PRIMARY TO SECONDARY CURRENT RATIO OF
A TRANSFORMER IS 4:1, AND THE SECONDARY
VOLTAGE IS 60 VOLTS. WHAT IS THE VOLTAGE ON
THE PRIMARY ?

ANSWER: 15 V

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
3. AN AMPLIFIER REQUIRES A LOAD OF 1000 OHMS
FOR BEST PERFORMANCE. THE AMPLIFIER OUTPUT IS
TO BE CONNECTED TO A LOUDSPEAKER HAVING AN
IMPEDANCE OF 10 OHMS. WHAT MUST THE TURNS
RATIO BE FOR A TRANSFORMER USED FOR
IMPEDANCE MATCHING ?

ANSWER: 10:1

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
1. A TRANSFORMER DELIVERS 400 WATTS WITH
500 WATTS INPUT. CALCULATE THE EFFICIENCY
IN PERCENT .

ANSWER: 80 %

RECTIFIER
THE RECTIFIER CONVERTS THE AC SINE WAVE INTO A PULSATING DC
WAVE.
THERE ARE SEVERAL FORMS OF RECTIFIERS USED BUT ALL ARE MADE
UP OF DIODES.

RECTIFIERS
THE RECTIFIER IS A DEVICE USED TO CHANGE
THE AC POWER INTO PULSATING DC. THE
BASIC RECTIFIER IS THE DIODE. THE THREE
BASIC RECTIFIER CIRCUITS USING DIODES ARE :
THE HALF-WAVE, THE FULL-WAVE CENTER
TAPPED, THE FULL-WAVE BRIDGE TYPE.

A presentation of eSyst.org

HOW RECTIFIERS WORK

HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER CIRCUIT

THE SIMPLEST FORM OF RECTIFIER IS
THE HALF WAVE RECTIFIER SHOWN.
ONLY THE TRANSFORMER, RECTIFIER
DIODE, AND LOAD (RL) ARE SHOWN
WITHOUT THE FILTER AND OTHER
COMPONENTS.
THE HALF WAVE RECTIFIER
PRODUCES ONE SINE PULSE FOR
EACH CYCLE OF THE INPUT SINE
WAVE.
WHEN THE SINE WAVE GOES
POSITIVE, THE ANODE OF THE
DIODE GOES POSITIVE CAUSING
THE DIODE TO BE FORWARD
BIASED. THE DIODE CONDUCTS
AND ACTS LIKE A CLOSED SWITCH
LETTING THE POSITIVE PULSE OF
THE SINE WAVE TO APPEAR
ACROSS THE LOAD RESISTOR.

HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER CIRCUIT (CONTINUED)

WHEN THE SINE WAVE GOES
NEGATIVE, THE DIODE ANODE WILL
BE NEGATIVE SO THE DIODE WILL
BE REVERSE BIASED AND NO
CURRENT WILL FLOW.
NO NEGATIVE VOLTAGE WILL
APPEAR ACROSS THE LOAD. THE
LOAD VOLTAGE WILL BE ZERO
DURING THE TIME OF THE
NEGATIVE HALF CYCLE.
SEE THE WAVEFORMS THAT SHOW
THE POSITIVE PULSES ACROSS THE
LOAD. THESE PULSES NEED TO BE
CONVERTED TO A CONSTANT DC.

HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER CIRCUIT (CONTINUED)

=

= 0.45

OUTPUT RIPPLE FREQUENCY = INPUT FREQUENCY

BRIDGE TYPE FULL-WAVE RECTIFIER CIRCUIT

ANOTHER WIDELY USED RECTIFIER
IS THE BRIDGE RECTIFIER. IT USES
FOUR DIODES.
THIS IS CALLED A FULL WAVE
RECTIFIER AS IT PRODUCES AN
OUTPUT PULSE FOR EACH HALF
CYCLE OF THE INPUT SINE WAVE.
ON THE POSITIVE HALF CYCLE OF
THE INPUT SINE WAVE, DIODES D1
AND D2 ARE FORWARD BIASED SO
ACT AS CLOSED SWITCHES
APPEARING IN SERIES WITH THE
LOAD.
ON THE NEGATIVE HALF CYCLE,
DIODE D1 AND D2 ARE REVERSE
BIASED AND DIODES D3 AND D4
ARE FORWARD BIASED SO CURRENT
FLOWS THROUGH THE LOAD IN
THE SAME DIRECTION.
A presentation of eSyst.org

BRIDGE RECTIFIER

A presentation of eSyst.org

BRIDGE TYPE FULL-WAVE RECTIFIER

CIRCUIT(CONTINUED)
=

= 0.9

OUTPUT RIPPLE FREQUENCY = 2 X INPUT FREQUENCY

FILTER
THE RECTIFIER PRODUCES A DC OUTPUT BUT IT IS PULSATING RATHER
THAN A CONSTANT STEADY VALUE OVER TIME LIKE THAT FROM A
BATTERY.
A FILTER IS USED TO REMOVE THE PULSATIONS AND CREATE A
CONSTANT OUTPUT.

THE MOST COMMON FILTER IS A LARGE CAPACITOR.

A presentation of eSyst.org

HOW THE FILTER WORKS

A LARGE CAPACITOR IS
CONNECTED ACROSS THE LOAD
RESISTOR. THIS CAPACITOR FILTERS
THE PULSES INTO A MORE
CONSTANT DC.
WHEN THE DIODE CONDUCTS, THE
CAPACITOR CHARGES UP TO THE
PEAK OF THE SINE WAVE.
THEN WHEN THE SINE VOLTAGE
DROPS, THE CHARGE ON THE
CAPACITOR REMAINS. SINCE THE
CAPACITOR IS LARGE IT FORMS A
LONG TIME CONSTANT WITH THE
LOAD RESISTOR. THE CAPACITOR
SLOWLY DISCHARGES INTO THE
LOAD MAINTAINING A MORE
CONSTANT OUTPUT.
THE NEXT POSITIVE PULSE COMES
ALONG RECHARGING THE
CAPACITOR AND THE PROCESS
CONTINUES.

A presentation of eSyst.org

RIPPLE
THE CAPACITOR DOES A GOOD JOB OF SMOOTHING THE
PULSES FROM THE RECTIFIER INTO A MORE CONSTANT DC.
A SMALL VARIATION OCCURS IN THE DC BECAUSE THE
CAPACITOR DISCHARGES A SMALL AMOUNT BETWEEN THE
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE PULSES. THEN IT RECHARGES.
THIS VARIATION IS CALLED RIPPLE.
THE RIPPLE CAN BE REDUCED FURTHER BY MAKING THE
CAPACITOR LARGER.
THE RIPPLE APPEARS TO BE A SAWTOOTH SHAPED AC
VARIATION RIDING ON THE DC OUTPUT.
A SMALL AMOUNT OF RIPPLE CAN BE TOLERATED IN SOME
CIRCUITS BUT THE LOWER THE BETTER OVERALL.

RIPPLE VOLTAGE
THE RIPPLE VOLTAGE IS AN AC VOLTAGE THAT INDICATES THE
MAGNITUDE OF THE RMS RIPPLE VOLTAGE AT THE OUTPUT OF A
RECTIFIER CIRCUIT.

RIPPLE FACTOR
THE RIPPLE FACTOR IS AN INDICATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE
FILTER AND IS DEFINED AS

()

RIPPLE VOLTAGE OF RECTIFIED SIGNALS

THE RECTIFIED OUTPUT VOLTAGE OF A RECTIFIER CIRCUIT CONTAINS DC
COMPONENT AND AN AC RIPPLE COMPONENT.

FOR HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER

() = 0.385

FOR FULL-WAVE RECTIFIER

() = 0.308

QUESTION
1. WHICH HAS A SMALLER RIPPLE, A HALF-WAVE OR A FULL-WAVE RECTIFIER?

QUESTION
2. USING A DC AND AC VOLTMETER TO MEASURE THE OUTPUT SIGNAL FROM A
FILTER CIRCUIT, WE OBTAIN READINGS OF 25 VDC AND 1.5VRMS. CALCULATE
THE RIPPLE OF THE FILTER OUTPUT VOLTAGE.

ANSWER: 6 %

REGULATOR
THE REGULATOR IS A CIRCUIT THAT HELPS MAINTAIN
A FIXED OR CONSTANT OUTPUT VOLTAGE.
CHANGES IN THE LOAD OR THE AC LINE VOLTAGE
WILL CAUSE THE OUTPUT VOLTAGE TO VARY.
MOST ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS CANNOT WITHSTAND
THE VARIATIONS SINCE THEY ARE DESIGNED TO
WORK PROPERLY WITH A FIXED VOLTAGE.
THE REGULATOR FIXES THE OUTPUT VOLTAGE TO THE
DESIRED LEVEL THEN MAINTAINS THAT VALUE DESPITE
ANY OUTPUT OR INPUT VARIATIONS.
A presentation of eSyst.org

THE REGULATOR
MOST REGULATORS ARE ICS .
THESE ARE FEEDBACK CONTROL CIRCUITS THAT ACTUALLY
MONITOR THE OUTPUT VOLTAGE TO DETECT VARIATIONS.
IF THE OUTPUT VARIES, FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE
REGULATOR CIRCUIT AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTS THE OUTPUT
BACK TO THE SET VALUE.
REGULATORS HOLD THE OUTPUT TO THE DESIRED VALUE.
SINCE RIPPLE REPRESENTS CHANGES IN THE OUTPUT, THE
REGULATOR ALSO COMPENSATES FOR THESE VARIATIONS
PRODUCING A NEAR CONSTANT DC OUTPUT.

A presentation of eSyst.org

VOLTAGE REGULATION
ANOTHER FACTOR OF IMPORTANCE IN A POWER SUPPLY IS THE
AMOUNT THE DC OUTPUT VOLTAGE CHANGES OVER A RANGE OF
CIRCUIT OPERATION. THE VOLTAGE PROVIDED AT THE OUTPUT UNDER
NO LOAD CONDITION (NO CURRENT DRAWN FROM THE SUPPLY) IS
REDUCED WHEN LOAD CURRENT IS DRAWN FROM THE SUPPLY
(UNDER LOAD). THE AMOUNT THE DC VOLTAGE CHANGES BETWEEN
THE NO-LOAD AND LOAD CONDITIONS IS DESCRIBED BY A FACTOR
CALLED VOLTAGE REGULATION.

 VOLTAGE REGULATION IS GIVEN BY:

VOLTAGE REGULATION =

% V.R. =

X 100 %

QUESTION
3. A DC VOLTAGE SUPPLY PROVIDES 60 V WHEN THE OUTPUT IS UNLOADED.
WHEN CONNECTED TO A LOAD, THE OUTPUT DROPS TO 56 V. CALCULATE THE
VALUE OF VOLTAGE REGULATION IN PERCENT.

ANSWER: 7.1 %

DC-DC CONVERTER
MOST MODERN POWER SUPPLIES ALSO CONTAIN ONE OR MORE DCDC CONVERTERS

MODERN ELECTRONICS OFTEN DEMAND DIFFERENT VOLTAGES TO

FUNCTION.
A DC-DC CONVERTER CHANGES ONE DC VOLTAGE TO ANOTHER,
HIGHER OR LOWER DC VOLTAGE.

A DC-DC CONVERTER IS USED WITH A POWER SUPPLY TO PREVENT

THE NEED FOR A SECOND AC-DC SUPPLY.

A presentation of eSyst.org

IN SUMMARY
ALL ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS AND EQUIPMENT NEED A POWER SUPPLY,
USUALLY ONE THAT SUPPLIES ARE VERY SPECIFIC DC VOLTAGE.
A BATTERY IS A NEAR PERFECT DC SUPPLY BUT IT IS USED MAINLY IN
PORTABLE APPLICATIONS.
MOST EQUIPMENT USES AN AC TO DC POWER SUPPLY.
IN MOST AC TO DC SUPPLIES, THE 120 VOLT AC LINE IS FIRST FILTERED
THEN STEPPED UP OR DOWN TO THE DESIRED VOLTAGE LEVEL THEN
RECTIFIED INTO PULSATING DC, THEN FILTERED TO A CONSTANT DC.
A REGULATOR HOLDS THE OUTPUT TO A DESIRED LEVEL. A DC-DC
CONVERTER MAY ALSO BE USED TO GENERATE ANOTHER DC
VOLTAGE.
THE TWO MOST COMMON RECTIFIERS ARE THE SINGLE DIODE HALF
WAVE RECTIFIER AND THE FOUR DIODE FULL WAVE BRIDGE RECTIFIER.
A presentation of eSyst.org

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
1. WHAT IS THE RIPPLE FACTOR OF A SINUSOIDAL SIGNAL
HAVING PEAK RIPPLE OF 2V ON AN AVERAGE OF 50 V?

ANSWER: RIPPLE FACTOR = 0.028

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
2. WHAT IS THE UNFILTERED DC OUTPUT VOLTAGE OF A
HALF-WAVE RECTIFIER IF THE AC INPUT IS 200 VRMS ?

ANSWER: VDC (OUT) = 90 V

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
3. FIND THE UNLOADED OUTPUT OF A POWER SUPPLY
HAVING A VOLTAGE REGULATION OF 11.10% AND A 900V
LOAD OUTPUT.

ANSWER: 999.9V

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
4. THE AVERAGE VALUE OF A HALF-WAVE RECTIFIED
VOLTAGE WITH A PEAK VALUE OF 200V IS _____.

ANSWER: 63.7V

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
5. CALCULATE THE RIPPLE OF A FILTER OUTPUT HAVING A
20V DC COMPONENT AND A 1.7 VR RMS AC COMPONENT.

ANSWER: 8.5%

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
6. IF THE OUTPUT OF A VOLTAGE REGULATOR VARIES FROM
20 TO 19.8V WHEN THE LINE VOLTAGE VARIES OVER A
SPECIFIED RANGE, THE SOURCE REGULATION IS

ANSWER: 1%