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Electronic Instrumentation
Experiment 7 555 Timer
Part A: Controlling Oscillation Frequency with Capacitors and Resistors
Part B: Diodes and Light
555 Timer
 The 555 Timer is one of the most popular
and versatile integrated circuits ever produced!
 It is 30 years old and still being used!
 It is a combination of digital and analog circuits.
 It is known as the “time machine” as it performs a wide
variety of timing tasks.
 Applications for the 555 Timer include:
• Bounce-free switches and Cascaded timers
• Frequency dividers
• Voltage-controlled oscillators
• Pulse generators and LED flashers
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555 Timer

8
V CC
R
7
DIS

3
Q
6
2 THR
TR

GND
5
CV
NE555

1
 Each pin has a function, the meaning of
which will become clearer later.
 Note some familiar components inside
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Inside the 555 Timer

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Inside the 555 Timer
 You will learn more about these components later in
the course, for now just understand the following:
• The voltage divider has three equal 5K resistors. It
divides the input voltage (Vcc) into three equal parts.
• The two comparators are op-amps which compare the
voltages at their inputs and saturate depending upon
which is greater.
• The flip-flop is a bi-stable device. It generates two
values, a “high” value equal to Vcc and a “low” value
equal to 0V.
• The transistor is being used as a switch, it connects pin 7
(discharge) to ground when it is closed.

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Periodic Pulse Train from a 555 Timer

 555-Timers, like op-amps can be configured in different ways to

create different circuits. We will now look into how this one
creates a train of equal pulses, as shown at the output.
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 First we must examine how capacitors charge 10V

TCLOSE = 0 R1
1 2 8V
U1
V V 1k V

1
6V

U2 Capacitor Voltage
V1
10V TOPEN = 0 C1
2 4V

1uF

2V

0V

0 0s
V(U2:1)
1ms
V(R1:2)
2ms
V(V1:+)
3ms 4ms 5ms 6ms 7ms 8ms 9ms 10ms

Time

 Capacitor C1 is charged up by current flowing

through R1 V1  V 10  V
I CAPACITOR
 CAPACITOR
R1 1k
 As the capacitor charges up, its voltage increases
and the current charging it decreases, resulting in
the charging rate shown
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 Capacitor Charging Equations
10mA 10V

8mA 8V

6mA 6V
Capacitor and Resistor Current

Capacitor Voltage

4mA 4V

2mA 2V

0A 0V
0s 1ms 2ms 3ms 4ms 5ms 6ms 7ms 8ms 9ms 10ms 0s 1ms 2ms 3ms 4ms 5ms 6ms 7ms 8ms 9ms 10ms
I(R1) I(C1) V(U2:1) V(R1:2) V(V1:+)
Time Time

 t
 Capacitor Current I  Ioe

Capacitor Voltage V  Vo 1  e 

 t

 

 Where the time constant   RC  R1 C1  1ms

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Understanding the equations
10V

8V

6V

Capacitor Voltage

4V

2V

0V
0s 1ms 2ms 3ms 4ms 5ms 6ms 7ms 8ms 9ms 10ms
V(U2:1) V(R1:2) V(V1:+)
Time

 Note that the voltage rises to a little above

1
6V in 1ms. (1  e ) .632
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Capacitor Charging and Discharging

 There is a good description of capacitor

charging and its use in 555 timer circuits at
http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/gadgets/555/555.html

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555 Timer

 At the beginning of the cycle, C1 is charged through

resistors R1 and R2. The charging time constant is
  ( R1  R2)C1
 The voltage reaches (2/3)Vcc in a time
  0.693( R1  R2)C1
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555 Timer

 When the voltage on the capacitor reaches

(2/3)Vcc, a switch (the transistor) is closed at
pin 7 and the capacitor is discharged to
(1/3)Vcc, at which time the switch is opened and
the cycle starts over
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555 Timer

 The capacitor voltage cycles back and forth

between (2/3)Vcc and (1/3)Vcc at times
and  1  0.693( R1  R2)C1
 2  0.693( R2)C1
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555 Timer

 The frequency is then given by

1 144
.
f  
0.693( R1  2  R2)C1 ( R1  2  R2)C1

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555 Animation

Output is high for

0.693(Ra+Rb)C

Output voltage high

turns off upper LED
and turns on lower
LED

Capacitor is charging through Ra and Rb

 http://www.williamson-labs.com/pu-aa-555-
timer_slow.htm
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555 Animation
Output is low for
0.693(Rb)C

Output is low
so the upper
LED is on and
the lower LED
is off

Capacitor is discharging
through Rb
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Types of 555-Timer Circuits
5V
5V

Ra R

8
R

VCC
R

V CC
7 7
DIS DIS
1K
3
Rb 3 Q
Q
6
6 2 THR
2 THR TR LED

GND
TR LED 5
GND

2
CV
5
CV

0.01uF
NE555
C
0.01 uF

1
NE555
C
1

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 Astable Multivibrator  Monostable Multivibrator
puts out a continuous (or one-shot) puts out one
pulse each time the
sequence of pulses switch is connected

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 Monostable Multivibrator (One Shot)
Vcc 8 4 Reset

R Threshold Comparator
Ra 2 +V Output
Vcc -
Q
3
+
R 3
6 -V
R
Trigger +V
-
2 S Q
1 +
Vcc -V
3 Trigger Comparator Control Flip-Flop

7
R
C

1 Monstable Multivibrator
One-Shot 18
 Behavior of the Monostable Multivibrator
 The monostable multivibrator is constructed by adding an
external capacitor and resistor to a 555 timer.
 The circuit generates a single pulse of desired duration
when it receives a trigger signal, hence it is also called a
one-shot.
 The time constant of the
resistor-capacitor
combination determines
the length of the pulse.

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Uses of the Monostable Multivibrator
• Used to generate a clean pulse of the correct
height and duration for a digital system
• Used to turn circuits or external components
on or off for a specific length of time.
• Used to generate delays.
• Can be cascaded to create a variety of
sequential timing pulses. These pulses can
allow you to time and sequence a number of
related operations.

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 Astable Pulse-Train Generator (Multivibrator)
Vcc 8 4

R Threshold Comparator
R1 +V
- Output

R Q
+ 3
R2 6 -V
R
+V
-
2 S Q
+
-V
Trigger Comparator Control Flip-Flop

7
R
C

1 Astable Pulse-Train Generator

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 Behavior of the Astable Multivibrator
 The astable multivibrator is simply an oscillator. The astable
multivibrator generates a continuous stream of rectangular off-on
pulses that switch between two voltage levels.
 The frequency of the pulses and their duty cycle are dependent
upon the RC network values.
 The capacitor C charges through the series resistors R1 and R2
with a time constant
(R1 + R2)C.
 The capacitor discharges
through R2 with a time
constant of R2C

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Uses of the Astable Multivibrator

• Flashing LED’s
• Pulse Width Modulation
• Pulse Position Modulation
• Periodic Timers (see mushroom timer in the
experiment).

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 Flashing LED’s

 40 LED bicycle light with 20 LEDs flashing

alternately at 4.7Hz

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PWM: Pulse Width Modulation

 Signal is compared to a sawtooth wave

producing a pulse width proportional to
amplitude
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 What Can Be Done With PWM?
Low
Duty Cycle

Medium
Duty Cycle

High
Duty Cycle

 Question: What happens if voltages like

the ones above are connected to a light
bulb? Answer: The longer the duty cycle,
the longer the light bulb is on and the
brighter the light. 26
What Can Be Done With PWM?

 Average power can be controlled

 Average flows can also be controlled by fully
opening and closing a valve with some duty cycle
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 Pulse Position Modulation

 This is an optical transmitter.

 Astable is used to produce carrier pulses at a frequency we
cannot hear (well above 20kHz)

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Behavior of the Pulse Position Modulator
 This application generates a continuous stream of
rectangular off-on pulses that switch between two
voltage levels, BUT they vary in width.
 The frequency of the pulses and their duty cycle are
dependent upon the RC network values AND the value
of the input signal.
 When a signal is
encoded like this, it
can be transmitted and
then decoded with
a receiver.

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Optical Receiver Circuit

 The receiver takes the optical pulses, reconstructs the

signal, amplifies it, and plays it on a speaker.
 You will build this circuit in project 2.

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Part B: Diodes and Light
• The Light-Emitting Diode
(LED) is a semiconductor
pn junction diode that
emits visible light or near-
infrared radiation when
forward biased.
• Visible LEDs emit
relatively narrow bands of
green, yellow, orange, or
red light. Infrared LEDs
emit in one of several
bands just beyond red
light.
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 Facts about LED’s
• LEDs switch off and on rapidly, are very rugged
and efficient, have a very long lifetime, and are
easy to use.
• They are current-dependent sources, and their
light output intensity is directly proportional to
the forward current through the LED.
• Always operate an LED within its ratings to
prevent irreversible damage.
• Use a series resistor (Rs) to limit the current
through the LED to a safe value. Usually a 330
Ω resistor is used in series with an LED when
used with a 5V supply.
• VLED is the LED voltage drop. It ranges from
about 1.3 volts to about 2.5 volts. Vin  VLED
Rs 
• ILED is the specified forward current. I LED
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Photodiodes and Phototransistors
• Photodiodes are designed to detect photons and
can be used in circuits to sense light.
• Phototransistors are photodiodes with some
internal amplification. Photodiode Light-detector
Circuit
Note:
Reverse current flows through the
+
photodiode when it is sensing light.
If photons excite carriers in a reverse- V I
biased pn junction, a very small
current proportional to the light
R
intensity flows.
The sensitivity depends on the
wavelength of light.

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