Three Terminal Fixed and Adjustable Voltage Regulators
Three Terminal Fixed and Adjustable Voltage Regulators
Three Terminal Fixed and Adjustable Voltage Regulators
As the name suggests, three terminal voltage regulators have three terminals namely input which
is unregulated (Vin), regulated output (Vo) and common or a ground terminal. These regulators
do not require any feedback connections. Figure shows the basic the 3 terminal voltage regulator.
This is basically a series voltage regulator circuit. A part of output voltage is taken with the help
of potential divider formed by R1 and R2. This is compared with reference voltage, Vref
internally generated with the help of zener diode.
After comparison, a control signal is generated which is applied through protective circuit to the
series pass transistor working as control element. This element works as a variable resistance.
The control signal adjusts the control element in such a way that output voltage remains constant
Thermal shutdown means that the chip will automatically turn itself off if the internal
temperature exceeds, typically, 175°C. The current limiting circuit will protect the chip from
excessive load current. Because of the thermal shutdown and current limiting, the IC voltage
regulator chip is almost indestructible.
IC Series of Three Terminal Fixed Voltage Regulators
The popular IC series of three terminal regulators is μA78XX and μA79XX. The series μA
78XX is the series of three terminal positive voltage regulators while μA79XX is the series of
three terminal negative voltage regulators. The last two digits denoted as XX, indicate the output
voltage rating of the IC.
These ICs are provided with adequate heat sinking and can deliver output currents more than 1A.
These ICs do not require external components. These are provided with internal thermal
protection, overload and short circuit protection.
Typical Connection of IC 7805 Regulator
The Figure shows the typical connection of IC μA 7805 regulator. The maximum input voltage
which can be applied to IC 7805 is 35 V. The maximum dropout voltage is 2.5V. The output of
7805 regulator is 5 V fixed. Hence minimum input voltage required is 5 + 2.5 = 7.5. So input
range of IC 7805 regulator is 7.5 V to 35 V to get fixed 5 V as regulated output. This is indicated
in the Figure
Positive 5 V Power Supply using IC 7805
A 5V output voltage supply system using full wave bride rectifier, capacitor filter and IC
regulator 7805 is shown in the Figure. The a.c. line voltage is 230 V which is stepped down to 15
V using a transformer. A full wave rectifier along with the capacitor voltage provides the
unregulated voltage input to IC 7805 regulator. This input contains a.c. ripple of few volts. The
IC 7805 regulator provides the regulated output of 5V.