Power supply

What is power supply?

The power supply unit is the part of the hardware that is used to convert the power provided from the outlet
into usable power to many parts inside an electrical device. Every energy supply must drive its load, which
is connected to it. Depending on its design, a power supply unit may obtain energy from various types of
energy sources, like electrical energy transmission systems, electromechanical systems such as generators
and alternators, solar power converters, energy storage devices such as a battery and fuel cells, or other
power supply. There are two types of power supplies existed, AC and DC power supply. Based on the
electrical devices electric specifications it may use AC power or DC power.

Classification of Power Supply and Its Different Types

OUTPUT = DC OUTPUT = AC
INPUT = AC Wall wart Isolation transformer
Bench power supplies Variable AC supply
Battery charger Frequency changer

INPUT = DC DC-DC converter Inverter

Generator
UPS

Variable AC Power Supply

The different AC voltages are generated by using a transformer. The transformer may have multiple
windings or taps, in which case the instrument uses switches to select the different voltage levels.
Alternatively, a variable transformer (adjustable autotransformer) can be used to continuously vary the
voltages. Some variable AC supplies are included meters to monitor the voltage, current, and/or power
Unregulated Linear Power Supply
Unregulated power supplies contain a step-down transformer, rectifier, filter capacitor, and a bleeder
resistor. This type of power supply, because of simplicity, is the least costly and most reliable for low power
requirements. The main disadvantage is that the output voltage is not constant. It will vary with the input
voltage and the load current, and the ripple is not suitable for electronic applications. The ripple can be
reduced by changing the filter capacitor to an LC (inductor-capacitor) filter, but the cost becomes more.

Input transformer
The input transformer is used to convert the incoming line voltage down to the required level
of the power supply. It also isolates the output circuit from the line supply. Here we are using
a step-down transformer.

Rectifier
The rectifier used to convert the incoming signal from an AC format into raw DC. Please
refer these links, Different types of rectifiers available are half wave rectifier and full-wave
rectifier.

Filter Capacitor
The pulsated DC from the rectifier is fed to the smoothing capacitor. It will remove the
unwanted ripples in the pulsated DC.
Bleeder Resistor
Bleeder Resistor is also known as a power supply drain resistor. It is connected across the
filter capacitors to drain their stored charge so that the power system supply is not dangerous.
Regulated Linear Power Supply
Regulated linear power supplies are same to the unregulated linear power supply except
that a 3-terminal regulator is used in place of the bleeder resistor. The main aim of this
supply is to provide the required level of DC power to the load. The DC power supply uses
an AC supply as the input. Different applications require different levels of attributes
voltages, but nowadays the DC power supplies provide an accurate output voltage. And this
voltage is regulated by an electronic circuitry so that it provides a constant output voltage
over a wide range of output loads.

Here the basic circuit diagram for Regulated Linear Power Supply given below.

Smoothing
Once rectified from an AC signal, the DC needs to be smoothed to remove the varying voltage
level. Large value capacitors are generally used for this purpose.

Voltage Regulator
A linear regulator has an active (BJT or MOSFET) pass device (series or shunt) controlled by
a high gain differential amplifier. It compares the output voltage with a precise reference
voltage and adjusts the pass device to maintain a constant level output voltage. There are two
main types of linear power supplies. Read more about Different Types of Voltage Regulators
with Working Principle.
Series regulator
This is the most widely used regulators for linear power supplies. As the name implies a series
element is placed in the circuit as shown in below figure, and its resistance varied via the
control electronics to ensure that the correct output voltage is generated for the current taken.

Shunt regulator
The shunt regulator is less widely used as the main element within a voltage regulator. In this,
a variable element is placed across the load as shown in below. There is a source resistor placed
in series with the input, and the shunt regulator is varied to make sure that the voltage across
the load remains constant.
Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS)
The SMPS has a rectifier, filter capacitor, series transistor, regulator, transformer, but is more complicated
than the other power supplies that we have discussed.

The above-shown schematic is a simple block diagram. The AC voltage is rectified to an unregulated DC
voltage, with the series transistor and the regulator. This DC is chopped to a constant high-frequency
voltage which enables the size of the transformer to be dramatically reduced and allows for a much smaller
power supply.
The disadvantages of this type of supply are that all of the transformers have to be custom-made and the
complexity of the power supply does not lend itself to low production or economical low power applications.
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
UPS is a Backup power source that, in the case of power failure or fluctuations, allows enough time for an orderly
shutdown of the system or for a standby generator to start up. UPS consists usually of a bank of rechargeable batteries
and power sensing and conditioning circuitry. Furthermore read about the UPS circuit diagram and different types,
please refer this link to read more about UPS Circuit Diagram and Working.

Uninterruptible Power Supply Circuit Diagram

Types of UPS
The Standby UPS ( off line UPS)
The Line Interactive UPS
Online UPS
 Operational Amplifier
The Two Basic Operational Amplifier Circuits

For negative feedback, were the fed-back voltage is in anti-phase to the input the overall
gain of the amplifier is reduced.

For positive feedback, were the fed-back voltage is in Phase with the input the overall
gain of the amplifier is increased.

By connecting the output directly back to the negative input terminal, 100% feedback is
achieved resulting in a Voltage Follower (buffer) circuit with a constant gain of 1 (Unity).

Changing the fixed feedback resistor ( R ) for a Potentiometer, the circuit will have
Adjustable Gain.
Operational Amplifier Gain

For negative feedback, were the fed-back voltage is in anti-phase to the input the overall
gain of the amplifier is reduced.

For positive feedback, were the fed-back voltage is in Phase with the input the overall
gain of the amplifier is increased.

By connecting the output directly back to the negative input terminal, 100% feedback is
achieved resulting in a Voltage Follower (buffer) circuit with a constant gain of 1 (Unity).

Changing the fixed feedback resistor (R) for a Potentiometer, the circuit will have
Adjustable Gain.

Differential and Summing Amplifiers

Differentiator and Integrator Operational Amplifier Circuits

Voltage Follower

What is a Voltage Follower?

A voltage follower (also called a unity-gain amplifier, a buffer amplifier, and an isolation
amplifier) is a op-amp circuit which has a voltage gain of 1.

This means that the op amp does not provide any amplification to the signal. The reason it is
called a voltage follower is because the output voltage directly follows the input voltage,
meaning the output voltage is the same as the input voltage. Thus, for example, if 10V goes into
the op amp as input, 10V comes out as output. A voltage follower acts as a buffer, providing no
amplification or attenuation to the signal.
What is the Purpose of a Voltage Follower
1. Voltage Followers Draw Very Little Current

When a circuit has a very high input impedance, very little current is drawn from the circuit. If you know ohm's law, you
know that current, I=V/R. Thus, the greater the resistance, the less current is drawn from a power source. Thus, the
power of the circuit isn't affected when current is feeding a high impedance load.

2. Voltage Followers Are Important in Voltage Divider Circuits

Because an op amp has a very high input impedance, the majority of voltage will fall across it, (since its so high
impedance). So it's very valuable when used in a voltage divider circuit because strategically doing so can allow a
designer to supply sufficient voltage to a load.
Comparator