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The laminate substrates, one of the most widely used carriers in RF module packaging. This method that combines the traditional laminate substrates technology with the integrated passive device technology (IPD) is a win-win solution that can achieve the best balance in cost, size, performance, and flexibility. The application of laminate substrates with IPD devices is discussed with two examples in this article.     Catalog I. General Introduction II. Comparison of IPD and SMD(Surface Mounted Devices) and LTCC Discrete   Device Circuits III. Application Examples IV. Conclusion FAQ   I. General Introduction   A wide range of packaging carrier technologies are available in radio frequency packages(hereinafter referred to as RF) and wireless products, including lead frames, laminate substrates, low-temperature co-fired ceramic (hereinafter referred to as LTCC), and silicon backplane. Because the increasing function has higher requirements for integration, also more demands put forward for the system-level packaging method (SiP). Lead frame substrate packaging technology has been greatly developed in the past few years, including etching inductors, adding passive devices to pins, stacking technology of chips, and so on. Frame substrates are the cheapest cost option, but higher functionality requires more wiring and more vertical space utilized, therefore framework package is rarely used in RF integration solutions.   LTCC has been proven to be a high-performance substrate material that provides high integration due to its multi-layer structure, the high dielectric is constant, and high-quality factor inductance. The passive device can be embedded in LTCC, such as independent RCL or functional blocks containing RCL, so that SMT(surface mounted technology) devices require minimal planar space and improved electrical performance.   Integration is the advantage of LTCC, however, warping, cracks, secondary reliability of substrate, and the whole supply chain structure (transfer of substrate during packaging) limit the LTCC, which makes it impossible to become a popular carrier substrate selection.   Silicon substrate carriers, such as the chip-scale module package(CSMP) of STATS ChipPAC, have been widely used in wireless solutions requiring high integration, excellent electrical performance, and small profile coefficients. CSMP is an ideal packaging form of a fully integrated solution that can include RFIC and baseband IC. However, such integration is not the lowest cost and is not required for all RF and wireless devices.   The above-mentioned reasons lead us to think of the laminate substrates, one of the most widely used carriers in RF module packaging. This method that combines the traditional laminate substrates technology with the integrated passive device technology (IPD) is a win-win solution that can achieve the best balance in cost, size, performance, and flexibility. The application of laminate substrates with IPD devices is discussed with two examples in this article.     II. Comparison of IPD and SMD(Surface Mounted Devices) and LTCC Discrete Device Circuits   RF modules need independent RCL or combined RCLs to implement functional blocks such as filters, diplexer, balun, which are usually the SMD or IPD.   The traditional laminate substrate is not suitable for embedded passive devices, and high dielectric material lamination is limited by large cost. Spiral inductors can be designed inside the laminate substrate, but the inductance is limited. Therefore, laminate substrates are more likely to combine SMT with IPD, which has the advantages of cost, shape size, performance, and so on.   It needs to trade-off when SMDs be used and when specific passive devices are designed into reasonable IPDs. For example, when a capacitor larger than 100.0pF is required, the use of SMT devices has the advantage of size and cost.   In addition, SMT passive devices are generally recommended when a small number of decoupling capacitors or independent inductors and resistors are required in the design. The surface mount device can make full use of the Z direction of the occupied space while the IPD mainly uses the XY direction, the latter has very limited utilization of the Z height direction.   Thus it is wise to use SMT devices when the surface area of the IPD devices exceeds the available space. In order to find the best balance between IPD and SMT devices, a curve describing the relationship between the device value and the area required by IPD is developed (Fig. 1) for design reference.   Fig.1 Inductance and Capacitance of IPD fabricated on Silicon substrate Using silicon-based IPD technology, an 0201 SMD device (0.15mm2) can generate a 25.0nH inductance value or 50.0pF capacitance value. In other words, If the capacity is smaller than these two values, the external dimensions of the devices/circuits scheme are smaller than that of 0201 devices.   IPD schemes are suitable for functional blocks for a variety of reasons. First, although the silicon-based IPD inductor also uses a spiral form, it can use smaller linewidth and isolation space. In addition, high-resistive silicon substrates are allowed to produce higher-quality inductors.   As a result, the mass and shape coefficients of an IPD inductor are comparable to those of SMD devices. Second, small-capacity capacitors (in RF applications) are easier to build in IPD. Finally, comparing with connecting SMD devices with PCB, or internal connections to LTCC, the interconnect paths on silicon substrates are shorter.   For an ultra-wideband (UWB) application filter, as an example, the existing LTCC filter size is 3.2mm × 2.5mm × 0.8mm, and if the same layout is used in IPD, the size will be 1.6mm × 1.0mm × 0.5mm (Figure 2). IPD filter has a thinner shape and its size has been reduced by five times. Fig.2 Size Comparison between LTCC Filter and IPD Filter Comparing with other cases, for filters (such as LPF or BPF), IPD can get five times smaller shapes; for unbalanced transformers, using IPD shape can be two times smaller.   Another way is to use embedded inductors (inside laminates) and SMT capacitors to make filters, but in this way means occupying more space than LTCC or IPD, also including performance limitations.   In addition, since the process of assembling a whole integrated functional block is split into two parts (PCB inductor and SMT capacitor), the package requirements must be stricter for the assembly processes.   SMT devices have different sizes. In the RF module application, the most commonly used is 0201. Smaller 01005 devices have just appeared, but they are usually more expensive and have limited device value.   These SMT devices are usually attached to the laminate using a high-speed mounting machine, which is then soldered back to the laminate.   Fig. 3 An IPD are Bonded on A Laminated Substrate or Upside Down on It in an RF Module The IPD can be in the form of a bare chip or a convex device and then welded to the substrate by wire bonding or inversion (Fig. 3). The convex IPD chip and SMT device can be pasted by a high-speed mounting machine. After finished, the other chips can be directly placed on the substrate by wire bonding.   III. Application Examples   Example 1—GSM Matching Circuit In an RF receiver, matching circuits are needed to improve the performance of PA and LNA active circuits. These matching circuits include RCL devices. Considering cost and performance, these RCL devices can be removed from the chip and implemented in the form of SMD or IPD.   We compare a client's GSM transport module with an out-of-chip adaptor. In this module, there are 73 passive devices for matching circuits and DC decoupling. If only SMD elements are used (assuming all devices can be 0201), the package size will be 11mm × 11mm. However, if some devices are implemented in the form of IPD, the size of the module can be significantly reduced (Table 1).   Table.1 Package Size Comparsion between SMD and IPD+SMD IPD is very suitable for the low frequency (860MHz) and high frequency (1800MHz) adapters of GSM. In addition to some large capacity decoupling capacitors, 55 RCLs can be made in a smaller IPD network, which the package size can be only 7mm × 7 mm. In order to simplify, the complexity of routing is not taken into account in all examples.   It should be noted that the IPD network is treated as an integrated chip because its shape coefficient and thickness are similar to that of an integrated circuit.   IPD network is stacked with the transport chip, although it increases the thickness of the module, the IPD thickness is only 0.25mm, thus there is no obvious effect on the thickness increase (although it increases the thickness of the module when the IPD network stacked with the transport chip, there is no obvious effect on the thickness as the IPD thickness is only 0.25mm).   Therefore, the IPD packaging stack saves space and can be stacked on top or bottom of another chip by wire bonding or flip-chip bonding.   Example 2—GSM Balun Circuits In order to suppress the noise and improve the PA performance, differential output settings are often used for PA, thus a transformer is needed to convert the single-step terminal to the differential one. However, transformers that can be supplied by the industry have a fixed impedance transformer ratio, such as 50.0~100. 0 Ω transformers or 50.0~200. 0 Ω transformers.   Most PAs have low output impedance to transmit high power, which requires a matching circuit between the transformer and PA, as shown in figure 5 (b). In this example, the output matching circuit and transformer function block of PA are used to demonstrate the effects of IPD technology.   Fig.4 Package Comparison of Two Schemes There are GSM low frequency (860 MHz) and high frequency (1800 MHz) circuits in the application. Different frequencies have different matching circuits and transformers to convert a differential-terminal output to a single-step output (50.0Ω). In the existing form of the product, a customer uses a standard chip LTCC transformer with dimensions of 2.0 mm * 1.25 mm * 0.95 mm and 1.6 mm * 0.8 mm * 0.8 mm * 0. 6 mm.   Because the standard transformer has 50.0Ωto 200.0Ωimpedance conversion and does not match the specific power amplifier output impedance, the module needs to be independent with a 4RCL device. The current LTCC + SMD solutions are shown in Table 2.   Table.2 Size Comparsion between IPD and LTCC + SMD     Because an IPD transformer can be designed to match any amplifier output impedance, there is no need to use a separate matching circuit (4 RCL) to each frequency band. In other words, the matching function can be embedded into the Balun transformer.   The overall size of the IPD scheme is 2.5 mm2, which is about four times smaller than the size of the existing LTCC+SMD scheme. In addition, the matchers and transformer circuits are only about 0.25mm high, which is also thinner than discrete LTCC devices.   Fig.5 (a) IPD Balun in the high and low frequency band of GSM, the sizes are 1.5mm*1.0mm and 1.0mm * 1.0mm, and Matching function has been embedded in Balun transformer. Figure 5 (b) The function-block solution of output matching circuit and transformer. IPD solution eliminates the use of SMD devices completely in matchers and transformer modules. It not only reduces the area by four times but also greatly cuts the cost of the packaging process. Because it is integrated into an IPD module instead of using a LTCC separator, balun transformer, and four RCLs, the effects of yield and process changes are improved.   IV. Conclusion     There have been many studies on the ideal solution of RF packaging in recent years, and the most important thing is to strike a balance between cost, volume, and performance. Although remarkable progress has been made in the lead frame technology, the performance of the LTCC substrate has been improved. The technology of IPD integration and laminate substrates is still the best considerate solution.   Laminate substrates have low cost, high flexibility, mature supply chains, and fast manufacturing cycles. IPD can produce excellent RF functional blocks and can be mounted on laminate substrates as easily as chips or SMT devices. Combining laminate substrates with IPD provides a very broad range of RF solutions. The two GSM examples studied in this article are just illustrating the typical size reduction. This technology can also be used in RF circuits of mobile TV, GPS, WLAN, and WiMax devices.     FAQ   1. What is RF and how it works? Radio frequency waves (RF) are generated when an alternating current goes through a conductive material. ... Frequency is measured in hertz (or cycles per second) and wavelength is measured in meters (or centimeters). Radio waves are electromagnetic waves and they travel at the speed of light in free space.   2. How do RF modules transmit data? An RF transmitter receives serial data and transmits it wirelessly through RF through its antenna connected at pin4. The transmission occurs at the rate of 1Kbps - 10Kbps. The transmitted data is received by an RF receiver operating at the same frequency as that of the transmitter.   3. How does RF transceiver work? RF transceiver module is used in a particular device where both the transmitter and receiver houses in a single module. Such devices transmit and receives RF signal, so that is named as RF Transceiver. ... The transmitter and Receiver parts in the RF transceivers called as RF Up converter and RF Down converter.   4.What is RF transmitter and receiver? RF signals travel in the transmitter and receiver even when there is an obstruction. It operates at a specific frequency of 433MHz. RF transmitter receives serial data and transmits to the receiver through an antenna which is connected to the 4th pin of the transmitter.   5. Is RF dangerous? RF radiation has lower energy than some other types of non-ionizing radiation, like visible light and infrared, but it has higher energy than extremely low-frequency (ELF) radiation. If RF radiation is absorbed by the body in large enough amounts, it can produce heat. This can lead to burns and body tissue damage.   6. Why is RF used? RF energy in more specific applications, like in the medical field, have equally specified purposes. MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) uses RF waves to generate images of the human body. RF is also used to destroy cancer cells and perform cosmetic treatments that tighten skin, reduce fat, or promote skin cell healing.   7. Is WIFI a RF? Very basically, Wi-Fi is made up of stations that transmit and receive data. Wireless transmissions are made up of radio frequency signals, or RF signals, which travel using a variety of movement behaviors (also called propagation behaviors).   8. How is RF signal transmitted? As the RF waves move away from the transmitting antenna they move towards another antenna attached to the receiver, which is the final component in the wireless medium. The receiver takes the signal that it received from the antenna and translates the modulated signals and passes them on to be processed.   9. What devices use RF? Modern devices often generate electromagnetic fields of radio frequency (RF) ranging from 100 kHz to 300 GHz. Key sources of RF fields include mobile phones, cordless phones, local wireless networks and radio transmission towers. They are also used by medical scanners, radar systems and microwave ovens.   10.How far can RF travel? The distance a radio wave travels in a vacuum, in one second, is 299,792,458 meters (983,571,056 ft), which is the wavelength of a 1 hertz radio signal. A 1 megahertz radio wave (mid-AM band) has a wavelength of 299.79 meters (983.6 ft).   11. What RF sensing? Unlike traditional hardware sensors, RF sensing provides users with low-cost and unobtrusive services. Fur- thermore, due to the broadcast nature of RF sig- nals, RF sensing can be used not only to monitor multiple subjects, but also to capture changes in the environment over a large area.   12. What is the frequency range of RF? Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around 20 kHz to around 300 GHz.   13. How do you calculate RF? The Rf value of a compound is equal to the distance traveled by the compound divided by the distance traveled by the solvent front (both measured from the origin).   14. How do I connect RF headphones to my TV? On the back of the headphone transmitter, connect the other end of the audio cable to the AUDIO IN jack. Connect the AC adapter into the transmitter's DC IN 9V jack and then plug it into a wall outlet. Adjust the TV volume to the desired level. Turn on the wireless headphones and adjust the volume to the desired level.   15. What is the difference between RF and IR? RF (radio frequency) technology uses radio waves to transmit the audio signal. These are susceptible to RF interference. IR (infrared) technology uses infrared light to carry the audio signal thus keeping the signal in the room and eliminating RF interference.   You May Also Like How Does RFID Make An Impact On Retail Industry Basic Introduction and Future Development Trend Analysis of RFID Technology Powercast Announced The Industry’s First RFID Sensor Tags Which Can Include Multiple Sensors in A Single Tag

  In daily production and life, ultrasonic ranging sensors are mainly used for non-contact automatic parking distance control (PDC) of automobiles, obstacle avoidance robots, construction sites and industrial working environments that require liquid level, well depth, pipeline length, etc. In general, there are two commonly used ultrasonic distance measurement methods:   - The ultrasonic ranging system based on single chip microcomputer or embedded equipment;   -  An ultrasonic ranging system based on CPLD (complex programmable logic device). In order to understand the design and application of ultrasonic ranging sensor, let us first understand the working principle of ultrasonic sensor. Introducing ultrasonic sensor & taking HC-SR04 as an example   Catalog   I What is ultrasonic sensor? II Methods for ultrasonic ranging III Principles for ultrasonic ranging IV Conclusion FAQ   I What is ultrasonic sensor?      Figure 1. Working principle of ultrasonic sensor ranging An ultrasonic sensor is a sensor that converts an ultrasonic signal into another energy signal (usually an electrical signal).  Ultrasonic is a mechanical shock wave generated in elastic media with a frequency greater than 20 kHz. Because of its strong directivity, slow energy consumption and relatively long propagation distance, it is often used in non-contact ranging.  In addition, ultrasonic has the big ability to penetrate liquid and solid, especially in the sunshine opaque solid. When an ultrasonic hits an impurity or an interface, itwill produce a significant reflection to form an echo,  and when it hits a moving object will cause a phenomenon called Doppler Effect.  Therefore, ultrasonic ranging has a good adaptability to the environment, and ultrasonic distance measurement can be well compromised in real time, precision, and price. II Methods for ultrasonic ranging At present, there are various methods for ultrasonic ranging:    -  round-trip time detection;   -  phase detection;   -  acoustic amplitude detection. The principle is that the ultrasonic sensor emits ultrasonic waves of a certain frequency, propagates through the air medium, and is reflected back after reaching the measurement target or the obstacle. After being reflected, the ultrasonic receiver receives the pulses, and the time it takes, is the round-trip time, which is related to the distance traveled by ultrasonic waves. Measuring the wave propagation time to get the wave propagation distance: Assuming that s is the distance between the measured object and the range finder, the time measured is t / s, and the velocity of ultrasonic propagation is expressed as v／m·s－1, then there is a relation (1): s=vt／2       (1) When the accuracy is required, the influence of temperature on the ultrasonic propagation speed needs to be considered, therefore the ultrasonic propagation speed is corrected according to relation (2) to reduce the error. v=331．4+0．607T        (2) Where T is the actual temperature, the unit is °C; v is the propagation speed of ultrasonic wave in the medium, and the unit is m/s. Figure 2. Working principle of ultrasonic ranging sensor   III Principles for ultrasonic ranging   The principle of ultrasonic ranging is to transmit ultrasonic waves in a specific direction through an ultrasonic transmitter, and start timing at the same time as the transmission. When ultrasonic waves propagate in the air and hit an obstacle, they will immediately return and be received by the ultrasonic receiver, and stop timing immediately. The ultrasonic ranging sensor uses the principle of ultrasonic echo ranging and uses precise time difference measurement technology to detect the distance between the sensor and the target. It has the advantages of small angle, small blind area, high measurement accuracy, non-contact ranging, waterproof, anti-corrosion, and low cost. Ultrasonic ranging sensors are usually used in a way that one transmitter corresponds to one receiver, but there are also multiple transmitters corresponding to one receiver. Therefore, the ultrasonic distance sensor can measure the return and return time of the ultrasonic wave to determine the distance of the object. This is how the ultrasonic distance sensor works. For the ultrasonic distance sensor, we recommend to use the Korean Hagisonic ultrasonic distance sensor module HG-C40U.   Figure 3. Ultrasonic distance sensor module HG-C40U   Ultrasonic distance sensor module has two optional transmission modes:   -  Free operation mode: when there is power supply, the sensor itself can send trigger and burst signals and it is usually for basic applications;   -  External trigger mode: the external system (controller or processor) controls trigger signals for advanced applications. These two modes are suitable for a variety of purposes.   In addition, the sensors also involve the choice of two input power supplies:   -  Low voltage (5V) for the processor circuit, the distance to the obstacle can be measured is 3.5m;   -  High voltage (12V) for the controller circuit, the distance to the obstacle can be measured is 5m. The data is transmitted by UART (universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter) with a resolution of less than 5mm. On the other hand, users can select different setting modes according to their own environment needs. Such as free-running / UART triggering / external trigger settings, etc.  At the same time, on the basis of baud rate of UART communication, the user can also decide whether to set up the circular buffer or not. The output signal uses high performance ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) chip to ensure stable transmission and sensitive reception, and the communication between sensor and PC uses "interface board" (RS232, power regulator). The data show that the real received ultrasonic wave can be amplified in real time by using the monitor program on PC, the distance value can be output by UART (ASCII, mm), and then the detection signal can be converted into the rectangular TTL level signal (square wave) in real time. IV Conclusion Ultrasonic sensors are reliable, cost-effective and efficient solutions for distance sensing, level and obstacle detection. Once you understand how ultrasonic sensors work and which ultrasonic technology is most suitable rather than excellent, you can make more informed decisions about the correct sensor system for your application.   FAQ   1. What type of sensor is ultrasonic sensor? ultrasonic / level sensors measure the distance to the target by measuring the time between the emission and reception. An optical sensor has a transmitter and receiver, whereas an ultrasonic / level sensor uses a single ultrasonic element for both emission and reception.   2. How many types of ultrasonic sensors are there? four types. All together there are four types of ultrasonic sensors, classified by frequency and shape: the drip-proof type, high-frequency type, and open structure type (lead type and SMD type).   3. What is the range of ultrasonic sensor? For ultrasonic sensing, the most widely used range is 40 to 70 kHz. The frequency determines range and resolution; the lower frequencies produce the greatest sensing range. At 58 kHz, a commonly used frequency, the measurement resolution is one centimeter (cm), and range is up to 11 meters.   4. Can ultrasonic sensor detect human? Finally, ultrasonic sensors assist in detecting people for autonomous navigation of robots. Ultrasonic sensors can be used to set multiple tripwire distances to help navigate around people. Additionally, the high read rate allows you to quickly detect when a person may enter your robot's path.   5. Is ultrasonic sensor harmful? Occupational exposure to ultrasound in excess of 120 dB may lead to hearing loss. Exposure in excess of 155 dB may produce heating effects that are harmful to the human body, and it has been calculated that exposures above 180 dB may lead to death.   6. How do ultrasonic sensors work? Ultrasonic sensors work by emitting sound waves at a frequency too high for humans to hear. They then wait for the sound to be reflected back, calculating distance based on the time required. This is similar to how radar measures the time it takes a radio wave to return after hitting an object.   7. Why is ultrasonic sensor used? Ultrasonic sensors are used primarily as proximity sensors. They can be found in automobile self-parking technology and anti-collision safety systems. ... Ultrasonic sensors are also used as level sensors to detect, monitor, and regulate liquid levels in closed containers (such as vats in chemical factories).   8. Where are ultrasonic sensors used? Ultrasonic sensors have been used throughout many applications and industries. They are used within food and beverage to measure liquid level in bottles, they can be used within manufacturing for an automated process and control maximising efficiency on the factory floor.   9. Is ultrasonic sensor waterproof? Most ultrasonic distance sensors aren't waterproof which can be a problem if you need your project to withstand the elements outdoors. ... This sensor is suitable for outdoor applications such as car reversing sensors, security alarms, industrial inspection, etc.   10. Is ultrasonic sensor analog or digital? Usually, ultrasonic sensors are integrated with an Analog-to-Digital converter (ADC).   11. How do ultrasonic sensors measure distance? As the name indicates, ultrasonic sensors measure distance by using ultrasonic waves. The sensor head emits an ultrasonic wave and receives the wave reflected back from the target. Ultrasonic Sensors measure the distance to the target by measuring the time between the emission and reception.   12. How accurate is the ultrasonic sensor? The more accurate ultrasonic sensors can achieve 0.1 – 0.2% of the detected range under perfectly controlled conditions, and most good ultrasonic sensors can generally achieve between 1% and 3% accuracy.   13. What can ultrasonic sensors detect? Ultrasonic sensors can measure the distance to a wide range of objects regardless of shape, color or surface texture. They are also able to measure an approaching or receding object.   14. Are ultrasonic sensors affected by smoke? Ultrasonic sensors are superior to infrared sensors because they aren't affected by smoke or black materials, however, soft materials which don't reflect the sonar (ultrasonic) waves very well may cause issues.   15. Which is better ultrasonic or IR sensor? Ultrasonic sensors work using sound waves, detecting obstacles is not affected by as many factors. If reliability is an important factor in your sensor selection, ultrasonic sensors are more reliable than IR sensors. If you're willing to compromise reliability for cost, infrared sensors are ideal for your application.  

The devices or components commonly used in electronic circuits include: resistors, capacitors, inductors, sensors, potentiometers, transformers, diodes, bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), photoelectric switches, resonators, oscillators, filters, silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs), relays, dual inline package (DIP) switches, fuse holders, bridge rectifiers, emitters, reed switches, common mode chokes and ferrite beads, magnetic rings, etc. This article contains a lot of commonly used electronic components figures, and I hope you will find this information useful.A Simple Guide to Electronic Components FAQ1. What are basic electronic components?You will work with a number of basic electronic components when building electronic circuits, including resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits. 2. What are electronic components called?They are also called Electrical elements or electrical components. e.g. Resistors, Capacitors, Diodes, Inductors. 3. What are the 3 classification of electronic components?Classification of Electronic Components: Components can be classified as passive, active, or electro-mechanic components.Active components are devices that can amplify an electric signal and produce power.Passive components can't introduce net energy into the circuit. 4. What are the two types of electronic components?These are of 2 types: Passive and Active Components. 5. What is passive electronic components?A passive element is an electrical component that does not generate power, but instead dissipates, stores, and/or releases it. Passive elements include resistances, capacitors, and coils (also called inductors). These components are labeled in circuit diagrams as Rs, Cs and Ls, respectively. 6. How do I choose electronic components?How to select electronic components?Manufacturers.Application Circuit Complexity.Electrical Parameters [voltage, current, power, accuracy, response time, speed, resolution, etc.]Mechanical Parameters [dimension, package, weight, etc.]Consideration w.r.t Manufacturing / Testing. 7. What is difference between active and passive components?Active components are the elements or devices which are capable of providing or delivering energy to the circuit. Passive components are the ones that do not require any external source for the operation and are capable of storing energy in the form of voltage or current in the circuit. 8. How to Test Electric Components with a Multimeter?Continuity tests measure if electricity can flow through the part.Resistance tests how much current is lost as electricity flows through a component or circuit.The third common test is for voltage, or the force of the electric pressure. 9. What are passive components?A passive component is an electronic component which can only receive energy, which it can either dissipate, absorb or store it in an electric field or a magnetic field. ... Passive components cannot amplify, oscillate, or generate an electrical signal. Common examples of passive components include: Resistors. Inductors. 10. How do I choose a PCB component?6 tips for choosing PCB componentsThink about component footprint decisions.Use good grounding practices.Assign virtual parts footprints.Ensure you have complete BOM Data.Sort reference designators.Check spare gates. Relevant information about "List of Basic Electronic Components"About the article "List of Basic Electronic Components", If you have better ideas, don't hesitate to write your thoughts in the following comment area. You also can find more articles about electronic semiconductor through Google search engine, or refer to the following related articles:Rectifiers and Filters NotesCharacteristics and Functions of DiodesReview and Application of Electronic skinSwitched Mode Power Supply Tutorial: Principles & Functions of SMPS CircuitsTransformers Basics: Construction, Types, Materials and Design

Warm hint: The word in this article is about 1000 words and reading time is about 5 minutes     This article introduces you some basic and simple rectifiers and their waveforms and working principle and more.   Catalog I. Introduction 1.1 Composition of DC Stabilized Power Supply 1.2 Basic Concepts II. Detail & Analysis 2.1 Half-Wave Rectifier 2.2 Full-Wave Rectifier 2.3 Bridge Rectifier 2.4 Capacitor Filter 2.5 Inductor Filter FAQ   I. Introduction   1.1 Composition of DC Stabilized Power Supply FIG.1   2. Basic Concepts   AC voltage (current): both amplitude and direction change periodically with time. FIG.2 Sinusoidal Voltage/Current Waveform (AC): alternating voltage/current whose amplitude and direction both change sinusoidally and periodically over time. It is often called AC for short.   Effective value: the direct voltage/current thermally equivalent to the alternating voltage/current is called the effective value of the AC (voltage or current).   Peak value: the maximum instantaneous value of AC (voltage or current).   Frequency: the number of times that AC (voltage or current) changes periodically every second.   Direct voltage/current: voltage/current whose value and direction do not change with time. In fact, the direction can be guaranteed not to change over time, but it is impossible for the value to act the same way all the time. So the alternating voltage/current whose direction is always the same and the numerical value changes over time can be explained as a superposition of DC (voltage or current) and AC (voltage or current) whose amplitude and direction change with time. II. Detail & Analysis   2.1 Half-Wave Rectifier The circuit diagram and the waveforms of half-wave rectifier are shown as the following figures. FIG.3 Average value: FIG.4 Effective value: Turns ratio: According to this, the required output voltage can be obtained by selecting the appropriate N1 and N2.   2.2 Full-Wave Rectifier The following figures are the circuit diagram and the waveform of full-wave rectifier. FIG.5 FIG.6 Average value: Effective value: Transformer: The number of turns of the primary winding is N1, and the number of turns of the secondary winding is N2a=N2b. Turns ratio: According to this, the required output voltage can be obtained by selecting the appropriate N1, N2a and N2b.   2.3 Bridge Rectifier The following figures are the circuit diagram and the waveform of bridge rectifier. FIG.7 FIG.8 Average value: Effective value: Transformer: The number of turns of the primary winding is N1, and the number of turns of the secondary winding is N2. Turns ratio: According to this, the required output voltage can be obtained by selecting the appropriate N1 and N2.   2.4 Capacitor Filter The following figures are the circuit diagram and the waveform of capacitor filter. FIG.9 Filtering principles: a~b: u2=uc=u0, the capacitor C is charged in a sine wave; b~c: u2≈uc = u0, the capacitor C discharges in an exponential curve, but the sinusoidal waves of u2 basically coincide. c~d: u2＜uc=u0, the capacitor C continues to discharge exponentially, and u2 to drop in a sine wave. FIG.10 The effects of RL and C on filtering are shown in the following figure. FIG.11 （1）Basic knowledge of capacitors   Definition:   Basic equations:  Energy equation:  FIG.12 （2）Charging the capacitor Where  It is a time constant, and the initial values of current is  FIG.13 （3）Discharging the capacitor Where It is a time constant, and the initial values of current is FIG.14 （4）Output voltage   After the filtered voltage waveform is linearized, the following approximate waveform is obtained: FIG.15 Based on the relationship of similar triangles, there is And  So we have When There is  FIG.16 Rectifier diode: The current and the conduction angle of the rectifier diode in the capacitor filter circuit are shown in the following figure: FIG.17 Where iD is the current of the rectifier diode when the current is switched on, and io is the current in the load.   2.5 Inductor Filter In heavy current load, if a filter capacitor is used, the capacitance of it and the inrush current of the rectifier both will be very large. But if an industrial-frequency inductor is in series with it for filtering after the rectification, then we can solve these problems very well. The following figure is the circuit diagram of the inductor filter. FIG.18 From the energy point of view, the effects of the inductive filter and the capacitive filter are the same. Therefore, the volt-ampere characteristics of the inductive filter is similar to that of the capacitive filter, see the figure below. FIG.19 The quantitative analysis of inductive filter is more complex, so we should do it with the help of the previous analyzed results for the capacitive filter. If  then we have When the inductor filter is used, the waveform of the terminal voltage and current of the inductor and the conduction angle of the rectifier diode are shown in the following figure. Because the rectifier diode is connected in series with an inductor, the conduction angle of it can reach 180°. Therefore, in situations where harmonics are not demanding, we can use inductive filter to meet PFC (Power Factor Correction) requirements. FIG.20 （1）Basic concepts of inductor FIG.21 Definition:  Basic equations: Energy equation: （2）When inductor stores energy   After the switch is closed, here we have According to the initial conditions, the solution is Where It is a time constant, and the initial voltage is FIG.22 （3）When inductor releases energy FIG.23 After the switch is closed, here we have According to the initial conditions, here we have: Where It is a time constant, and the initial voltage is FIG.24 How Amplifiers Work: Rectifiers and Filter Capacitors   FAQ   1. What are the types of rectifiers? The Different Types of Rectifiers: a. Single Phase & Three Phase Rectifiers. b. Half Wave & Full Wave Rectifiers. c. Bridge Rectifiers. d. Uncontrolled & Controlled Rectifiers.   2. What is Rectifier used for? A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC).   3. What is an example of rectifier? Thyristors are commonly used in place of diodes to create a circuit that can regulate the output voltage. Many devices that provide direct current actually generate three-phase AC. For example, an automobile alternator contains six diodes, which function as a full-wave rectifier for battery charging.   4. Is Zener diode a rectifier? A Zener diode is a special type of rectifying diode that can handle breakdown due to reverse breakdown voltage without failing completely. Here we will discuss the concept of using diodes to regulate voltage drop and how the Zener diode operates in reverse-bias mode to regulate voltage in a circuit.   5. What is the working principle of rectifier? Principle: A junction diode offers a low resistance to current in one direction(when forward biased) and a high resistance in the other direction(when reverse biased). Thus, the diode acts as a rectifier.   6. Why zener diode is not used in Rectifier? No, we don't prefer to use a Zener Diode in a rectifier circuit because for a rectifier circuit a high maximum peak inverse voltage is required. Unlike the normal p-n junction diode, a Zener diode has a low peak inverse voltage. This is an undesirable property for the rectifier circuit.   7. What are the signs of a bad Rectifier? You'll note signs right away like poor starts, fluctuating meter readings, and dimmed headlights. around 13 volts, the bike will start to drain the battery. When this happens, it's only a matter of time before the engine stops completely.   8. What causes a rectifier to fail? Ground connections are important for good voltage, and if there is faulty voltage, the regulator rectifier can run hot. Bad grounding, corroded battery connection and poor or loose battery connections will cause faulty voltage.   9. Will a bad rectifier cause no spark? A bad regulator/ rectifier will result in a dead battery, and once the battery is competely dead you will not get a spark.   10. What is the difference between diode and rectifier? A diode is a switching device, while a rectifier is generally used for the conversion of AC voltage to DC voltage. ... A diode allows the flow of current only when it is forward biased. The diode blocks the reverse flow of current. A rectifier, on the other hand, consists of a transformer, a diode, and a filter circuit.   You May Also Like: Transformers Basics: Construction, Types, Materials and Design Characteristics and Functions of Diodes Switched Mode Power Supply Tutorial: Principles & Functions of SMPS Circuits

Warm hints: The word in this article is about 3000 words and reading time is about 12 minutes.     This article would introduce you different kinds of power supply circuits.   Catalog   I. Circuit Arrangement of Switching Power Supply II. The Principle of the Input Circuit and the Common Circuits 2.1 Principle of AC Input Rectifier Filter Circuit 2.1.1 Lightning Protection Circuit 2.1.2 Input Filter Circuit 2.1.3 Rectifier Filter Circuit 2.2 Principle of DC Input Filter Circuit 2.2.1 Input Filter Circuit 2.2.2 The Anti-surge Circuit III. Power Conversion Circuits 3.1 The Working Principle of MOS Tube 3.2  Common Schematic Diagram 3.3 Working Principle 3.4 Push-pull Power Conversion Circuit 3.5 Power Conversion Circuit with Transformer Driver IV. Output Rectifier Filter Circuit 4.1 Forward Rectifier Circuit 4.2 Flyback Fectifier Circuit 4.3 Synchronous Rectifier Circuit V. Principles of Steady-voltage Loop 5.1 Schematic Diagram of Feedback Circuit 5.2 Working Principles VI. Short Circuit Protection Circuits 6.1 Current-limiting Circuit 6.2 Short Circuit Protection for Low-power Circuit 6.3 Short Circuit Protection for Medium-power Circuit 6.4  Common Current-limiting, Short-circuit Protection Circuit 6.5 Current Transformer Sampling Current Protection Circuit VII. Output Current Limiting Protection VIII. Output Overvoltage Protection Circuits 8.1 SCR Trigger Protection Circuit 8.2 Optocoupler Protection Circuit 8.3 Output Voltage Limiting Protection Circuit 8.4 Output Overvoltage Lockout Circuit IX. Power Factor Correction Circuit (PFC) 9.1 Schematic Diagram of PFC Circuit 9.2 The Working Principles X. Input Under-voltage and Overvoltage Protection 10.1 Schematic Diagram 10.2 The Working Principles FAQ       I. Circuit Arrangement of Switching Power Supply   The main circuit of the switch-mode power supply is composed of an input EMI filter, rectifier filter circuit, power conversion circuit, and PWM controller circuit, output rectifier filter circuit. The auxiliary circuits include the input & output Undervoltage protection circuit, the output overcurrent protection circuit, the output short circuit protection circuit, and so on.   The block diagram of switching power supply circuit arrangement is as follows:   FIG.1 Block diagram of switching power supply circuit arrangement   II. The Principle of the Input Circuit and the Common Circuits   2.1 Principle of AC Input Rectifier Filter Circuit 2.1.1    Lightning Protection Circuit When there is a lightning strike, the circuit composed of MOV1, MOV2, MOV3, F1, F2, F3, and FDG1 is used to provide protection against the resulting high voltage introduced into the power supply through the electrical grid.   When the voltage applied to the two ends of the piezoresistor exceeds its operating voltage, the resistance value will decrease, making the high voltage energy be consumed on the piezoresistor; if the current is too large, the F1, F2, and F3 will burn out to protect the following circuits. 2.1.2     Input Filter Circuit The double Pi filter network composed of C1, L1, C2 and C3 is mainly used to suppress the electromagnetic noise and clutter signal of the input power supply to prevent its interference to the power supply, and also to prevent the interference of the high-frequency clutters generated by the power supply itself to the electrical grid. The C5 will start to be charged when the power is turned on, producing a large instantaneous current, which is called surge current, but with an RT1 (thermistor) it can be effectively prevented. Because the instantaneous energy is all consumed on the RT1, after a certain time the resistance of RT1 will decrease as the temperature rises (RT1 is a negative temperature coefficient device) and the energy consumed by RT1 will be very small at this time, to make sure the following circuits work normally.     2.1.3   Rectifier Filter Circuit After the AC voltage is rectified by BRG1 and filtered by C5, a purer DC voltage can be obtained. If the C5 capacity becomes smaller, the output AC ripples increase with it.     2.2 Principle of DC Input Filter Circuit FIG.3 The schematic of rectifier circuit   2.2.1   Input Filter Circuit The double Pi filter network composed of C1, L1and C2 is mainly used to suppress the electromagnetic noise and clutter signal of the input power supply to prevent its interference to the power supply, and also to prevent the interference of the high-frequency clutters generated by the power supply itself to the electrical grid. C3 and C4 are Safety Capacitors and the L2, L3 are Differential Mode Inductors.   2.2.2   The Anti-surge Circuit This anti-surge circuit is composed of R1, R2, R3, Z1, C6, Q1, Z2,  R4, R5, Q2, RT1 and C7. At the instant of switch-on, Q2 does not conduct due to the presence of C6, and the current forms a loop through the RT1. Q2 turns on when the voltage on C6 is charged to Z1's steady voltage value. If C8 leaks or the following circuits are short-circuited, the voltage drop generated by the instantaneous current at the instant of switch-on on RT1 causes the Q1 conducted, so that Q2 does not have a gate voltage and does not conduct, making the RT1 burnt out in a very short time to protect the following circuits.   III. Power Conversion Circuits   3.1   The Working Principle of MOS Tube At present, the most widely used insulated gate FET is MOSFET, which uses the electroacoustic effect that occurs on the semiconductor surface to work, making it also known as surface field effect transistor. Because its gate is in a nonconducting state, the input resistance can be greatly increased up to 105 ohms. The MOSFET uses the gate-source voltage to change the amount of charge induced on the semiconductor surface to control the drain current.   3.2   Common Schematic Diagram FIG.4 Schematic of power conversion circuit    3.3  Working Principle The buffer composed of R4, C3, R5, R6, C4, D1, and D2 are connected in parallel with the MOS transistor switches, so that the voltage stress of the switch transistor and EMI are reduced, without secondary breakdown occurring. When the switch Q1 is turned off, the primary coil of the transformer is prone to generate peak voltages and spike currents. These components are combined to absorb the peak voltage and current well. The peak current signal measured from R3 participates in the duty cycle control of the current operating cycle and is therefore the current limit of the current operating cycle. When the voltage on R5 reaches 1V, the UC3842 stops working and switch Q1 turns off immediately.   The junction capacitances CGS and CGD in R1 and Q1 together form an RC network. The charge and discharge of the capacitor directly affects the switching speed of the switch. If R1 is too small, it will cause oscillation and electromagnetic interference will be great. If R1 is too large, the switching speed of the switching tube will be reduced. Z1 usually limits the GS voltage of the MOS transistor to less than 18V, thus protecting the MOS transistor.   The gate-controlled voltage of Q1 is a saw wave. The larger the duty cycle is, the longer the Q1 conduction time is, the more energy the transformer stores. When Q1 is turned off, the transformer releases energy through D1, D2, R5, R4, and C3 and at the same time, it also achieves the goal of resetting the magnetic field, which prepares the transformer for the next storage and transfer of energy. According to the output voltage and current, the IC adjusts the duty cycle of 6-pin sawtooth wave, thus stabilizing the output current and voltage of the complete machine.   C4 and R6 are voltage surge absorption loops.   3.4  Push-pull Power Conversion Circuit Fig.5 Schematic diagram of push-pull power conversion circuit Q1 and Q2 will be turned on in turn.   3.5  Power Conversion Circuit with Transformer Driver FIG.6 Schematic diagram of power conversion circuit with transformer driver T2 is the transformer driver, T1 is the switch-mode transformer, TR1 is the current loop .   IV. Output Rectifier Filter Circuit   4.1   Forward Rectifier Circuit FIG.7 Schematic diagram of forward rectifier circuit T1 is a switch-mode transformer, its primary and secondary sides are in a same phase. D1 is a rectifier diode, D2 is a flyback diode and R1, C1, R2 and C2 form a despiker circuit. L1 is a freewheeling inductor and C4, L2, and C5 form a π filter.   4.2  Flyback Fectifier Circuit FIG.8 Schematic diagram of flyback fectifier circuit T1 is a switch-mode transformer, and the primary and secondary sides are opposite. D1 is a rectifier diode, and R1 and C1 form a despiker circuit. L1 is a a freewheeling inductor, R2 is adummy load and C4, L2 and C5 form a π type filter.   4.3   Synchronous Rectifier Circuit FIG.9 Schematic diagram of synchronous rectifier circuit Working principle: When the upper end of the secondary winding of transformer is positive, the current through C2, R5, R6 and R7 makes Q2 turned on and form a loop. Q2 is the rectifier and the Q1 gate is turned off due tothe reverse bias. When the lower end of second wingding is positive, the current through C3, N4 and R2 makes Q1 conducted as a freewheeling diode. The Q2 gate is turned off due to the reverse bias. L2 is a freewheeling inductor, C6, L1 and C7 form a π filter and R1, C1, R9 and C4 form a despiker circuit.   V.  Principles of Steady-voltage Loop   5.1  Schematic Diagram of Feedback Circuit FIG.10 Schematic diagram of feedback circuit 5.2  Working Principles When the output U0 is increased, the voltage of pin 3 of U1 chip is increased either after dividing voltage with these sampling resistors R7, R8, R10 and VR1, until exceeding the reference voltage of pin 2 of U1 chip, it begins to output a high level, turning the Q1 and photoelectric triode on, and lighting the optocoupler OT1 and LED. Accordingly, the potential of pin 1 of UC3842 becomes lower and therefore decreases the duty cycle of pin 6 of U1 chip and U0.    On the contrary, when the output U0 is decreased, the voltage of pin 3 of U1 chip is decreased either until it exceeds the reference voltage of pin 2 of U1 chip, it begins to output a low level, Q1 and photoelectric triode are not conducting, and optocoupler OT1 and LED do not shine. Accordingly, the potential of pin 1 of UC3842 becomes higher and therefore increases the duty cycle of pin 6 of U1 chip and U0. Repeatedly, so that the output voltage remains stable. Regulating VR1 can change the output voltage.   Feedback loop is an important circuit that affects the stability of switching power supply. If the feedback resistors and capacitors are wrong, missed or false soldered, self-excited oscillations will occur, resulting in fault phenomena, such as abnormal waveforms, oscillations within empty or full load condition and unstable output voltage.   VI. Short Circuit Protection Circuits   6.1  Current-limiting Circuit In the case of short circuit at the output end, PWM control circuit can limit the output current within a safe range. There are many ways to  realize the current limiting. When the current limiting circuit does not work in short circuit, all we can do is to add additional circuits.   6.2  Short Circuit Protection for Low-power Circuit FIG.11 Schematic diagram of low-power short-circuit protection circuit When the output circuit is shorted, the output voltage disappears, the optocoupler OT1 does not turn on, the voltage of pin 1 of UC3842 rises to about 5V, and the partial voltages of R1 and R2 exceed the TL431 reference, making it conductive, the VCC potential of pin 7 of UC3842 is pulled down, and the IC stops operating. After UC3842 stopped working, the potential of pin 1 disappeared, TL431 did not conduct, and the potential of UC38427 increased, making UC3842 restart, and go round and begin again, until the short-circuit phenomenon disappears, then the circuit automatically returns to normal operation.   6.3  Short Circuit Protection for Medium-power Circuit FIG.12 Schematic diagram of medium-power short-circuit protection circuit When the output is short-circuited, the voltage of pin of UC3842 rises. When the potential of pin 3 of U1 chip is higher than that of pin 2, the comparator inverts the output high level of pin 1 to charge C1. When the voltage across C1 exceeds the pin 5 reference voltage, the pin 7 of U1 chip outputs low level. The voltage of pin 1 of UC3842 begins to be lower than 1V and UC3842 stops working, making the output voltage be zero, and go round and begin again, until the short-circuit phenomenon disappears, and the circuit begins to work normally. R2 and C1 are charge and discharge time constants respectively, and the short circuit protection will not work if the resistance is not correct.   6.4  Common Current-limiting, Short-circuit Protection Circuit FIG.13 Schematic diagram of protection circuit 1 When the output circuit is short-circuited or overcurrent, the primary current of the transformer increases, the voltage drop across R3 increases, the voltage at pin 3 increases, and the duty cycle of pin 6 of UC3842 increases. When the voltage at pin 3 exceeds 1V, the UC3842 turns off and without output.   6.5  Current Transformer Sampling Current Protection Circuit The current transformer sampling current protection circuit which has low power consumption but high cost, and the circuit is often complicated. FIG.14 Schematic diagram of protection circuit 2 The larger the output current is (the extreme case refers to short circuit), the higher the voltage sensed by the TR1 secondary coil. When the voltage of pin 3 of UC3842 exceeds 1 volt, the UC3842 stops working. Go round and begin again, until the short-circuit or overload disappears, the circuit recovers itself.   VII. Output Current Limiting Protection FIG.15 Schematic diagram of protection circuit 3 The above is a common output current limiting protection circuit, and its working principle is as follows:   When the output current is too high, the voltage across the RS (manganese copper wire) rises, the voltage of pin 3 of the U1 chip is higher than the reference voltage of pin 2. Pin 1 of the U1 chip outputs a high voltage, which makes Q1 turned on, and the optoelectronic effect occurs on the optocoupler, the voltage of pin 1 of UC3842 is reduced, together with the output voltage, to achieve the goal of overload protection or current limiting.     VIII. Output Overvoltage Protection Circuits   The role of the output overvoltage protection circuit is to limit the output voltage to a safe value when the output voltage exceeds the design value.    When an internal voltage regulator loop of a switching power supply fails or an overvoltage occurs due to a user's improper operation, an overvoltage protection circuit is used to protect against damage to downstream electrical equipment.   The most commonly used overvoltage protection circuits are as follows:   8.1  SCR Trigger Protection Circuit FIG.16 Schematic diagram of protection circuit 4 As shown above, when the output of Uo1 rises, the Zener diode (Z3) breaks down and it is pulled into conduction, letting the control terminal of the Silicon Controlled Rectifier reach the trigger voltage, so the SCR turns on and the Uo2 is shorted to ground. Then the overcurrent or short circuit protection circuit will work and stop the operation of the entire power supply circuit. When the overvoltage condition on the output terminals is eliminated, the trigger voltage of the control terminal of the thyristor is discharged to the ground through R, and the thyristor returns to the off state.   8.2  Optocoupler Protection Circuit FIG.17 Schematic diagram of protection circuit 5A FIG.18 Schematic diagram of protection circuit 5B As shown in the above figure, when an phenomenon of overvoltage occurs in the Uo, the Zener breaks down and conducts current through the optocoupler (OT2) and R6 to the ground, lightening the light-emitting diode of the photocoupler, which causes the phototransistor of the photocoupler to conduct. The base of Q1 is turned on and the voltage of pin 3 of UC3842 is reduced, turning off the IC and the entire power supply while Uo is zero, and go round and begin again.   8.3  Output Voltage Limiting Protection Circuit FIG.19 Schematic diagram of protection circuit 6 The output voltage limiting protection circuit is shown in the diagram. When the output voltage rises, zener and optocoupler are on, and the base of Q1 turns on either due to a driving voltage according. The voltage of pin 3 of UC3842 rises and the output drops. When the zener is not conducting, the voltage of pin 3 of UC3842 drops and the output voltage rises. As time goes by, the output voltage will be stable within a range (depending on the zener's value).   8.4  Output Overvoltage Lockout Circuit FIG.20 Output overvoltage lockout circuit A FIG.21 Output overvoltage lockout circuit B The working principle is shown in Figure A is that when the output voltage Uo rises, the Zener and optocoupler turn on, and then go with the base of Q2, because of which the base of Q1 is on due to the drop of voltage.   Q2 is on all the time after the voltage of Vcc is through R1, Q1, and R2, making the pin 3 of UC3842 always be conducted with high level and therefore stop working.   In Figure B, the voltage of pin 3 of the U1 chip raises due to big rises of Uo, and pin 1 outputs a high level. Because of the presences of D1 and R1, the pin 1 of U1 chip is always on and outputs a high level, so it is always low and then it stops working. Is it positive feedback?     IX. Power Factor Correction Circuit (PFC)   9.1 Schematic Diagram of PFC Circuit FIG.22 Schematic diagram of PFC circuit 9.2  The Working Principles The input voltage is rectified by an EMI filter composed of L1, L2, L3, and so on and a BRG1, one part of which is then fed into the PFC inductor and another part of which is fed into the PFC controller as the sampling of the input voltage to adjust the duty cycle of the control signal before divided by R1 and R2, that is to change them on and off time of Q1 and to stabilize the output voltage of PFC.   L4 is a PFC inductor that stores energy when Q1 is on and releases energy when Q1 is switched off. D1 is the start diode. D2 is the PFC rectifier diode, and C6, C7 are filtered. One part of the PFC voltage is sent to the downstream circuit, and another part of it is fed into the PFC controller as the sampling of the output voltage before divided by R3 and R4, to adjust the duty cycle of the control signal and to stabilize the output voltage of PFC.     X. Input Under-voltage and Overvoltage Protection   10.1  Schematic Diagram FIG.23 Schematic diagram of input undervoltage and overvoltage protection circuit   10.2  The Working Principles The input under-voltage and overvoltage protection principles of the switching power supply of AC input and DC input are almost the same. The sampling voltages of the protection circuits all come from the same input filtered voltage.   The sampling voltage is divided into two ways, one way is fed into pin 3 of the comparator after divided by R1, R2, R3, and R4. If the sampling voltage is higher than the reference voltage of pin 2, then pin 1 of the comparator will output a high level to control the main controller and make the main controller turned off, so there is no power output. The other way is fed into pin 6 of the comparator before it is divided by R7, R8, R9, and R10.   If the sampling voltage is lower than the reference voltage of pin 5, then pin 7 of the comparator will output a high level to control the main controller and make it turned off, so there is no power output.   How To Make a Switching Power Supply     FAQ   1. What are the 3 types of power supply? There are three subsets of regulated power supplies: linear, switched, and battery-based. Of the three basic regulated power supply designs, linear is the least complicated system, but switched and battery power have their advantages.   2. What is meant by switch mode power supply? A switch mode power supply is a power converter that utilises switching devices such as MOSFETs that continuously turn on and off at high frequency; and energy storage devices such as the capacitors and inductors to supply power during the non-conduction state of the switching device.   3.What are the advantages and disadvantages of switch mode power supply? Advantages & disadvantages of switch mode power supply (SMPS) a. The switch mode power supply has a smaller in size. b. The SMPS has light weight. c. It has a better power efficiency typically 60 to 70 percent. d. It has a strong anti interference. e. SMPS has wide output range. f. Low heat generation in SMPS.   4. What is a DC switching power supply? A Switching DC power supply (also known as switch mode power supply) regulates the output voltage through a process called pulse width modulation (PWM). The PWM process generates some high frequency noise, but enables the switching power supplies to be built with very high power efficiency and small form factor.   5. What is the difference between a switching power supply and a linear power supply? Linear power supplies deliver DC by passing the primary AC voltage through a transformer and then filtering it to remove the AC component. Switching power supplies feature higher efficiencies, lighter weight, longer hold up times, and the ability to handle wider input voltage ranges.   6. Do I need a switching power supply? The switching power supply implies higher efficiency due to the high switching frequency, enabling it to use a smaller, less-costly high-frequency transformer as well as lighter, less-costly filter components. Switching power supplies contain more overall components, therefore are usually more expensive.   7. Is a switching power supply regulated? A switch mode power supply regulates an output voltage with pulse width modulation (PWM). This process creates high-frequency noise but it provides a high-efficiency rating in a small form factor. ... The low DC voltage is finally converted into a steady DC output with another set of diodes, capacitors, and inductors.   8. How do I know if my power supply is regulated? You can generally stick one probe into the middle of the connector, and hold the other against the outside. With a few exceptions, the middle is positive, so use the red lead there, and use the black lead on the outside shell. Regulated supplies, without any load, should measure very close to the target voltage of 12v.   9. Can I use a switching power supply to drive a DC motor?   A simple unregulated analog power supply may be easier and be able to supply the large starting under load current more that the switching one. DC motors are not too fussy about the supply, and will usually run quite well on unfiltered DC.   10. Are switch mode power supplies any good? Switch mode power supplies, SMPS provide improved efficiency & space saving over traditional linear supplies, but care has to be taken to ensure noise on the output is low. Switch mode power supplies are widely used because of the advantages they offer in terms of size, weight, cost, efficiency and overall performance.   You May Also Like: Transformers Basics: Construction, Types, Materials and Design Modeling and Control of Full Bridge Push-Pull Bi-Directional DC/DC Converter Review and Application of Electronic skin How to Drive Thermostat by Using Solid State Relay

Warm hints: The word in this article is about 3000 words and  reading time is about 10 minutes.   The transformer is a static electrical device, mainly composed of an iron core (or magnetic core) and coil. The coils have two or more windings, of which the ones connected to the power are called primary coils, and the rest are called secondary coils. Transformers are widely used in electrical equipment such as household appliances, electronic equipment, switching power supply, and so on. Circuit symbols commonly used T as the beginning of the number, for example, T01, T201.    This article covers the construction, functions, classification, and design of transformers and materials used for building magnetic cores in transformers.     Catalogs   I. The Composition of Transformer II. The Construction and Functions of Transformer III. High-frequency Transformer Design Program 3.1 Program structure 3.2 Matters needing attention when doing the core material   selection 3.3 Ferrite magnetic material requirements IV. Power Transformer Classification V. Principle and method of Transformer Design FAQ   I. The Composition of Transformer 1）The primary side 2）The secondary side 3）Magnetizing inductance 4）Leakage inductance 5）Open-circuit or short-circuit measurement of the primary side leads to the  Magnetic inductance and the leakage inductance turns ratio respectively:  K=Np/Ns=V1/V2   II. The Construction and Functions of Transformer 1) Electrical isolation 2) Energy storage 3) Voltage change for same power input.   III. High-frequency Transformer Design Program   3.1 Program structure (1) Core material (2) Core structure (3) Core parameters (4) Transformer Winding Parameter (5) package assembly (6) Temperature rise check   (1) Core material Soft magnetic ferrite is widely used in switching power supply because of its own characteristics. It has the advantages of high resistivity, low AC eddy current losses, low price, and easy to be machined into magnetic cores of various shapes. The disadvantages are low working magnetic flux density, low permeability, large magnetostriction, and high sensitivity to temperature changes. Which kind of soft magnetic ferrite material can satisfy the design requirement of a high-frequency transformer more fully, only when it is carefully considered and the transformer design can reach the high-cost performance.   (2) Magnetic core structure The factors considered in the selection of magnetic core structure are as follows: reducing magnetic leakage and leakage inductance, increasing the area of coil heat dissipation, which is beneficial for shielding and makes it easier to wind coils, more convenient to wire for assembly and so on.   The magnetic leakage and leakage inductance are directly related to the magnetic core structure . If the magnetic core does not need air gap, then a enclosed ring-like or square type magnetic core may be used as far as possible.   (3) Magnetic core parameters In the design of core parameters, special attention should be paid to the operating flux density only limited by the magnetization curve, but also by the losses, and also related to the working mode of power transmission. When the flux changes in one direction, there is ΔB=Bs-Br, which is not only limited by the saturation flux density but also mainly by the losses (Losses cause temperature rise, which in turn affects magnetic flux density). The operating flux density Bm=0.6～0.7ΔB.   An air gap can decrease Br and therefore increase the flux density ΔB. The exciting current can be increased after using an air gap opening, but the core volume can be decreased either. For the two-way operation of magnetic flux, the flux density ΔB is twice the maximum operating flux density Bm, that is ΔB=2Bm. In bidirectional operating mode, we should pay attention to the problem of transformer DC magnetic bias due to the inequality of volt-second areas of positive and negative excitation variation, which is caused by different reasons. A small air gap will be needed in the core, or a DC capacitor can also be added to the circuit design.   Magnetic properties of ferromagnetic materials Magnetic hysteresis loops of the core   (4) Coil parameters Coil parameters include: turns, conductor section (diameter), wire form, winding arrangement and insulation. The conductor section (diameter) depends on the current density of winding, using taking 2.5～4A/mm2. When doing some choosing of section conductor diameter don’t forget to take the skin effect into consideration and do regulations necessary after some temperature rise tests of the transformer.   General winding arrangements: the primary winding is close to the core and the secondary windings & feedback windings are gradually arranged outward. The following two winding arrangements are recommended:   1) If the voltage of the original windings is high (for example, 220V) and meanwhile that of the secondary windings is low, a more appropriate arrangement is the secondary winding being close to the core, and then goes the feedback winding, the original winding is arranged on the outermost ends, which is advantageous to the insulation arrangement of the original winding to the core;   2) If we want to increase the coupling between the primary and secondary windings, we can make half of the original windings be close to the core, then goes the feedback winding and secondary winding, and the other half of the original winding being the outermost ends, which is an arrangement advantageous to reduce the leakage inductance.   (5) Assembly structure The assembly structure of high-frequency power transformers are divided into horizontal and vertical types. If you'd like to select the planar core, sheet magnetic core and thin-film magnetic core, then a horizontal-type assembly would do you good.   (6) Temperature rise tests The temperature rise tests can be carried out by calculation and sample test. The temperature rise is lower than the allowable temperature rise above 15 degrees, the current density and the cross-section of the wire are appropriately increased. Appropriately increase the current density and decrease the cross-section of the wire, and do the exact opposite if temperature rise exceeds the allowable value, such as increasing the diameter or enlarging the core if necessary, to increase the area of coil heat dissipation.       3.2 Matters needing attention when doing the core material selection (1) Soft ferrite, due to its low price, good adaptability, and high performance at high frequency, has been widely used in switching power supply.   (2) Soft ferrite is commonly divided into two series: Mn-Zn ferrite and Ni-Zn ferrite. The Mn-Zn ferrite is composed of Fe2O3，MnCO3，ZnO and so on, which is widely used in all kinds of filters, inductors, transformers, and so on below 1MHz. The Ni-Zn ferrite is composed of Fe2O3，NiO，ZnO and so on, which is widely used in all kinds of adjustable inductor windings, anti-jamming magnetic beads, antenna matching devices, and so on above 1MHz.    (3) Mn-Zn ferrite is the most widely used core in switching power supply, and the selection of its material depends on its use. The core for the input filter part of the power supply is mostly high-conductivity magnetic core, and its material number mostly is R4K～R10K, that is, the ferrite core of relative permeability is about 4000~10000, but the main transformer and output filter are magnetic materials with high saturation flux density, where Bs is about 0.5T (5000GS).     3.3 Ferrite magnetic material requirements   Ferrite magnetic materials for switching power supply shall meet the following requirements:   (1) High saturation flux density Bs and low residual flux density Br   The residual flux density Bs has a certain influence on the transformer and winding results. Theoretically speaking, the number of turns of transformer windings can be reduced and the copper loss can be reduced because of the high Bs. In practical applications, there are different types of circuits of high-frequency converters in switching power supply.    For transformers, their operations can be divided into two categories:   1) Bipolar: The circuit topologies include half-bridge, full-bridge, push-pull, etc. In the primary winding of the transformer, the excitation current is equal and opposite in direction during the positive and negative half-cycles. Therefore, the magnetic flux changes in the magnetic core of the transformer are symmetrically moved up and down. The maximum variation range of B is  ΔB=2Bm, and the DC component of the magnetic core is basically canceling out.   2) Unipolar: The circuit topologies include single-ended forward, single-ended flyback, etc. The transformer primary winding adds a unidirectional square wave pulse voltage in one cycle (this is the case for single-ended flyback). The magnetic flux density varies from the maximum Bm to the residual flux density Br in the unidirectional-excitation transformer core. If we decrease the Br and increase the saturation flux density Bs, then the △B will be increased, and the turns and copper loss will also be reduced.   (2) Transformers or inductors are divided into three categories according to their topology:   1) An DC-filter inductor's magnetic core only works in one quadrant, the topologies of this operating state including Boost, Buck, buck/boost inductors, single end flyback converter transformer, forward and all push-pull converters and output filter inductors.   2) The core of the transformer in the forward converter also works in one quadrant, but the transformer needs to magnetic reset.   3) The core of the transformer with push-pull topology is in bidirectional alternating magnetization. These kinds of converters include push-pull, half-bridge and full-bridge converters, AC filter inductors, and so on.   (3) Low power loss at high frequency   The power loss of ferrite not only affects the power output efficiency but also leads to the heating of the magnetic core and waveform distortion.   The heating problem of the transformer is very common in practical applications, which is mainly caused by copper loss and core loss of the transformer. If the selected Bm is too low and the turns of winding are too many, it will cause the winding to heat up and transfer the heat to the core at the same time, and vice versa.   When selecting the ferrite material, we must make the power loss change with temperature characterized by a negative temperature coefficient. This is because if the core loss is the main heating, making the transformer temperature rise up, which then will lead to a further increase of core losses, thus it will form a vicious circle and eventually make the power tube, transformer, and other components burn down. Therefore, in the researches of power ferrite at home and abroad, we must solve the problem of negative temperature coefficient of magnetic material power loss itself, which is also a remarkable feature of magnetic materials having met the requirements for power supply applications, such as PC40 from Japanese company TDK and R2KB from China manufacturers and so on.   (4) A relatively moderate permeability   (5) How we choose the appropriate relative permeability?    Well, this depends on the switching frequency of your actual circuit, mostly 2000, meanwhile its applicable frequency must be below 300kHz, and sometimes can be a little higher, but the maximum will not be higher than 500 kHz.   (6) A relatively high Curie temperature   Curie temperature is the temperature at which a magnetic material loses its magnetic properties, generally above 200 ℃. However, the actual operating temperature of the transformer should not be higher than 80℃, at which the saturation flux density Bs will drop to 70% of that at the normal temperature when the temperature is above 100℃. That is, the saturation flux density of the core will drop more seriously when the operating temperature is too high. Furthermore, when the temperature is higher than 100℃, the power loss has been experiencing a positive temperature coefficient, which will lead to a vicious circle. For R2KB2 materials, the temperature corresponding to the allowable power consumption has reached 110℃ and the Curie temperature is up to 240℃, which meets the requirements of high-temperature use.     IV. Power Transformer Classification Power transformers are divided into three categories according to their topology: (1) Flyback transformers; (2) Forward transformers; (3) Push-pull transformers (full-bridge/half-bridge converters)   The appropriate topologies for various core structures are shown in the following table:   Core structureTypes of converter circuitFlybackForwardPush-pullE cores++0Planar E Cores-+0EFD Cores-++ETD Cores0++ER Cores0++U Cores+00RM Cores0+0EP Cores-+0P Cores-+0Ring Cores-++    "+"=fit; "0"=normal; "-"=unfit Summary of High frequency transformer core.XLS V. Principle and Method of Transformer Design   (1) There are two main ways to design transformer: Area Product (AP) Method AP: The product of core effective cross section Ae and Area of window Aw PT-The calculation power of the transformer Ae-Core effective cross section Aw- Area of window Ko-Core window utilization coefficient, typically 0.4 Kf-Waveform coefficient, usually square wave being 4 and sine wave being 4.44 Bw-The operating magnetic intensity of core FS-Switching frequency Kj-Current density coefficient, usually 395A/cm2 X-Core structure coefficient     (2) According to the area product (AP) method, the general steps of designing transformer are as follows: 1. Select the core material to calculate the apparent power of the transformer; 2. Determine the core cross section AP and select the core size according to AP value; 3. Calculation of the primary side inductance and the number of turns; 4. Calculation of the length of air gap; 5. Calculating the line diameter according to the current density and the secondary side RMS current. 6. Determine whether the copper loss and iron loss meet the requirements (eg allowable loss and temperature rise)   Selecting the flyback topology, the basic parameters of the power supply are as follows: Input voltage: 175-264 VAC Output voltage: 21V Output current: 3A Output power P0=63W Frequency set at 60Khz Duty cycle set at 0.45 initially   1) Select the core material to determine the apparent power PT of the transformer   and select the PC40 material here considering the cost factor and check the PC40 data to get Bs=0.39T, Br=0.06T. In order to prevent the core from becoming saturated instantly, a certain margin is reserved. Let Bm= ΔBmax*0.6=0.198T, and pick up the 0.2T. For flyback topology, the transformer apparent power PT is:   2) Calculating AP values with Excel tables   Where, J is the current density, usually 395A/cm2, and Ku is the effective use coefficient of copper window, usually 0.2～0.4, now we set Ku as 0.4.    Based on the figure above, we select the core EE3528 due to its being greater than the calculated AP value, with the following parameters: Ae: 84.8mm2 AP：1.3398cm4 Wa：158mm2 AL：2600nH/H2 In order to adapt to the abrupt load current, the power supply is designed in critical mode and the critical current is: I0B=0.8×I0=2.4A     3) Calculation of the primary side inductance and the number of turns (A) Minimum input voltage Vimin=ViACmin*1.2=210V (B) Turns ratio n=[Vimin/(V0+Vf)]*[Dmax/(1-Dmax)] n=[210V/(21V+1V)*[0.45/(1-0.45)] n=7.8 (C) Peak secondary current ^IsB=2*IoB/(1-Dmax) ^IsB=2*2.4A/(1-0.45) ^IsB=8.72A (D) Secondary inductance Ls=(V0+Vf)*(1-Dmax)*[1/(Fs*1000)]/^IsB*1000000 Ls=(21V+1V)*(1-0.45)*[1/(60Khz*1000)]/8.72A*1000000 Ls=23.58Uh (E) Primary inductance Lp=n*n*Ls Lp=7.8*7.8*23.58uH Lp=1434uH   Primary and secondary peak currents (F) Calculation of peak secondary current in continuous mode ^Isp=Io/(1-Dmax)+(^IsB/2) ^Isp=3A/(1-0.45)+(8.72A/2) ^Isp=9.81A (G) Calculation of peak primary current in continuous mode ^Ipp=^Isp/n ^Ipp=9.8A/7.8 ^Ipp=1.257A (H) Calculating the turns of the primary and secondary auxiliary windings a) Number of turns in the primary side Np=Lp*^Ipp/(^B*Ae) Np=1434uH*1.257A/(0.2*84.8) Np=106.28T After rounding: Np=106T b) Number of turns in the secondary side Ns=Np/n Ns=106T/7.8 Ns=13.58T After rounding: Ns=14T c) Number of feedback turns Nv=(Vcc+Vf)/[(V0+Vf)/Ns] Nv=(14.5V+1V)/[(21V+1V)/14T] Nv=9.87T After rounding: Nv=10T   To avoid core saturation, an appropriate air gap is added to the magnetic loop, the calculation go as follows: The number of turns may need to be corrected by the air-gap flux edge effect.   4) There are two ways to calculate the wire diameters of the primary, secondary and auxiliary windings: Effective current of original side diameter: Iprms=Po/^n/Vimin Iprms=63W/0.8/210V Iprms=0.375A (A) Calculating the area of bare wire (B) Calculating the wire diameter (current density J to take 4A/mm2) Using two 0.18mm-diameter wires wound around or AWG #28 a single strand The secondary diameter: Use four wires with a diameter of 0.25mm (AWG #31) and wind around. Calculation of Skin Depth: The diameter of multi-strand parallel winding must be less than or equal to dwH, in single wire winding, however, if the diameter exceeds the dWH value,  the multi-strand wire winding should be taken into account.   5) Calculation of copper loss Pcu and iron loss Pfe (total transformer loss Ploss) (A) Calculating the loss of primary and secondary windings.  Where, MLT is the average turn length of magnetic core (B) Calculating the allowable total loss Ploss and allowable iron loss at efficiency η (C) According to the loss curve of iron core, the actual loss (iron loss per unit weight and actual iron loss) is obtained by: The Ploss is the loss of the whole circuit, including diode/MOSFET losses and other losses, the actual losses Pfe must be much smaller than the calculated one, so here is only for reference. (D) Calculating the loss per unit area by Φ=Ploss/As If the temperature rise caused by Φ is less than 25 degrees, then the design is wonderful.   6) Calculating the BW The working flux density BW should be below Bs-Br within the design specifications, that is Bw<Bs-Br, to avoid saturation of the core.   FAQ   1. What is the use of transformer? Transformers are employed for widely varying purposes; e.g., to reduce the voltage of conventional power circuits to operate low-voltage devices, such as doorbells and toy electric trains, and to raise the voltage from electric generators so that electric power can be transmitted over long distances.   2. What are the 3 types of transformers? There are three primary types of voltage transformers (VT): electromagnetic, capacitor, and optical.   3. What is the basic principle of transformer? A transformer consists of two electrically isolated coils and operates on Faraday's principal of “mutual induction”, in which an EMF is induced in the transformers secondary coil by the magnetic flux generated by the voltages and currents flowing in the primary coil winding.   4. Does a transformer convert AC to DC? A transformer is built to transfer the energy from one circuit into another circuit by way of magnetic coupling. ... An alternating current creates a magnetic flux in the core on its way through the first winding, inducing the voltage in the others. It can convert high and low voltages, it cannot convert AC to DC.   5. What are the main parts of transformer? There are three basic parts of a transformer: a. an iron core which serves as a magnetic conductor, b. a primary winding or coil of wire and. c. a secondary winding or coil of wire.   6. What are the classification of transformer? Depending upon the type of construction used, the transformers are classified into two categories viz.: (i) Core type, and (ii) Shell type. Depending upon the type of service, in the field of power system, they are classified as: (i) Power transformers, and (ii) Distribution transformers.   7. Can a transformer work on DC? As mentioned before, transformers do not allow DC input to flow through. This is known as DC isolation. This is because a change in current cannot be generated by DC; meaning that there is no changing magnetic field to induce a voltage across the secondary component.   8. How do you convert a transformer? This conversion is made by winding two separate conductors around a common iron core. Applying an alternating voltage to the primary conductor produces current which sets up a magnetic field around itself. This is known as mutual inductance.   9. What are two components of no load current in transformer? The no-load current of a transformer consists of two components: The Magnetization Current iM is the current required to produce the flux in the transformer core. The Core-loss Current ih+e is the current required to make up for hysteresis and eddy current losses.   10. Which type of transformer core is most efficient? SHELL CORE. The most popular and efficient transformer core is the SHELL CORE, as illustrated in figure (4). As shown, each layer of the core consists of E- and I-shaped sections of metal. These sections are butted together to form the laminations.   You May Also Like: Analysis of Calculation Theory for Transformer Temperature Rise Some suggestions about protecting transformers Learn Some Basic Knowledge about Capacitor Voltage Transformer