Tutorials

ATtiny85 microcontroller is a very popular 8-bit RISC microcontroller. It has become the first choice for professionals and developers because of its incredible features in such a small size. As its name suggests, it’s a tiny 8-pin (PDIP) microcontroller with almost all required features that any microcontroller should have such as built-in FLASH, EEPROM, SRAM,…

The open loop buck converter designed in the previous tutorial did not had a regulated output. The output voltage was varying with the resistance of the load. The output of the circuit designed in the previous tutorial could be regulated by adding a feedback circuit in it. The feedback circuit could help in error detection of the output voltage and change duty cycle of the frequency on which circuit operates to provide a constant output voltage irrespective of the load resistance.  Contrary to Linear Regulators which step down the DC voltage by dissipating the heat, Buck Converters step down the DC voltage through switching regulators and also step up the output current. According to the law of power conservation, input power must be equal to output power. 

The designing of Boost Converter SMPS has been already discussed in the previous tutorials. In this tutorial, an open loop buck converter SMPS will be designed. The Buck Converter is also one of the topologies of the SMPS (Switched Mode Power Supply). These type of SMPS steps down the DC voltage unlike the Boost converters step up the DC voltage. So the buck Converter is also a DC to DC step down converter in which the output voltage is always less than the input voltage. Contrary to Linear Regulators which step down the DC voltage by dissipating the heat, Buck Converters step down the DC voltage through switching regulators and also step up the output current.

The closed loop boost converter designed in the previous tutorial though had a constant and regulated voltage at the output but it could not be varied. For a stable output that Boost converter had an error detection circuit. The error detection was done by adding a feedback circuit which continuously checks the error in the output voltage and provided a regulated voltage at the output. For making the output of the circuit adjustable, it must be drawn through a variable resistor. This closed loop boost converter not only had a feedback circuit, its output is also adjustable. Therefore in this tutorial, a closed loop non–isolated boost converter is designed.

The open loop boost converter designed in the previous tutorial had a fixed output voltage respective to the input voltage level. The output voltage of the circuit can be made variable by drawing the output through a variable resistor. The output voltage in this circuit still remains unregulated as no feedback is used.Therefore in this tutorial, an open loop non–isolated boost converter is designed. The boost converter can be designed in two ways- Open loop boost converter and closed loop boost converter. There are certain design parameters involved in the designing of the boost converter. It is important to understand these design parameters. Any boost canverter can operate in either of the two possible modes of operation.

The open loop boost converter designed in the previous tutorial did not have constant and regulated voltage at the output. For a stable output, a Boost converter with error detection circuit needs to be designed. The error detection can be done by adding a feedback circuit which continuously checks the error in the output voltage and provides a regulated voltage at the output. Therefore in this tutorial, a closed loop non–isolated boost converter is designed. The boost converter can be designed in two ways- Open loop boost converter and Closed loop boost converter. In the former, there is no feedback from output to input contrary to the closed loop which has a feedback circuit. So, the output of an open loop boost converter is not regulated. In the latter, there is a feedback from the output to the input. So, the output of a closed loop boost converter is regulated. 

In this tutorial, an open loop boost converter SMPS will be designed. The Boost Converter is one of the topologies of Switched Mode Power Supply (SMPS). It has a DC source as Input power like a battery, generator or rectifier. In the case of a boost converter, the output power is always greater than the input power.So, the boost converter circuit will step up the power from one DC level to a higher DC level. The method of converting one DC voltage to a different DC voltage is called DC to DC conversion. The boost converter is a DC to DC converter which steps up the input signal to the higher voltage level.

SSD1306 is a popular OLED display driver. Portable and wearable devices are the new trends. Small OLED displays are just perfect for such compact and portable devices. SSD1306 is a single-chip CMOS OLED/PLED driver. It can manage a 128×64 dot-matrix graphic display.  It is designed to control common-cathode OLED panels. The chip has several built-in…

In the previous article, we discussed the fundamentals and working principles of an inductor. We also learned about some common types of inductors like solenoidal coils, toroids, pot cores e and transmission line inductors. Inductors come in a variety of many other types based on construction. When select selecting an inductor for a given circuit,…

In the previous tutorial, we learned about the different properties and characteristics of Inductors. These specifications are useful in determining the efficiency of an inductor in a circuit. Manufacturers supply inductors for application-specific categories including RF chokes, power, high current, and high-frequency. So, choosing an inductor is quite simple compared to resistors or capacitors (which…

In the previous tutorials, we discussed the basic concept of an inductor, properties of an inductor, and different types of inductors. Now it’s time to know how to select an inductor for a given circuit. Fortunately, different types of inductors are designed to suit specific applications. So, for any given application, either there is exclusively…

We have already learned about working with, types of, and applications of inductors. In the previous article, we have previously discussed selecting an inductor for a given circuit or application. When choosing the right inductor, it is important to know about reading inductor packages. There are many types of inductors that come in a variety…

In the previous articles, we learned about resistors, capacitors, and inductors. When discussing inductors, we had talked about mutual inductance, which is the result of magnetic coupling between two inductors. If two inductors are used in a circuit to function as ‘inductors,’ this mutual inductance or any magnetic coupling between the two inductors is generally…

In the previous article, we learned about the basic concepts of a transformer. A transformer is simply a pair of inductors magnetically coupled to enable electromagnetic induction between them. With the help of transformers, AC voltages can be stepped up or down at low costs without any hassle. Stepping up or down DC voltages requires…

In the previous tutorial, we learned about the practical construction of a capacitor and different technical aspects associated with a standard capacitor. Let us now discuss different types of commercial capacitors and the practical technical specifications associated with them. This will help greatly in choosing the right capacitor for a given application. The capacitors are…

In the previous article, we had a look at various types of capacitors. Now, let us discuss how to select a capacitor for a given application. Generally, the selection of a capacitor is not a daunting task unless you have specific circuit requirements. More often, engineers have a nominal capacitance derived for a circuit at…

In the previous tutorials, we discussed working with a capacitor, characteristics of a capacitor, various types of capacitors, and selecting a capacitor for a given circuit. As we have learned, typical commercial capacitors have their capacitance in Picofarad, Nanofarad or Microfarad range. The maximum capacitance that these capacitors can provide is 1 Farad. If the…

So far, we discussed two passive properties of electronic components – resistance and capacitance and have reviewed the associated passive electronic components resistors and capacitors. We learned how these components affect current and voltage in a circuit, their electrical properties, and their various commercial types. A third and final passive property of electronic components that…

In the previous tutorial, we discussed magnetism, electromagnetism and inductance. Inductance can be useful in circuits. The electronic components that are designed to offer inductance in a circuit are called inductors. Inductors Most of the conducting materials (metals) are paramagnetic or ferromagnetic while most of the non-conducting materials (non-metals) are diamagnetic. Any conductor shows some…

Note: it’s recommended to follow this VHDL tutorial series in order, starting with the first tutorial. In the previous tutorial, we designed a clocked SR latch circuits using VHDL (which is a very high-speed integrated circuit hardware description language). For this project, we will: Write a VHDL program to build a D flip-flop circuit Verify the…