1. Part A: Controlling Oscillation Frequency with Capacitors and Resistors
Part B: Diodes and Light
Experiment Timer

2. 555 Timer The 555 Timer is one of the most popular
and versatile integrated circuits ever produced!
It is 30 years old and still being used!
It is a combination of digital and analog circuits.
It is known as the “time machine” as it performs a wide variety of timing tasks.
Applications for the 555 Timer include:
Bounce-free switches and Cascaded timers
Frequency dividers
Voltage-controlled oscillators
Pulse generators and LED flashers

3. 555 Timer
Each pin has a function, the meaning of which will become clearer later.
Note some familiar components inside

4. Inside the 555 Timer

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

6. Periodic Pulse Train from a 555 Timer
555-Timers, like op-amps can be configured in different ways to create different circuits. We will now look into how this one creates a train of equal pulses, as shown at the output.

7. First we must examine how capacitors charge
Capacitor C1 is charged up by current flowing through R1
As the capacitor charges up, its voltage increases and the current charging it decreases, resulting in the charging rate shown

8. Capacitor Charging Equations
Capacitor Current
Capacitor Voltage
Where the time constant

9. Understanding the equations
Note that the voltage rises to a little above 6V in 1ms.

10. Capacitor Charging and Discharging
There is a good description of capacitor charging and its use in 555 timer circuits at

11. 555 Timer
At the beginning of the cycle, C1 is charged through resistors R1 and R2. The charging time constant is
The voltage reaches (2/3)Vcc in a time

12. 555 Timer
When the voltage on the capacitor reaches (2/3)Vcc, a switch (the transistor) is closed at pin 7 and the capacitor is discharged to (1/3)Vcc, at which time the switch is opened and the cycle starts over

13. 555 Timer
The capacitor voltage cycles back and forth between (2/3)Vcc and (1/3)Vcc at times and

14. 555 Timer
The frequency is then given by

15. 555 Animation http://www.williamson-labs.com/pu-aa-555-timer_slow.htm
Output is high for 0.693(Ra+Rb)C
Output voltage high turns off upper LED and turns on lower LED
Capacitor is charging through Ra and Rb

16. 555 Animation Output is low for 0.693(Rb)C
Output is low so the upper LED is on and the lower LED is off
Capacitor is discharging through Rb

17. Types of 555-Timer Circuits
Astable Multivibrator puts out a continuous sequence of pulses
Monostable Multivibrator (or one-shot) puts out one pulse each time the switch is connected

18. Monostable Multivibrator (One Shot)

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

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

21. Astable Pulse-Train Generator (Multivibrator)

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

23. Uses of the Astable Multivibrator
Flashing LED’s
Pulse Width Modulation
Pulse Position Modulation
Periodic Timers (see mushroom timer in the experiment).

24. Flashing LED’s
40 LED bicycle light with 20 LEDs flashing alternately at 4.7Hz

25. PWM: Pulse Width Modulation
Signal is compared to a sawtooth wave producing a pulse width proportional to amplitude

26. What Can Be Done With PWM?
Low
Duty Cycle
Medium
Duty Cycle
High
Duty Cycle
Question: What happens if voltages like the ones above are connected to a light bulb? Answer: The longer the duty cycle, the longer the light bulb is on and the brighter the light.

27. What Can Be Done With PWM?
Average power can be controlled
Average flows can also be controlled by fully opening and closing a valve with some duty cycle

28. Pulse Position Modulation
This is an optical transmitter.
Astable is used to produce carrier pulses at a frequency we cannot hear (well above 20kHz)

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

30. Optical Receiver Circuit
The receiver takes the optical pulses, reconstructs the signal, amplifies it, and plays it on a speaker.
You will build this circuit in project 2.

31. Part B: Diodes and Light
The Light-Emitting Diode (LED) is a semiconductor pn junction diode that emits visible light or near-infrared radiation when forward biased.
Visible LEDs emit relatively narrow bands of green, yellow, orange, or red light. Infrared LEDs emit in one of several bands just beyond red light.

32. Facts about LED’s
LEDs switch off and on rapidly, are very rugged and efficient, have a very long lifetime, and are easy to use.
They are current-dependent sources, and their light output intensity is directly proportional to the forward current through the LED.
Always operate an LED within its ratings to prevent irreversible damage.
Use a series resistor (Rs) to limit the current through the LED to a safe value. Usually a 330 Ω resistor is used in series with an LED when used with a 5V supply.
VLED is the LED voltage drop. It ranges from about 1.3 volts to about 2.5 volts.
ILED is the specified forward current.

35. Photodiodes and Phototransistors
Photodiodes are designed to detect photons and can be used in circuits to sense light.
Phototransistors are photodiodes with some internal amplification.
Note:
Reverse current flows through the photodiode when it is sensing light.
If photons excite carriers in a reverse-biased pn junction, a very small current proportional to the light intensity flows.
The sensitivity depends on the wavelength of light.