Linear and switching regulators maintain stable supply voltage.
Linear regulators (78xx, LDO) drop excess voltage as heat: P=(V_in-V_out)I. Switching regulators (buck, boost) are efficient but noisier. Specifications: dropout, line and load regulation, PSRR, quiescent current. Output capacitor needed for stability.
A 5 V regulator from 12 V at 0.5 A dissipates 3.5 W.
Voltage regulators keep supply rails stable despite input and load changes, so every digital and analogue circuit depends on them.
Linear and switching regulators maintain stable supply voltage.
Voltage regulators keep supply rails stable despite input and load changes, so every digital and analogue circuit depends on them.
Linear regulators dissipate the voltage difference as heat and give low noise, while switching regulators use inductors and switches to give high efficiency with some noise.
The minimum difference between input and output that the regulator needs to keep regulating, important for battery and low-voltage designs.
Typical applications include providing a 3.3 V rail for a microcontroller from a 5 V USB supply, choosing a switching regulator for a battery-powered device to save energy and designing the protection and dropout of a low-dropout regulator.
Study "Power amplifiers" first (topic 28 of 104 in Electronics & Embedded). It covers the groundwork this topic builds on.
LDO for low noise. Switching for efficiency. Thermal shutdown.
A 5 V regulator from 12 V at 0.5 A dissipates 3.5 W.
The next topic is "Noise in electronics", which builds directly on this one.
It is classed as Beginner in Electronics & Embedded (topic 29 of 104). It is an entry-level topic. It relies only on basic school mathematics and the ideas introduced earlier in this discipline.
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