555 Timer Astable Circuit

In an astable circuit, the output voltage alternates between VCC and 0 volts on a continuous basis.

Figure 1. Astable Timer Schematic Diagram

555 Timer Design Formula

The 555 timer shown above is configured as an astable circuit. This means that the output voltage is a
periodic pulse that alternates between the VCC value and 0 volts.

How to Calculate Output Voltage Frequency

The frequency is the number of pulses per second. The formula to calculate the frequency of the output
voltage is:

The period is the time covered for one pulse. This is just the reciprocal of the frequency:
A 50% duty cycle means the high time is equal to the low time. If an LED is placed at the output of this
astable circuit, it will turn on at the same span of time as it is turned off. Note that getting an exact 50%
duty cycle is impossible with this circuit.

Applications
 Synchronous Circuit Timer

A synchronous circuit is a digital circuit in which the changes in the state of memory elements,
commonly flip-flops, are synchronized by a clock signal. Because of their availability and ease of use,
the 555 astable circuit is the common source of clock signal in many synchronous circuits. A shift
register--an example of a synchronous circuit--is shown below. Normally you would connect the output
of the 555 astable circuit to the clock pin of this shift register.
555 Timer Monostable Circuit

Calculating the Output Pulse Width of a Monostable Circuit

The 555 timer above is configured as a monostable circuit. This means that the output voltage
becomes high for a set duration (T) when a falling edge is detected on pin 2 (trigger). The circuit above
is also called a one-shot circuit. This calculator is designed to compute for the output pulse width of a
555 timer monostable circuit.

The Output Pulse Width Equation

The formula for the Output Pulse Width (T) is given as:

As shown in the formula, the output pulse width is determined only by the resistor and capacitor
combination. This gives the circuit a number of possible applications.

This 555 monostable circuit can generate pulses from a few microseconds to several hours depending
on the values of resistor R and capacitor C. Note, however, that the use of very large capacitor (usually
electrolytic-type) values are discouraged. This is because of their wide tolerance limits, which means
their actual value is far from their marked value. Another issue with such a capacitor is its high leakage
current, which may affect the timing accuracy. If a large capacitance is needed, choose a type with a
lower leakage current such as tantalum.

Problems may also occur when using small value capacitors for producing very short delays. Stray
circuit capacitance can change the value of timing capacitance considerably for values less than 100
pF, which of course leads to inaccurate timing.
Applications for Monostable Circuits

Touch Switch

The monostable circuit above can be used as a simple touch switch. A touch plate can be connected to
the trigger pin, which will ground the pin when touched. This will produce a pulse at the output whose
width is determined by the R and C combination. A simple touch switch circuit is shown below:

Using our calculator, the circuit above will produce a pulse with a width of 1.1 s. This means the LED
connected at the output (pin 3) will light for 1.1 s when the plate is touched momentarily.

Servo Motor Tester

A servo motor works by accepting pulses with widths from 1 ms to 2 ms. Monostable circuits can be
used to test a servo motor by carefully selecting the R and C values to produce the said pulse widths.
An example is shown below:
FLIP-FLOPS

An electronic circuit with two permanently stable conditions (as when one electron tube is conducting
while the other is cut off) so that conduction is switched from one to the other by successive pulses.
(Meriam Webster)
A flip flop is an electronic circuit with two stable states that can be used to store binary data. The
stored data can be changed by applying varying inputs. Flip-flops and latches are fundamental building
blocks of digital electronics systems used in computers, communications, and many other types of
systems. Both are used as data storage elements. It is the basic storage element in sequential logic.
But first, let’s clarify the difference between a latch and a flip-flop.

Flip flop v/s Latch

The basic difference between a latch and a flip-flop is a gating or clocking mechanism. In Simple words.
Flip Flop is edge-triggered and a latch is level triggered.

For example, let us talk about SR latch and SR flip-flops. In this circuit when you Set S as active the
output Q would be high and Q’ will be Low. This is irrespective of anything else. (This is an active-low
circuit so active here means low, but for an active high circuit active would mean high)

A flip-flop, on the other hand, is synchronous and is also known as a gated or clocked SR latch.
In this circuit diagram, the output is changed (i.e. the stored data is changed) only when you give an
active clock signal. Otherwise, even if the S or R is active the data will not change. Let’s look at the
types of flip-flops to understand better.

SR Flip Flop
There are majorly 4 types of flip-flops, with the most common one being SR flip-flop. This simple flip-
flop circuit has a set input (S) and a reset input (R). In this system, when you Set “S” as active the
output “Q” would be high and “Q‘” will be low. Once the outputs are established, the wiring of the circuit
is maintained until “S” or “R” go high, or power is turned off. As shown above, it is the simplest and
easiest to understand. The two outputs, as shown above, are the inverse of each other. The truth table
of SR Flip-Flop is highlighted below.

JK Flip-flop
Due to the undefined state in the SR flip-flop, another flip-flop is required in electronics. The JK flip-flop
is an improvement on the SR flip-flop where S=R=1 is not a problem.

The input condition of J=K=1, gives an output inverting the output state. However, the outputs are the
same when one tests the circuit practically.
In simple words, If J and K data input are different (i.e. high and low) then the output Q takes the value
of J at the next clock edge. If J and K are both low then no change occurs. If J and K are both high at
the clock edge then the output will toggle from one state to the other. JK Flip-Flops can function as Set
or Reset Flip-flops
D Flip Flop
D flip-flop is a better alternative that is very popular with digital electronics. They are commonly used for
counters and shift-registers and input synchronization.

In this, the output can be only changed at the clock edge, and if the input changes at other times, the
output will be unaffected.

The change of state of the output is dependent on the rising edge of the clock. The output (Q) is same
as the input and can only change at the rising edge of the clock.

T Flip Flop
A T flip-flop is like a JK flip-flop. These are basically a single input version of JK flip-flops. This modified
form of JK flip-flop is obtained by connecting both inputs J and K together. It has only one input along
with the clock input.
These flip-flops are called T flip-flops because of their ability to complement its state (i.e.) Toggle,
hence the name Toggle flip-flop.