TLC555

SLFS043J – AUGUST 1983 – REVISED NOVEMBER 2023 www.ti.com

6.3.2 Astable Operation

As shown in Figure 6-5, adding a second resistor, RB, to the circuit of Figure 6-2 and connecting the trigger input
to the threshold input causes the timer to self-trigger and run as a multivibrator. The capacitor C charges through
RA and RB and then discharges through RB only. Therefore, the duty cycle is controlled by the values of RA and
R B.
This astable connection results in capacitor C charging and discharging between the threshold-voltage level
(≈ 0.67 × VCC) and the trigger-voltage level (≈ 0.33 × VCC). As in the monostable circuit, charge and discharge
times (and, therefore, the frequency and duty cycle) are independent of the supply voltage.

VDD
(5 V t o 15 V)

0.01 PF

Voltage − 1 V/div
Open
(see Note A) 5 8
RA
CONT VDD
4
RESET
7
DISCH 3
t
H
OUT Output tL Output Voltage
RB 6
THRES
2
TRIG
GND
Capacitor Voltage
C 1

Time − 0.5 ms/div

Decouple CONT voltage to ground with a capacitor to improve
operation. Reevaluate for individual applications. RA = 5 kΩ RB = 3 kΩ C = 0.15 µF
See Figure 6-5
Figure 6-5. Circuit for Astable Operation
Figure 6-6. Typical Astable Waveforms

Figure 6-6 shows typical waveforms generated during astable operation. The output high-level duration tH and
low-level duration tL for frequencies below 100 kHz can be calculated as follows:

tH = 0.693 (R A + RB )C (1)

tL = 0.693 (RB )C (2)

Other useful relationships are shown below:

period = tH + tL = 0.693 (R A + 2RB )C (3)

1.44
frequency »
(R A +2RB )C (4)

tL RB
Output driver duty cycle = =
tH + tL R A + 2RB (5)

tH RB
Output waveform duty cycle = = 1-
tH + tL R A + 2RB (6)

tL RB
Low-to-high ratio = =
tH R A + RB (7)

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