Long time ago I built a series variable voltage regulator for 600V. It worked flawlessly and survived all sorts of abuses as is on my bench HT supply.
With the same circuit design, I developed the final stackable PCB (see previous post here) with this regulator:
Looks more complicated than it is. The single-supply Op Amp (LM358) needs a low voltage supply. I derived this from a simple CCS (DN2540) and a pair of 12V Zener diodes. The voltage reference is the famous TL431A and with P1 you can adjust the output voltage. The feedback resistor pair (R14 and R15) senses the output. C6 is for frequency compensation. The MOSFETs used are ST3LN80K5 which have built in protection Zener diodes, so none of the ones shown in the diagram are actually needed. T4 provides current protection to the pass device T2.
According to the LT Spice simulations, it should have about 80dB at 100Hz. I could only measure 50dB as my bench noise was about 300μV and input ripple was low already. I should test it further.
Anyhow, the other interesting test I made was to develop a 60-90V bias circuit from a 12V input. I used the cheap SMPS Chinese modules fed from 12V (100mA) into an RC circuit at the output (470R/100μF) before feeding the voltage regulator. Was nice to see the rock solid output at 70V and same 300μV noise. I was thinking of using this approach to generate the fixed bias of the RL12P35 SE Amp – part I amplifier. In this way I could get away from a negative supply and generate the bias from the heater supply. Not sure how reliable this would be, perhaps won’t do it at all.
Hola Ale,
-Tiene que haber una diferencia mínima entre Vin-Vout?
-Tiene CCS, si lo tiene cual es el auto-consumo y cuales son el mínimo y máximo de corriente?
-Estoy pensando en usarlo para HV del laboratorio, se puede poner un potenciómetro para poder ajustar el voltaje y el amperaje de salida?
Gracias
Felipe
Hey Ale,
i can;t find the ST3LN80K5. Am I looking in the wrong place or is there a number wrong?
stay safe
t
Hi Tim
My bad, is STF3LN80K5
https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/stf3ln80k5.pdf
Thanks Ale,
I might try that mosfet in a Kubota style regulator.
best
tim
This circuit is bad because it uses an N-channel MOSFET. In order for it to open completely, there must be a minimum voltage difference between the input and output of at least 10 volts. This voltage multiplied by the current will heat this regulating transistor. It would be more reasonable to use an N-channel transistor
Hi, there are compromises everywhere. For HT devices, BJTs are more expensive. In this circuit, current is small and therefore not an issue. The circuit isn’t “bad” as you say. Ideally it should be inverted but PNP and P-FETs are more rare and expensive unfortunately.
Thank you for your constructive feedback 🙂
Sorry, I mistyped, of course it’s a P-channel transistor