LM336-2.5 MDC

The LM336-2.5MDC is a belonging to the type of PMIC (Power Management Integrated Circuits) “Voltage Reference” family known as “Shunt Voltage Reference”. This family has been designed to provide stable, precise references ideal for precision power supply and Regulation applications.

The LM336-2.5MDC Application Field can be divided in three main areas:

• Regulation Applications: This parameter of applications are those ones involved in a process or system of stabilization or maintenance at a wanted level. This means that the LM336-2.5MDC is a good partner of power supplies design, creating a constant voltage reference which will help to regulate the output voltage.
• Precision Power Supply: Mainly used in laboratory and testing equipment, the precision power supply is an essential tool to generate accurate, stable voltages from low to high current levels. For such applications, the LM336-2.5MDC can be used taking advantage of its low temperature drift.
• Measurement Instrumentation: In order to get accurate and reliable measurements, this kind of applications require high cost for their constant maintenance. The LM336-2.5MDC can help to lower those expenses thanks to its low cost and long-term stability.

Now let’s take a deeper look into the LM336-2.5MDC “working principle”.

The LM336 series of shunt Voltage References employs a band-gap reference circuit which provides a constant reference voltage independent of the supply voltage and temperature.

Basically the circuit of the LM336-2.5MDC contains four main elements: the bandgap reference element, the output transistor, current limiting resistors and temperature compensation resistors.

The bandgap device is basically composed of two diodes connected in parallel and with opposite polarities. Due to their different current amplitudes, these two elements creates a constant gradient current in the circuit, which also reflects an exact voltage of 2.5V in the output that remains constant throughout a wide temperature and supply range.

The output transistor is used to gain the current to be able to drive more load and maintain the voltage level of the reference. The other two resistors are used to limit the current through the reference device and the output transistor, respectively.

External compensation resistors are also present in some versions of the LM336 and usually they are used to set up the current gain of the transistor and apply a thermal compensated bias to the bandgap device.

To summarize, the LM336-2.5MDC Application Field and Working Principle can be defined by saying that, LM336-2.5MDC is a low cost, stable, temperature-compensated reference which can be used in precision power supplies, in regulation applications, and in instrumentation applications.