A voltage regulator is a component that gives you a stable output voltage, no matter if the input voltage changes. It’s an integrated circuit (IC), usually with three or more pins. A typical example of when you need a voltage regulator is if all you have is a 9V battery, but your device needs 5V.
A typical example of when you need a voltage regulator is if all you have is a 9V battery, but your device needs 5V. A voltage regulator can take those 9V as input and create a nice and stable 5V output that you can use to power your device. Or if you need different voltage levels for a circuit you’re building.
A switching regulator converts the DC input voltage to a switched voltage applied to a power MOSFET or BJT switch. The filtered power switch output voltage is fed back to a circuit that controls the power switch on and off times so that the output voltage remains constant regardless of input voltage or load current changes.
Many simple DC power supplies regulate the voltage using either series or shunt regulators, but most apply a voltage reference using a shunt regulator such as a Zener diode, avalanche breakdown diode, or voltage regulator tube.
Even though a battery power source is a DC source, it still needs to be regulated in order to reduce ripple caused by spurious current bursts and isolate it from the rest of the electronics in the circuit. A typical approach is to use a voltage regulator, which produces a steady voltage source, capable of dealing with supply ripples.
Linear regulators subdivide into Low Drop Out (LDO) and Standard. The main difference between both is dropout voltage, which is defined as the minimum voltage drop required across the regulator to maintain output voltage regulation.