Lab 3: Constant Current Source (LM334), Thévenin’s and Norton’s Theorem, Maximum Power Transfer

by Phatham Loahavilai · January 26, 2023

Apparatus

DC Power Supply: $V_{CC} = 2.5\mathrm{V}$ with 0.01A current limit.
Digital Multimeter
Resistors: $R_1 = 2\mathrm{k}\Omega$ , $R_2 = 3\mathrm{k}\Omega$ , $R_3 = 300\Omega$ , and $R_x = 1.5\mathrm{k}\Omega$
LM334 Constant Current Source
Trimpot $R_L = 10\mathrm{k}\Omega$ , $R_\mathrm{SET}=200\Omega$

Overview

Thevenin’s Theorem: Decompose the linear supply side to a single voltage source and a single resistor in series.
Norton’s Theorem: Decompose the linear supply side to a single current source and a single resistor in parallel.
Source Transformation: A voltage source with a resistor in series is interchangable with a current source with a resistor in parallel.

Procedures

Values Verification

Original Circuit

Adjust $R_L$ to from $1\mathrm{k}\Omega$ to $2\mathrm{k}\Omega$ (according to the worksheet).
Measure $V_L$ and $I_L$ .
Repeat until every value of $R_L$ has been covered.

Thévenin’s Equivalent Circuit

Adjust $R_L$ to from $1\mathrm{k}\Omega$ to $2\mathrm{k}\Omega$ (according to the worksheet).
Measure $V_L$ and $I_L$ .
Repeat until every value of $R_L$ has been covered.

Norton’s Equivalent Circuit

Adjust $R_L$ to from $1\mathrm{k}\Omega$ to $2\mathrm{k}\Omega$ (according to the worksheet).
Measure $V_L$ and $I_L$ .
Repeat until every value of $R_L$ has been covered.

Click here to read LM334 Guidelines

An example of breadboard connections.