Transient Excitation of First-Order Circuits

1. What is transient excitation and why is it important?

2. What is a first-order circuit?
3. What are natural response and step response?
4. Transients in RL circuits
5. Transients in RC circuits

Types of Circuit Excitation

Linear TimeInvariant
Circuit

Linear TimeInvariant
Circuit

Steady-State Excitation
(DC Steady-State)

Linear TimeInvariant
Circuit
Sinusoidal (SingleFrequency) Excitation
AC Steady-State

OR
Digital
Pulse
Source

Linear TimeInvariant
Circuit

Transient Excitation

First-Order Circuits
A circuit that contains only sources, resistors
and an inductor is called an RL circuit.
A circuit that contains only sources, resistors
and a capacitor is called an RC circuit.
RL and RC circuits are called first-order circuits
because their voltages and currents are
described by first-order differential equations.
R

vs

vs

Review (Conceptual)
Any first-order circuit can be reduced to a
Thvenin (or Norton) equivalent connected to
either a single equivalent inductor or capacitor.
RTh

RN

VTh

IN

In steady state, an inductor behaves like a short circuit

In steady state, a capacitor behaves like an open circuit

 The natural response of an RL or RC circuit is its

behavior (i.e., current and voltage) when stored
energy in the inductor or capacitor is released to
the resistive part of the network (containing no
independent sources).

The step response of an RL or RC circuit is its

behavior when a voltage or current source step is
applied to the circuit, or immediately after a switch
state is changed.

Natural Response of an RL Circuit

Consider the following circuit, for which the switch is
closed for t < 0, and then opened at t = 0:
t=0
Io

Ro

i
L

+
R

Notation:
0 is used to denote the time just prior to switching
0+ is used to denote the time immediately after switching

The current flowing in the inductor at t = 0 is Io

Solving for the Current (t 0)

For t > 0, the circuit reduces to
i
Io

Ro

+
R

Applying KVL to the LR circuit yields first-order D.E.:

Solution:

i (t ) i (0)e

( R / L )t

= I0e-(R/L)t

Solving for the Voltage (t > 0)

i (t ) I o e+ ( R / L ) t
Io

Ro

Note that the voltage changes abruptly (step

response):

v (0 ) 0

for t > 0, v(t ) iR I o Re

v(0 + ) I0R

( R / L ) t

Time Constant t
In the example, we found that

i(t ) I o e

( R / L )t

( R / L )t

and v(t ) I o Re

Define the time constant

(sec)
L

At t = t, the current has reduced to 1/e (~0.37)

of its initial value.
At t = 5t, the current has reduced to less than
1% of its initial value.

Transient response of RC circuits

and application to computer circuits
driven by binary voltage pulses

Capacitors and Stored Charge

So far, we have assumed that electrons keep on moving
around and around a circuit.
Current doesnt really flow through a capacitor. No
electrons can go through the insulator.
But, we say that current flows through a capacitor. What we
mean is that positive charge collects on one plate and leaves
the other.
A capacitor stores charge. Theoretically, if we did a KCL
surface around one plate, KCL could fail. But we dont do
that.
When a capacitor stores charge, it has nonzero voltage. In
this case, we say the capacitor is charged. A capacitor
with zero voltage has no charge differential, and we say it is
discharged.

Capacitors in circuits
If you have a circuit with capacitors, you
can use KVL and KCL, nodal analysis, etc.
The voltage across the capacitor is related
to the current through it by a differential
equation instead of Ohms law.

dV
iC
dt

CAPACITORS
+V

|(

C
i(t)

capacitance is defined by

dV
iC
dt

dV i
So

dt C

Charging a Capacitor with a constant current

+ V(t)

|(

C
i

dV(t) i

dt
C
t
t
dV(t)
i
0 dt dt 0 C dt

i
i t
V(t) dt
C
C
0

voltage

time

Discharging a Capacitor through a resistor

V(t)

dV(t)
i(t)
V(t)

dt
C
RC
This is an elementary differential equation, whose
solution is the exponential:

V (t ) V0 e

t /t

Since:

d t / t
1 t / t
e
e
dt
t

Voltage vs time for an RC

discharge
1.2

Voltage

1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0

Time

Natural Response of an RC Circuit

Consider the following circuit, for which the switch is
closed for t < 0, and then opened at t = 0:

+
Vo

Ro
C

t=0
+
v

Notation:
0 is used to denote the time just prior to switching
0+ is used to denote the time immediately after switching

The voltage on the capacitor at t = 0 is Vo

Solving for the Voltage (t 0)

For t > 0, the circuit reduces to

+
Vo

i
+

Ro
C

Applying KCL to the RC circuit:

Solution:

v(t ) v(0)e

t / RC

Solving for the Current (t > 0)

i

+
Vo

Ro

i (0 ) 0

v (t ) Vo e t / RC

Note that the current changes abruptly:

v Vo t / RC
for t > 0, i (t ) e
R R
Vo
+
i (0 )
R

Time Constant t
In the example, we found that

v(t ) Vo e

t / RC

Vo t / RC
and i (t )
e
R

Define the time constant

t RC

(sec)

At t = t, the voltage has reduced to 1/e (~0.37)

of its initial value.
At t = 5t, the voltage has reduced to less than
1% of its initial value.

RC Circuit Model for a Digital

Logic Circuit
The capacitor is used to model the response of a digital circuit
to a new voltage input:
The digital circuit is modeled by
a resistor in series with a capacitor.
+
_

Vout

Vin
The capacitor cannot
change its voltage instantly,
as charges cant jump instantly
to the other plate, they must go through the circuit!

+
C Vout
_

We compute with pulses

voltage

RC Circuits Abound in Computers

We send beautiful pulses in

voltage

But we receive lousy-looking

pulses at the output

time

time

Capacitor charging effects are responsible!

Every node in a circuit has natural capacitance, and it is the charging of
these capacitances that limits real circuit performance (speed)

RC Circuit Model
Every digital circuit has natural resistance and capacitance. In
real life, the resistance and capacitance can be estimated
using characteristics of the materials used and the layout of the
physical device.
R
Vout
The value of R and C
+
+
for a digital circuit
Vout
Vin
C
_
determine how long it will
_
take the capacitor to change its
voltagethe gate delay.

RC Circuit Model
With the digital context in
mind, Vin will usually be a
time-varying voltage that
Vin
switches instantaneously
between logic 1 voltage and
logic 0 voltage.

Vout
+
C Vout
_

+
_

t=0
We often represent this
switching voltage with a
switch in the circuit
diagram.

+ V =5V
s

Vout

Analysis of RC Circuit
R

By KVL,

Vin + RI + Vout 0

Vin

+
_

Vout
I

+
C Vout
_

Using the capacitor I-V relationship,

dVout
Vin + RC
+ Vout 0
dt
We have a first-order linear differential equation for the
output voltage

Analysis of RC Circuit
R

What does that mean?

Vin
One could solve the
differential equation to get

+
_

Vout
I

+
C Vout
_

t
/(
RC
)
Vout (t ) Vin + Vout (0) Vin e

Insight
Vout (t ) Vin + Vout (0) Vin et /(RC)
Vout(t) starts at Vout(0) and goes to Vin asymptotically.
The difference between the two values decays exponentially.
The rate of convergence depends on RC. The bigger RC is,
the slower the convergence.
Vout
Vout(0)

Vout
Vin
bigger RC

Vout(0)

Vin

time

time

Time Constant

Vout (t ) Vin + Vout (0) Vin et /(RC)

The value RC is called the time constant.
After 1 time constant has passed (t = RC), the above works out to:

Vout ( t ) 0.63 Vin + 0.37 Vout (0)

So after 1 time constant, Vout(t) has completed 63% of its transition, with
37% left to go.
After 2 time constants, only 0.372 left to go.

Vout

Vout
Vout(0)

Vin
.63 V1

.37 Vout(0)
0

time

time

Transient vs.
Steady-State

Vin

+
_

Vout
I

+
C Vout
_

When Vin does not match up with Vout , due to an abrupt

change in Vin for example, Vout will begin its transient
period where it exponentially decays to the value of Vin.
After a while, Vout will be close to Vin and be nearly
constant. We call this steady-state.
In steady state, the current through the capacitor is
(approx) zero. The capacitor behaves like an open
circuit in steady-state.
Why? I = C dVout/dt, and Vout is constant in steady-state.

General RC Solution
Every current or voltage (except the source voltage)
in an RC circuit has the following form:

(
t

t
)
/(
RC
)
+

0
x( t ) x f + x( t0 ) x f e

x represents any current or voltage

t0 is the time when the source voltage switches
xf is the final (asymptotic) value of the current or
voltage
All we need to do is find these values and plug in to
solve for any current or voltage in an RC circuit.

Solving the RC Circuit

We need the following three ingredients to fill in our equation for
any current or voltage:
x(t0+) This is the current or voltage of interest just after the
voltage source switches. It is the starting point of our transition,
the initial value.
xf This is the value that the current or voltage approaches as t
goes to infinity. It is called the final value.
RC This is the time constant. It determines how fast the current
or voltage transitions between initial and final value.

Finding the Initial Condition

To find x(t0+), the current or voltage just after the switch, we use the
following essential fact:

Capacitor voltage is continuous; it cannot jump when a switch occurs.

So we can find the capacitor voltage VC(t0+) by finding VC(t0-), the voltage
before switching.
We can assume the capacitor was in steady-state before switching. The
capacitor acts like an open circuit in this case, and its not too hard to find
the voltage over this open circuit.
We can then find x(t0+) using VC(t0+) using KVL or the capacitor I-V
relationship. These laws hold for every instant in time.

Finding the Final Value

To find xf , the asymptotic final value, we assume that the circuit will be in
steady-state as t goes to infinity.
So we assume that the capacitor is acting like an open circuit. We then find the
value of current or voltage we are looking for using this open-circuit
assumption.
Here, we use the circuit after switching along with the open-circuit
assumption.

When we found the initial value, we applied the open-circuit assumption to the
circuit before switching, and found the capacitor voltage which would be
preserved through the switch.

Finding the Time Constant

It seems easy to find the time constant: it equals RC.
But what if there is more than one resistor or capacitor?

R is the Thevenin equivalent resistance with respect to the

capacitor terminals.
Remove the capacitor and find RTH. It might help to turn off the
voltage source. Use the circuit after switching.

Natural Response Summary

RL Circuit

RC Circuit

i
L

+
v R

Inductor current cannot

change instantaneously

Capacitor voltage cannot

change instantaneously

i (0 ) i ( 0 )

v (0 ) v (0 )

i (t ) i (0)e t /t

v(t ) v(0)e t /t

L
time constant t
R

time constant

t RC