SOLAR TRACKING WITH DATA LOGGER

Abstract:

Solar energy is rapidly gaining notoriety as an important means of expanding renewable

energy resources. As such, it is vital that those in engineering fields understand the technologies
associated with this area. This project includes the design and construction of a microcontroller-
based solar panel tracking system with data logger. Solar tracking allows more energy to be
produced because the solar panel is able to remain aligned to the sun. This system builds upon
topics learned in this course. A working system will ultimately be demonstrated to validate the
design. Problems and possible improvements will also be presented. PC is connected through
MAX-232 to record all parameters. Such as Solar Voltage, Battery Voltage, Light Intensity etc.

This method is basically an enhancement of sun solar tracking system. In this advance
method of Solar tracking system, gear motor is used for the rotation of solar panels according to
sun light direction that is from east to west. With the help of real-time clock and
microcontroller, Solar tracking system turn off automatically in night-time.
In this article we have discussed sun solar tracking system. In sun solar tracking system
both hardware and software is used to develope a complete project.

Sources of project idea:

There are many reasons for logging solar insulation data for solar electric systems. When
planning to install a solar electric power system, one must be able to predict the power output in
order to determine the financial costs and benefits of the installation.
When planning an off-grid solar electric power system, the output must be closely
matched with the load so as to provide sufficient power without considerable waste. The power
output is directly related to the insulation level.
Introduction:
Energy is the prime factor for the development of a nation. An enormous amount of
energy is extracted, distributed, converted and consumed in the global society daily. 85%
of energy production is dependent on fossil fuels. The resources of the fossil fuels are limited
and their use results in global warming due to emission of greenhouse gases. To provide a
sustainable power production and safe world to the future generation, there is a growing demand
for energy from renewable sources like solar, wind, geothermal and ocean tidal wave. The sun
is the prime source of energy, directly or indirectly, which is also the fuel for most
renewable systems. Among all renewable systems, photovoltaic system is the one which has a
great chance to replace the conventional energy resources. Solar panel directly converts solar
radiation into electrical energy. Solar panel is mainly made from semiconductor
materials. Si used as the major component of solar panels, which is maximum 24.5%
efficient. Unless high efficient solar panels are invented, the only way to enhance the
performance of a solar panel is to increase the intensity of light falling on it. Solar
trackers are the most appropriate and proven technology to increase the efficiency of
solar panels through keeping the panels aligned with the sun’s position. Solar trackers get
popularized around the world in recent days to harness solar energy in most efficient way. This
is far more cost effective solution than purchasing additional solar panels. In this paper the
design methodology of a microcontroller based simple and easily programmed automatic
solar tracker is presented. A prototype of automatic solar tracker ensures feasibility of this
design methodology.

Solar is a nonconventional source of energy, considering this we have developed solar

panels so that we can fulfill our electricity need. But due to revolution of the earth, solar source
i.e. sun does not face the panel continuously hence less electricity is produced. The energy panel
should face the SUN till it is present in a day. The problem above can be solved by our system
by tracking the solar energy.

Solar panel has been used increasingly in recent years to convert solar energy to electrical
energy. The solar panel can be used either as a stand-alone system or as a large solar system that
is connected to the electricity grids. The earth receives 84 Terawatts of power and our world
consumes about 12 Terawatts of power per day. We are trying to consume more energy from the
sun using solar panel. In order to maximize the conversion from solar to electrical energy, the
solar panels have to be positioned perpendicular to the sun. Thus the tracking of the sun’s
location and positioning of the solar panel are important. The goal of this project is to design an
automatic tracking system, which can locate position of the sun. The tracking system will move
the solar panel so that it is positioned perpendicular to the sun for maximum energy conversion
at all time. Photoresistors will be used as sensors in this system. The system will consist of light
sensing system, microcontroller, gear motor system, and a solar panel. Our system will output up
to 40% more energy than solar panels without tracking systems.

WHAT IS SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM ?

Solar tracking system is a method to withdraw maximum power from solar panels. As we
know solar panels convert solar energy into electrical energy through photovoltaic phenomenon.
Greater the intensity of solar light falls on solar panel, greater output observe at the output of
solar panel. So we need to develop such a method which rotates solar panel according to tracking
of sun. So that we can withdraw maximum power from installed solar panels.

We have already explained that why we need of Solar tracking system. The objective is to
expose solar panel to maximum time in front of solar light to get maximum power from solar
panels. Many methods have been developed for Solar tracking system. But in this article we will
discuss only one popular methods of Solar tracking system. Name of the methods is

 Sun solar tracking system

BLOCK DIAGRAM:

Block Diagram Description:

The block diagram above shows system architecture it consist of a LDR sensor senses
max solar power which is being given to the Microcontroller through the ADC which digitizes
the LDR output. Microcontroller used in this system is a PIC 16F877A microcontroller having
in-built ADC. Controller then takes the decision according to the algorithm and tilts the panel
towards the direction of the max energy given by LDR with the help of DC Motor. The Motor is
used to rotate the LDR to sense the max solar power. This motor is interfaced through relays
with the microcontroller.

On the monitoring station which receives the data send by the system. This data is logged
into the PC. The RS232 converter is used to connect the microcontroller to PC which convert
PC”s CMOS level to Controller’s TTL level n vice versa.

Limit switches are provided to sense the starting and ending position of the solar panel.

The MOSFET driver used in this application is to control the supply voltage provided to
the battery from the solar panel. When the battery voltage goes high beyond 13.80v this driver
will block the supply voltage to avoid overcharging of the battery. Since we are monitoring the
battery voltage continuously. This data is logged in the PC. The report of the monitoring of the
solar system can be obtained day wise or weekly or per month basis.

The LCD display is used for display purpose. This LCD display will show the battery
voltage, and solar panel voltage. LCD display used in this application is interfaced with the
microcontroller in 4 bit mode.

PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGY:

The most abundant and convenient source of renewable energy is solar energy,
which can be harnessed by photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaic cells are the basic of the solar system.
The word photovoltaic comes from “photo” means light and “voltaic” means producing
electricity. Therefore, the photovoltaic process is “producing electricity directly from
sunlight”. The output power of a photovoltaic cell depends on the amount of light projected
on the cell. Time of the day, season, panel position and orientation are also the factors
behind the output power. Photovoltaic cells are the smallest part of a solar panel. Solar
panel gives maximum power output at the time when sun is directly aligned with the panel.
CUIRCUIT DIAGRAM:
1 2 3 4 5 6

D D

1N4007 1N4007
Solar +VE 1 3
Vin Vout
GND

1000uF/35V
IC1

1000uF/35V
12Volt 1K

2
BATTERY LED
16X2 LCD

Solar -VE

16X2 Charactor LCD

RW

VO
D0
D1
D2
D3
D4
D5
D6
D7

RS

A
K
E
S1
R2 180K
SOLAR
R5 IC2

7
8
109
11
12
13
14

4
5
6

15
16

3
1 28 20K 10K
PC6/(RESET) PC5/(ADC5/SCL) 220E
2 27
PD0/(RXD) PC4/(ADC4/SDA)
3 26
C PD1/(TXD) PC3/(ADC3) 180K C
4 25
PD2/(INT0) PC2/(ADC2) BATT
LDR 5 24
PD3/(INT1) PC1/(ADC1) 20K
6 23
PD4/(XCT/T0) PC0/(ADC0)
19
PB5/(SCK)
11 18
PD5/(T1) PB4/(MISO)
12 17
PD6/(AIN0) PB3/(MOSI/OC2)
13 16
PD7/(AIN1) PB2/(SS/OC1B)
15
VCC PB1/(OC1A)
Limit Switch1 14
PB0/(ICP1)
7
VCC
+12V GND
21
AREF
9 20
PB6/(X1,TOSC1) AVCC
Limit Switch2 8
GND
10 22
PB7/(X2,TOSC2) GND RLY1
16MHz V+ NC
ATMEGA88PA Q5 COM M-1
R9 K
NPN NO
33PF 33PF V-
DC
GEAR
RLY2 MOTOR
V+ NC
B B
COM
TX K NO
RX V-
USB TO SERIAL GND
+12V
Q6
R10 NPN

Error : Lenovo.bmp file not found.

RLY3
V+ NC
COM
K NO +12Volt To CFL Circuit
V-

Q7
R11
NPN

A A

Title

Size Number Revision

B
Date: 1-Feb-2018 Sheet of
File: C:\Users\Lenovo\Downloads\Circuit 2018 (10).Ddb
D rawn By:
1 2 3 4 5 6

CIRCUIT ACTION:

The circuit diagram of the system is as shown in the above diagram. The circuit diagram
shows the interfacing of all the devices of the system with the microcontroller unit. In this
system for the controlling ATMEGA88P microcontroller is used in this prototype. A power
supply system is used to provide required power to the circuit components in this unit.

Circuit implemented in the system consists of a microcontroller to control the complete

circuit action of the unit and to collect the data from the sensor network, process the data and to
control the electric devices i.e. lights and fan. To complete all these functions we have used an
ATMEGA88PA microcontroller in this work. This microcontroller requires regulated 5V power
supply for its operation. This power supply is provided by the power supply unit in the system.
Generally controller works on a stable frequency to produce machine cycles to execute the
firmware stored in the memory. To obtain this frequency an external oscillator is connected to
the pin number 9 and 10 i.e. OSC1 and OSC2 of the controller IC as shown in the circuit
diagram of the system. This is a crystal oscillator designed using a 16MHz crystal with two
parallel capacitors as shown in the circuit diagram. A crystal oscillator is an electronic oscillator
circuit that uses the mechanical resonance of a vibrating crystal of piezoelectric material to create
an electrical signal with a very precise frequency. This frequency is commonly used to keep
track of time, to provide a stable clock signal for digital integrated circuits, and to stabilize
frequencies. A reset switch is connected to the reset pin i.e. pin number 1 of the controller IC.
This switch is used to reset the microcontroller during the fluctuation in the power supply or due
to any malpractice during its operation. A reset input is used to reset a microcontroller. Resetting
puts the microcontroller into a known state such that the program execution starts from address 0
of the program memory.

The LCD is used for display purpose. The data lines of LCD are connected at pin no 16
to 19 of the controller IC. The enable and reset pin is connected to pin no 14 and 15 of the
controller IC in port B. The anode terminal is connected to 5v supply and the cathode terminal is
connected to ground. A variable resistor is connected to the VO pin of the LCD. This variable
resistor is connected to adjust the brightness of the LCD.

In this system we have used a MOSFET driver to convert the ac to dc and isolated dc-to-
dc converters. The MOSFET driver used in this application is to control the supply voltage
provided to the battery from the solar panel. When the battery voltage goes high beyond 13.80v
this driver will block the supply voltage to avoid overcharging of the battery.

In this system LDR is used to monitor the direction of maximum solar energy. When the
sun light falls on the LDR it will put the solar panel in same direction to obtain maximum
energy. But if there is no sun light on the LDR it will turn the solar panel with the help of the
gear motor in the direction of the sun. All this process is controlled by the microcontroller.

The system continuously monitors the battery voltage and the solar panel voltage through
the voltage divider circuit made up off resistor and LDR circuit. In this circuit when sun light
present on the LDR the resistance of LDR will be low and supply is grounded that is voltage will
be 0v. But when there is no sun light on this LDR circuit, the resistance of the LDR will become
high and thus output voltage will be equal to 5v. In this way the circuit continuously monitors the
voltage of the panel.

This data is then given to the PC for recording. PC and the microcontroller are interfaced
through the USB to TTL converter as shown in the circuit diagram of the system.

As the sun sets in evening and there is no sun light on the panel, the panel stops at the end
point, where switch is present. To stop this panel the microcontroller is programmed.
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display):

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen is an electronic display module and find a wide
range of applications. A 16x2 LCD display is very basic module and is very commonly used in
various devices and circuits. These modules are preferred over seven segments and other multi
segment LEDs. The reasons being: LCDs are economical; easily programmable; have no
limitation of displaying special & even custom characters (unlike in seven segments), animations
and so on. A 16x2 LCD means it can display 16 characters per line and there are 2 such lines. In
this LCD each character is displayed in 5x7 pixel matrix. This LCD has two registers, namely,
Command and Data. 16 Characters x 2 Lines Built-in HD44780 Equivalent LCD Controller
Works directly with ATMEGA, ARDUINO, PIC and many other microcontroller/kits. 4 or 8 bit
data I/O interface Low power consumption.

Features
Drive method: 1/16 duty cycle
Display size: 16 character * 2 lines
Character structure: 5*8 dots.
Display data RAM: 80 characters (80*8 bits)
Character generate ROM: 192 characters
Character generate RAM: 8 characters (64*8 bits)
Both display data and character generator RAMs can be read from MPU.
Internal automatic reset circuit at power ON.
Built in oscillator circuit.
Fig 3.12 LCD display 16X2

Table 3.3 Pin description of LCD

HARDWARE COMPONENT DESCRIPTION

ARDUINO UNO MICROCONTROLLER:

The Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328 (datasheet). It has 14
digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs,16MHz
ceramic resonator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and reset button. It contains
everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB
cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started. The Uno differs from all
preceding boards in that it does not use the FTDI USB-to-serial driver chip. Instead, it features
the Atmega16U2 (Atmega8U2 up to version R2) programmed as a USB-to-serial convertor.

Power

The Arduino Uno can be powered via the USB connection or with an external power supply.
The power source is selected automatically. External (non-USB) power can come either from an
AC-to-DC adapter (wall-wart) battery. The adapter can be connected by plugging a 2.1mm
center-positive plug into the board's power jack. Leads from a battery can be inserted in the GND
and Vin pin headers of the POWER connector. The board can operate on an external supply of 6
to 20 volts. If supplied with less than 7V, however, the 5V pin may supply less than five volts
and the board may be unstable. If using more than 12V, the voltage regulator may overheat and
damage the board. The recommended range is 7 to 12 volts.

Physical Characteristics

The maximum length and width of the Uno PCB are 2.7 and 2.1 inches respectively, with the
USB connector and power jack extending beyond the former dimension. Four screw holes allow
the board to be attached to a surface or case. Note that the distance between digital pins 7 and 8
is 160 mil(0.16"), not an even multiple of the 100 mil spacing of the other pins.
Pin Diagram of The Arduino:

Features:
1. Microcontroller- ATmega328
2. Operating Voltage- 5V
3. Input Voltage (recommended) -7-12V
4. Input Voltage (limits)- 6-20V
5. Digital I/O Pins- 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output)
6. Analog Input Pins- 6
7. DC Current per I/O Pin- 40 mA
8. DC Current for 3.3V Pin- 50 mA
9. Flash Memory -32 KB (ATmega328) of which 0.5 KB used by bootloader
10. SRAM -2 KB (ATmega328)
11. EEPROM -1 KB (ATmega328)
12. Clock Speed -16 MHz
ATMEGA88PA Microcontroller:

The ATmega88PA is a low-power CMOS 8-bit microcontroller based on the AVR

enhanced RISC architecture. By executing powerful instructions in a single clock cycle, the
ATmega88PA achieves throughputs approaching 1 MIPS per MHz allowing the system designer
to optimize power consumption versus processing speed.

The AVR core combines a rich instruction set with 32 general purpose working registers.
All the 32 registers are directly connected to the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), allowing two
independent registers to be accessed in one single instruction executed in one clock cycle. The
resulting architecture is more code efficient while achieving throughputs up to ten times faster
than conventional CISC microcontrollers.

The ATmega48A/PA/88A/PA/168A/PA/328/P provides the following features:

4K/8Kbytes of In-System Programmable Flash with Read-While-Write capabilities,
256/512/512/1Kbytes EEPROM, 512/1K/1K/2Kbytes SRAM, 23 general purpose I/O lines, 32
general purpose working registers, three flexible Timer/Counters with compare modes, internal
and external interrupts, a serial programmable USART, a byte-oriented 2-wire Serial Interface,
an SPI serial port, a 6-channel 10-bit ADC (8 channels in TQFP and QFN/MLF packages), a
programmable Watchdog Timer with internal Oscillator, and five software selectable power
saving modes. The Idle mode stops the CPU while allowing the SRAM, Timer/Counters,
USART, 2-wire Serial Interface, SPI port, and interrupt system to continue functioning. The
Power-down mode saves the register contents but freezes the Oscillator, disabling all other chip
functions until the next interrupt or hardware reset. In Power-save mode, the asynchronous timer
continues to run, allowing the user to maintain a timer base while the rest of the device is
sleeping. The ADC Noise Reduction mode stops the CPU and all I/O modules except
asynchronous timer and ADC, to minimize switching noise during ADC conversions. In Standby
mode, the crystal/resonator Oscillator is running while the rest of the device is sleeping. This
allows very fast start-up combined with low power consumption.

Features:
 High Performance, Low Power Atmel®AVR® 8-Bit Microcontroller Family

Advanced RISC Architecture

̶ 131 Powerful Instructions – Most Single Clock Cycle Execution

̶ 32 x 8 General Purpose Working Registers

̶ Fully Static Operation

̶ Up to 20 MIPS Throughput at 20MHz

̶ On-chip 2-cycle Multiplier

High Endurance Non-volatile Memory Segments

̶ 4/8/16/32KBytes of In-System Self-Programmable Flash program memory

̶ 256/512/512/1KBytes EEPROM

̶ 512/1K/1K/2KBytes Internal SRAM

̶ Write/Erase Cycles: 10,000 Flash/100,000 EEPROM

̶ Data retention: 20 years at 85 C/100 years at 25 C(1)

̶ Optional Boot Code Section with Independent Lock Bits

In-System Programming by On-chip Boot Program

True Read-While-Write Operation

̶ Programming Lock for Software Security

Atmel® QTouch® library support

̶ Capacitive touch buttons, sliders and wheels

̶ QTouch and QMatrix® acquisition

̶ Up to 64 sense channels
 Peripheral Features

̶ Two 8-bit Timer/Counters with Separate Prescaler and Compare Mode

̶ One 16-bit Timer/Counter with Separate Prescaler, Compare Mode, and

Capture Mode

̶ Real Time Counter with Separate Oscillator

̶ Six PWM Channels

̶ 8-channel 10-bit ADC in TQFP and QFN/MLF package

Temperature Measurement

̶ 6-channel 10-bit ADC in PDIP Package

Temperature Measurement

̶ Programmable Serial USART

̶ Master/Slave SPI Serial Interface

̶ Byte-oriented 2-wire Serial Interface (Philips I2C compatible)

̶ Programmable Watchdog Timer with Separate On-chip Oscillator

̶ On-chip Analog Comparator

̶ Interrupt and Wake-up on Pin Change

Special Microcontroller Features

̶ Power-on Reset and Programmable Brown-out Detection

̶ Internal Calibrated Oscillator

̶ External and Internal Interrupt Sources

̶ Six Sleep Modes: Idle, ADC Noise Reduction, Power-save, Power-down, Standby, and
Extended Standby

I/O and Packages

̶ 23 Programmable I/O Lines

̶ 28-pin PDIP, 32-lead TQFP, 28-pad QFN/MLF and 32-pad QFN/MLF

Operating Voltage:

̶ 1.8 - 5.5V

Temperature Range:

̶ -40 C to 85 C

Speed Grade:

̶ 0 - 4MHz@1.8 - 5.5V, 0 - 10MHz@2.7 - 5.5.V, 0 - 20MHz @ 4.5 - 5.5V

Power Consumption at 1MHz, 1.8V, 25 C

̶ Active Mode: 0.2mA

̶ Power-down Mode: 0.1μA

̶ Power-save Mode: 0.75μA (Including 32kHz RTC)

Pin Configurations:

Pin Descriptions:

1.1.1 VCC

Digital supply voltage.

1.1.2 GND

Ground.

1.1.3 Port B (PB7:0) XTAL1/XTAL2/TOSC1/TOSC2

Port B is an 8-bit bi-directional I/O port with internal pull-up resistors (selected for each
bit). The Port B output buffers have symmetrical drive characteristics with both high sink and
source capability. As inputs, Port B pins that are externally pulled low will source current if the
pull-up resistors are activated. The Port B pins are tristated when a reset condition becomes
active, even if the clock is not running. Depending on the clock selection fuse settings, PB6 can
be used as input to the inverting Oscillator amplifier and input to the internal clock operating
circuit. Depending on the clock selection fuse settings, PB7 can be used as output from the
inverting Oscillator amplifier. If the Internal Calibrated RC Oscillator is used as chip clock
source, PB7...6 is used as TOSC2...1 input for the Asynchronous Timer/Counter2 if the AS2 bit
in ASSR is set.
1.1.4 Port C (PC5:0)

Port C is a 7-bit bi-directional I/O port with internal pull-up resistors (selected for each
bit). The PC5...0 output buffers have symmetrical drive characteristics with both high sink and
source capability. As inputs, Port C pins that are externally pulled low will source current if the
pull-up resistors are activated. The Port C pins are tri-stated when a reset condition becomes
active, even if the clock is not running.

1.1.5 PC6/RESET

If the RSTDISBL Fuse is programmed, PC6 is used as an I/O pin. Note that the electrical
characteristics of PC6 differ from those of the other pins of Port C. If the RSTDISBL Fuse is un-
programmed, PC6 is used as a Reset input. A low level on this pin for longer than the minimum
pulse length will generate a Reset, even if the clock is not running. Shorter pulses are not
guaranteed to generate a Reset.

1.1.6 Port D (PD7:0)

Port D is an 8-bit bi-directional I/O port with internal pull-up resistors (selected for each
bit). The Port D output buffers have symmetrical drive characteristics with both high sink and
source capability. As inputs, Port D pins that are externally pulled low will source current if the
pull-up resistors are activated. The Port D pins are tri-stated when a reset condition becomes
active, even if the clock is not running.

1.1.7 AVCC

AVCC is the supply voltage pin for the A/D Converter, PC3:0, and ADC7:6. It should be
externally connected to VCC, even if the ADC is not used. If the ADC is used, it should be
connected to VCC through a low-pass filter. Note that PC6...4 use digital supply voltage, VCC.

1.1.8 AREF

AREF is the analog reference pin for the A/D Converter.

1.1.9 ADC7:6 (TQFP and QFN/MLF Package Only)

In the TQFP and QFN/MLF package, ADC7:6 serve as analog inputs to the A/D
converter. These pins are powered from the analog supply and serve as 10-bit ADC channels.
DC MOTOR

A simple DC motor typically has a stationary set of magnets in the stator and
an armature with a series of two or more windings of wire wrapped in insulated stack slots
around iron pole pieces with the ends of the wires terminating on a commutator.

By switching the current on or off in a coil its magnetic field can be switched on or off or
by switching the direction of the current in the coil the direction of the generated magnetic field
can be switched 180°.

A simple DC motor typically has a stationary set of magnets in the stator and an armature
with a series of two or more windings of wire wrapped in insulated stack slots around iron pole
pieces (called stack teeth) with the ends of the wires terminating on a commutator. The armature
includes the mounting bearings that keep it in the center of the motor and the power shaft of the
motor and the commutator connections. The winding in the armature continues to loop all the
way around the armature and uses either single or parallel conductors (wires), and can circle
several times around the stack teeth. The total amount of current sent to the coil, the coil's size
and what it's wrapped around dictate the strength of the electromagnetic field created.

The sequence of turning a particular coil on or off dictates what direction the effective
electromagnetic fields are pointed. By turning on and off coils in sequence a rotating magnetic
field can be created. These rotating magnetic fields interact with the magnetic fields of the
magnets (electromagnets) in the stationary part of the motor (stator) to create a force on the
armature which causes it to rotate.

In some DC motor designs the stator fields use electromagnets to create their magnetic
fields which allow greater control over the motor. At high power levels, DC motors are almost
always cooled using forced air.

The commutator allows each armature coil to be activated in turn. The current in the coil
is typically supplied via two brushes that make moving contact with the commutator. Now, some
brushless DC motors have electronics that switch the DC current to each coil on and off and have
no brushes to wear out or create sparks.

Different number of stator and armature fields as well as how they are connected provide
different inherent speed/torque regulation characteristics. The speed of a DC motor can be
controlled by changing the voltage applied to the armature. The introduction of variable
resistance in the armature circuit or field circuit allowed speed control. Modern DC motors are
often controlled by power electronics systems which adjust the voltage by "chopping" the DC
current into on and off cycles which have an effective lower voltage.

Since the series-wound DC motor develops its highest torque at low speed, it is often
used in traction applications such as electric locomotives, and trams. The DC motor was the
mainstay of electric traction drives on both electric and diesel-electric locomotives, street-
cars/trams and diesel electric drilling rigs for many years.

The introduction of DC motors and an electrical grid system to run machinery starting in
the 1870s started a new second Industrial Revolution. DC motors can operate directly from
rechargeable batteries, providing the motive power for the first electric vehicles and today's
hybrid cars and electric cars as well as driving a host of cordless tools. Today DC motors are still
found in applications as small as toys and disk drives, or in large sizes to operate steel rolling
mills and paper machines.

If external power is applied to a DC motor it acts as a DC generator, a dynamo. This

feature is used to slow down and recharge batteries onhybrid car and electric cars or to return
electricity back to the electric grid used on a street car or electric powered train line when they
slow down. This process is called regenerative braking on hybrid and electric cars. In diesel
electric locomotives they also use their DC motors as generators to slow down but dissipate the
energy in resistor stacks. Newer designs are adding large battery packs to recapture some of this
energy.
ADVANTAGE OF USING BLDC MOTOR OVER BRUSHED DC MOTOR:

The BLDC motor has to many advantages over the brushed DC motor which is shown below:

Higher efficiency and reliability

Lower acoustic noise due to absence of brushes

Smaller and lighter

Greater dynamic response

Better speed versus torque characteristics

Higher speed range

Longer life span

RELAY:

The basis for relays, is the simple electromagnet

A nail, some wire, and a battery is all that is needed to make one, to demonstrate and
amaze your small children. add a switch, and presto! You're the talk of the town.

With no power applied to the coil, the nail is NOT magnetized. Connect this to a power
source, and it will now grab and hold small pieces of metal.
 So, herein lies the concept. If we take an electromagnet, it will interact with metals in its
vicinity. now lets take this one step further... If we were to place a piece of metal, near the
electromagnet, and connect some contacts, so that when the electromagnet is energized, the
contacts close, we have a working relay.
 The simplest relay, is the Single Pole, Single Throw (spst) relay. It is nothing more than
an electrically controlled on-off switch. It's biggest property, is the ability to use a very small
current, to control a much larger current. this is desireable because we can now use smaller
diameter wires, to control the current flow through a much larger wire, and also to limit the wear
and tear on the control switch.

Above is a simple relay control. Now, here is what is happening.....

 The control circuit (GREEN) powers the coil inside the relay, using a small amount of
current. It flows from the battery, thru the fuse (for protection) to a switch, (say, a light switch)
then to the coil in the relay, energizing it.

The coil, now energized becomes an electromagnet, and attracts the metal strip with the
contacts, which closes, providing a secondary heavy current path ( RED ) to the device ( say, the
fog lights).

Turning off the switch, opens the circuit to the coil, removes current flow, and the
electromagnet is no longer a magnet, the secondary path is opened, and the lights extinguish.
TRANSISTOR:
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals
and electrical power. It is composed of semiconductor material with at least three terminals for
connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's
terminals changes the current through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled
(output) power can be higher than the controlling (input) power, a transistor can amplify a signal.
Today, some transistors are packaged individually, but many more are found embedded
in integrated circuits.

The transistor is the fundamental building block of modern electronic devices, and is
ubiquitous in modern electronic systems. Following its development in 1947 by
American physicists John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley, the transistor
revolutionized the field of electronics, and paved the way for smaller and
cheaper radios, calculators, and computers, among other things. The transistor is on the list of
IEEE milestones in electronics, and the inventors were jointly awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in
Physics for their achievement.

The transistor is the key active component in practically all modern electronics. Many
consider it to be one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. Its importance in today's
society rests on its ability to be mass-produced using a highly automated process (semiconductor
device fabrication) that achieves astonishingly low per-transistor costs. The invention of the first
transistor at Bell Labs was named an IEEE Milestone in 2009.

Although several companies each produce over a billion individually packaged (known
as discrete) transistors every year, the vast majority of transistors are now produced in integrated
circuits (often shortened to IC, microchips or simply chips), along with diodes,
resistors, capacitors and other electronic components, to produce complete electronic circuits.
A logic gate consists of up to about twenty transistors whereas an advanced microprocessor, as
of 2009, can use as many as 3 billion transistors (MOSFETs). "About 60 million transistors were
built in 2002 ... for [each] man, woman, and child on Earth."

The transistor's low cost, flexibility, and reliability have made it a ubiquitous device.
Transistorized mechatronic circuits have replaced electromechanical devices in controlling
appliances and machinery. It is often easier and cheaper to use a standard microcontroller and
write a computer program to carry out a control function than to design an equivalent mechanical
control function.

The essential usefulness of a transistor comes from its ability to use a small signal applied
between one pair of its terminals to control a much larger signal at another pair of terminals. This
property is called gain. It can produce a stronger output signal, a voltage or current, that is
proportional to a weaker input signal; that is, it can act as an amplifier. Alternatively, the
transistor can be used to turn current on or off in a circuit as an electrically controlled switch,
where the amount of current is determined by other circuit elements.

There are two types of transistors, which have slight differences in how they are used in a
circuit. A bipolar transistor has terminals labeled base, collector, and emitter. A small current at
the base terminal (that is, flowing between the base and the emitter) can control or switch a much
larger current between the collector and emitter terminals. For a field-effect transistor, the
terminals are labeled gate, source, and drain, and a voltage at the gate can control a current
between source and drain.

The image to the right represents a typical bipolar transistor in a circuit. Charge will flow
between emitter and collector terminals depending on the current in the base. Because internally
the base and emitter connections behave like a semiconductor diode, a voltage drop develops
between base and emitter while the base current exists. The amount of this voltage depends on
the material the transistor is made from, and is referred to as VBE
MOSFET

The MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) is a voltage controlled
device. This means that a voltage at the gate control the current flows from the drain to source.
There are three terminals of the MOSFET:

Gate: connected to the input device

Drain: connected to the positive, since electrons drain away to the positive.

Source: The source of the electrons.

Uses of MOSFETS

High power devices like motors and light bulbs give a large current output for a very tiny current
input. So a MOSFET can act as the interface between an integrated circuit that can give only a
tiny current, and the motor that takes a big current. In complimentary pairs they are used in hi-fi
power amplifiers. They produce less distortion as they are more linear than bipolar transistors.
Integrated circuits, as they can be made very compact.
USB TO SERIAL CONVERTER
It requires minimal external components. CP2102 can be used to migrate legacy serial
port based devices to USB. Hobbyists can use it as a powerful tool to make all kinds of PC
interfaced projects. This module help all those who are comfortable with RS232/Serial
Communication protocol, to build USB devices very easily.
Working
This is an USB2.0 to TTL UART Converter module which is based on CP2102 Bridge by
SiLabs. This module can be used with Laptop's which don't have standard serial port. This
module creates a virtual COM port using USB on your computer which can support various
standard Baud Rates for serial communication. You just need to install the driver using a setup
file which automatically installs correct driver files for Windows XP/Vista/ 7. After driver
installation, plug the module into any USB port of your PC. Finally a new COM port is made
available to the PC. The feature which makes it more convenient is the TTL level data i/o. So
you don't need to make a RS232 to TTL converter using chips like MAX232. The Rx and Tx pin
can be connected directly to the MCUs pins (assuming 5v i/o).
Pinouts
This module has 6 pin breakout which includes
• TXD = Transmit Output - Connect to Receive Pin(RXD) of Micro controller. This pin is
TX pin of CP2102 on board.
• RXD = Receive Input - Connect to Transmit Pin(TXD) of Micro controller. This pin is
RX pin of CP2102 on board.
• GND = Should be common to microcontroller ground.
• 3V3 = Optional output to power external circuit upto 50mA.
• 5V = Optional output to power external circuit upto 500mA
• DTR/RST = Optional output pin to reset external microcontrollers like Arduino.
High Quality USB to TTL converter, comes with a 4-pin extension cable.
Features:
• Stable and reliable chipset CP2102.
• USB specification 2.0 compliant with full-speed 12Mbps.
• Standard USB type A male and TTL 6pin connector.
• 6pins for 3.3V, RST, TXD, RXD, GND & 5V.
• All handshaking and modem interface signals.
• Baud rates: 300 bps to 1.5 Mbps.
• Byte receive buffer; 640 byte transmit buffer.
• Hardware or X-On/X-Off handshaking supported.
• Event character support Line break transmission.
• USB suspend states supported via SUSPEND pins.
• Temperature Range: -40 to +85.
• Size: 42mm X 15mm.
• Weight: 4g
VOLTAGE REGULATOR 7805
Features
• Output Current up to 1A.
• Output Voltages of 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 18, 24V.
• Thermal Overload Protection.
• Short Circuit Protection
.• Output Transistor Safe Operating Area Protection.

Description
The LM78XX/LM78XXA series of three-terminal positive regulators are available in the TO-
220/D-PAK package and with several fixed output voltages, making them useful in a Wide range
of applications. Each type employs internal current limiting, thermal shutdown and safe
operating area protection, making it essentially indestructible. If adequate heat sinking is
provided, they can deliver over 1A output Current. Although designed primarily as fixed voltage
regulators, these devices can be used with external components to obtain adjustable voltages and
currents.
FIG 4.2(a): BLOCK DIAGRAM OF VOLTAGE REGULATOR
Absolute Maximum Ratings:-

TABLE 4.2(b): RATINGS OF THE VOLTAGE REGULATOR

FILTER:-
Capacitive filter is used in this project. It removes the ripples from the output of rectifier
and smoothens the D.C. Output received from this filter is constant until the mains voltage and
load is maintained constant. However, if either of the two is varied, D.C. voltage received at this
point changes. Therefore a regulator is applied at the output stage.
The simple capacitor filter is the most basic type of power supply filter. The use of this filter is
very limited. It is sometimes used on extremely high-voltage, low-current power supplies for
cathode-ray and similar electron tubes that require very little load current from the supply. This
filter is also used in circuits where the power-supply ripple frequency is not critical and can be
relatively high.below figure can show how the capacitor chages and discharges.
COMPONENT DISCRIPTION
Resistor
Axial-lead resistors on tape. The tape is removed during assembly before the leads are formed
and the part is inserted into the board. In automated assembly the leads are cut and formed.
A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as
a circuit element. Resistors act to reduce current flow, and, at the same time, act to lower voltage
levels within circuits. In electronic circuits resistors are used to limit current flow, to adjust
signal levels, bias active elements, terminate transmission lines among other uses. High-power
resistors that can dissipate many watts of electrical power as heat may be used as part of motor
controls, in power distribution systems, or as test loads for generators. Resistors can have fixed
resistances that only change slightly with temperature, time or operating voltage. Variable
resistors can be used to adjust circuit elements (such as a volume control or a lamp dimmer), or
as sensing devices for heat, light, humidity, force, or chemical activity.
Resistors are common elements of electrical networks and electronic circuits and are ubiquitous
in electronic equipment. Practical resistors as discrete components can be composed of various
compounds and forms. Resistors are also implemented withinintegrated circuits.
The electrical function of a resistor is specified by its resistance: common commercial resistors
are manufactured over a range of more than nine orders of magnitude. The nominal value of the
resistance will fall within a manufacturing tolerance.
The behavior of an ideal resistor is dictated by the relationship specified by Ohm's law:

Ohm's law states that the voltage (V) across a resistor is proportional to the current (I), where the
constant of proportionality is the resistance (R). For example, if a 300 ohm resistor is attached
across the terminals of a 12 volt battery, then a current of 12 / 300 = 0.04 amperes flows through
that resistor.
Practical resistors also have some inductance and capacitance which will also affect the relation
between voltage and current in alternating current circuits.
The ohm (symbol: Ω) is the SI unit of electrical resistance, named after Georg Simon Ohm. An
ohm is equivalent to a volt per ampere. Since resistors are specified and manufactured over a
very large range of values, the derived units of milliohm (1 mΩ = 10−3 Ω), kilohm (1 kΩ =
103 Ω), and megohm (1 MΩ = 106 Ω) are also in common usage
Resistor color-coding:-

One decade of the E12 series (there are twelve preferred values per decade of values) shown with
their electronic color codes on resistors

A 100 kΩ, 5% axial-lead resistor

A 0 Ω resistor, marked with a single black band

A 2260 ohm, 1% precision resistor with 5 color bands (E96 series), from top 2-2-6-1-1; the last
two brown bands indicate the multiplier (x10), and the 1% tolerance. The larger gap before the
tolerance band is somewhat difficult to distinguish.

To distinguish left from right there is a gap between the C and D bands.
 band A is the first significant figure of component value (left side)
 band B is the second significant figure (some precision resistors have a third significant
figure, and thus five bands).
 band C is the decimal multiplier
 band D if present, indicates tolerance of value in percent (no band means 20%)
For example, a resistor with bands of yellow, violet, red, and gold will have first digit 4 (yellow
in table below), second digit 7 (violet), followed by 2 (red) zeros: 4,700 ohms. Gold signifies that
the tolerance is ±5%, so the real resistance could lie anywhere between 4,465 and 4,935 ohms.
Resistors manufactured for military use may also include a fifth band which indicates component
failure rate (reliability); refer to MIL-HDBK-199 for further details.
Tight tolerance resistors may have three bands for significant figures rather than two, or an
additional band indicating temperature coefficient, in units of ppm/K.
All coded components will have at least two value bands and a multiplier; other bands are
optional.
The standard color code per EN 60062:2005 is as follows:

Temp.
Significant
Color Multiplier Tolerance Coefficient
figures
(ppm/K)

Black 0 ×100 – 250 U

Brown 1 ×101 ±1% F 100 S

Red 2 ×102 ±2% G 50 R

Orange 3 ×103 – 15 P

Yellow 4 ×104 (±5%) – 25 Q

Green 5 ×105 ±0.5% D 20 Z

Blue 6 ×106 ±0.25% C 10 Z

Violet 7 ×107 ±0.1% B 5 M

Gray 8 ×108 ±0.05% (±10%) A 1 K

White 9 ×109 – –

Gold – ×10-1 ±5% J –

Silver – ×10-2 ±10% K –

None – – ±20% M –

Resistors use preferred numbers for their specific values, which are determined by
their tolerance. These values repeat for every decade of magnitude: 6.8, 68, 680, and so forth. In
the E24 series the values are related by the 24th root of 10, while E12 series are related by the
12th root of 10, and E6 series by the 6th root of 10. The tolerance of device values is arranged so
that every value corresponds to a preferred number, within the required tolerance.
Zero ohm resistors are made as lengths of wire wrapped in a resistor-shaped body which can be
substituted for another resistor value in automatic insertion equipment. They are marked with a
single black band.

The 'body-end-dot' or 'body-tip-spot' system was used for radial-lead (and other cylindrical)
composition resistors sometimes still found in very old equipment; the first band was given by
the body color, the second band by the color of the end of the resistor, and the multiplier by a dot
or band around the middle of the resistor. The other end of the resistor was colored gold or silver
to give the tolerance, otherwise it was 20%.
CAPACITOR:
A capacitor (originally known as a condenser) is a passive two-terminal electrical
component used to store energyelectrostatically in an electric field. The forms of practical
capacitors vary widely, but all contain at least two electrical conductors (plates) separated by
a dielectric (i.e. insulator). The conductors can be thin films, foils or sintered beads of metal or
conductive electrolyte, etc. The "nonconducting" dielectric acts to increase the capacitor's charge
capacity. A dielectric can be glass, ceramic, plastic film, air, vacuum, paper, mica, oxide layer
etc. Capacitors are widely used as parts of electrical circuits in many common electrical devices.
Unlike a resistor, an ideal capacitor does not dissipate energy. Instead, a capacitor
stores energy in the form of an electrostatic field between its plates.
When there is a potential difference across the conductors (e.g., when a capacitor is attached
across a battery), an electric field develops across the dielectric, causing positive charge +Q to
collect on one plate and negative charge −Q to collect on the other plate. If a battery has been
attached to a capacitor for a sufficient amount of time, no current can flow through the capacitor.
However, if a time-varying voltage is applied across the leads of the capacitor, a displacement
current can flow.
An ideal capacitor is characterized by a single constant value for its capacitance. Capacitance is
expressed as the ratio of the electric charge Q on each conductor to the potential
difference V between them. The SI unit of capacitance is the farad (F), which is equal to
one coulomb per volt (1 C/V). Typical capacitance values range from about 1 pF (10−12 F) to
about 1 mF (10−3 F).
The capacitance is greater when there is a narrower separation between conductors and when the
conductors have a larger surface area. In practice, the dielectric between the plates passes a small
amount of leakage current and also has an electric field strength limit, known as the breakdown
voltage. The conductors and leads introduce an undesired inductance and resistance.
Capacitors are widely used in electronic circuits for blocking direct current while
allowing alternating current to pass. In analog filter networks, they smooth the output of power
supplies. In resonant circuits they tune radios to particular frequencies. In electric power
transmission systems, they stabilize voltage and power flow.
A capacitor consists of two conductors separated by a non-conductive region.[10] The non-
conductive region is called the dielectric. In simpler terms, the dielectric is just an electrical
insulator. Examples of dielectric media are glass, air, paper, vacuum, and even a semiconductor
depletion region chemically identical to the conductors. A capacitor is assumed to be self-
contained and isolated, with no net electric charge and no influence from any external electric
field. The conductors thus hold equal and opposite charges on their facing surfaces,[11] and the
dielectric develops an electric field. In SI units, a capacitance of one farad means that one
coulomb of charge on each conductor causes a voltage of one volt across the device.[12]
An ideal capacitor is wholly characterized by a constant capacitance C, defined as the ratio of
charge ±Q on each conductor to the voltage V between them:[10]

Because the conductors (or plates) are close together, the opposite charges on the conductors
attract one another due to their electric fields, allowing the capacitor to store more charge for a
given voltage than if the conductors were separated, giving the capacitor a large capacitance.
Sometimes charge build-up affects the capacitor mechanically, causing its capacitance to vary. In
this case, capacitance is defined in terms of incremental changes:
DIODE:
In electronics, a diode is a two-terminal electronic component with asymmetric conductance; it
has low (ideally zero) resistance to current in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance
in the other. A semiconductor diode, the most common type today, is a crystalline piece
of semiconductor material with a p–n junction connected to two electrical terminals. A vacuum
tube diode has two electrodes , a plate (anode) and a heated cathode. Semiconductor diodes were
the first semiconductor electronic devices. The discovery of crystals 'rectifying abilities was
made by German physicist Ferdinand Braun in 1874. The first semiconductor diodes,
called cat's whisker diodes, developed around 1906, were made of mineral crystals such
as galena. Today, most diodes are made of silicon, but other semiconductors such
as selenium or germanium are sometimes used.
A p–n junction diode is made of a crystal of semiconductor, usually silicon,
but germanium and gallium arsenide are also used. Impurities are added to it to create a region
on one side that contains negative charge carriers (electrons), called n-type semiconductor, and a
region on the other side that contains positive charge carriers (holes), called p-type
semiconductor. When two materials i.e. n-type and p-type are attached together, a momentary
flow of electrons occur from n to p side resulting in a third region where no charge carriers are
present. This region is called the depletion region due to the absence of charge carriers (electrons
and holes in this case). The diode's terminals are attached to the n-type and p-type regions. The
boundary between these two regions, called a p–n junction, is where the action of the diode takes
place. The crystal allows electrons to flow from the N-type side (called the cathode) to the P-type
side (called the anode), but not in the opposite direction
The most common function of a diode is to allow an electric current to pass in one direction
(called the diode's forward direction), while blocking current in the opposite direction
(the reverse direction). Thus, the diode can be viewed as an electronic version of a check valve.
This unidirectional behaviour is called rectification, and is used to convert alternating
current to direct current, including extraction of modulation from radio signals in radio
receivers—these diodes are forms of rectifiers.
However, diodes can have more complicated behaviour than this simple on–off action, due to
their nonlinear current-voltage characteristics. Semiconductor diodes begin conducting
electricity only if a certain threshold voltage or cut-in voltage is present in the forward direction
(a state in which the diode is said to be forward-biased). The voltage drop across a forward-
biased diode varies only a little with the current, and is a function of temperature; this effect can
be used as a temperature sensor or voltage reference.
Semiconductor diodes' current–voltage characteristic can be tailored by varying
the semiconductor materials and doping, introducing impurities into the materials. These
techniques are used to create special-purpose diodes that perform many different functions. For
example, diodes are used to regulate voltage (Zener diodes), to protect circuits from high voltage
surges (avalanche diodes), to electronically tune radio and TV receivers (varactor diodes), to
generate radio-frequency oscillations (tunnel diodes, Gunn diodes,IMPATT diodes), and to
produce light (light-emitting diodes). Tunnel, Gunn and IMPATT diodes exhibit negative
resistance, which is useful in microwave and switching circuits.
LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a two-lead semiconductor light source. It is a basic pn-
junction diode, which emits light when activated.[6] When a suitable voltage is applied to the
leads, electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in
the form of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence, and the color of the light
(corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy band gap of the
semiconductor.
An LED is often small in area (less than 1 mm2) and integrated optical components may be used
to shape its radiation pattern.[7]
Appearing as practical electronic components in 1962,[8] the earliest LEDs emitted low-intensity
infrared light. Infrared LEDs are still frequently used as transmitting elements in remote-control
circuits, such as those in remote controls for a wide variety of consumer electronics. The first
visible-light LEDs were also of low intensity, and limited to red. Modern LEDs are available
across the visible,ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths, with very high brightness.
Early LEDs were often used as indicator lamps for electronic devices, replacing small
incandescent bulbs. They were soon packaged into numeric readouts in the form of seven-
segment displays, and were commonly seen in digital clocks.
Recent developments in LEDs permit them to be used in environmental and task lighting. LEDs
have many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy consumption,
longer lifetime, improved physical robustness, smaller size, and faster switching. Light-emitting
diodes are now used in applications as diverse as aviation lighting, automotive headlamps,
advertising, general lighting, traffic signals, and camera flashes. However, LEDs powerful
enough for room lighting are still relatively expensive, and require more precise current and heat
management than compact fluorescent lamp sources of comparable output.
LEDs have allowed new text, video displays, and sensors to be developed, while their high
switching rates are also useful in advanced communications technology.
On October 7, 2014, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi
Amano and Shuji Nakamura for "the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has
enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources" or, less formally, LED lamps.[9]
Conventional LEDs are made from a variety of inorganic semiconductor materials.
The following table shows the available colors with wavelength range, voltage drop and
material:

Voltage
Color Wavelength [nm] Semiconductor material
drop [ΔV]

Gallium arsenide (GaAs)

Infrared λ > 760 ΔV < 1.63
Aluminium gallium arsenide (AlGaAs)

Aluminium gallium arsenide (AlGaAs)

Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP)
1.63 < ΔV <
Red 610 < λ < 760 Aluminium gallium indium
2.03
phosphide (AlGaInP)
Gallium(III) phosphide (GaP)

Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP)

2.03 < ΔV < Aluminium gallium indium
Orange 590 < λ < 610
2.10 phosphide (AlGaInP)
Gallium(III) phosphide (GaP)

Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP)

2.10 < ΔV < Aluminium gallium indium
Yellow 570 < λ < 590
2.18 phosphide (AlGaInP)
Gallium(III) phosphide (GaP)

Traditional green:
Gallium(III) phosphide (GaP)
Aluminium gallium indium
1.9[72] < ΔV < phosphide (AlGaInP)
Green 500 < λ < 570
4.0 Aluminium gallium phosphide (AlGaP)
Pure green:
Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) / Gallium(III)
nitride (GaN)

2.48 < ΔV < Zinc selenide (ZnSe)

Blue 450 < λ < 500
3.7 Indium gallium nitride (InGaN)
 Silicon carbide (SiC) as substrate
Silicon (Si) as substrate—under development

2.76 < ΔV <

Violet 400 < λ < 450 Indium gallium nitride (InGaN)
4.0

Dual blue/red LEDs,

2.48 < ΔV <
Purple Multiple types blue with red phosphor,
3.7
or white with purple plastic

Diamond (235 nm)[73]

Boron nitride (215 nm)[74][75]
Aluminium nitride (AlN) (210 nm)[76]
Ultraviolet λ < 400 3.1 < ΔV < 4.4
Aluminium gallium nitride (AlGaN)
Aluminium gallium indium
nitride (AlGaInN)—down to 210 nm[77]

Blue with one or two phosphor layers:

yellow with red, orange or pink phosphor added
Pink Multiple types ΔV ~ 3.3[78] afterwards,
or white phosphors with pink pigment or dye
over top.[79]

White Broad spectrum ΔV = 3.5 Blue/UV diode with yellow phosphor

PCB DESIGNING
For a certain number of projects, including first-prototype, surface mount 'breadboarding', layout
experimentation, rapid multiple-revisions, and 1-hour deadlines doing your own PCB etching
can be quick, clean, and very very inexpensive. The method set up in the Media Lab basement is
somewhat-similar to that of large pcb manufacture shops, except in scale and automation. There
is no system for through-hole plating, automated drilling/routing or multilayer design. However,
you can make precisely aligned doublesided boards with simple registration techniques.
When To Use
A tool is only good towards the application it was designed for. Using the etcher for something
other than what its good for will frustrate you and waste time.
When using the spray etcher is a good idea:
 You need the boards quickly
 The substrate is 1/16" with 1oz or 2oz copper either FR4 or paper phenolic (preferred)
 The design is single sided
 There are many surface mount parts
 The design is double sided, with no hidden vias (vias underneath surfacemount parts) or
through-hole part vias (vias that also serve as through-hole component holes) that you
cannot solder on both sides
 You can visually scan for shorts
 The design follows a 12/12 mil rule (this is probably not true, I'm sure 10/10 or even 8/8
is fine, but yield will drop) That is, 12mil minimum trace width, and 12mil minimum
trace distance.
 You only need a few boards, or are willing to live with a yield as low as 50%
 Drill hole locations can be imprecise (up to 10 mils off!)
Conversely, when using the spray etcher is a bad idea:
 You dislike wet chemistry/cleaning
 Are using exotic substrates
 There are many vias, or throughhole parts, and you dont want to drill holes/solder vias.
 You want the boards to be perfect without checking for shorts or opens
 You need printed overlays, multiple layers, through hole plating or solder masks.
  You want many parts. Remember that for $200 you can just about get as many boards as
your heart desires, and from a reputable PCB manufacturer.
Getting the Layout Ready
In this step you will prepare your layout for etching. For this step you will need: a quality laser
printer, a sheet of transluscent paper.
The photoresist method we use in PCB etching is a positive process, which means that when UV
light hits the resist, it softens, and then is washed away. What remains is a positive of the PCB
design. What this boils down to is that you will want a positive printout of your PCB design
(black where there will be copper). Preferably mirrored. Most all PCB design tools let you print
out your layout mirrored. Or you can mirror your entire design in the software. Whichever. Also,
if possible, have it print white holes where you will drill, these will be your drill guides. Because
the drill holes will not be precise, make your annular rings (the copper around a drill hole) larger
than normal. Since you will lose as many as half of the design to exposure/development/etching
flaws, tile 2-3 times layouts as many as you want.
In Eagle: After your design is ready, go to the CAM Processor, and open the "layout2.cam" job.
As output select PS. Change the extention to ".ps" as well. Be sure that Mirror is selected but
that Fill Pads is not. Then open the ps with any free postscript viewer and print it. (Also you
could print it to "Gerber274x" and use a gerber viewer, or any other format you can print.)
After you have verified the above, print your design to a high quality (600dpi at least) laser
printer, in monochrome mode, onto a white piece of paper. Double check that it is as you want it,
in the correct orientation, enough tiling, mirrored, dark ink, slightly smaller than the PCB you
have, etc. Now print it onto translucent paper, there is a box of it in the cabinet underneath the
etcher, in a thin cardboard sleeve.
This photo has notes. Move your mouse over the photo to see them.
Left, plain paper test. Right, translucent paper. Both are mirrored.
In this picture, I have two layouts I want to etch. I tiled one three times and one twice. The one I
tiled three times has a very fine pitch IC (TSSOP-16) so it is less likely to come out. On the left
is opaque laser print. On the right, translucent paper. Note that the design (noticably the text) is
mirrored.

Exposing the Board

This step transfers your layout design to a positive-resist PCB by exposing UV light to the
sensitized PCB with the printout as a mask. For this step you will need: a presensitized positive
photoresist copper clad board, scissors, tape, a UV bulb and thin plate glass or exposure unit.
This step takes 5-10 minutes.
First cut out the layout leaving a few millimeters of space on the edges. If you are going to
perform the exposing and etching in the same session, go ahead and turn the etching machine on
now, since it takes 10 minutes to warm up.
Cut the translucent paper, leaving at least a few mm boarder
Next, locate an unused PCB. There is a bag of them in the cabinet underneath the etcher. You
may need to cut a larger board down using a metal shear. Using a larger PCB than necessary is
wasteful, and exhausts the chemicals faster than a board that is well-fit. You can also purchase
your own stash of PCB material in many different substrates, thicknesses, etc. and, of course,
that is encouraged. (See "Where to Purchase Supplies, at bottom")
The best PCBs are those that have a plastic sticky sheet protecting them (some are just sold in a
plastic bag) so that they can be handled, drilled and sheared without excess UV exposure. The
plastic is easy to peel off:
The underlying substrate should be a greenish colour
Place your design on top of the exposed resist, ink-side down, so that it appears not-mirrored
when you look through the paper at the board. Placing the ink closest to the resist means less
light can leak around and cut into thin traces. Next, tape down the design on two edges, so that
the tape does not overlap any of the layout, but holds the paper flat.
Use any plain tape to tape down two opposite sides without overlapping the layout
now take it to be exposed under a UV lamp. As an arbitrary measure, a 15W Sylvania "350
Blacklight" UV 24" flourescent bulb, 3" above a FOTOBOARD2-brand board, with a 1/8" clear
glass plate (to keep the paper totally flat) over the board, 10 minutes will give good exposure.
[When a more permanent fixture is found, it will be calibrated.]
After it has been exposed, peel off one piece of tape and flip it open, to look at the photoresist.
Well exposed photoresist is a paler green, and you will be able to see the layout in the original,
yellower green, faintly. If you don't see anything, retape that side, and try a few more minutes
under the lamp.

The unexposed part is faintly visible, on the right side.

Once you think you're done exposing, lift off the design and put it away in case you want to
make another set of boards. You are ready to perform the chemical processing. If you need to do
this part later, or you have other boards to expose, place this board in an opaque container (like
in an envelope, face down, in a drawer or somesuch.)
Developing the Board
In this step, the exposed photoresist is removed chemically using developer, leaving a positive of
your layout in photoresist on copper. For this step you will need: gloves, apron, sink, dev tray,
developer, small soft sponge. This step takes 3 minutes.
Take the board over to your processing area. Put on the apron and a pair of 'rubber gloves'. These
wet chemicals can splash, some stain, and they are not good to drink. Find the dev tray and the
bottle of developer, (both marked DEV) and make sure the tray is clean. There is one set of large
trays (for > 5x7") and one small set, use the ones that fits best. Place the board face up in the tray
and pour developer in until there is about 1/4" (or enough to cover) in the tray.

Carefully pour into a tray. The developer is green from use, it starts out clear
Almost immediately the board will start to 'leak' resist as it is attacked by developer. Agitate the
board with your hand, and swirl the developer around to make sure there is a flow around the
board. It should be developed in 1/2 to 1 minute. If you leave it in too long, some of the finer
traces wont come out. Leaving it in too little means that there will be a very thin, invisible, layer
of resist left that will stop the etching process and force you to repeat this step. Use a soft sponge
to wipe the photoresist away.
Before rinsing, rub down the board with a soft cloth or sponge soaked in developer
Rinse the board in cold water to clean off the developer (stop bath), the parts that are to be etched
should look like competely clean copper, no residue. If you feel a slimy/slippery coating, or see a
bluish coating, you need to develop more. If none of the resist came off, you'll need to realign
your paper and reexpose the board. Pour the developer back into the bottle, and rinse off the tray.
The board is now ready to etch.

A well developed board has solid green traces and a clean copper background
First Rinse
In this step, the board is spray rinsed to prepare it for etching. This step takes 2 minutes.
First check to see that the machine is on. If not, turn the machine on.
The Rota-Spray machine, the wash tank is on the left, the etching tank on the right.
The on button is in the top left corner.
Once on, the left LED display should display "oC" and then something like "23" which means
the etchant is at 23degC. Now load the board into the board holding apparatus, placing it near the
center, and securing the plastic nuts. Make sure the board won’t fall out and into the tank.
The board holder can hold many small boards, but make sure they cant fall out
Slide the board holder, with the copper facing right, into the wash tank. Attach the water hose
(black, with white plastic spring-end) to the sink faucent, and turn on the cold water.

The connector is a little difficult to use, requiring that you simultaneously push down on the ring
while pressing the brass fitting into the faucet head. Two handed might be easier at first.
Turn on the wash spray to clean off the board. You can move the holder up and down to make
sure the board is sprayed off.

Make sure the water drains cleanly into the sink. This is the older setup, in the current lab there
should be a PVC drainage pipe into the large sink so there shouldnt be any drain problems
Etching the Board
In this step, the board is placed in an etcher, which is a machine that washes warm ferric chloride
(or another etchant) over the board, eating away any exposed copper. For this step you will need
to make sure the etchant is warm enough to use. This step takes 2minutes.
Move the holder into the etching tank, again facing to the right. Check that the temperature
monitor reports 42-45 degrees C, and that the fluid well feels warm. also make sure the top is
secured so that there is very little chance FeCl will spray out the top. By default the timer is set
for 1:30 minutes, which I've found satisfactory. You can also change the time if necessary (for
different weights of copper). Turn on the spray pump by pressing start. The entire tank will turn
reddish brown as the etchant removes the copper from your board. After the time is up, remove
the holder and quickly put it in the wash tank again. Be careful as there will be a lot of FeCl
dripping off the holder and you dont want it going anywhere but in the machine or the sink.
The board is very messy at this point, so do the move quickly and carefuly
Second Rinse
Turn on the wash spray again, moving the holder around so that the entire board and holder are
completely cleaned off. After the water runs clean, remove the board and examine it. There may
be parts that didn't etch, or overetched. Depending on your patience and yield, you may decide to
re-etch a subset of your boards.
There are some traces of unetched copper on the right. Since I only needed one PCB, I just threw
it away.
Examine all the boards carefully to determine which ones have shorts/opens/missing traces/etc,
and which ones are good for use. Shut off the water faucet, run the spray to clean out the hose,
turn off the machine and disconnect the hose from the faucet.
Strip
In this step, the remaining photoresist is stripped away, leaving only copper. For this step you
will need chemical stripper and/or a scrub pad. This step takes 2 minutes.
Place the board face up in the STRIP tray, and coat it with resist stripper. This may be in a bottle
or in a 'shoepolish' dispenser. Rub in the chemical first with the soft sponge, then with with a
plastic scrub pad. The green resist should come off, revealing copper underneath. Make sure -all-
of the resist is removed, as it smells very bad when it gets hot (when soldering.) If there is no
stripper, you can just scrub it off with a green scrub pad. If the stripper came from a bottle, pour
it back in. Rinse off the board and tray.
You can easily remove the resist with just a green scouring pad
Tinning
This step is optional but is very helpful for soldering to your board. For this step you will need:
tinning liquid mix. This step takes 2-10 minutes.
Find the bottle of tinning liquid, and the TIN tray. Place the board in the tray copper up, and pour
in enough tinning liquid to cover the board, the copper should immediately turn a silvery color. If
you intend to reflow solder, you may want to leave it for 15 minutes, otherwise, 3-5 is probably
fine. Use this time to clean up the area around the etcher, rinse off surfaces and clean and dry any
trays. When the board is done, remove and rinse it. Pour the tinning liquid back into the bottle
and clean the tray. Throw away the gloves, and put the apron back. Make sure the area looks
better than it did when you got there.
The exposed copper will turn silver almost immediately, tin will aid soldering and stop oxidation
Drilling
In this step, any holes or vias in the PCB are drilled out. For this step you will need: a drill press
that can run at 2000+ RPM, high-speed carbide wire-gauge drill bits. This step takes 3-10
minutes, depending on number of holes in pcb.
If your PCB is FR4 laminate, you may want to find a dust mask for this step, since fiberglass
dust is carcinogenic. Chances are, you're using paper phenolic which is much safer. There is a
box of HSS carbide drill bits in a box underneath the etcher, they are packaged in plastic boxes
of 10. Find the boxes of closest size to your board holes. In general, .020"/75ga is good for RF
vias, .028"/70ga is good for signal vias, .035"/65ga is good for DIP/LEDs/Resistors/Capacitors,
etc., .042"/58ga is good for TO-220/heavier diodes/etc., .060"/53ga for heavier wires and power
components, and .086"/44ga for mounting holes or anything else. Other drill sizes are available
for purchase, of course.
Left, these are inexpensive resharpened drill bits $7.50 a box. Right, 70 gauge is as small as
you'll need
Place the first drill bit in the chuck, and tighten it well. Find a piece of wood to place underneath
the board for support. While the drill is running, adjust the speed to 2000RPM or higher.

The drillpress in the media lab shop is more than sufficient, adjust it only while running
Drill all holes of one size at a time. Try to position the drill bit right in the center of the hole, or
at least, try not to drill through any copper traces. The drill bits might break, especially if they
sub-35mil. Holding the board steady while drilling through it helps. The bits only cost 75 cents
so just throw them away when broken, but if you break more than 5, you should purchase a
replacement set.
You can drill a hole a second if you dont clamp down the board, but breakage is more likely
After all the drilling, replace the bits in their boxes, and put the box back underneath the etcher.
Shearing
In this step, the tiled layouts are seperated. For this step you will need a metal shear (this step
could also be done with a band saw.) This step takes 2 minutes.
Shear or cut the good boards out, leaving a few mm on each edge. The edges may be filed or
sanded.
A metal shear, such as the one outside the shop, is good for this. Go slowly and use the middle
COMPONENT SPECIFICATION NO. OF ITEMS COST/ITEM

BATTERY 12V 1 1000/-

RESISTOR 2.2K,10K,470K,100E 15 1/-

CAPACITOR 1000uF, 100uF, 33pF 2 5/-

DIODE IN4007 3 2/-

LED 3mm 1 5/-

SWITCH PUSH TO ON 3 10/-

CRYSTAL 4MHz 1 20/-

MICROCONTROLLER ATMEGA88PA 1 350/-

REGULATOR LM7805 1 15/-

RELAY 12V SPDT 3 30/-

LCD 16X2 1 250/-

SOLAR PANEL 12V/ 15W 1 500/-

BATTERY 12V 1 500/-

Applications and Advantages:

1. This project can be used for Solar water heaters.

2. Also it can be used for Solar invertors

Disadvantages:

1.Solar trackers are slightly more expensive than their stationary counterparts, due to the more
complex technology and moving parts necessary for their operation.

2.Some ongoing maintenance is generally required, though the quality of the solar tracker can
play a role in how much and how often this maintenance is needed.

Future Development:

1. We can add time based solar panel tracking.

2. We can implement 2 axis solar panel tracking system.

CONCLUSION :

The paper has presented a means of tracking the sun’s position with the help of microcontroller.
Specially, it demonstrates a working software solution for maximizing solar cell output by
positioning a solar panel at the point of maximum light intensity. The prototype represents a
method for tracking the sun both in normal and bad weather condition. Moreover, the tracker can
initialize the starting position itself which reduce the need of any more photo resistors. The
attractive feature of the designed solar tracker is simple mechanism to control the system.
Though the prototype has limitations in hardware areas as an initial set up, still it provides an
opportunity for improvement of the design methodology in future.
REFERENCES:

1. The PIC16F7X Microcontroller and embedded systems by Muhammad Ali Mazidi

Second edition, published in 2006 year by Pearson Education, INC.

2. A microcontroller-based stand-alone photovoltaic power system for residential appliances

-R. Akkaya Corresponding Author Contact Information, E-mail The Corresponding
Author and A. A. Kulaksiz, Selcuk University, Engineering and Architecture Faculty,
Electrical-Electronics Engineering Department, 42031, Konya, Turkey-Received 13
August 2003.

3. Position control of sun tracking system-Khalil, A.A. El-Singaby, M., Arab Acad. for
Sci. & Technol. & Maritime Transp., Egypt; this paper appears in: Circuits and Systems,
2003. MWSCAS '03. Proceedings of the 46th IEEE International Midwest Symposium
on Publication Date: 27-30 Dec. 2003, Volume: 3, On page(s): 1134- 1137 Vol. 3.

4. PV module-based stand-alone solar tracking system Urbano, J.A.; Matsumoto, Y.;

Asomoza, R.; Aceves, F.J.; Sotelo, A.; Jacome, A.; Photovoltaic Energy Conversion,
2003. Proceedings of 3rd World Conference on Volume 3, 12-16 May 2003
Page(s):2463 - 2465 Vol.3 Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/WCPEC.2003.1305090.

5. The Solar System Modeler-Stytz, M.R.; Vanderburgh, J.; Banks, S.B.; Computer
Graphics and Applications, IEEE-Volume 17, Issue 5, Sept.-Oct. 1997 Page(s):47 – 57
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/38.610205.