Chopper (electronics)

In electronics, a chopper circuit is any of numerous types of electronic switching devices and circuits used in power control and signal applications. A chopper is a device that converts fixed DC input to a variable DC output voltage directly. Essentially, a chopper is an electronic switch that is used to interrupt one signal under the control of another. In power electronics applications, since the switching element is either fully on or fully off, its losses are low and the circuit can provide high efficiency. However, the current supplied to the load is discontinuous and may require smoothing or a high switching frequency to avoid undesirable effects. In signal processing circuits, use of a chopper stabilizes a system against drift of electronic components; the original signal can be recovered after amplification or other processing by a synchronous demodulator that essentially un-does the "chopping" process. Comparison between step up and step down chopper: Chopper circuits are used in multiple applications, including: Switched mode power supplies, including DC to DC converters. Speed controllers for DC motors Driving brushless DC torque motors or stepper motors in actuators Class D electronic amplifiers Switched capacitor filters Variable-frequency drives D.C. voltage boosting Battery-operated electric cars Battery chargers Railway traction Lighting and lamp controls For all the chopper configurations operating from a fixed DC input voltage, the average value of the output voltage is controlled by periodic opening and closing of the switches used in the chopper circuit. The average output voltage can be controlled by different techniques namely: Pulse-width modulation Frequency modulation Variable frequency, variable pulse width CLC control In pulse-width modulation the switches are turned on at a constant chopping frequency. The total time period of one cycle of output waveform is constant. The average output voltage is directly proportional to the ON time of chopper. The ratio of ON time to total time is defined as duty cycle.