Unidirectional Level Shifter

Hello Guys,

Today I thought of sharing one of my level shifter circuits. This is a simple circuit which can be made out of very few components. The components required are 1 NPN transistor (in my case I have used BC 547) and 2 resistors. That's it :)

Description (5V to 3.3V converter)



The circuit has a very simple working principle. Lets take the following cases to understand how the circuit works.

1) When Input = 0V, the emitter voltage is held at a low potential as compared to the base voltage (forward biased). This pushes the transistor into saturation. Due to this there are flow of charges (current) from collector to emitter which results in a voltage drop across the collector resistor. So at the output we get approximately 0V.

2) When Input  = 5V, the emitter voltage is at a high potential as compared to the base voltage (reverse biased). This puts the transistor to cut off completely. Due to this there is no flow of charges (current) from  collector emitter. Therefore, there is no voltage drop at the collector resistor. So we get at the output 3.3V (level shifted voltage).


Description (3.3V to 5V converter)



This circuit exactly works as the previously explained circuit. 

More circuits are coming in future. Hope this circuit will be useful... :)








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