Derive a simple high-current source from a lab supply
With a few additional components, you can configure a laboratory power supply as a high-current source.
Roger Griswold and Alfredo Saab, Maxim Integrated Products, Sunnyvale, CA; Edited by Martin Rowe and Fran Granville -- EDN, October 16, 2008
When electronic testing requires an adjustable current source, you must often build that piece of test equipment in the lab. You can easily make such a current source from a standard force-sense lab power supply (Figure 1). The circuit requires an additional power supply for the ICs and a separate control voltage. The feedback signal to the force-sense supply comes from a MAX4172 high-side current monitor from Maxim. In the configuration in Figure 1, the circuit offers a 1-to-1 ratio of control voltage to load current (1A/V). Figure 2 shows load current as a function of load resistance.
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To change the voltage-to-current ratio, simply change the value of RSHUNT; a lower value of RSHUNT gives higher current and vice versa. The maximum allowed voltage of 150 mV between the RS+ and RS– terminals, the maximum positive RS voltage of 32V, and the maximum current capability of the force-sense supply all limit the output current of the supply.
Because voltage and current meters in the force-sense supply display inaccurate values while this circuit is operating, you should use external meters to monitor the load voltage and load current. Also, be aware that, if you remove the load so that the output current is 0A, the open-circuit voltage of the force-sense supply goes to the maximum value it can generate.
