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High Voltage Divider

What is High Voltage Divider

A high voltage divider is a simple circuit that turns a significant voltage into a smaller one. It is effortless to make. We only need two series resistors and an input voltage to create an output voltage that is only a tiny fraction of the input voltage.

Benefits of High Voltage Divider

Simplicity: One of the biggest advantages of high voltage divider is their simplicity. The circuit consists of just two resistors and an input voltage, making it an easy and straightforward solution for many applications.

Low Cost: High voltage dividers are also cost-effective solutions for voltage reduction. They do not require any specialized components or expensive materials, making them an affordable option for many applications.

Versatility: Voltage dividers can be used in a wide range of applications, including signal processing, instrumentation, and control systems. Their versatility makes them an ideal solution for many different applications and industries.

Precision: High voltage dividers can also be designed to provide high-precision voltage reduction. This can be achieved using precision resistors with high tolerance levels and ensuring that the circuit is properly designed and constructed.

Easy to Modify: Another advantage of high voltage divider is that they can be easily modified to provide different voltage reduction levels. By changing the values of the resistors, the voltage divider circuit can be adjusted to provide different voltage reduction levels.

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High Voltage Divider Applications and Uses

Sensor Measurements

Using a high voltage divider, microcontrollers can measure sensor resistances. The unknown sensor resistor is placed in series with a known resistance, forming a high voltage divider. The microcontroller can then apply a known voltage across the divider and the microcontroller's ADC is connected to the center node between the sensor and resistor. This method is oftentimes used to measure temperature using temperature-sensitive resistors such as thermistors and resistance temperature detectors (RTDs).
Three-input potentiometers can be used as high voltage dividers as well. They are useful for radios and other devices with analog knobs. When the shaft of the potentiometer is rotated, the center-tap wiper moves along the resistor and produces either an increase or decrease in resistance, corresponding with the angle of the shaft. If a stable voltage is attached to one end of the potentiometer, the other to ground, and the wiper to an ADC, the angle of the knob can be calculated.

High Voltage Measurement

A high voltage divider can be used to scale down an especially high voltage to a fraction and then be measured by a voltmeter. The high voltage is used to power the VIN of the divider, with the output scaled down to be within the meter's range. There are high-voltage resistor divider probes designed to measure some voltages up to hundreds of kilovolts.
However, in these designs, specific high-voltage resistors are used, as they must be able to deal with high voltages and currents with matched temperature coefficients to provide accurate results. Capacitive divider probes are also used for voltages in the hundreds of millivolts, as the heat released with resistors can sometimes be too much.

Signal Level Shifting
High voltage dividers can be used to adjust the level of a signal, especially digital ones. For example, level shifting from a common 5V HIGH digital signal to a 3.3V digital signal. With a high voltage divider, a crude level shifter can be created to allow logic circuits that operate at 5V to interface with those that operate at 3.3V. Without this level shifting, supplying a 3.3V logic microcontroller with a HIGH of 5V can result in permanent damage to the circuit. Using a resistor configuration such that VOUT / VIN = 3.3 / 5 = RA / RTOTAL can allow the 5V-logic circuit to interface with the 3.3V one. However, for this to be possible, the source impedance of the 5V signal should be low and the 3.3V input impedance must be high. Additionally, if the input impedance has capacitive elements, using a completely resistive divider will unintentionally create an RC filter, which can limit the data rate. Adding a capacitor in series with the top resistor (making both legs of the divider capacitive and resistive) can help overcome this.

Type And Working Principle Of High Voltage Divider

1. Capacitive high voltage divider
Capacitive high voltage dividers for measuring impulse voltage can be divided into two types. The high-voltage arm of one high voltage divider is composed of multiple high-voltage capacitors, while the high-voltage arm of the other high voltage divider has only one capacitor. The former voltage divider is mostly assembled with oil paper insulated pulse capacitor with insulating shell. It is required that this capacitor has a small inductance and can withstand short circuit discharge. A high-voltage oil paper capacitor is assembled by several components in series and parallel. Each component not only has capacitance, but also has inherent inductance and contact resistance in series, as well as insulation resistance in parallel. Of course, each component also has stray capacitance to ground. This high voltage divider should be regarded as a distribution parameter, so it is called distributed capacitance voltage divider, as shown in the figure. The high-voltage arm of the latter type of voltage divider has only one capacitor, which is usually a pair of metal electrodes in a nearly uniform electric field. The air is used as the medium between its electrodes. It is a concentrated capacitor, so it is called a centralized capacitive voltage divider.
The distributed capacitor voltage divider is composed of multiple pulse capacitors, with only amplitude error but no waveform error. As for amplitude error, it can be completely eliminated after being corrected with a standard high voltage divider. However, when measuring steep waves, because the capacitance of the capacitive divider is much larger than the stray capacitance of the shielding ring of the shielding resistance divider, the response time is also much larger. Therefore, for steep wave measurement, the response characteristics of capacitive voltage divider are not as good as those of shielded resistance voltage divider. Single capacitor voltage divider does not consume energy and has no trouble of heating. For measuring wave with long wave front and half peak time, capacitor divider is more advantageous than resistance divider. In addition, the capacitive voltage divider can also be used as the load capacitor to adjust the waveform. The high-voltage arm of the centralized capacitive voltage divider can be a standard capacitor filled with compressed gas. The capacitance value of this capacitor is accurate and stable, and the dielectric loss is small. As it is shielded, the capacitance value is not affected by the surrounding objects. It has been successfully used in power frequency measurement. However, when using it as an impulse capacitor divider, there are some problems, namely, superimposed high-frequency oscillation.

2. Resistance divider
The internal resistance is a pure resistance with simple structure, convenient use, high measurement accuracy and good stability. It is widely used. Under the condition of lightning impulse voltage, using resistance voltage divider as the conversion device has certain advantages:
1) When it is wound with copper wire with small temperature coefficient or Kama wire with small temperature coefficient and high resistance coefficient, it has high temperature stability and long-term stability.
2) It is possible to achieve high response characteristics by using a compressible resistive divider structure.
Because of the above advantages, many standard measurement systems are composed of resistance dividers. But it has some shortcomings:
1) In order to pursue high response performance, its resistance should not be too high. Because it will impact the load of the impulse voltage generator, its connection will shorten the half peak time of the shock wave. However, the wave tail resistance of the generator can generally be adjusted to solve the problem.
For the same reason, resistance capacitors are difficult to be used to measure switching impulse voltage.
The error generated by the resistance divider when measuring the transient pulse voltage is related to the product of the resistance value and the stray capacitance to the ground, so the size and influence of the stray capacitance to the ground should be minimized. Resistance voltage divider shall reduce inductance as much as possible. For this purpose, Kama wire or constantan wire shall be tightly wound on an insulating pipe, with very thin insulating paper between layers, and then immersed in the insulating cylinder containing transformer oil to reduce the size of the voltage divider, reduce the capacitance to ground, and install a shielding ring at its top as a compensation structure
The error of the resistance divider when measuring the impulse voltage is related to the product of the resistance value R and the stray capacitance C to the ground. Therefore, we can change the corresponding parameters to improve the performance of the resistance divider. For example, the resistance deasuring high voltage fast pulse, the resistance divider with Z-best square wave response, two types of high voltage nanosecond resistance dividers with variable cross section, small 200kV pulse resistance dividers with subtle level, and new 600kV impulse resistance dividers.

3. Resistance capacitance divider
The high voltage divider can be divided into resistance capacitance series voltage divider and resistance capacitance parallel voltage divider according to the connection mode. The resistance capacitance series voltage divider is also called the damping capacitance voltage divider. Recently, high-voltage voltage divider is often called this form. It overcomes the residual inductance of the capacitor circuit and prevents the voltage divider from oscillating. Its performance is excellent. According to the different damping values, the RC series voltage divider can be divided into two types: high damping capacitor voltage divider and local damping capacitor voltage divider. The high damping capacitive voltage divider cannot be used as the load (wave regulating) capacitor of the impulse voltage generator. It is only used as the conversion device for measuring voltage. The series damping resistance of low damping capacitor voltage divider is very small. Its connection will not make it difficult to generate standard wave in the test circuit. It can also be used as load capacitor. It is a universal voltage divider. From the point of view of ease of use, it has more advantages than high damping capacitive voltage divider; But from the response characteristics, it is not as good as the high damping capacitor divider, because it also has vibration. The resistance is designed to be placed in the capacitor. Each resistance is only tens of ohms, and the total resistance is only thousands of ohms. This is a modern Z wide high-voltage divider (3MV), which can also be used as power frequency voltage measurement. The rated voltage should be reduced to about 1/3 of the pulse voltage.
Theoretically, when the voltage changes rapidly, the voltage divider ratio is mainly determined by capacitance, while when the voltage changes slowly, it is determined by resistance. His resistance wire is tightly wound on the porcelain tube, in parallel with each capacitor. Practice has proved that the selected resistance value cannot be too small, otherwise it will affect the output load of the generator, so it is generally selected to be large, but it is too large and has too little effect, which is similar to the pure capacitive voltage divider without resistance. Therefore, the laboratory has eliminated the resistance in the actual test.

High Voltage Divider Precautions

The device must not be surrounded by any foreign matter when used so as not to affect the measurement accuracy.

Strictly pay attention to keep the operating distance and ensure safe operation.

Check the reliable connection of various parts, especially the solid ground connection.

After the measurement is completed, the meter will enter the site until the measurement shows zero.

Do not use overpressure, and pay attention to the cleanliness of the surface. Store in a cool, dry place when not in use.

Application of High Voltage Divider

Sensor measurement

High voltage divider can be used to allow a microcontroller to measure the resistance of a sensor.[2] The sensor is wired in series with a known resistance to form a high voltage divider and a known voltage is applied across the divider. The microcontroller's analog-to-digital converter is connected to the center tap of the divider so that it can measure the tap voltage and, by using the measured voltage and the known resistance and voltage, compute the sensor resistance. This technique is commonly used to measure the resistance of temperature sensors such as thermistors and RTDs.
Another example that is commonly used involves a potentiometer (variable resistor) as one of the resistive elements. When the shaft of the potentiometer is rotated the resistance it produces either increases or decreases, the change in resistance corresponds to the angular change of the shaft. If coupled with a stable voltage reference, the output voltage can be fed into an analog-to-digital converter and a display can show the angle. Such circuits are commonly used in reading control knobs.

High voltage measurement

High voltage (HV) resistor divider probe. The HV to be measured (Vin) is applied to the corona ball probe tip and ground is connected to the other end of the divider via the black cable. The divider output (Vout) appears on the connector adjacent to the cable.
A high voltage divider can be used to scale down a very high voltage so that it can be measured by a volt meter. The high voltage is applied across the divider, and the divider output—which outputs a lower voltage that is within the meter's input range—is measured by the meter. High voltage resistor divider probes designed specifically for this purpose can be used to measure voltages up to 100 kV. Special high-voltage resistors are used in such probes as they must be able to tolerate high input voltages and, to produce accurate results, must have matched temperature coefficients and very low voltage coefficients. Capacitive divider probes are typically used for voltages above 100 kV, as the heat caused by power losses in resistor divider probes at such high voltages could be excessive.

Logic level shifting
A high voltage divider can be used as a crude logic level shifter to interface two circuits that use different operating voltages. For example, some logic circuits operate at 5 V whereas others operate at 3.3 V. Directly interfacing a 5 V logic output to a 3.3 V input may cause permanent damage to the 3.3 V circuit. In this case, a high voltage divider with an output ratio of 3.3/5 might be used to reduce the 5 V signal to 3.3 V, to allow the circuits to interoperate without damaging the 3.3 V circuit. For this to be feasible, the 5 V source impedance and 3.3 V input impedance must be negligible, or they must be constant and the divider resistor values must account for their impedances. If the input impedance is capacitive, a purely resistive divider will limit the data rate. This can be roughly overcome by adding a capacitor in series with the top resistor, to make both legs of the divider capacitive as well as resistive.

Our Factory

Beijing Huazheng Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2023, headquartered in Beijing, China. It is an enterprise with outstanding innovation capabilities in the field of high voltage testing equipment. Our mission is to provide customers with high-quality and efficient solutions, with the goal of promoting social progress and sustainable development. Our values are integrity, innovation, and collaboration, always putting customers first. Our strengths lie in our technical strength, quality control, customer service, and partnership. We have a professional R&D team and advanced production equipment, which can provide innovative solutions and high-quality products. We strictly adhere to the international quality management system, ensuring the stability and reliability of our products and services. We have established a comprehensive pre-sales, sales, and after-sales service system to provide customers with comprehensive support and solutions. The long-term cooperative relationship established with well-known domestic and foreign enterprises has further promoted the development of the industry. We will continue to uphold the concepts of integrity, innovation, and excellence, and contribute more to the development of the high voltage test equipment . Choose Beijing Huazheng Technology Co., Ltd., choose trust and success.

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Asked Questions

Q: What is the 10 rule for high voltage divider?

A: If you are simply scaling a voltage, you actually want your load current to be around 10% of your divider's current. This is because you don't want the divider's output voltage to vary much when the load changes. And the load will change!

Q: What are the limitations of a high voltage divider?

A: Limited Accuracy: High voltage divider are also limited in terms of accuracy. The accuracy of a voltage divider is determined by the precision of the resistors and the circuit's stability. In some applications, the limitations in accuracy can be significant, reducing the overall performance of the circuit.

Q: Will a voltage divider drain battery?

A: It would not be smart to use an external voltage divider between the battery output and any ADC pins, as this would result in a constant load for the battery, reducing its lifetime.

Q: What should high voltage divider not be used to do?

A: As tempting as it may be to use a voltage divider to step down, say, a 12V power supply to 5V, high voltage divider should not be used to supply power to a load. Any current that the load requires is also going to have to run through R1.

Q: How accurate is a high voltage divider?

A: Near the top of its range, the error is much less, around 1%. Near the bottom of its range, the error roughly doubles compared to mid-range. The output voltage is 9% lower than expected.

Q: Can a high voltage divider be used in parallel?

A: Since a high voltage divider has one element connected from power to the output and the other from the output to the return (ground), then any load will always be in parallel with one of these elements, depending upon the return connection of the load.

Q: What is the bias of voltage divider?

A: Like Emitter Bias, Voltage Divider Bias seeks to establish a stable Q point by placing a fixed voltage across an emitter resistor. This will result in a stable emitter current, and by extension, stable collector current and collector-emitter voltage.

Q: Does resistance matter in high voltage divider?

A: If the accuracy of the high voltage divider is critical to your application, use resistors with tight tolerances, and check for acceptable performance by analyzing the high voltage divider at the anticipated tolerance extremes.

Q: Under what circumstances does your high voltage divider no longer work as a voltage source?

A: A high voltage divider circuit is only good for low current voltage reference and for a constant load because a change in current drawn from V out will change the voltage at V out. They are not the best for high current applications because they waste a lot of power in heat.

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