The standard 555 timer package includes 25 transistors, 2 diodes and 15 resistors on a silicon chip

installed in an 8-pin mini dual-in-line package (DIP-8).

 • Pin 1. – Ground, The ground pin connects the 555 timer to the negative (0v) supply rail.

 • Pin 2. – Trigger, The negative input to comparator No 1. A negative pulse on this pin “sets”
the internal Flip-flop when the voltage drops below 1/3Vcc causing the output to switch from a
“LOW” to a “HIGH” state.

 • Pin 3. – Output, The output pin can drive any TTL circuit and is capable of sourcing or
sinking up to 200mA of current at an output voltage equal to approximately Vcc – 1.5V so small
speakers, LEDs or motors can be connected directly to the output.

 • Pin 4. – Reset, This pin is used to “reset” the internal Flip-flop controlling the state of the
output, pin 3. This is an active-low input and is generally connected to a logic “1” level when not
used to prevent any unwanted resetting of the output.

 • Pin 5. – Control Voltage, This pin controls the timing of the 555 by overriding the 2/3Vcc
level of the voltage divider network. By applying a voltage to this pin the width of the output
signal can be varied independently of the RC timing network. When not used it is connected to
ground via a 10nF capacitor to eliminate any noise.

 • Pin 6. – Threshold, The positive input to comparator No 2. This pin is used to reset the Flip-
flop when the voltage applied to it exceeds 2/3Vcc causing the output to switch from “HIGH” to
“LOW” state. This pin connects directly to the RC timing circuit.
 • Pin 7. – Discharge, The discharge pin is connected directly to the Collector of an internal
NPN transistor which is used to “discharge” the timing capacitor to ground when the output at
pin 3 switches “LOW”.

 • Pin 8. – Supply +Vcc, This is the power supply pin and for general purpose TTL 555 timers
is between 4.5V and 15V.

The 555 Timers name comes from the fact that there are three 5kΩ resistors connected together
internally producing a voltage divider network between the supply voltage at pin 8 and ground at
pin 1. The voltage across this series resistive network holds the negative inverting input of
comparator two at 2/3Vcc and the positive non-inverting input to comparator one at 1/3Vcc.

The two comparators produce an output voltage dependent upon the voltage difference at their
inputs which is determined by the charging and discharging action of the externally connected
RC network. The outputs from both comparators are connected to the two inputs of the flip-flop
which in turn produces either a “HIGH” or “LOW” level output at Q based on the states of its
inputs. The output from the flip-flop is used to control a high current output switching stage to
drive the connected load producing either a “HIGH” or “LOW” voltage level at the output pin.

The most common use of the 555 timer oscillator is as a simple astable oscillator by connecting
two resistors and a capacitor across its terminals to generate a fixed pulse train with a time period
determined by the time constant of the RC network. But the 555 timer oscillator chip can also be
connected in a variety of different ways to produce Monostable or Bistable multivibrators as well
as the more common Astable Multivibrator.

Some important features of the 555 timer:

 It operates from a wide range of power ranging from +5 Volts to +18 Volts supply
voltage.
 Sinking or sourcing 200 mA of load current.
 The external components should be selected properly so that the timing intervals can be
made into several minutes along with the frequencies exceeding several hundred
kilohertz.
 The output of a 555 timer can drive a transistor-transistor logic (TTL) due to its high
current output.
 It has a temperature stability of 50 parts per million (ppm) per degree Celsius change in
temperature which is equivalent to 0.005 %/ °C.
 The duty cycle of the timer is adjustable.
 Also, the maximum power dissipation per package is 600 mW and its trigger and reset
inputs has logic compatibility.
The 555 generally operates in 3 modes:

1. A-stable
2. Mono-stable
3. Bi-stable modes.

Astable mode

This means there will be no stable level at the output. So the output will be swinging between
high and low. This character of unstable output is used as a clock or square wave output for
many applications.

Mono-stable mode

This configuration consists of one stable and one unstable state. The stable state can be chosen
either high or low by the user. If the stable output is set at high (1), the output of the timer is high
(1). At the application of an interrupt, the timer output turns low (0). Since the low state is
unstable it goes to high (1) automatically after the interrupt passes. Similar is the case for a low
stable monostable mode.

Bi-stable mode

In bistable mode, both the output states are stable. At each interrupt, the output changes from low
(0) to high (1) and vice versa, and stays there. For example, if we have a high (1) output, it will
go low(0) once it receives an interrupt and stays low (0) till the next interrupt changes the status.
Consider the 555 timer monostable circuit below.

Monostable 555 Timer

When a negative ( 0V ) pulse is applied to the trigger input (pin 2) of the Monostable configured
555 Timer oscillator, the internal comparator, (comparator No1) detects this input and “sets” the
state of the flip-flop, changing the output from a “LOW” state to a “HIGH” state. This action in
turn turns “OFF” the discharge transistor connected to pin 7, thereby removing the short circuit
across the external timing capacitor, C1.

This action allows the timing capacitor to start to charge up through resistor, R1 until the voltage
across the capacitor reaches the threshold (pin 6) voltage of 2/3Vcc set up by the internal voltage
divider network. At this point the comparators output goes “HIGH” and “resets” the flip-flop
back to its original state which in turn turns “ON” the transistor and discharges the capacitor to
ground through pin 7. This causes the output to change its state back to the original stable
“LOW” value awaiting another trigger pulse to start the timing process over again. Then as
before, the Monostable Multivibrator has only “ONE” stable state.

The Monostable 555 Timer circuit triggers on a negative-going pulse applied to pin 2 and this
trigger pulse must be much shorter than the output pulse width allowing time for the timing
capacitor to charge and then discharge fully. Once triggered, the 555 Monostable will remain in
this “HIGH” unstable output state until the time period set up by the R1 x C1 network has
elapsed. The amount of time that the output voltage remains “HIGH” or at a logic “1” level, is
given by the following time constant equation.
Where, t is in seconds, R is in Ω and C in Farads.

Bistable 555 Timer

The 555 Bistable is one of the simplest circuits we can build using the 555 timer oscillator chip.
This bistable configuration does not use any RC timing network to produce an output waveform
so no equations are required to calculate the time period of the circuit. Consider the Bistable 555
Timer circuit below.

Bistable 555 Timer (flip-flop)

The switching of the output waveform is achieved by controlling the trigger and reset inputs of
the 555 timer which are held “HIGH” by the two pull-up resistors, R1 and R2. By taking the
trigger input (pin 2) “LOW”, switch in set position, changes the output state into the “HIGH”
state and by taking the reset input (pin 4) “LOW”, switch in reset position, changes the output
into the “LOW” state.

This 555 timer circuit will remain in either state indefinitely and is therefore bistable. Then the
Bistable 555 timer is stable in both states, “HIGH” and “LOW”. The threshold input (pin 6) is
connected to ground to ensure that it cannot reset the bistable circuit as it would in a normal
timing application.