GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The LM140/LM340A/LM340/LM78XXC monolithic 3-terminal positive voltage regulators employ internal current-limiting, thermal shutdown and safe-area compensa- tion, making them essentially indestructible. If adequate heat sinking is provided, they can deliver over 1.0A output cur- rent. They are intended as fixed voltage regulators in a wide range of applications including local (on-card) regulation for elimination of noise and distribution problems associated with single-point regulation. In addition to use as fixed volt- age regulators, these devices can be used with external components to obtain adjustable output voltages and cur- rents. Considerable effort was expended to make the entire series of regulators easy to use and minimize the number of external components. It is not necessary to bypass the output, although this does improve transient response. Input bypassing is needed only if the regulator is located far from the filter capacitor of the power supply. The 5V, 12V, and 15V regulator options are available in the steel TO-3 power package.
National Semiconductor
