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Also see current, voltage, and direct current. In electricity, alternating current (AC) occurs when charge carriers in a conductor or semiconductor periodically reverse their direction of movement. Household utility current in most countries is AC with a frequency of 60 hertz (60 complete cycles per second), although in some countries it is 50 Hz. The radio-frequency (RF) current in antennas and transmission lines is another example of AC. An AC waveform can be sinusoidal, square, or sawtooth-shaped. Some AC waveforms are irregular or complicated. An example of sine-wave AC is common household utility current (in the ideal case).
The part has a wide input voltage range of 4.0 V to 38 V and can operate with input voltages as low as 3 V during line transients. Operating frequency is adjustable from 150 kHz to 500 kHz with a single resistor and can be synchronized to an external clock.