1.15.

Crystal Diode as a rectifier:

One of the important applications of a semiconductor diode is in rectification of AC
signals to DC. Diodes are very commonly used for obtaining DC voltage supplies
from the readily available AC voltage. There are two types of rectifier circuit can be
used.
i. Half-Wave rectifier.
ii. Full-wave rectifier.
Half–Wave Rectifier:
Let’s look at the operation of this single diode rectifier when connected across
alternating voltage source vs. Since the diode only conducts when the anode is
positive with respect to the cathode, current will flow only during the positive half
cycle of the input voltage.

Fig 1.28 Simple Half wave Circuit

The supply voltage is given by v s=V m sinωt (1)

2π
Where ω=2 πf = is the angular frequency in rad/sec.
T
Now the output d.c voltage can be found out across the load resistance R L .
During the positive half cycle of the source, the ideal diode is forward biased and
operates as a closed switch. The source voltage is directly connected across the load.
During the negative half cycle, the diode is reverse biased and acts as an open
switch. The source voltage is disconnected from the load. As no current flows
through the load, the load voltage vo is zero. Both the load voltage and current are of
one polarity and hence said to be rectified. The waveforms for source voltage vS and
output voltage vo are shown in figure 1.29.
 Fig 1.29
Average load voltage and current: If a DC voltmeter is connected to measure the
output voltage of the half-wave rectifier (i.e., across the load resistance), the reading
obtained would be the average load voltage Vavg, also called the DC output voltage.
The meter averages out the pulses and displays this average.
T T /2 T
V avg =∫ V o . dt=∫ V m sinωt . dt + ∫ 0. dt
0 0 T/2

( )
2V m ωT V m
= cos 0−cos =
ωT 2 π
Vm
V avg =
π
The output voltage waveform and average voltage are shown in figure 1.30.

Fig 1.30
Efficiency of Half-wave Rectifier:
The ratio of d.c power output to the applied input a.c power is known as rectifier
efficiency.
d . c power output
i.e Rectifier Efficiency η =
Input a . c power
A.C Supply

Fig 1.31
Consider a half wave rectifier as shown in fig 1.31.Let v=V m sinθ be the alternating
voltage that appears across the secondary winding.
Let r f ∧R Lbe the diode resistance and load resistance respectively. The diode
conducts during positive half cycle while no current conduction during negative half
cycles.
Calculation of d.c power: In order to find the d.c power, average current has to be
found out
π
1 V sinθ
⟹ I av=I dc = ∫ m dθ
2 π 0 r f +RL
π
Vm
⟹ I dc = ∫ sin θ dθ
2 π ( rf + R L) 0
Vm
⟹ I dc = ×2
2 π ( rf + R L)
Im Vm
⟹ I dc = [ ∵ I m= ]
π ( r f + R L)
2
2 I
d.c power Pdc =I dc × R L=( m ) × R L
π
2
Calculation of a.c power input: The a.c power input is given by Pac =I rms (r f + R L )
Im
As we know that for half wave rectifier I rms =
2
Im 2
Pac =( ) ×(r f + R L )
2
Im 2
( ) × RL
d . c output power π
∴ Rectifier Efficincy= =
a . c input power ¿¿
 0.406 × R L 0.406
¿ =
r f + RL rf
1+
RL

If rf is negligible as compared to RL
Then the rectifier efficiency = 40.6%.
Which shows that in half wave rectification maximum of 40.6% of a.c power is
converted in to d.c power.
Disadvantages of half wave rectifier:
i. The a.c supply delivers power only half the time therefore the output is low.
ii. As the output is pulsating component filtering method is used to produce the
direct current.
Full-Wave Rectifier: In case of full wave rectifier the current flows through the load
in the same direction for both half cycle of input a.c voltage, which can be achieved
by two diodes, are working alternately. For positive half cycle one diode supplies the
current to the load and for negative half cycle the other diode supplies current to the
load. Therefore a full wave rectifier utilizes both half cycle of input a.c voltage to
produce the d.c output. Two types full wave rectifier circuit.
i.Center-tap full wave rectifier ii. Full wave bridge rectifier.
Center-tap full wave rectifier

Fig 1.32
Figure 1.32 shows the operation during the positive half cycle of the full wave
rectifier. Note that diode D1 is forward biased and diode D2 is reverse biased. Note
the direction of the current through the load.
During the negative half cycle, (figure 1.33) the polarity reverses. Diode D 2 is
forward biased and diode D1 is reverse biased. Note that the direction of current
through the load has not changed even though the secondary voltage has changed
polarity. Thus another positive half cycle is produced across the load.

Fig 1.33
Calculating Load Voltage and Currents
Using the ideal diode model, the peak load voltage for the full wave rectifier is Vm .
The full wave rectifier produces twice as many output pulses as the half wave
rectifier. This is the same as saying that the full wave rectifier has twice the output
frequency of a half wave rectifier. For this reason, the average load voltage (i.e.
2Vm
output voltage) is found as V avg =
π

Fig 1.34
Peak Inverse Voltage
When one of the diodes in a full-wave rectifier is reverse biased, the peak
voltage across that diode will be approximately equal to Vm. With the polarities
shown, D1 is conducting and D2 is reverse biased. Thus the cathode of D1 will be at
Vm. Since this point is connected directly to the cathode of D 2, its cathode will also
be Vm. With –Vm applied to the anode of D2, the total voltage across the diode D 2 is
2Vm. Therefore, the maximum reverse voltage across either diode will be twice the
peak load voltage. PIV =2 V m
Disadvantages:
i. It is difficult to locate the centre tap on the secondary winding.
ii. The d.c output is small as each diode utilizes only one half of the transformer
secondary voltage.
iii.The diode used must have high peak inverse voltage.
The Full Wave Bridge Rectifier: In many power supply circuits, the bridge rectifier
(Figure 17) is used. The bridge rectifier produces almost double the output voltage as
a full wave center-tapped transformer rectifier using the same secondary voltage.
The advantage of using this circuit is that no center-tapped transformer is required.
Basic Circuit Operation
During the positive half cycle (Figure 1.35), both D 3 and D1 are forward biased. At
the same time, both D2 and D4 are reverse biased. Note the direction of current flow
through the load. During the negative half cycle (Figure 1.36) D 2 and D4 are forward
biased and D1 and D3 are reverse biased. Again note that current through the load is
in the same direction although the secondary winding polarity has reversed.

Fig 1.35

Fig 1.36
Peak Inverse Voltage
In order to understand the Peak Inverse Voltage across each diode, look at figure
1.37 below. It is a simplified version of figure 1.35 showing the circuit conditions
during the positive half cycle. The load and ground connections are removed
because we are concerned with the diode conditions only. In this circuit, diodes D 1
and D3 are forward biased and act like closed switches. They can be replaced with
wires. Diodes D2 and D4 are reverse biased and act like open switches.

a. b.
Fig 1.37
The circuit of figure 1.37 (a) is redrawn in (b) . We can see that both diodes are
reverse biased, in parallel, and directly across the secondary winding. The peak
inverse voltage is therefore equal to Vm.
Therefore, Peak inverse voltage (PIV) = Vm
Efficiency of Full-wave Rectifier:
Let v=V m sinθ be the a.c voltage which is to be rectified. Let r f ∧R L be the diode
resistance and load resistance respectively. The instantaneous current i is given by
v V m sinθ
i= =
rf + R L rf + R L
d.c output power: The output current is pulsating direct current. Therefore to find
the d.c power, average current has to be found.
2 Im
I dc =
π
 2
2Im
d.c output power Pdc =(I dc )2 × R L=( ) × RL
π
a.c input power: The a.c input power is given by Pac =(I rms )2 ×(r f + R L )
Im
For full wave rectified wave I rms =
√2
Im 2
Therefore Pac =( ) ×(r f + R L )
√2
2 Im 2
( ) RL
Pdc π
∴ Full wave rectification efficiency η= = 2
Pac I
( m ) ×(r f + R L )
√2
0.812 R L 0.812
¿ =
r f + RL rf
1+
RL
If rf is negligible as compared to RL , the maximum efficiency η=81.2 %
1.16.Ripple Factor: The ratio of r.m.s value of a.c component to the d.c component in
the rectifier output is known as ripple factor.
r .m . s value of a . c component I ac
Mathematically Ripple factor = =
value of d . c component I dc
Generally ripple factor refers to the amount of a.c component present in the output
of a rectifier. Smaller the ripple factor, more effective is the rectifier.
I rms =√ (I dc ) +(I ac )
2 2
We know that

⟹ I ac= √( I rms ) −( I dc )
2 2

Dividing the above equation by Idc

I ac 1
= √(I rms ) −( I dc )
2 2
i .e .
I dc I dc

√
2
I
Ripple Factor = ( rms ) −1
I dc
Im Im
For Half wave Rectifier I rms = and I dc =
2 π
∴ Ripple factor=1.21
Im 2 Im
For full wave rectifier I rms = and I dc =
√2 π
∴ Ripple Factor =0.48
1.17.Zener Diode:
Under specific fabrication conditions, a diode may be created that will not be
destroyed if the breakdown voltage is exceeded, as long as the current does not
exceed a defined maximum (to prevent overheating). These devices are known as
zener diodes and they are designed to have an avalanche characteristic that is very
steep. The I-V characteristic curve and diode symbols for the regular and zener
diodes are shown in figure 1.38.

Symbol of Zener Diode

A properly doped crystal diode having sharp breakdown voltage is known as zener
diode.

Fig 1.38

In the forward bias region, the zener behaves like a regular diode within specified
current and/or power limits. The magic of these devices comes in when we get into
the reverse bias region. As the zener is designed to have an almost vertical avalanche
characteristic at the breakdown voltage – hereinafter also called the zener voltage
and it is ideal for use in voltage regulation. The limiting (maximum) power for a

zener diode is given by Pz=VzIzmax and is a function of the design and construction

of the diode. The knee of the curve (the current for which |v D|=VZ) is generally

approximated as 10% of Izmax, or Izmin=0.1Izmax.

There are two distinctly different mechanisms that may cause breakdown in a zener
diode:
1. Above approximately eight (8) volts, the predominant mechanism is avalanche
breakdown, also referred to as impact ionization or avalanche multiplication.
This process begins with thermally generated minority carriers that acquire
enough kinetic energy to break covalent bonds and create an EHP through
collisions with crystal atoms. The free carriers created through this collision
contribute to the reverse current and may also possess enough energy to
participate in collisions, creating further EHPs and the avalanche effect.
2. The high field emission or zener breakdown mechanism is the second method of
disrupting the covalent bonds of the crystal and increasing the reverse bias diode
current. The reverse voltage where this occurs is determined by the diode doping
and occurs when the depletion layer field is large enough to break covalent
bonds and cause the number of free carriers due to EHP generation to multiply.

Either of these effects, or a combination of the two, significantly increases the current
in the reverse bias region while having a negligible effect in the voltage drop across
the junction. Although “breakdown” and “disruption” and words of that order have
been liberally used in the previous discussion, please realize that the zener process
in not inherently destructive unless the maximum power dissipation specified for
the device is exceeded.