SURNAME AND INITIALS: THARAGA M

MODULE CODE:SPHB032

YEAR :2023

EXPERIMENT 3:HALF AND FULL WAVE

RECTIFIERS

ABSTRACT :
The purpose of this laboratory experiment is to study
the I-V characteristics of Diodes and Zener diodes, by using the
simulation and laboratory work. Combine into circuit designs,
and build a half wave rectifier, a full wave rectifier, a DC power
supply and a Voltage Regulators. Comparison between the diodes
and rectifiers will be made in order to distinguish and differences
between them. After the rectifiers, they will combined all the
different parts of the project into the design of a regulated DC
power supply.[1]
INTRODUCTION:

THE diode is a two terminal electronic component that allow current flow only in one
direction, and block current from the other. The diode can be used to convert
alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC). Zener diode is a diode allow the
current flow in reverse direction and forward direction. As the voltage across the
Zener diode approaches its breakdown voltage. If a capacitor is placed in parallel
with the
output load of the full wave rectifier, the circuit can be
converted to provide DC power. Also, a reversed biased Zener
diode can be used to regulate voltage[2]

THEORY:
A rectifier changes ac into dc; this is one of the simplest and most important
applications of
diodes. Diodes are sometimes referred to as rectifiers. Rectifier circuits employ one,
two or four
diodes to provide various degrees rectifying effectiveness. Filter circuits use energy
storage
capabilities of inductors and capacitors to smooth out the pulsations and to provide a
steady
output current. A combination of rectifier, filter and a regulator is called a power
supply.[3]
HALF WAVE RECTIFICATION:
A Half Wave Rectifier is a single PN junction diode connected in series to the load
resistor.
As you know a diode is to electric current like a one-way valve is to water, it allows
electric
current to flow in only one direction. This simple means the diode is operational
when the
diode is forward biased while it blocks the current when it is reversed biased. This
property of
the diode is very useful in creating simple rectifiers which are used to convert AC to
DC.
In Half wave rectification only the positive half cycle is obtained in output while the
negative .cycle is discarded[4]
FULL WAVE RECTIFICATION:
The bridge rectifier:
The Bridge rectifier is a circuit, which converts an ac voltage to dc voltage using both
half
cycles of the input ac voltage. The circuit has four diodes connected to form a bridge.
The ac
input voltage is applied to the diagonally opposite ends of the bridge. The load
resistance is
connected between the other two ends of the bridge. For the positive half cycle of
the input ac
voltage, diodes D1 and D2 conduct, whereas diodes D3 and D4 remain in the OFF
state. The
conducting diodes will be in series with the load resistance RL and hence the load
current flows
through RL. For the negative half cycle of the input ac voltage, diodes D3 and D4
conduct
whereas, D1 and D2 remain OFF. The conducting diodes D3 and D4 will be in series
with the
load resistance RL and hence the current flows through RL in the same direction as
in the
previous half cycle. Thus a bi-directional wave is converted into a unidirectional
wave.
for negative half cycle the value of output voltage will be= 0 because diode act as
open
circuit and no current flow in resistor so output voltage will be zero[4]

Here for positive half cycle the value of output voltage will be= Vm-Vd where Vm is
amplitude of Input voltage and Vd is voltage drop across diode[5]

APPARATUS:
Bread board
STE Ge-diode AA 118
STE Si - diode 1 N 4007
STE z diode ZPD 9.1
STE z diode ZPD 6.2
STE Light Emitting Diode LD 57 C, Green
STE Light Emitting Diode yellow, LED 3, top
STE Light Emitting Diode red, LED 2, top
STE Light Emitting Diode LD 271 h, infrared
Two multimeters
Oscilloscope
Several connecting leads (different colours, i.e. red, black, green, etc)

METHODS
 A full wave rectifier circuit was drawn.
 Load resistance of between 1Kꭥ and 5kꭥ was used.
 Input and output voltage was obtained on the oscilloscope .
 A signal of 1KHZ was used.
 1μf capacitor was connected over the load resistance and percentage ripple
of the output signal was determined.
 1μf was replaced by 10μf.

RESULTS:
Part A
Resistance Div Volt/div Voltage
1kꭥ 1.2 0.1 0.12
2kꭥ 1.2 0.1 0.12
3kꭥ 1.2 0.1 0.12
4kꭥ 1.2 0.1 0.12
5kꭥ 1.2 0.1 0.12

Part B
 Resistance Div Volt/div Voltage
1kꭥ 2.2 0.2 0.44
2kꭥ 2.2 0.2 0.44
3kꭥ 2.2 0.2 0.44
4kꭥ 2.2 0.2 0.44
5kꭥ 2.2 0.2 0.44

Resistance capacitance division Volt/div v out

1 kꭥ 1μf 1.8 0.1 0.18
1kꭥ 10μf 0.8 0.5 0.4

DISCUSSION:
Diode as a Rectifier: A rectifier is a device that converts alternating current to direct
current. It consists of one or more semiconductor devices or vacuum tubes. Diodes
are widely used as a rectifier. Rectification is a process converting alternating current
into direct current by using diodes. Half wave rectification If an alternating current is
connected in series with a load resistor varies. By connecting the Y- input and earth
terminals of the C.R.O. parallel across the load resistor. A full alternating voltage
wave form is seen on the screen. This is when there is no rectification. When the
diode is connected in series with the load resistor any current that passes through
the resistor must also pass through the diode. Since the diode allows current to flow
in one direction, Therefore the current will only flow in the first half cycle when the
diode is forward bias. The current is blocked in the second half cycle when the diode
is reverse bias. Thus, the current flowing in the circuit is said to be half wave
rectified. In the half wave rectification, the rectified current is a series of pulses. Half
Wave Rectification is a process where only half of every cycle of an alternating
current is made to flow in one direction only. A half wave rectifier is also called a
clipper since it clips half of the wave cycle. So, only half of the input wave form
becomes the output. Hence, it is very inefficient if it is use for power transfer. Full
wave rectification When four diodes are connected, circuit is called a bridge rectifier.
Each pair of diodes allows to flow on alternate half cycles. In the first half cycle 2
diodes are in forward bias while another 2 diodes are reverse bias. Hence in a full
wave rectification, the current flow is continuous. Full wave rectification is the
process where both halves of ever cycle on of an alternating current is made to flow
in the same direction. Capacitor Smoothing Both half wave and full wave rectification
do not provide a steady direct current like the battery. To provide uniform DC output,
the varying rectified output needs to be smoothen. This can be done by using a
Capacitor. A capacitor used in this function is called a Smoothing Capacitor. It is also
referred to as reservoir capacitor. The simplest smoothing circuit consists of a large
value capacitor C placed in parallel with the load resistor R. The charging and
Discharging process of the capacitor reduces the ripple of the waves.
CONCLUSION:
According to the observations and calculations the better rectifier circuit is full wave
rectifier circuit. For non-center tap transformers we use full wave bridge rectifier
circuit. And the smoothing of the output wave can be done with a capacitor. So,
waveform of the output will closer to a DC current. If the value of the smoothing
capacitor is high we can have well smooth waveform.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
I would like to say a special thanks to all SPHB 032 lab assistance and my group
members by helping me to construct the experiment on , and also the website and
books that I used as reference to accomplish my Lab report.

References:
1. M. Cutler, Forward characteristics of germanium point contact rectifiers, J. Appl.
Phys. 26, 949-954 (1955).
2. J. S. Schaffner and R. F. Shea, Variation of the forward characteristics of junction
diodes with temperature, Proc. IRE 43, 101 (1955).
3. K. Lehovec, A. Marcus, and K. Schoeni, Current-voltage characteristics and hole
injection factor of point contact rectifiers in the forward direction, Trans. IRE, vol. ED-
3, no. 1, pp. 1-6 (1956).
4. B.E Warren, elements of Modern physics of electronics, 2nd E.D pp 39-45, 1993.
5. W. Shockley, Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors (D. Van Nostrand Company,
Inc., New York, 1950), p. 90. 6. JONSCHER, A. K. ( 2007). Measurement of Voltage-
Current Characteristics of Junction Diodes at High Forward Bias. Journal of
Electronics and Control, 226-244