Contents

•
Rectifier
•1 Half-wave rectification
•2 Full-wave rectification
•3 Peak loss
•The Full-Wave Bridge
• Rectifier
 Introduction

• A rectifier is an electronic device that converts AC to DC. Rectifiers may be made of solid state diodes, vacuum tube
diodes, mercury arc valves, and other components. The process of converting AC to DC is known as rectification.
Components of power supplies and as detectors of radio signals are some of the uses of a rectifier.

An ordinary or common type of DC (Direct Current) power supply has a linear circuit which is compose of
3 basic section: Transforming System, The Rectifier System, and Filter System.

The First Stage: Transforming System

This is where the voltage or current from the power source will be converted (downconvert or
stepdown).

The Second Stage: Rectifier Circuit

A diodes circuit rectifies the the AC signal converting to some form of pulsating Direct Current.

The Third Stage: Filter Section

Filter Section is also called the Waveform Conditioning. A glitch removal on the (Direct Current) DC
power rail. The capacitor serves as a energy reservoir.

Rectifier Circuit Information

A rectifier is an electrical device made of one or more semiconductive elements such as Germanium,
Silicon, Gas, Gallium Arsenide , AlGaAs, HgCdTe, InP, InGaAsP, and InGaAlP.
• In earlier time progression of solid state rectifiers, vacuum tubes (also called thermionic
valve and electron tubes ) diodes and copper oxide or selenium rectifier stack were avail,
but vacuum tube where replace in the needs of portability, efficiency and effectivity,
because vacuum tubes requires lot of resources.

The Rectifier can be classified it two categories

Half Wave Rectifier Circuit

In a half wave rectification, either the positive o negative part of the sinusoidal wave form
is to be transferred or conveyed.

Full Wave Rectifier Circuit

Full wave also know as Bridge Rectifier, for both Positive and negative swing or half duty
cycle of the
current there is a forward path through the Diode bridge. At the same time that one set of
diodes is forward biased, the other set is reverse biased, In a bridge type rectifier circuit
 Rectifier

• A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which

periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), current that flows in only
one direction, a process known as rectification. Rectifiers have many uses
including as components of power supplies and as detectors of radio signals.
Rectifiers may be made of solid state diodes, vacuum tube diodes,
mercury arc valves, and other components.
• A device which performs the opposite function (converting DC to AC) is known as
an inverter.
• When only one diode is used to rectify AC (by blocking the negative or positive
portion of the waveform), the difference between the term diode and the term
rectifier is merely one of usage, i.e., the term rectifier describes a diode that is
being used to convert AC to DC. Almost all rectifiers comprise a number of diodes
in a specific arrangement for more efficiently converting AC to DC than is possible
with only one diode. Before the development of silicon semiconductor rectifiers,
vacuum tube diodes and copper(I) oxide or selenium rectifier stacks were used.
 Half-Wave Rectifier

• A half-wave rectifier converts an alternating

voltage (such as your wall socket) into a pulsing
DC signal. This can be further processed with
circuits called 'filters' and 'regulators' to
produce a steady DC voltage (such as a battery.)
The basic half-wave rectifier is a 'diode'. This is
an electrical one-way street that only allows
flow in one direction. When the AC voltage is
going one direction, the diode allows current
flow. When the AC is of the opposite direction,
the diode blocks current flow. Since only one
half of the full AC signal is allowed to pass, it is
called a half-wave rectifier. Using 2 diodes and
a center tapped transformer, or 4 diodes
arranged in a bridge rectifier circuit, the entire
wave can be converted and it is called a full-
wave rectifier. Try researching 'power supplies'
for more information.
 Full Wave rectifier

• While in the Half wave rectification,

we got an output only in one of the
half cycles, in the full wave, we get it
for both the half cycles. This is
achieved through the circuit shown
below.
• This is achieved by the use of two
diodes instead of one as now, one of
the two diodes remains in
conduction in both of the half cycles.
Note that we require a center
tapped transformer to give us two
shifted sinusoids so that exactly one
of the waveforms is positive at one
time.
 The Full-Wave Bridge Rectifier

• The four-diode rectifier circuit shown to the right

serves very nicely to provide full-wave
rectification of the ac output of a single
transformer winding. The diamond configuration
of the four diodes is the same as the resistor
configuration in a Wheatstone Bridge. In fact, any
set of components in this configuration is
identified as some sort of bridge, and this rectifier
circuit is similarly known as a bridge rectifier.
• If you compare this circuit with the dual-polarity
full-wave rectifier above, you'll find that the
connections to the diodes are the same. The only
change is that we have removed the center tap on
the secondary winding, and used the negative
output as our ground reference instead. This
means that the transformer secondary is never
directly grounded, but one end or the other will
always be close to ground, through a forward-
biased diode. This is not usually a problem in
modern circuits.
 Full Wave Center Tap Rectifier

• Full wave center tapped (FWCT) rectifier circuit is

the most commonly used configuration amongst
guitar amplifiers. It is one of the most efficient
means of rectification since the rectifier circuit
passes a voltage for the "full wave" of the AC
input.
• Once rectified and filtered, the DC voltage out will
be roughly 40% higher than the AC voltage at the
rectifier. This is because AC voltage is measured in
RMS (Root Mean Square), which is 70.7% of the
peak voltage. The filter circuit, however, charges
up to the peak voltage, which is 1.4 x AC RMS
voltage. This is why the DC voltage out is around
30-40% higher than the AC voltage at the rectifier.
• However, since the transformer secondary is
referenced to the center tap, the AC voltage at
the rectifier is 1/2 the total secondary voltage of
the transformer secondary. For this reason, a
FWCT rectifier requires a transformer with a
center tapped secondary that is rated for 140% of
the desired DC voltage across the full secondary.
 Special Applications

• Many applications occasionally call for variations in common rectifier

designs. Pulse plating, for example, requires a DC output that is
segmented into rectangular pulses. Power supplies for electrolytic
coloring of aluminum produce AC, not DC, yet these units are referred
to as "rectifiers." Other applications require AC to be superimposed
onto the DC waveform, deliberately producing a ripple effect.
• Some operations require DC with extremely high voltages, as in
electrostatic painting. Still other special needs include polarity reversal,
dual proportional outputs and special automatic control systems.
• Most rectifiers can be retrofitted with special options for particular
needs, such as ramp control for hard coat anodizing; ampere-hour
metering for precise thickness control; and accessories to produce the
proper current for automatic operation of solution-feed pumps.