MILITARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Department of Aeronautical Engineering

COURSE NO.: AEAV 204 (Fundamentals of Electronics Sessional)
EXPT. NO.-02

NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT: STUDY OF DIOD RECTIFIER CIRCUITS.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the principle of the diode in converting ac into dc and to study
different Diode Rectifier circuits.

MATERIALS REQUIRED
P-N junction diode(1N4007) four piece
Resistor (1K) one piece
Capacitor (1F, 47F,) one piece
Signal generator one piece
Oscilloscope one piece
Connecting wire As Reqr
Trainer board one piece
Multimeter one piece

THEORY
The diode rectifier converts the input sinusoidal voltage Vs to a unipolar output Vo. There are two
types of rectifier circuits: (i) Half-wave rectifier and (ii) Full-wave rectifier.

Half-wave rectifier:
The circuit of a half-wave rectifier is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 Circuit diagram for half wave rectifier

When an alternating voltage is applied across a diode, the positive half-cycle of the source voltage
will forward-bias the diode. In this case, the diode will appear as a closed switch, and the positive
half-cycle of source voltage will appear across the load resistor.

Fig. 2 Half wave rectifier circuit during positive half-cycle

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During the negative half-cycle, the diode is reverse-biased. In this case, the diode will appear as an
open switch, and no voltage appears across the load resistor.

Fig. 3 Half-wave rectifier circuit during negative half-cycle

Fig. 4 Half-wave rectifier circuit with input & output

The input and output of the rectifier are drawn in Fig. 2. Diode conducts only when it is forward
biased. For Vs = Vm sint, the DC voltage and current of a half-wave rectifier are as follows

VDC = (Vm - VDO)/

IDC = ((Vm - VDO)/)/R

where, VDO  0.7 V.

Vo

Vm
Vm-VDO

Fig. 5 Output of half-wave rectifier for non-ideal diode

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Full-wave rectifier:
To rectify both half-cycles of a sine wave, the bridge rectifier uses four diodes, connected in a
“bridge” configuration. The bridge rectifier circuit is shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 Circuit diagram for full-wave bridge rectifier

During the positive half cycle of the source, diodes D1 and D2 conduct while D3 and D4 are reverse
biased. This produces a positive load voltage across the load resistor (note the plus-minus polarity
across the load resistor).

Fig. 7 Full-wave rectifier circuit during positive half-cycle

During the next half-cycle, the source voltage polarity reverses. Now, D3 and D4 are forward biased
while D1 and D2 are reverse biased. This also produces a positive load voltage across the load resistor
as before.

Fig. 8 Full-wave rectifier circuit during negative half-cycle

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Fig. 9 shows the input and output voltage as a function of time. Peak voltage across each diode when
it is reverse-biased.

PIV = Vm - VDO
DC voltage, VDC = 2(Vm - VDO) /

V0

Vm
Vm-VDO

Fig. 9 Output of full-wave rectifier for non-ideal diode

PIV (Peak Inverse Voltage):

PIV is the peak reverse voltage that appears across the diode when it is reverse-biased.

PIV = Vm

Ripple factor:
A rectifier converts alternating currents into a unidirectional current, but periodically fluctuating
components still remain in the output wave. A measure of the fluctuating component is given by the
ripple factor r, which is defined as,

r = I’rms/IDC = V’rms/VDC
= √((Irms/IDC)2 – 1) = √((Vrms/VDC)2 – 1)

where, I’rms and V’rms denote the rms value of the ac components of the current and voltage,
respectively.
For a half-wave rectifier, r = 1.21
and for a full wave rectifier r = 0.482

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

Vo ac
+
1K Measure by Multimeter
10V p-p
+ Ch2
Ch1 - AC & DC Mode
1K Hz - Vo dc

Fig. 10 Experimental setup of half-wave rectifier circuit

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 + 10V p-p
Ch1 1K Hz
-
- Ch2 +

Fig. 11 Experimental setup of full-wave bridge rectifier circuit

PROCEDURE

1. Construct the circuit of Fig.10 without the capacitor. Observe Vi and Vo simultaneously
On the oscilloscope. Sketch input and output waveforms. Measures Vo with the multimeter in dc
and ac mode.

2. Connect 1F capacitor across the load resistor. BE CAREFUL about the polarity of the
capacitor. Sketch input and output waveforms. Measure Vo with a multimeter.

3. Replace 1F Capacitor with 47F and repeat step 2.

4. Construct the circuit of Fig.11 without the capacitor. Observe and sketch Vi, Vo. DO NOT TRY
to observe Vi, and Vo simultaneously. (Because the oscilloscope’s grounds of 2 channels are
internally short). After that, measure the AC and DC components of Vo with a multimeter.

5. Connect 1F capacitor as shown in Fig.11 and repeat step 4.

6. Replace 1 F capacitor with 47F for Fig.11 and repeat step 4.

REPORT

1. Calculate the ripple factors for the full wave bridge rectifier with and without a capacitor and
compare them with the ideal values.

2. Which capacitor acts as a better filter? Explain your answer.

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the full wave center tapped and bridge rectifier
circuit?