A PHYSICS PROJECT REPORT

On
DESIGN AND STIMULATE FULL WAVE
RECTIFIER

PRAGATHI THE SCHOOL

(Reg. No. 13058)

Dakshina Bharata Mahila Samaja Premises
Whitefield Railway Station Road,
Kadugodi,560067
Miss Anjani Gopaluni

Seat No. 1602059

STD: 12th (Science)

2023-24

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this dissertation titled

Design and stimulate full wave

rectifier
Submitted by

Miss Anjani Gopaluni

to

the Physics Department of the Pragathi The School, Bangalore

Was carried under guidance and supervision of

Mr.

during the academic year 2023-24

Internal Examiner Principal External Examiner

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It would be my utmost pleasure to express my sincere thanks to my
Physics teacher Mr. Manoj Khapare in providing a helping hand in
this project.

His valuable guidance, support and supervision all through this

project are responsible for attaining its present form. His valuable
advice and suggestions for the corrections, modifications and
improvement did enhance the perfection in performing my job well.

I am obliged to Mr.Govind Borade our principal for providing the best

of facilities and the environment to bring out our innovation and
spirit of inquiry through this venture.

Blessed by P.P.Hariprasad Swamiji, I express my deep sense of

gratitude to the School Management and the Managing Trustee
Shree.Khandubhai Patel for providing well equipped Laboratories
and constant inspirational support during my education in this
institution.

I would also like to thank my parents as they encourage me to put

forward my project and whose blessings and wishes have gone a long
way in the completion of this arduous task. Last but not the least I
thank all My Friends and Batch mates, without their prompt support
my efforts would have been in vain.

-Miss Anjani Gopaluni

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 INDEX
1.Theory

 Semiconductors 05
 Junction Diode 07
 P-N Junction Diode 08

2.Full Wave Rectifier Circuit 11

3.Full Wave Bridge Rectifier 12

4.Diode Bridge Rectifier 12

 Positive Half Cycle 13

 Negative Half Cycle 13

5.Smoothing Capacitor 15

6.Full Wave Rectifier with smoothing capacitor 16

7.Requirements 17

8.Observations 18

9.Ideal Result 19

10. Result and Conclusions 20

11. Applications of Full wave rectifier 20

12. Bibliography 21

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 Theory:
Semiconductor
Semiconductors materials have electrical properties somewhere in the middle,
between those of a "conductor" and an "insulator". They have very few "fee
electrons" because their atoms are closely grouped together in a crystalline
pattern called a "crystal lattice". However, their ability to conduct electricity can
be greatly improved by adding certain "impurities" to this crystalline structure
thereby, producing more free electrons than holes or vice versa. This process of
adding impurity atoms to semiconductor atoms is called Doping.

N-type Semiconductor:
These atoms have five outer electrons in their outermost orbital to share with
neighboring atoms and are commonly called "Pentavalent" impurities. This
allows four out of the five orbital electrons to bond with its neighboring silicon
atoms leaving one "free electron" to become mobile when an electrical voltage
is applied (electron flow). As each impurity atom "donates" one electron,
pentavalent atoms are generally known as "donors”. Examples of n- type
semiconductors are Phosphorous, Antimony, Bismuth, and Arsenic.

 P-Type Semiconductor:
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These atoms have three outer electrons in their outermost orbital to share with
neighboring atoms and are commonly called “Trivalent” impurities. This allows
all the three of the third orbital electrons to bond with its neighboring boron
atoms creating one “hole” to conduct. As such atoms donate a “holes” thus are
commonly also called as “acceptor” impurities. Examples of p- type
semiconductors are Boron, Aluminum, Gallium, and Indium.

Junction Diode

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The behavior of the PN junction with regards to the potential barrier width
produces an asymmetrical conducting two terminal device, better known as the
Junction Diode. A diode is one of the simplest semiconductor devices, which
has the characteristic of passing current in one direction only. However, unlike a
resistor, a diode does not behave linearly with respect to the applied voltage as
the diode has an exponential I-V relationship and therefore we cannot described
its operation by simply using an equation such as Ohm's law. Then the depletion
layer widens with an increase in the application of a reverse voltage and
narrows with an increase in the application of a forward voltage. This is due to
the differences in the electrical properties on the two sides of the PN junction
resulting in physical changes taking place. One of the results produces
rectification as seen in the PN junction diodes static I-V (current-voltage)
characteristics.

P- N Junction Diode
p–n junction is formed at the boundary between a p-type and n-type
semiconductor created in a single crystal of semiconductor by doping, for
example by ion implantation, diffusion of dopants, or by epitaxy (growing a
layer of crystal doped with one type of dopant on top of a layer of crystal doped

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 with another type of dopant). If two separate pieces of material were used, this
would introduce a grain boundary between the semiconductors that severely
inhibits its utility by scattering the electrons and holes.p–n junctions are
elementary "building blocks" of most semiconductor electronic devices such as
diodes, transistors, solar cells, LEDs, and integrated circuits; they are the active
sites where the electronic action of the device takes place. For example, a
common type of transistor, the bipolar junction transistor, consists of two p–n
junctions in series, in the form n–p–n or p–n–p.

 Properties of a p–n junction:

The p–n junction possesses some interesting properties that have useful
applications in modern electronics. A p-doped semiconductor is relatively
conductive. The same is true of an n-doped semiconductor, but the junction
between them can become depleted of charge carriers, and hence non-
conductive, depending on the relative voltages of the two semiconductor
regions. By manipulating this non-conductive layer, p–n junctions are
commonly used as diodes: circuit elements that allow a flow of electricity in
one direction but not in the other (opposite) direction. This property is explained
in terms of forward bias and reverse bias, where the term bias refers to an
application of electric voltage to the p–n junction.

 Forward bias:
In forward bias, the p-type is connected with the positive terminal and the n-
type is connected with the negative terminal.
Only majority carriers (electrons in N-type material or holes in P-type) can flow
through a semiconductor for a macroscopic length. With this in mind, consider
the flow of electrons across the junction. The forward bias causes a force on the
electrons pushing them from the N side toward the P side. With forward bias,
the depletion region is narrow enough that electrons can cross the junction and
inject into the P-type material. However, they do not continue to flow through
the P-type material indefinitely, because it is energetically favorable for them to

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 recombine with holes. The average length an electron travels through the P-type
material before recombining is called the diffusion length, and it is typically on
the order of microns.[2]
Although the electrons penetrate only a short distance into the P-type material,
the electric current continues uninterrupted, because holes (the majority
carriers) begin to flow in the opposite direction. The total current (the sum of
the electron and hole currents) is constant in space, because any variation would
cause charge buildup over time (this is Kirchhoff's current law). The flow of
holes from the P-type region into the N-type region is exactly analogous to the
flow of electrons from N to P (electrons and holes swap roles and the signs of
all currents and voltages are reversed).

 Reverse Bias:
In reverse bias, the p-type is connected with the negative terminal and the n-
type is connected with the positive terminal.
Reverse-bias usually refers to how a diode is used in a circuit. If a diode is
reverse-biased, the voltage at the cathode is higher than that at the anode.
Therefore, no current will flow until the diode breaks down. Connecting the P-
type region to the negative terminal of the battery and the N-type region to the
positive terminal corresponds to reverse bias. The connections are illustrated in
the following diagram:
Because the p-type material is now connected to the negative terminal of the
power supply, the 'holes' in the P-type material are pulled away from the
junction, causing the width of the depletion zone to increase. Likewise, because
the N-type region is connected to the positive terminal, the electrons will also be

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pulled away from the junction. Therefore, the depletion region widens, and does
so increasingly with increasing reverse-bias voltage. This increases the voltage
barrier causing a high resistance to the flow of charge carriers, thus allowing
minimal electric current to cross the p–n junction. The increase in resistance of
the p–n junction results in the junction behaving as an insulator.

Full Wave Rectifier Circuit

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The full wave rectifier circuit consists of two power diodes connected to a
single load resistance (RL) with each diode taking it in turn to supply current to
the load. When point A of the transformer is positive with respect to point C,
diode D1 conducts in the forward direction as indicated by the arrows. When
point B is positive (in the negative half of the cycle) with respect to point C,
diode D2 conducts in the forward direction and the current flowing through
resistor R is in the same direction for both half-cycles. As the output voltage
across the resistor R is the phasor sum of the two waveforms combined, this
type of full wave rectifier circuit is also known as a "bi-phase" circuit.
As the spaces between each half-wave developed by each diode is now being
filled in by the other diode the average DC output voltage across the load
resistor is now double that of the single half-wave rectifier circuit and is
about 0.637Vmax of the peak voltage, assuming no losses. The peak voltage of
the output waveform is the same as before for the half-wave rectifier provided
each half of the transformer windings have the same rms voltage value. To
obtain a different DC voltage output different transformer ratios can be used.

The Full Wave Bridge Rectifier

Another type of circuit that produces the same output waveform as the full wave
rectifier circuit above is that of the Full Wave Bridge Rectifier. This type of
single phase rectifier uses four individual rectifying diodes connected in a

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closed loop "bridge" configuration to produce the desired output. The main
advantage of this bridge circuit is that it does not require a special centre tapped
transformer, thereby reducing its size and cost. The single secondary winding is
connected to one side of the diode bridge network and the load to the other side
as shown below.

The Diode Bridge Rectifier

The four diodes labeled D1 to D4 are arranged in "series pairs" with only two
diodes conducting current during each half cycle. During the positive half cycle
of the supply, diodes D1 and D2 conduct in series while diodes D3 and D4 are
reverse biased and the current flows through the load as shown below

 The Positive Half-cycle:

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During the negative half cycle of the supply, diodes D3 and D4 conduct in
series, but diodes D1 and D2 switch "OFF" as they are now reverse biased. The
current flowing through the load is the same direction as before.
 The Negative Half-cycle:

As the current flowing through the load is unidirectional, so the voltage

developed across the load is also unidirectional the same as for the previous two
diode full-wave rectifier, therefore the average DC voltage across the load is
0.637Vmax. However in reality, during each half cycle the current flows through
two diodes instead of just one so the amplitude of the output voltage is two
voltage drops ( 2 x 0.7 = 1.4V ) less than the input V MAX amplitude. The ripple
frequency is now twice the supply frequency (e.g. 100Hz for a 50Hz supply).

Typical Bridge Rectifier

Although we can use four individual power diodes to make a full wave bridge
rectifier, pre-made bridge rectifier components are available "off-the-shelf" in a
range of different voltage and current sizes that can be soldered directly into a
PCB circuit board or be connected by spade connectors.
The image to the right shows a typical single phase bridge rectifier with one
corner cut off. This cut-off corner indicates that the terminal nearest to the
corner is the positive or +ve output terminal or lead with the opposite (diagonal)
lead being the negative or -ve output lead. The other two connecting leads are
for the input alternating voltage from a transformer secondary winding.

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 The Smoothing Capacitor
We saw in the previous section that the single phase half-wave rectifier
produces an output wave every half cycle and that it was not practical to use this
type of circuit to produce a steady DC supply. The full-wave bridge rectifier
however, gives us a greater mean DC value (0.637 Vmax) with less
superimposed ripple while the output waveform is twice that of the frequency of
the input supply frequency. We can therefore increase its average DC output
level even higher by connecting a suitable smoothing capacitor across the
output of the bridge circuit as shown below.

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 Full Wave Rectifier with smoothing Capacitor

The smoothing capacitor converts the full-wave rippled output of the rectifier
into a smooth DC output voltage. Generally for DC power supply circuits the
smoothing capacitor is an Aluminum Electrolytic type that has a capacitance
value of 100uF or more with repeated DC voltage pulses from the rectifier
charging up the capacitor to peak voltage. However, there are two important
parameters to consider when choosing a suitable smoothing capacitor and these
are its Working Voltage, which must be higher than the no-load output value of
the rectifier and its Capacitance Value, which determines the amount of ripple
that will appear superimposed on top of the DC voltage.
Too low a capacitance value and the capacitor has little effect on the output
waveform. But if the smoothing capacitor is sufficiently large enough (parallel
capacitors can be used) and the load current is not too large, the output voltage
will be almost as smooth as pure DC. As a general rule of thumb, we are
looking to have a ripple voltage of less than 100mV peak to peak.

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 Aim:
To design and simulate Full Wave Rectifier which also acts as Voltage Doubler.
Requirements:
 Printed Circuit Board
 Four Diodes
 2 Capacitors (1µF and 2.2µF)
 Transformer (6V)
 Multiplier
 Connecting Wires
 External Battery (230V)
 Soldering Gun
 Soldering Wires
 Socket

Observations:
1. Input at transformer = 230 V (A.C.)
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2. Output at transformer = 6 V (A.C.)

3. Voltage at D1 diode = 3.2 V (D.C.)

4. Voltage at D2 diode = 2.8 V (D.C.)

5. Voltage after full wave rectification = 8.2 V (D.C)

1.

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Ideal Result:
The output waveform for Full Wave Rectifier with filter and without filter may
be observed in the waveform viewer.

Result and Conclusions:

1. Step down transformer steps down 230V (A.C.) to 6V (A.C.).

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 2. D1 and D2 rectifies 6V (A.C.) To 8V (D.C.).
3. So, D1 and D2 all together rectify A.C. To D.C.
4. Output contains some A.C. component which is of 2.2 V.

Applications of Full Wave Rectification:

1. Rectifiers are also used for detection of amplitude modulated radio
signals.
2. Rectifiers are used to supply polarised voltage for welding
3. Thyristors are used in various classes of railway rolling stock systems so
that fine control of the traction motors can be achieved.

Full wave rectifier advantages and disadvantages:

Although the full wave rectifier circuit requires more diodes than a half wave
rectifier circuit, it has advantages in terms of utilising both halves of the
alternative waveform to provide the output.

Advantages Disadvantages
 Utilises both halves of the  More complicated than
AC waveform half wave rectifier
 Easier to provide  The twice frequency hum
smoothing as a result of on an audio circuit may be
ripple frequency more audible
Bibliography:
 NCERT (Class 12-Pysics)Textbook Part-1 and Part- 2
 www.hyperphysics.com
 www.wikipedia.com
 www.allaboutcircuits.com
 www.webopedia.com

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 www.answers.com
 www.electronics-tutorials.com
 www.visionics.com
 www.radioelectronics.cm
 www.galco.com

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