APPLICATIONS OF DIODES

Diodes are used in so many ways that we will not be able to discuss all of them.
The major applications of the diodes that are within the scope of this book are
(a) Rectifiers
(b) Clippers or Limiters
(c) Clampers
(d) Voltage Multipliers
In the following sections, we will discuss the application in which the
diodes are used as rectifiers.
Most of the low-power electronic devices require a constant (dc) voltage
of about 15 V or less for their operation. The peak value of the single-phase
voltage source available in the United States is about 170 V (having 120-V as its
effective value) varying with a frequency of 60 Hz. Therefore, it may be
necessary to use a step-down transformer prior to its rectification. In the design
of electronics circuits, it pays to assume that the transformer, if there is any in
the circuit, behaves almost as an ideal transformer.
The winding of a two-winding transformer to which the single-phase
source is connected is usually referred to as the primary winding, the primary
side, or the input side. The other winding to which the load is connected is
called the secondary side, the secondary winding, or the output side. In a
step-down transformer, the secondary-winding voltage is lower than the primary-
winding voltage. In an ideal transformer the power input to the primary is equal
to the power supplied by the secondary. Thus, the current on the secondary side
is higher than that on the primary side for the same power output.
Let us use subscript 1 for the primary and 2 for the secondary. Then, the
voltage current relations for an ideal transformer are given as
V1 I N
= 2 = 1 =a (1)
V2 I1 N2

where V1 , I1 , and N 1 are the voltage, current, and the number of turns on the
primary side. Likewise, V2 , I 2 , and N 2 are the voltage, current, and the number of
turns on the secondary side. The ratio of the turns N 1 /N 2 is usually referred to

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as the transformation ratio, turns ratio, or simply the a-ratio. It is denoted by
the lower-case letter such that a = N 1 /N 2 . However, neither the number of turns
nor the turns ratio is specified by the manufacturer. It is generally assumed that
the turns ratio is the ratio of the nominal voltages such that a = V 1 /V 2 .

RECTIFIERS
Since the easily available voltage is a sinusoid, which alternates as a function of
time, the first task is to convert it into a useful and reliable constant (dc) voltage
for the successful operation of electronic circuits and direct-current machines.
The conversion process is called the rectification. Although there are other
semiconductor devices suitable for rectification, diodes are frequently employed.
A single-phase voltage is converted into a unidirectional voltage using a
single diode for a half-wave rectification, and 2 or 4 diodes for a full-wave
rectification. The maximum value of a rectified voltage is equal to the maximum
value of the input time-varying voltage minus the forward voltage drop across
each diode in the rectifying circuit.

Half-Wave Rectifier
The half-wave rectifier circuit with a step-down transformer is given in Figure-1.
On the positive half-cycle of the secondary voltage, the diode is forward biased
as long as the secondary voltage is greater than the forward-voltage drop of the
diode. For our discussion, let us assume that the diode is ideal in the sense that
it begins conduction when the secondary voltage becomes positive and conducts
as long as it stays positive. Thus, the diode conducts during the positive half-
cycle of the secondary voltage.
Let us assume that the primary winding voltage is
v P ( t ) = VPM sin(2πft ) V, (2)
where VPM is its maximum value, ω = 2 πf is the angular frequency (rad/s), f =
1/T is the frequency (Hz), and T is the time period (s). Note that ωT = 2π .

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 (a) Half-wave rectifier using a two-winding transformer

(b) Circuit of a half-wave rectifier without a transformer

Figure-1: Half-wave rectifier

Since the transformation ratio is given as a, the maximum value of the

secondary-winding voltage is
VPM
VSM = (3)
a
The secondary-winding voltage is
v S ( t ) = VSM sin(2πft ) V. (4)
A sketch of the secondary-winding voltage is given in Figure-2.
During the negative half-cycle of the secondary-winding voltage, the
diode is reversed biased and the ideal diode behaves as an open switch. As a
result, the output voltage is zero. In other words, the diode allows the positive
half of the secondary voltage to appear across the resistive load R and blocks
the negative half as shown in Figure-3. Such a waveform is referred to as the
half-wave rectified voltage. The output voltage for one cycle is
V sin(ωt ) 0 ≤ ωt ≤ π
v O ( t ) =  SM (5)
0 π ≤ ωt ≤ 2 π

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 Figure-2: Input (or secondary winding) voltage of a half-wave rectifier

Figure-3: Output voltage of a half-wave rectifier

Our aim was to obtain a constant (dc) voltage: The half-wave rectifier has
produced a unidirectional pulsating voltage having a maximum value of VSM and
a minimum value of zero. The difference between the maximum and the minimum
values is called the peak-to-peak ripple voltage. Thus, the peak-to-peak ripple
voltage for the half-wave rectifier is
∆VPP = Vmax − Vmin = VSM (6)

The peak-to-peak ripple is often expressed in terms of percent ripple as

 ∆VPP 
%VR =   100 (7)
 Vmax 
In this case, percent voltage ripple is 100%.
The voltage ripple is indicative of harmonics in an output signal. The
strength of each harmonic is determined using the Fourier series analysis.

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 For some applications such as dc motors, the high ripple in the applied
voltage may be tolerable. However, it is definitely undesirable for semiconductor
devices such as amplifiers. For such applications, we need to insert a filter
between the rectifier and the load.
The dc output voltage across R is
1 T
VO ,DC =
T ∫
0
VSM sin(ω t ) dt

VSM
= ≈ 0.318 VSM (8)
π
The dc output voltage is about 31.8% of its maximum value. The circuit
only needs one diode with a peak-inverse voltage rating greater than VSM .
The average load current for the resistive load is
VO ,DC VSM 0.318VSM
I O ,DC = = ≈ (9)
R πR R
The effective (rms) value of the output voltage

1 T/2
∫ (V
2
VO,RMS = M sin (ω t )) dt
T 0

= 0.5 VSM (10)

The total average power dissipated by R is
VO2,RMS (0.5 VSM )2
PR = = (11)
R R
The power supplied by the source v S ( t ) is also equal to the total average
power consumed by the load as long as the diode and the transformer are ideal.
PIN = PR (12)

Although the power factor is defined for circuits excited by sinusoidal

sources, the definition is also applicable to circuits with nonsinusoidal currents.
The power factor, from (12), is
PR
pf = (13)
VS,RMS I S,RMS

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where VS,RMS = 0.707 VSM is the effective (rms) source voltage, I S,RMS is the

effective source current, and pf is the power factor.

If there are no losses in the transformer and the diode is ideal, the total
power delivered to the load is equal to the power supplied by the source. Thus,
(0.5 VSM )2
PIN = PR = (14)
R
For a half-wave rectifier, the source current is the same as the load
current. Furthermore, the effective value of the source current, for a resistive
load, may be computed from the effective value of the source voltage. That is,
VO , RMS 0.5 VSM
I O ,RMS = = (15)
R R
Consequently, the effective value of the source current is
0.5 VSM
I S,RMS = I O , RMS = (16)
R
Finally, from (13), (14), and (16), the power factor is
pf = 0.707 (17)
Remember that the power factor is unity when a sinusoidal source
establishes a sinusoidal current in a resistive load. It is the nonsinusoidal
current that is responsible for lowering the power factor from unity to 0.707.
The dc power (component of the total average power) delivered to the
load is
VO2,DC V2 (0.318 VSM ) 2

PO ,DC = = 2SM ≈ (18)

R π R R
The ratio of the dc power delivered to the load to the apparent power
available at the load is defined as the rectification efficiency.
For the half-wave rectifier, the rectification efficiency, from (14) and (18),
is
PO ,DC 4
η= = = 0.405 or 40.5% (19)
VO ,rms I O ,rms π2

Rectification efficiency is a measure of the effectiveness of a rectifier in

utilizing the total apparent power available at the load as useful dc power.

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EXAMPLE 1 __________________________________________________
An ideal 120/24-V, 60-Hz, step-down transformer is used for the half-wave
rectification process. If the primary-winding voltage is v P ( t ) = 170 sin(ωt ) V and
the load resistance is 20 Ω , determine the peak-to-peak ripple voltage, dc power
output, and the total power dissipated by the resistor. Determine the rectification
ratio and the power factor. Write an expression for the primary-winding current.
Select a diode using a safety factor of 2.
Solution:
From the nominal voltage ratings of the transformer, its turns-ratio is
120
a= =5
24
Thus, the maximum value of the secondary winding voltage v S ( t ) is

170
VSM = = 34 V
5
An expression for the secondary-winding voltage is
v S ( t ) = 34 sin(ωt ) V, 0 ≤ ωt ≤ 2 π

The voltage across and the current through the 20- Ω resistor, respectively, are
34 sin(ωt ) V 0 ≤ ωt ≤ π
v O (t ) = 
0 π ≤ ωt ≤ 2 π
and
v 0 ( t ) 1.7 sin(ωt ) A 0 ≤ ωt ≤ π
i O (t ) = =
20 0 π ≤ ωt ≤ 2 π
From (6), the peak-to-peak ripple voltage is
∆VPP = 34 V
The dc voltage across the 20- Ω resistor, from (8), is
VSM 34
VO ,DC = = = 10.823 V
π π
The corresponding dc current through the 20- Ω resistor is
VO ,DC 10.823
I O ,DC = = = 0.541 A
R 20

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The dc component of the total power delivered to the 20- Ω resistor is
PO ,DC = VO , DC I O ,DC = 10.823 × 0.541 = 5.855 W

Applied Source Voltage

50
40
30
20
v ( ωt ) 10
0
10
20
30
40
50
0 1.58 3.15 4.72 6.3
ωt

The Output Voltage across R

50
40
v o( ωt ) 30
20
10
0
0 1.58 3.15 4.72 6.3
ωt

The effective (rms) value of the output voltage is

VO ,RMS = 0.5VSM = 0.5 × 34 = 17 V

The rms load current is

VO , RMS 17
I O ,RMS = = = 0.85 A
R 20
The total power dissipated by the 20- Ω resistor is
VO2,RMS 17 2
PR = = = 14.45 W
R 20
The power supplied by the secondary winding is also 14.45 W because the diode
and the transformer are assumed as ideal circuit elements.

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The rectification ratio is
PO , DC 5.855
η= = = 0.405 or 40.5%
VO ,rms I O ,rms 17 × 0.85

The effective values of the secondary winding voltage and current are
34
VS,RMS = = 24.04 V
2
I S,RMS = I O ,RMS = 0.85 A

Hence, the power factor is

PR 14.45
pf = = = 0.707
VS,RMS I S,RMS 24.04 × 0.85

Since the secondary-winding current is the same as the output current, the
primary-winding current, from (1), is
i O (t)
i P (t ) = = 0 .2 i O ( t )
a
Thus, the primary-winding current is
0.34 sin(ωt ) A 0 ≤ ωt ≤ π
i P (t ) = 
0 π ≤ ωt ≤ 2 π
The average (dc) rectified current through the diode is 0.54 A. Its peak-inverse-
voltage is 34 V. Using a safety factor of 2, we need a diode with an average
current rating of nearly 1.08 A and a peak-inverse-voltage rating of 68 V. Let us
select 1N4002 diode for our application. It has an average rectified forward
current rating of 1 A, and a peak repetitive reverse voltage rating of 100 V.
There are other useful definitions that are commonly used in explaining the
operation of a rectifier. Some of them are defined as follows:
Transformer Utilization Factor: It is a ratio of the dc power delivered to the
load to the apparent power input. It is also called as the power utilization
factor and is given as
PO , DC 5.855
TUF = = = 0.2865 or 28.65%
VS,RMS I S,RMS 24.04 × 0.85

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Form factor: It is the ratio of the rms and dc components of the output current.
That is,
I O ,RMS 0.85
FF = = = 1.57
I O ,DC 0.541

Ripple factor: It is defined as the ratio of the rms value of the ac components of
the output current to the dc component of the current. That is

I O ,AC I O2 , RMS − I O2 ,DC

RF = = 2
= FF 2 − 1
I O ,DC I O , DC

For our example, the ripple factor is

RF = 1.57 2 − 1 = 1.21
Note that the form factor and the ripple factor can also be defined in terms of
the output voltage instead of the output current. In addition, these quantities can
also be defined on the input side when the input voltage and/or current are not
sinusoids.

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