15

Rectifiers and Other

Diode Circuits

TOPICS DISCUSSED

Half-wave and full-wave rectifier circuits Filters

Analysis of rectifiers Clipping and clamping circuits

15.1 RECTIFIERS

15.1.1 ntroduction
A rectifier is a device that converts ac supply into de using diodes. Rectification can be done by half-
wave or full-wave rectification circuits. All electronic circuits need a dc voltage for their operation. The
supply voltage available is from the ac mains which is 230 V, 50 Hz supply. A rectifier will first step
down the ac supply voltage to the required level by using a step-down transformer. A single diode can
be used to rectify the ac voltage into half-wave rectified de
voltage. Since the rectified voltage is a un
directionally changing de, filter circuits are used to get steady de output.
In this section we will discuss half-wave and full-wave rectifier circuits.

15.1.2 Half-wave Rectifier

A half-wave rectifier circuit consisting of a transformer, a
diode, and a load represented by a resisto
has been shown in Fig. 15.1. The input and
output wave shapes have been shown. The diode is forwaid
biased during the positive half cycle of the applied voltage and reverse biased during the negaive
half cycle.
During the positive half cycle, i.c., from time 0 to t, voltage is positive, and hence terminal A or
transformer,T 1s positive. Diode is forward biased, and hence current will fow through the diode and
through the load resistance, R. Ifa step down transformer is used, the magnitude of output voltag w
 Rectifiers and Other Diode Circuits 615

ac
27 SR Output
input 0 27

Output circuit
Input voltage
Output voitage

waveforms
Figure 15.1 Half-wave rectifier circuit wjh input and output voltage

equal turn ratio,

a transformer having
an

If however, step down of voltage is not required, the dc output cir-

be reduced. be to electrically isolate
function of the transformer will
i.e. NN, will be used. The
cuit from the input circuit. will be
the terminal A of the transformer
half cycle of the input voltage
wave,
current will
During the negative The diode will be reverse
biased and virtually no
will be positive.
negative and terminal B
the load.
fiow through the diode and of current through the
diode and blocking the nega-
the positive half cycle rectiñed
This sequence of allowing of power supply. As a result,
a half-wave
continue for each and every cycle will be the
tive half cycle will across the load resistance, R,
circuit. The voltage drop
the output diode is reverse biased, the
current will flow through rectified voltage. When the
half-wave
which will be a will be appearing across the
diode
output voltage, V half cycle of the input
of the negative
maximum or peak voltage or peak-inverse voltage
(PIV) which is getting applied
reverse voltage
terminals. This is the peak of the
alternate half cycles.
to the diode in every switch during the positive
halt eycle of the input voltage
works as a closed across the load
lt is seen that a diode halt cycle. The output voltage appears
switch during the negative
and works as an open current although positive
all the time (i.e.
The load voltage and load
only. at the
during the positive half cycle dc as its magnitudes changung. Our aim will be to obtain steady de
unidirectional) are fluctuating
can be calculated as
and
output. fluctuating dc as also its RMS values T
The average value this
of
respectively. are calculatedof the output de
in terms
of a hall-wave rectiher output
The performance parameters the rectified wave), the RMS value of the output current,
the output
value of
current (i.e., the average
i n v e r s e voltage, etc.

voltage, ripple factor, peak

 15.1.4 Full-wave Rectifier
Full-wave rectifiers can be made using two diodes and a centre-tapped transformer. Full-wave rectifiers
are also made using a two-winding transformer and four diodes. Such rectifiers are called bridge recti-
fiers. These are discussed as follows.
Two-diode full-wave rectifier: here ac input voltage is supplied from the secondary of a centre-tapped
transformer. The circuit consists of the transformer, two diodes and the load resistance. The circuit is
essentially the summation of two half-wave rectifiers as shown in Fig. 15.5.
For the positive half cycle of the input voltage, diode D, will conduct. This is because terminal A
is positive and the diode D, is forward biased. As terminal B is negative, diode D, wili not conduct. In
the negative half cycle, terminal B is positive and terminal A is negative. Hence, diode D, will conduct
and diode D, will be reverse biased. This way in each half cycle one of the two diodes will conduct and
current will flow through the load resistance, R,. The output current and the output voltage across the
load will be a full-wave rectified current and voltage, respectively. The output wave form is a series of
consecutive positive half cycles of sinusoidal wave form. The current through the load resistance is uni-
directional but its magnitude is fluctuating as shown in Fig. 15.5. The PIV is the maximum voltage that
would appear across a diode when it is reverse biased. Here, when
D, is conducting, D, is reverse biased

D
No
ac supply
0 21t t

B
21t 3t

Figure 15.5 Full-wave rectifier using two diodes and a çéntre-tapped transformer
 Rectifiers and Other Diode
Circuits 621
and vice versa. when
D, is conducting, the voltage that would
voltage across the lower half of the
appear across diode D, is the sum of the
load. PIV of the diode is transformer secondary
equal to 2 V winding and the voltage appearing across the
15.1.5 Full-wave Bridge
Rectifier
Abridge
rectifier circuit
uses four
diodes in the bridge circuit are drawndiodes connected ithe fofm of a bridge. The various
have been shown in ways the four
the arrow head symbols of all
the diodes are Fig.h5.6 (a) and (b). shown in
As
pointing towards the positive terminal of theFig.
15.6 (a),
the load.
output, i.e.,

AD D

RL Vo

T
B
/2T 3T ot

D DA

Vo

0 27T 3T

ND,
RL

V,
D;
T B
D

/2T 3rt

using

V
r e c t i f i c a t i o n

full-wave

circuit
for
21t 3T s i d a e
rectifier nda transformer
622 Basic Electrical Engineering

terminal A of the transformer is positive. Current

During the positive half cycle of the input voltage, the negative
diode D,, load R, and diode D, and back to
will flow from the positive terminal through
load has been shown to be from C
B of the transformer. The direction of current through the
terminal, this period
bottom. The polarities of the load terminals have been shown. During
to D, i.e., from top to

diodes D, and D, are reverse biased. diodes D, and D, are forward

biased while diodes
of the input voltage
During the negative half cycle the load will flow in the same direction, i.e..
from termi
biased. Current through will pass through
D, and D, are reverse and negative half cycles of the input voltage, current
of the
nal C to D. During both positive wave shape is a
series of positive half cycles
direction. The output voltage isolation
the load in the same magnitude. The transformer provides
sinusoidal voltage. This is
de output but having a varying
ac input.
of the dc output from the supply rectifier are determined
as follows.

parameters of a
full-wave bridge
The important
 Rectifiers and Other Diode Circuits 627
15.2 FILTERS

Wehave seen that the wave form

seen
of
Wave
yoltage wave fo
form either of equal the/rectified voltage is a series of
half
of
or positive
reduced magnitude. For a half-wave cycles of the input half
positivehalf cycles with one missing in a
rectifier
rectiher
ert the fluctuating output voltage intobetween. Our objective is to get a we get a series of
we de
steady-value
conver

The simplest filter is a capacitor which

a
steady dc, smoothing circuits called filters mustoutput.
is connected
i0
be used.
ted acrooss
nected across the load resistance
R, in a
across the load. Fig. 15.9
shows a capacitor C con-
output voltage wave has been shown. half-wave rectifier. The efect
effect of
o the use of a
capacitor on the
During the positive halt cycle of the
input
hrough the diode and the load resistor, R,. At thevoltage the diode D, is forward biased. Current flows
same time the
alue, V of the input voltage. capacitor, C gets charged upto the peak
After attaining the
pick value, the input voltage starts
than V But the reducing, its value becoming less and less
m capacitor has been charged to a voltage V Thus, the
higher than the potential of terminal A. AS a result, diode D, gets reversepotential
of terminal B becomes
biased but the capacitor voltage
remains close to Vm With the diode D, reverse biased, the
changing of the capacitor stops. The capacitor
now starts getting discharged through the load resistor R,. The voltage across the capacitor, Ve starts
falling, as has been shown in Fig. 15.9, through a thick horizontally inclined line. The diode, D, remains
Trverse biased throughout the rest of the positive half cycle and also during the negative half cycle, and
further to the next positive half cycle until at 6, when the input voltage starts becoming higher than the
capacitor voltage, V, once again. At this point the diode becomes conducting supplying current to the
load as also charging the capacitor once again. This process of charging and discharging of the capacitor
continues in every cycle and an output voltage waveform, as shown by a thick line, is achieved. This
wave shape of the output voltage is superior to the wave shape of the output voltage obtained when no
is now reduced and a near-steady dc output
capacitor was connected. The ripple of the output voltage
voltage obtained.
Ar and selection of capacitor
T de ot ripple vollage a capacitor
filter has been shown again in Fig. 15.10. V, represents
ne half-wave rectified voltage with time discharge of the capacitor is represented by t, as shown in
the
peak to peak ripple voltage.
The of
Fi 1 0 . The output voltage fluctuates
1
between V,(min) to V,(max).

Peak to peak,V, =
V, (max)
-

V, (min).
V(max)+ V,(min)
V,(average)= 2
Average value of output voltage,

B Output voltage with

A less ripple
Vo Vn

RL C
input 27t

capocitor filter
rectifier Circytwitha
Half-wave
G
15.9
628 Basic Electrical Engineering

,V, (average)

-AV (max)
Vr
D

Vg (min)
-

27T 3t

-T-

voltage with a capocitor filter

Figure 15.10 Half-wave rectified

the time t, when the voltage

across it drops by V. causing a
The capacitor C gets discharged during write
flow through the resistance R,. So we can
load current, I, to
Q=CV, =I, xt

C X

or, V the a1er

to be used depends the allowable ripple voltage,
on
Calculation of the value of
the capacitor is calculaeu
frequency. The approximate value
the load resistance, and
the supply
list is then consulieu
age output voltage, The standard maqufacture's
illustrated through an example.
using the procedure available in the market.
selectthe next higher value of the capacitor
m
o u t n u t yoltage of15