Diode applications

• DC Power Supply
• Rectifier circuits
- Half wave rectifier
- Full wave rectifier
• Filters
• Voltage regulators
- Zener diode
- IC regulators
 Direct current and alternating
current
Direct Current (DC)
Unidirectional flow of charge
• Battery
• Dynamo
• Rectification from Alternating Current
(AC)
Usually has a constant value
Used for low voltages

Alternating Current (AC)

Electric flow of charge that changes cyclic
• Alternators
• Houses V
VRMS 
2
Usually is a sine wave
High voltages
2
 Electricity
D.C.
Direct Current

A.C.
Alternating Current
 Getting DC back out of AC
• AC provides a means for us to distribute electrical
power, but most devices actually want DC
– bulbs, toasters, heaters, fans don’t care: plug straight in
– sophisticated devices care because they have diodes and
transistors that require a certain polarity
• rather than oscillating polarity derived from AC
• this is why battery orientation matters in most electronics
• Use diodes to “rectify” AC signal
• Simplest (half-wave) rectifier uses one diode:
input voltage

AC source load

Winter 2012 diode only conducts

UCSD: Physics 121; 2012
voltage seen by load 4
when input voltage is positive
 DC power supply

All electronic systems that use ac power (usually the mains from the wall outlet)
as a power source, have an internal dc power supply that converts the ac input into
the needed dc supply voltages for all of the circuits within the system
 Diode applications
• DC Power Supply
• Rectifier circuits
- Half wave rectifier
- Full wave rectifier
• Filters
• Voltage regulators
- Zener diode
- IC regulators
Half-wave rectifier
 Half-wave rectifier

When the sinusoidal input voltage goes positive, the

diode is forward-biased and conducts current to the load resistor
 Half-wave rectifier

When the input voltage goes negative

during the second half of its cycle, the
diode is reverse-bias. There is no current,
so the voltage across the load resistor is zero
 Precautions
• In selecting diodes for rectifier design, two
important parameters must be specified: the
current handling capability required of the diode,
determined by the largest current the diode is
expected to conduct,
• The peak inverse voltage (PIV) that the diode
must be able to withstand without breakdown,
determined by the largest reverse voltage that is
expected to appear across the diode.
• It is usually prudent, however to select a diode
that has a reverse breakdown voltage at last 50
% greater than the expected PIV.
PIV
 Diode applications
• DC Power Supply
• Rectifier circuits
- Half wave rectifier
- Full wave rectifier
• Filters
• Voltage regulators
- Zener diode
- IC regulators
 Doing Better: Full-wave Diode
Bridge
• The diode in the rectifying circuit simply prevented the
negative swing of voltage from conducting
– but this wastes half the available cycle
– also very irregular (bumpy): far from a “good” DC source
• By using four diodes, you can recover the negative
B & C conduct
swing:
input voltage
A B
AC source

A & D conduct
C load
D
voltage seen by load
Winter 2012 UCSD: Physics 121; 2012 13
 CT full-wave rectifier

The transformer’s secondary winding is centre tapped to provide two

equal voltages across the two halves of the secondary winding
 CT full-wave rectifier

This condition forward biases the upper diode D1 and reverse biases the lower
diode D2. The current path is through D1 and the load resistor.
 CT full-wave rectifier

This condition forward biases the lower diode D2 and reverse biases
the upper diode D1. The current path is through D2 and the load
resistor.
Bridge (Full wave rectifier)
Bridge (Full wave rectifier)
Bridge (Full wave rectifier)
Bridge (Full wave rectifier)
 Bridge (Full wave rectifier)

Full-wave rectifier allows unidirectional current to the load during

the entire input cycle
 Diode applications
• DC Power Supply
• Rectifier circuits
- Half wave rectifier
- Full wave rectifier
• Filters
• Voltage regulators
- Zener diode
- IC regulators
 Smoothing out the Bumps
• Still a bumpy ride, but we can smooth this out with a
capacitor
– capacitors have capacity for storing charge
– acts like a reservoir to supply current during low spots
– voltage regulator smoothes out remaining ripple

A B capacitor
AC source

C load
D
Winter 2012 UCSD: Physics 121; 2012 23
Half-wave rectifier with capacitor
input filter
Half-wave rectifier with capacitor
input filter
Half-wave rectifier with capacitor
input filter
Half wave
rectifier
with
capacitor
input
filter
Bridge rectifier with capacitor input
filter
 Diode applications
• DC Power Supply
• Rectifier circuits
- Half wave rectifier
- Full wave rectifier
• Filters
• Voltage regulators
- Zener diode
- IC regulators
The need for voltage regulators
Zener diode (I-V characteristics)

Zener diodes can be used for voltage regulation in non critical applications.
 The Zener Regulator
• Zener diodes break down at some reverse
voltage
– can buy at specific breakdown voltages
– as long as some current goes through
zener, it’ll work zener voltage
– good for rough regulation
• Conditions for working: high slope is what makes the
zener a decent voltage regulator
– let’s maintain some minimal current, Iz
through zener (say a few mA)
Vin
– then (Vin  Vout)/R1 = Iz + Vout/Rload sets the
requirement on R1 R1
– because presumably all else is known
Vout = Vz
– if load current increases too much, zener
shuts off (node drops below breakdown) Rload
Z
and you just have a voltage divider with the
load
Winter 2012 UCSD: Physics 121; 2012 32
 Voltage Regulator IC
note zeners
• Can trim down ripply voltage to
precise, rock-steady value
• Now things get complicated!
– We are now in the realm of
integrated circuits (ICs)
• ICs are whole circuits in small
packages
• ICs contain resistors,
capacitors, diodes, transistors,
etc.

Winter 2012 UCSD: Physics 121; 2012 33

IC regulators
 Voltage Regulators
• The most common voltage regulators are the
LM78XX (+ voltages) and LM79XX ( voltages)
– XX represents the voltage
• 7815 is +15; 7915 is 15; 7805 is +5, etc
– typically needs input > 3 volts above output (reg.) voltage

beware that housing is not always ground

• A versatile regulator is the LM317 (+) or LM337 ()

– 1.2–37 V output
– Vout = 1.25(1+R2/R1) + IadjR2
– Up to 1.5 A
– picture at right can go to 25 V
– datasheetcatalog.com for details
Winter 2012 UCSD: Physics 121; 2012 35
Zener regulator
IC regulator
 Question

What could be wrong with this circuit ?