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    Rectifier

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    Angellica
    A rectifier converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) through a process called rectification. It uses components like diodes or vacuum tubes to allow current to pass in only one direction. Rectifiers are used in power supplies to provide DC power to electronic devices and in radio receivers to detect amplitude-modulated signals. Common types are half-wave rectifiers, which pass one half of the AC waveform, and full-wave rectifiers, which are more efficient but require more diodes. Smoothing circuits with capacitors are usually needed after rectification to produce a steady DC output.

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    Rectifier

    Uploaded by

    Angellica
    648 views4 pages
    A rectifier converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) through a process called rectification. It uses components like diodes or vacuum tubes to allow current to pass in only one direction. Rectifiers are used in power supplies to provide DC power to electronic devices and in radio receivers to detect amplitude-modulated signals. Common types are half-wave rectifiers, which pass one half of the AC waveform, and full-wave rectifiers, which are more efficient but require more diodes. Smoothing circuits with capacitors are usually needed after rectification to produce a steady DC output.

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    A rectifier converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) through a process called rectification. It uses components like diodes or vacuum tubes to allow current to pass in only one direction. Rectifiers are used in power supplies to provide DC power to electronic devices and in radio receivers to detect amplitude-modulated signals. Common types are half-wave rectifiers, which pass one half of the AC waveform, and full-wave rectifiers, which are more efficient but require more diodes. Smoothing circuits with capacitors are usually needed after rectification to produce a steady DC output.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    648 views4 pages

    Rectifier

    Uploaded by

    Angellica
    A rectifier converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) through a process called rectification. It uses components like diodes or vacuum tubes to allow current to pass in only one direction. Rectifiers are used in power supplies to provide DC power to electronic devices and in radio receivers to detect amplitude-modulated signals. Common types are half-wave rectifiers, which pass one half of the AC waveform, and full-wave rectifiers, which are more efficient but require more diodes. Smoothing circuits with capacitors are usually needed after rectification to produce a steady DC output.

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    Rectifier

    A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC) to direct


    current (DC), a process known as rectification. Rectifiers have many uses
    including as components of power supplies and as detectors of radio signals.
    Rectifiers may be made of solid state diodes, vacuum tube diodes, mercury arc
    valves, and other components. A device which performs the opposite function
    (converting DC to AC) is known as an inverter.

    When only one diode is used to rectify AC (by blocking the negative or positive
    portion of the waveform), the difference between the term diode and the term
    rectifier is merely one of usage, i.e., the term rectifier describes a diode that is
    being used to convert AC to DC. Almost all rectifiers comprise a number of
    diodes in a specific arrangement for more efficiently converting AC to DC than is
    possible with only one diode. Before the development of silicon semiconductor
    rectifiers, vacuum tube diodes and copper(I) oxide or selenium rectifier stacks
    were used.

    Half-wave rectification

    In half wave rectification, either the positive or negative half of the AC wave is
    passed, while the other half is blocked. Because only one half of the input
    waveform reaches the output, it is very inefficient if used for power transfer.
    Half-wave rectification can be achieved with a single diode in a one-phase
    supply, or with three diodes in a three-phase supply.

    The output DC voltage of a half wave rectifier can be calculated with the
    following two ideal equations.

    Full-wave rectification

    A full-wave rectifier converts the whole of the input waveform to one of constant
    polarity (positive or negative) at its output. Full-wave rectification converts both
    polarities of the input waveform to DC (direct current), and is more efficient.
    However, in a circuit with a non-center tapped transformer, four diodes are
    required instead of the one needed for half-wave rectification. (See
    semiconductors, diode). Four diodes arranged this way are called a diode bridge
    or bridge rectifier:

    Figure: Bridge rectifier, a full-wave rectifier using 4 diodes.

    For single-phase AC, if the transformer is center-tapped, then two diodes back-
    to-back (i.e. anodes-to-anode or cathode-to-cathode) can form a full-wave
    rectifier. Twice as many windings are required on the transformer secondary to
    obtain the same output voltage compared to the bridge rectifier above.

    Figure: Full-wave rectifier using a transformer and 2 diodes.

    Most devices that generate alternating current (such devices are called
    alternators) generate three-phase AC. For example, an automobile alternator has
    six diodes inside it to function as a full-wave rectifier for battery charging
    applications.

    The average and root-mean-square output voltages of an ideal single phase full
    wave rectifier can be calculated as:

    Where:

    Vdc,Vav - the average or DC output voltage,

    Vp - the peak value of half wave,

    Vrms - the root-mean-square value of output voltage.

    π = ~ 3.14159
    e = ~ 2.71828

    Peak loss

    An aspect of most rectification is a loss from the peak input voltage to the peak
    output voltage, caused by the built-in voltage drop across the diodes (around 0.7
    V for ordinary silicon p-n-junction diodes and 0.3 V for Schottky diodes). Half-
    wave rectification and full-wave rectification using two separate secondaries will
    have a peak voltage loss of one diode drop. Bridge rectification will have a loss of
    two diode drops. This may represent significant power loss in very low voltage
    supplies. In addition, the diodes will not conduct below this voltage, so the circuit
    is only passing current through for a portion of each half-cycle, causing short
    segments of zero voltage to appear between each "hump".

    Rectifier output smoothing

    While half-wave and full-wave rectification suffice to deliver a form of DC output,


    neither produces constant-voltage DC. In order to produce steady DC from a
    rectified AC supply, a smoothing circuit or filter is required. In its simplest form
    this can be just a reservoir capacitor or smoothing capacitor, placed at the DC
    output of the rectifier. There will still remain an amount of AC ripple voltage
    where the voltage is not completely smoothed.

    Figure: RC-Filter Rectifier

    Applications

    The primary application of rectifiers is to derive DC power from an AC supply.


    Virtually all electronic devices require DC, so rectifiers find uses inside the power
    supplies of virtually all electronic equipment.

    Converting DC power from one voltage to another is much more complicated.


    One method of DC-to-DC conversion first converts power to AC (using a device
    called an inverter), then use a transformer to change the voltage, and finally
    rectifies power back to DC.
    Rectifiers also find a use in detection of amplitude modulated radio signals. The
    signal may or may not be amplified before detection but if un-amplified a very
    low voltage drop diode must be used. When using a rectifier for demodulation
    the capacitor and load resistance must be carefully matched. Too low a
    capacitance will result in the high frequency carrier passing to the output and
    too high will result in the capacitor just charging and staying charged.

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