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Chapter two:

Semiconductor Diode

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Introduction
The last 40 years or so have seen very significant advances in
electronics. In that time it has become possible to manufacture electronic
circuits containing millions of electronic devices - such as diodes,
transistors, resistors, etc. - on a single, small piece of silicon, only a few
millimetres square. The net result has been that electronic equipment has
become smaller, more reliable, and cheaper to buy and operate.

In this unit we will be studying the physical operation of the basic

semiconductor devices, diodes and transistors, which are the
fundamental building blocks of electronic circuitry.

Atomic structure
A complete understanding of the operation of semiconductor devices
such as diodes, transistors and integrated circuits requires some
knowledge of atomic theory. We already know from our previous study
that the atom consists of a central nucleus, containing protons and
neutrons, around which electrons orbit, as shown in Figure 1.

In a given element, each atom has a specific number of protons and

electrons. For example, the simplest atom is that of hydrogen has one
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proton and one electron, whereas the semiconductor material silicon has
14 protons in its nucleus and 14 orbiting electrons. Each electron
possesses a negative charge of 1.6 × 10-19 C, while each proton possesses
an equal positive charge. A single atom is therefore electrically neutral.
The forces of attraction between the positive and negative charges hold
the atom together. The forces of attraction on electrons become
progressively weaker as their distance from the nucleus increases.

All elements can be arranged in a so-called periodic table according to

the number of orbiting electrons in an electrically neutral atom of the
element. This is referred to as the atomic number. The elements can
also be arranged by their atomic weight, which is approximately the
number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus. For example, hydrogen
has an atomic number of 1 and an atomic weight of 1, whereas silicon
has an atomic weight of 28 (14 protons + 14 neutrons).

The electrons revolve around the nucleus in a number of fixed ‘orbits’ or

‘shells’, as shown in Figure 2. A given atom has a fixed number of
shells. The shells are designated K, L, M, N and so on with K being
closest to the nucleus. Each shell has a fixed maximum number of
electrons at permissible energy levels (orbits). The differences in energy
levels within a shell are substantially smaller than the energy difference
between shells.

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The electrons in any particular orbit or shell have a kinetic energy, which
lies within a certain range or band. Electrons in orbits closest to the
nucleus have the least energy. Those electrons in the outermost orbit
have the greatest energy and are known as valence electrons, and the
number of electrons in the outermost shell of an atom determines its
valency. Electrons farthest from the nucleus are less tightly bound to the
atom since the force of attraction between the positively charged nucleus
and the negatively charged electron decreases with increasing distance.

An electron may change orbits if it absorbs sufficient additional energy

from an external source. When an atom absorbs energy from a heat or
light source, for example, the energy levels of the electrons are
increased. If the energy gain is sufficient they may move to a different
orbiting shell. Since the valence electrons possess more energy and are
less tightly bound to the nucleus, they can more readily jump to higher
orbits. If a valence electron acquires a sufficient amount of energy, it can

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be completely removed from the outer shell and the atom’s influence.
This causes a previously neutral atom to have an excess of positive
charge. Such an atom is referred to as a positive ion. The escaped
electron is referred to as a free electron. If this free electron falls into the
outer shell of another neutral atom then we have a negative ion.

We have seen that the electrons of an atom can only orbit within
prescribed energy bands. Each shell around the nucleus corresponds to a
certain energy band and is separated from adjacent shells by energy gaps
in which no electrons can orbit. This is illustrated in the energy band
diagram of Figure 3, in which the highest energy band is called the
conduction band. These energy levels contain electrons which have
gained sufficient energy to escape the forces of attraction of the nucleus
and are free to migrate through the material, i.e. available for the
conduction of electricity through the material.

In insulators, the valence electrons are very tightly bound to the nucleus.
Even large amounts of external energy will fail to free electrons in
sufficient numbers for the conduction of electricity.

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In conductors, the valence electrons are very loosely bound and are free
to move under the influence of an applied emf, thereby giving rise to an
electric current.

You will recall that the resistance of a piece of material to the flow of
electric current is indicated by its resistivity value, i.e. the higher the
resistivity, the greater the resistance. Materials with resistivity values
which lie between that of a good conductor and a good insulator are
called semiconductors. The best-known semiconductor material is
silicon, which is used in the manufacture of a large proportion of
electronic components such as diodes, transistors and integrated circuits
(ICs). Other materials used as semiconductors include germanium,
gallium-arsenide, cadmium-sulphide and lead-sulphide. Typical
resistivity values for conductors, insulators and semiconductors are as
shown in Table 3.1.

Material Resistivity ( m)

Copper (Conductor) 1.7 × 10-8

Pure silicon (Semiconductor) 103
Mica (Insulator) 1012

Figure 4 gives typical energy band diagrams for conductors, insulators

and semiconductors. The energy gap for an insulator is so large that very
few electrons can acquire sufficient energy to reach the conduction band.
The valence band and the conduction band in a conductor, e.g. copper,
overlap so that there is always an abundance of electrons available for
conduction. Even without the application of external energy a large
number of valence electrons in a conductor have sufficient energy to
jump into the conduction band. In a semiconductor there is an energy
gap between the valence and conduction bands but it is much narrower

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than that of an insulator.

Another difference between conductors, insulators and semiconductors is

the way in which their resistance changes with temperature. This is
summarised by the graphs of Figure 5.

As the temperature of a conductor is increased, its resistance increases

slightly, due to the increased vibration (random motion) of its free
electrons. See Figure 5(a).

An insulator, in contrast, shows a very slight reduction in resistance as

temperature is increased, as illustrated in Figure 5(b). This is due to the
production of a small number of free electrons, which acquire sufficient
energy to overcome the forces of attraction of the nucleus.

As the temperature of a semiconductor is increased, its resistance

decreases very significantly. See Figure 5(c). A rise in temperature
causes large numbers of valence electrons to break free and become
available for conduction.

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The properties of a semiconductor may be summarised as follows:

A pure semiconductor has a resistivity between that of conductor and an

insulator. Its resistivity falls steeply with an increase in temperature.

INTRINSIC (PURE) SEMICONDUCTORS

Consider the structure of a silicon atom, as shown in Figure 6. Its
nucleus contains 14 protons and 14 neutrons.

There are 14 electrons, 4 of which are valence electrons. Any element

which has 4 valence electrons is referred to as a tetravalent element,
where tetravalent means having 4 valence electrons.

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Atoms which combine to form a solid arrange themselves into an orderly

pattern called a lattice. Such a lattice is illustrated in Figure 7(a), in
which only the valence electrons are shown. Each atom shares a valence
electron with its neighbour, so that there are forces of attraction between
atoms, holding them together. These forces of attraction are called
covalent bonds. A more simplified schematic of covalent bonding is
shown in Figure 7(b).

In semiconductors the covalent bonds are fairly weak. At room

temperature, a small proportion of electrons in these bonds acquire
sufficient thermal energy to escape and become available for conduction.
Consider Figure 8. When an electron acquires sufficient thermal energy
and leaves a bond, such as at A, a neighbouring valence electron, for
example B, can transfer into the vacant bond or hole, without acquiring
extra energy.

The new hole at B can similarly transfer to C and thus wander

throughout the bulk of the material. Therefore, the actual series of
electron displacements in one direction gives rise to the apparent
motion of a hole in the opposite direction. Holes can be treated as

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particles of positive charge and a certain effective mass.

When a hole-electron pair is created by an electron with sufficient

thermal energy to break a covalent bond, the hole and free electron are
said to be thermally-generated. If there is no potential difference across
the semiconductor, the movement of the electrons and holes is random.

However, when an emf is applied across the material, the electrons will
flow to the positive terminal and the holes will appear to flow to the
negative one. Therefore, the flow of current in a pure semiconductor
material is due to both electron and hole conduction. This is known as
intrinsic conduction.

EXTRINSIC (DOPED) SEMICONDUCTORS

The only current carriers in a pure semiconductor are the thermally-
generated electron-hole pairs. For most applications, an insufficient
number of these exist to produce a usable current. Higher current levels
can be achieved only by adding small quantities of other elements into
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the lattice structure, in order to increase the number of charge carriers.

The added atoms form covalent bonds with their silicon neighbours. The
number of covalent bonds formed, and hence the type of charge carriers
produced, depends on the number of valence electrons or valency of the
added atoms. The process of adding extra atoms is known as doping and
the impurities are called dopants. A doped semiconductor is called an
extrinsic semiconductor.

For use in diodes, transistors and integrated circuits, silicon is first

purified to impurity concentrations of less than 1 part in 1010. It is then
doped with either pentavalent (valency 5) or trivalent (valency 3)
atoms, to concentrations of about 1 part in 105. This increases the
number of either free electrons or holes respectively. Common materials
used for doping are listed in Table 3.2.

Pentavalent Elements Trivalent Elements

Arsenic Boron
Antimony Aluminium
Phosphorous Indium
Gallium

N-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR
Consider Figure 9. An n-type semiconductor is formed by adding
pentavalent impurity atoms (valency 5). Pentavalent dopants have 5
outer electrons, and hence there is one spare, when the covalent bonds
are full. This electron is not tightly bound and is available for
conduction. At the impurity concentrations normally used, these
electrons far out-number the thermally-generated electron-hole pairs.
Therefore, in an n-type semiconductor the electrons are referred to as the
majority carriers, while holes are called the minority carriers.

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Pentavalent impurities are often called donor impurities, since they

‘donate’ electrons for conduction.

P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR
A p-type semiconductor is formed when it is doped with trivalent atoms
(valency 3), as shown in Figure 10.

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Some atoms are now a bonding electron short, causing the presence of a
hole. In this case, the holes far out-number the free electrons. Thus in a
p-type semiconductor the holes are the majority carriers, while the
electrons are the minority carriers. Trivalent atoms are also known as
acceptor atoms, because each hole they contribute may ‘accept’ an
electron, to complete the bond.

SUMMARY

Material

Superconductor

Insulator Semiconductor Conductor

Pure Semiconductor Impure Semiconductor

Intrinsic Extrinsic

N- type P- type

1. A semiconductor is a material which is neither a good conductor nor

a good insulator.

2. With an increase in temperature, the resistance of a conductor

increases slightly, while the resistance of an insulator decreases
slightly.

The resistance of a pure semiconductor decreases dramatically with an

increase in temperature.

3. The sharing of valence electrons by atoms in the lattice of a solid

material creates forces of attraction between atoms, which are called

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covalent bonds.

4. In an intrinsic (pure) semiconductor, there are equal numbers of free

electrons and holes, and both take part equally in conduction. At room
temperature, these thermally-generated electron-hole pairs are
insufficient in number to form a usable electric current.

5. In an extrinsic (doped) semiconductor, small quantities of impurities

are added, producing a surplus of either free electrons or holes. These
far exceed the number of thermally-generated electron-hole pairs, and,
if an emf is applied, will form an electric current.

6. An n-type semiconductor is formed by adding pentavalent (5-

valence electrons) impurity atoms, which results in an excess of free
electrons. The electrons are majority carriers, while holes are minority
carriers.

7. A p-type semiconductor is formed by adding trivalent (3-valence

electrons) impurity atoms, which results in the material containing an
excess of holes. The holes are majority carriers, while the electrons
are minority carriers.

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THE P-N JUNCTION

UNBIASED JUNCTION
When a semiconductor material changes from p-type to n-type
somewhere along its length, the boundary where the p-type and n-type
regions meet is called the p-n junction. Consider Figure 11.

The p-side has many holes and the n-side many conduction electrons. To
avoid confusion, no minority carriers are shown. But it is important to
realise that there are a few conduction electrons on the p-side and a few
conduction holes on the n-side. The p-n junction shown in Figure 11 is
unbiased; that is, there is no external voltage applied to it.

The conduction holes in the p-region and conduction electrons in the n

region are mobile, and can migrate (diffuse) across the junction to

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recombine with majority carriers on the opposite side. This process

cannot continue indefinitely, as the migration causes the build-up of
positive charge in the n-region and negative charge in the p-region, in the
vicinity of the junction. In other words, every electron which moves
away from the n-region leaves a positively charged ion behind, and every
hole which move away from the p-region leaves a negatively charged ion
behind. This disturbs the electrical balance of the material, which
normally has equal numbers of negative (electrons) and positive (holes)
charges (but with only one type free to move).

There is now a voltage, called the junction potential, between the n-

type and p-type material at the junction. This potential opposes the
movement of more majority carriers and an equilibrium position is
reached. It might be thought that this potential should cause the p-n
junction to act as a battery, but once the circuit is completed externally,
the total emf around the circuit is zero.

Minority carriers (holes on the n-side, electrons on the p-side) are helped
across by the junction potential, giving rise to a current I0, but this
current is exactly balanced by the current Ii, due to the small proportion
of majority carriers that have sufficient energy to cross in spite of the
junction potential.

The region near the junction, which is emptied of movable charges, is

called the depletion layer.

FORWARD-BIASED JUNCTION
Bias refers to the application of a voltage between the p and n layers of
the junction. If the applied voltage is connected as shown in Figure
12(a), with the positive terminal connected to the p-type material and the

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negative terminal connected to the n-type material, the junction is said to

be forward-biased. The junction potential (potential barrier) is lowered,
allowing more majority carriers to cross, giving a net current flowing
from p-type to n-type.

Consider Figure 12(b). As the applied voltage is increased, the size of the
depletion region becomes smaller, until the amount of forward bias
equals the junction potential - about 0.6V for silicon, when there is no
longer any depletion and the junction can conduct. At slightly higher
forward bias, carriers will move across the junction, so that current flows
in the circuit.

A p-n junction is the basis of an important electronic device known as a

diode. Note that a diode does not obey Ohm’s law: the ratio of voltage to
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current is not constant. The sketch of Figure 12(b) is referred to as the

forward characteristic of the diode.

REVERSE-BIASED JUNCTION
If a voltage is applied with the positive terminal connected to the n-type
material and the negative terminal to the p-type material, as shown in
Figure 13(a), the junction is said to be reverse-biased. As the junction
potential is increased, the depletion layer widens, reducing the number of
majority carriers crossing. If the applied voltage is sufficient, the number
of majority carriers crossing effectively becomes zero, leaving a very
small net current (leakage current) from n to p due to minority carriers.

When the reverse voltage is increased to a critical value, known as the

breakdown voltage, the junction suddenly begins to conduct and the
current level increases very rapidly.

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JUNCTION DIODE
A p-n junction, in which the two semiconductor regions have leads for
connection to an external electric circuit, is called a junction diode. The
standard circuit symbol for a diode is shown in Figure 14. (The word
diode is a contraction of di electrode, where di means two)

The p-region is called the anode and the n-region the cathode. The
arrowhead indicates the direction of conventional current flow through
the diode, from the positive to the negative of the supply.

Zener Breakdown
Zener diode is a P-N junction diode especially heavy doped. In a forward
biased condition, it acts as a normal diode. In reverse biased mode, after
the break down of junction current through diode increases sharply. But
the voltage across it remains constant.
The breakdown or zener voltage depends upon the amount of doping. If
the diode is heavily doped, the breakdown of the junction will occur at a
lower reverse voltage. On the other hand, a lightly doped diode has a
higher breakdown voltage. When an ordinary crystal diode is properly
doped so that it has a sharp breakdown voltage, it is called the
breakdown region. As long as the external circuit connected to the diode
limits the diode current to less than burn out value, the diode will not
burn out.
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Two types of reverse breakdown in a zener diode are avalanche and

zener.

1- The avalanche effect occurs in both normal and zener diodes at a

sufficiently high reverse voltage. The high reverse-bias voltage imparts
energy to the free minority electrons so that as they speed through the p
region, they collide with atoms with enough energy to knock valence
electrons out of orbit and into the conduction band. The newly created
conduction electrons are also high in energy and repeat the process. If
one electron knocks only two others out of their valence orbit during its
travel through the p region, the numbers quickly multiply. As these high-
energy electrons go through the depletion region, they have enough
energy to go through the n region as conduction electrons, rather than
combining with holes. This means if above the breakdown voltage, the
reverse current will drastically increase. The resulting heating can be
permanently damaging the diode and to overcome this by adding a
series-limiting resistor must be adding for limiting the current.

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2- Zener breakdown occurs in a zener diode at low reverse voltages. A

zener diode is heavily doped to reduce the breakdown voltage. This
causes a very thin depletion region. As a result, strong electric field
exists within the depletion region. Near the zener breakdown voltage
(Vz), the field is intense enough to pull electrons from their valence
bands and create current. Zener diodes with breakdown voltages of less
than approximately 5 V operate predominately in zener breakdown.
Those with breakdown voltages greater than approximately 5 V operate
predominately in avalanche breakdown. Both types are called zener
diodes. Zeners are commercially available with breakdown voltages
from less than 1 V to more than 250 V.

Zener Breakdown Avalanche breakdown

1.This occurs at junctions which 1. This occurs at junctions which
being heavily doped have narrow being lightly doped has wide
depletion layers depletion layers.
2. This breakdown voltage sets a 2. Here electric field is not strong
very strong electric field across this enough to produce Zener
narrow layer. breakdown.
3. Here electric field is very strong 3. Her minority carriers collide
to rupture the covalent bonds with semiconductor atoms in the
thereby generating electron-hole depletion region, which breaks the
pairs. So even a small increase in covalent bonds and electron-hole
reverse voltage is capable of pairs are generated. Newly
producing large number of current generated charge carriers are
carriers. ie why the junction has a accelerated by the electric field
very low resistance. This leads to which results in more collision and
Zener breakdown. generates avalanche of charge
carriers. This results in avalanche
breakdown.

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Difference between diode and zener diode

1. Diode can conduct current only in one direction, whereas zener diode
allows the conduction in both directions.
2. A normal diode will be permanently damaged for a large reverse
current, but a zener diode will not.
3. Amount of doping for P and N semiconductor layers are different in
the two devices.
4. Diodes are normally used for rectification, whereas zener diodes are
used for voltage regulation.

Light-Emitting Diode (LED)

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a diode that gives off visible light when
forward biased. Light-emitting diodes are not made from silicon or
germanium but are made by using elements like gallium, phosphorus and
arsenic. By varying the quantities of these elements, it is possible to
produce light of different wavelengths with colours that include red,
green, yellow and blue. For example, when a LED is manufactured using
gallium arsenide, it will produce a red light. If the LED is made with
gallium phosphide, it will produce a green light.

Theory:
When light-emitting diode (LED) is forward biased, the electrons from
the n-type material are cross the pn junction and recombine with holes in
the p-type material. Recall that these free electrons are in the conduction
band and at a higher energy level than the holes in the valence band.
When recombination takes place, the recombining electrons release
energy in the form of heat and light. In germanium and silicon diodes,
almost the entire energy is given up in the form of heat and emitted light
is insignificant. However, in materials like gallium arsenide, the number

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of photons of light energy is sufficient to produce quite intense visible

light.

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The forward voltage ratings of most LEDs are from 1V to 3V and

forward current ratings range from 20 mA to 100 mA. In order that
current through the LED does not exceed the safe value, a resistor R S is
connected in series with it. The input voltage is VS and the voltage across
LED is VD.

Advantages of LED:
(i) Low voltage
(ii) Longer life (more than 20 years)
(iii) Fast on-off switching

Applications of LEDs
(i) power indicator
When the switch S is closed, power is applied to the load. At the same
time current also flow through the LED which lights, indicating power is
on. The resistor RS in series with the LED ensures that current rating of
the LED is not exceeded.

(ii) seven-segment display

It contains seven LEDs (A, B, C, D, E, F and G) shaped, each LED is
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called a segment. If a particular LED is forward biased, that LED or

segment will light and produces a bar of light. By forward biasing
various combinations of seven LEDs, it is possible to display any
number from 0 to 9.

VARICAP (VARACTOR) DIODE

In our discussion of the p-n junction earlier, we noted the existence of a
region depleted of charge carriers (depletion region) in the vicinity of the
junction. This means that there are effectively two conductors separated
by an insulator, which gives rise to a capacitive effect across the
junction. As the bias voltage varies, the width of the depletion region,
and hence the capacitance, varies.

Diodes which are manufactured specifically to exhibit a marked

variation in their junction capacitance with bias voltage are called
variable capacitance diodes or, more generally, varicap or varactor
diodes.

For a reverse-biased junction, the junction capacitance, C, is inversely

proportional to the square root of the bias voltage, V. Mathematically:

1 k
C or C
V V

Where k is a constant

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The symbol and typical characteristic for a varicap diode are shown in
Figure 19.

SUMMARY
1. A p-n junction is the boundary between the p-type and the n-type
region in the same semiconductor material.

2. When a p-n junction diode is forward-biased, a high level of current

flows, due mainly to majority carriers.

3. When a p-n junction diode is reverse-biased, current flow due to

majority carriers is inhibited. There is, however, a very small leakage
current due to minority carriers.

4. Breakdown of a p-n junction diode occurs if the reverse voltage is

increased beyond a critical level called the breakdown voltage.

5. The maximum value of reverse voltage that can be applied across a p-

n junction diode without causing breakdown is called the peak
inverse voltage (PIV).

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6. A Zener diode is designed to operate in the breakdown region

without being damaged. Its principal feature is that it has an almost
constant voltage drop (Zener voltage) across it for a wide range of
different current levels through it.

7. A light emitting diode (LED) produces light energy when forward-

biased.

8. A photodiode has the following property: its reverse leakage current

increases in proportion to the light intensity falling on the diode.

9. A varicap or varactor diode has the following property: the

capacitance across its junction varies with the reverse-bias voltage.

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Diode applications as rectifier

For reasons associated with economics of generation and transmission,

the electric power available is usually an a.c. supply. The supply voltage
varies sinusoidally and has a frequency of 50 Hz. It is used for lighting,
heating and electric motors. But there are many applications (e.g.
electronic circuits) where d.c. supply is needed. When such a d.c. supply
is required, the mains a.c. supply is rectified by using crystal diodes. The
following two rectifier circuits can be used:
(i) Half-wave rectifier (ii) Full-wave rectifier

Half-Wave Rectifier
In half-wave rectification, the rectifier conducts current only during the
positive half-cycles of input a.c. supply. The negative half-cycles of a.c.
supply are suppressed i.e. during negative half-cycles, no current is
conducted and hence no voltage appears across the load. Therefore,
current always flows in one direction (i.e. d.c.) through the load though
after every half-cycle.

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Circuit details: the circuit shows a single crystal diode acts as a half-
wave rectifier. The a.c. supply to be rectified is applied in series with the
diode and load resistance RL. Generally, a.c. supply is given through a
transformer. The use of transformer permits two advantages. Firstly, it
allows us to step up or step down the a.c. input voltage as the situation
demands. Secondly, the transformer isolates the rectifier circuit from
power line and thus reduces the risk of electric shock.

Operation: The a.c. voltage across the secondary winding AB changes

polarities after every half-cycle. During the positive half-cycle of input
a.c. voltage, end A becomes positive w.r.t. end B. This makes the diode
forward biased and hence it conducts current. During the negative half-
cycle, end A is negative w.r.t. end B. Under this condition, the diode is
reversing biased and it conducts no current. Therefore, current flows
through the diode during positive half-cycles of input a.c. voltage only; it
is blocked during the negative half-cycles. In this way, current flows
through load RL always in the same direction. Hence d.c. output is
obtained across RL. It may be noted that output across the load is
pulsating d.c. These pulsations in the output are further smoothened with
the help of filter circuits discussed later.
The output frequency of a half-wave rectifier is equal to the input
frequency.

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Disadvantages of a half-wave rectifier:

(i) The pulsating current in the load contains alternating component
whose basic frequency is equal to the supply frequency. Therefore, an
elaborate filtering is required to produce steady direct current.
(ii) The a.c. supply delivers power only half the time. Therefore, the
output is low.

Efficiency of Half-Wave Rectifier

The ratio of d.c. power output to the applied input a.c. power is known as
rectifier efficiency i.e.

Rectifier efficiency = d.c. power output / Input a.c. power

Let V = Vm sin θ be the alternating voltage that appears across the

secondary winding. Let rf and RL be the diode resistance and load
resistance respectively. The diode conducts during positive half-cycles of
a.c. supply while no current conduction takes place during negative half-
cycles.

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The output current is pulsating direct current. Therefore, in order to find

d.c. power, average current has to be found out.

If the rf << RL, maximum half-wave rectifier efficiency = 40.6%

Example
An a.c. supply of 230 V is applied to a half-wave rectifier circuit through
a transformer of turn ratio 10 : 1. Find (i) the output d.c. voltage and (ii)
the peak inverse voltage. Assume the diode to be ideal.

Solution
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Full-Wave Rectifier
In full-wave rectification, current flows through the load in the same
direction for both half-cycles of input a.c. voltage. This can be achieved
with two diodes working alternately. For the positive half cycle of input
voltage, one diode supplies current to the load and for the negative half-
cycle, the other diode does so ; current being always in the same
direction through the load. Therefore, a full-wave rectifier utilises both
half-cycles of input a.c. voltage to produce the d.c. output.

The Full-Wave Bridge Rectifier contains four diodes D1, D2, D3 and D4
connected to form bridge. The a.c. supply to be rectified is applied to the
diagonally opposite ends of the bridge through the transformer. Between
other two ends of the bridge, the load resistance RL is connected.

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Operation:
When the upper end of the transformer second-ary winding is positive,
say during first half-cycles of the input supply, diodes D1 and D3 are
forward biased and current flows through arm AB, enters the load at
positive terminal, leaves the load at negative terminal, and returns back
flowing through arm DC. During this half of each input cycle, the diodes
D2 and D4 are reverse biased and so the current is not allowed to flow in
arms AD and BC. The flow of current is indicated by solid arrows in the
figure. In the second half of the input cycle the lower end of ac supply
becomes positive, diodes D2 and D4 become forward biased and current
flows through arm CB, enters the load at the positive terminal, leaves the
load at negative terminal and returns back flowing through arm DA.
Flow of current has been shown by dotted ar-rows in the figure. Thus the
direction of flow of cur-rent through the load resistance RL remains the
same during both half cycles of the input supply voltage.
The output frequency is twice the input frequency.

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Efficiency of Full-Wave Rectifier

Let v = Vm sin θ be the a.c. voltage to be rectified. Let rf and RL be the
diode resistance and load resistance respectively. Obviously, the rectifier
will conduct current through the load in the same direction for both half-
cycles of input a.c. voltage. The instantaneous current i is given by:

The output current is pulsating direct current. Therefore, in order to find

the d.c. power, average current has to be found out. From the elementary
knowledge of electrical engineering,

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If the rf << RL, maximum full wave rectifier efficiency = 81.2%

This is double the efficiency due to half-wave rectifier. Therefore, a full-
wave rectifier is twice as effective as a half-wave rectifier.

Example
A full-wave rectifier uses two diodes, the internal resistance of each
diode may be assumed constant at 20 Ω. The transformer r.m.s.
secondary voltage from centre tap to each end of secondary is 50 V and
load resistance is 980 Ω. Find:
(i) the mean load current (ii) the r.m.s. value of load current

Solution

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Filter Circuits
Generally, a rectifier is required to produce pure d.c. supply for using at
various places in the electronic circuits. However, the output of a
rectifier has pulsating character i.e. it contains a.c. and d.c. components.
The a.c. component is undesirable and must be kept away from the load.
To do so, a filter circuit is used which removes (or filters out) the a.c.
component and allows only the d.c. component to reach the load.
A filter circuit is a device which removes the a.c. component of rectifier
output but allows the d.c. component to reach the load.

A filter circuit is generally a combination of inductors (L) and capacitors

(C). The filtering action of L and C depends upon the basic electrical
principles. A capacitor passes a.c. readily but does not pass d.c. at all. On
the other hand, an inductor opposes a.c. but allows d.c. to pass through it.
It then becomes clear that suitable network of L and C can effectively
remove the a.c. component, allowing the d.c. component to reach the
load.

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Types of Filter Circuits

The most commonly used filter circuits are 1- capacitor filter 2- choke
input filter

1- Capacitor filter
It consists of a capacitor C placed across the rectifier output in parallel
with load RL. The pulsating direct voltage of the rectifier is applied
across the capacitor. As the rectifier voltage increases, it charges the
capacitor and also supplies current to the load. At the end of quarter
cycle, the capacitor is charged to the peak value Vm of the rectifier
voltage. Now, the rectifier voltage starts to decrease. As this occurs, the
capacitor discharges through the load and voltage across it (i.e. across
parallel combination of R-C) decreases. The voltage across load will
decrease only slightly because immediately the next voltage peak comes
and recharges the capacitor. This process is repeated again and again.
very little ripple is left in the output. Moreover, output voltage is higher
as it remains substantially near the peak value of rectifier output voltage.

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The capacitor filter circuit is extremely popular because of its low cost,
small size, little weight and good characteristics. For small load currents
(say up to 50 mA), this type of filter is preferred. It is commonly used in
transistor radio battery eliminators.

(ii) Choke input filter

It consists of a choke L connected in series with the rectifier output and a
filter capacitor C across the load. Only a single filter section is shown,
but several identical sections are often used to reduce the pulsations as
effectively as possible. The pulsating output of the rectifier is applied
across terminals 1 and 2 of the filter circuit. As discussed before, the
pulsating output of rectifier contains a.c. and d.c. components. The choke
offers high opposition to the passage of a.c. component but negligible
opposition to the d.c. component. The result is that most of the a.c.
component appears across the choke while whole of d.c. component
passes through the choke on its way to load. This results in the reduced
pulsations at terminal 3.

At terminal 3, the rectifier output contains d.c. component and the

remaining part of a.c. component which has managed to pass through the
choke. Now, the low reactance of filter capacitor by passes the a.c.

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component but prevents the d.c. component to flow through it.

Therefore, only d.c. component reaches the load. In this way, the filter
circuit has filtered out the a.c. component from the rectifier output,
allowing d.c. component to reach the load.

Example
In the following circuit, find the output d.c. voltage

Solution

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