UNIT-2

Rectifier and filters

Diode
1. A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that allows current
to flow in one direction only.
2. It is one of the fundamental building blocks in electronics.
Types of Diodes

•PN Junction Diode (basic)

•Zener Diode – used for voltage regulation

•Schottky Diode – fast switching

•Light Emitting Diode (LED) – emits light

•Photodiode – detects light

•Tunnel Diode, Varactor Diode, etc.

Operation of Ideal diode

When the diode if forward biased it behaves as SHORT circuit.

When the diode if reversed biased it behaves as OPEN circuit.

Syllabus
1. Half wave rectifier
2. Full (Center-tapped) wave rectifier
3. Full (Bridge) wave rectifier
4. Principle of capacitor filter, LC and CLC filters (Qualitative Treatment
only)
5. Zener diode as voltage regulator
6. Block diagram of regulated power supply
7. wave shaping using diodes (clippers)
8. RC filters
 LC-1
Half wave rectifier
Rectifiers
• A rectifier is an electronic circuit that converts AC (Alternating
Current) to DC (Direct Current) using diodes.
• It is a key part of power supply circuits.
Half wave rectifier
• A half wave rectifier is defined as a type of rectifier that only allows
one half-cycle of an AC voltage waveform to pass, blocking the other
half-cycle.
 Construction
• half-wave rectifier circuit consists of 3 main parts:
• A transformer
• A resistive load
• A diode
Operation
1. During positive half cycle, the diode is forward biased and it
behaves as short circuit and is hence allowing current to pass
through.
2. During negative half cycle, the diode is reverse biased and it
behaves as open circuit and is hence not allowing current to pass
through.
Output waveform
Calculations
DC or average voltage:

By solving
RMS voltage:
Ripple factor
Rectification efficiency
Important questions
Long questions:
1. What is a rectifier? Give the classification of rectifiers. Describe
working operation of half wave rectifier.
2. Explain the operation of Half-wave rectifier with neat diagrams.
3. Derive the expressions for ripple factor and rectification efficiency
of half wave rectifier.
 LC-2
Full wave rectifier (center-tapped)
What is FWR?

1. A Full Wave Rectifier is an electronic circuit that converts the entire

AC (Alternating Current) input signal into DC (Direct Current)
output.

2. A full-wave rectifier utilizes both halves of the input sine wave.

Importance of FWR:
• Convert both halves of the AC cycle, making it more efficient than half
wave rectifier.
• It has more stable due to less ripple.
• Average output voltage is higher compared to half wave rectifier.
• It is used in power supply units, battery chargers, radios, etc.
Circuit diagram

A center-tapped full-wave rectifier

system consists of:

1.Centre-tapped Transformer
2.Two Diodes
3.Resistive Load
Working principle
1. We apply an AC voltage to the input transformer.
2. During the positive half-cycle of the AC voltage, terminal 1 will be
positive, center-tap will be at zero potential, and terminal 2 will be
negative potential. This will lead to forwarding bias in diode D1 and
cause current to flow through it. During this time, diode D2 is in
reverse bias and will block current through it.
3. During the negative half-cycle of the input AC voltage, terminal 2
will become positive relative to terminal 2 and center-tap. This will
lead to forwarding bias in diode D2 and cause current to flow
through it. During this time, diode D1 is in reverse bias and will block
current through it.
Output waveform
Derivations:
DC or average voltage:

By solving
RMS voltage:
Ripple factor
Ripple factor
Rectification efficiency
Important questions
• Long questions:
1. What is Full wave rectifier and its importance in electronics? Tell its
working operation with neat block diagram and waveforms.
2. Explain the operation of center tapped full wave rectifier with neat
diagram and waveforms.
3. Derive the expressions for ripple factor and rectification efficiency
of full wave rectifier and find those values.
4. A full-wave rectifier circuit has a load resistance of 2 kΩ and is fed
by a transformer secondary voltage of 20 V RMS. Assume ideal
diodes. Apply your understanding of full-wave rectifier operation to
draw the waveform of the output voltage, to calculate the average
and RMS value of the output voltage and the ripple factor.
Short questions:
1. Contrast full wave rectifier with half wave rectifier. Which one is
more suitable for rectification and why?
 LC-3
Full wave rectifier (Bridge rectifier)
Bridge rectifier

A Bridge Rectifier is a key type of full-wave rectifier that uses four

diodes arranged in a bridge configuration to convert AC (Alternating
Current) into DC (Direct Current) without requiring a center-tapped
transformer.
Importance of bridge rectifier
1. Design is simpler due to absence on center tapped transformer.
2. More stable DC output.
3. Less energy wasted.
4. It has high efficiency.
Circuit diagram

A full wave bridge rectifier system

consists of

1.Four Diodes ( A, B , C and D)

2.Resistive Load
Working principle:
1. We apply an AC across the bridge.
2. During the positive half-cycle, terminal 1 becomes positive, and
terminal 2 becomes negative.
3. This will cause the diodes A and C to become forward-biased, and
the current will flow through it. Meanwhile, diodes B and D will
become reverse-biased and block current through them.
4. During the negative half-cycle, terminal 1 will become negative, and
terminal 2 will become positive.
5. This will cause the diodes B and D to become forward-biased and
will allow current through them. At the same time, diodes A and C
will be reverse-biased and will block the current through them.
Waveform:
Derivations:
DC or average voltage:

By solving
RMS voltage:
Ripple factor
Ripple factor
Rectification efficiency
Difference between HWR and
FWR
Half Wave Rectifier (HWR) Full Wave Rectifier (FWR)

Uses only one half (positive or negative) of the AC

Uses both halves of the AC input signal.
input.

Efficiency =40.5% Efficiency = 81.2 %

More ripple in output because ripple factor is 1.21 Less ripples because ripple factor is 0.482

Uses two diodes (center-tap) or four diodes (bridge

Uses one diode.
type).
Difference between center-
tapped and bridge FWR
Center-Tapped Full Wave Rectifier Bridge Rectifier

Needs a center-tapped transformer. Does not require a center-tapped transformer.

Uses 2 diodes. Uses 4 diodes.

More expensive and bulky due to the center-tapped Cheaper and more compact as no center tap is
transformer. required.
Important questions
Long questions:
1. What is bridge rectifier and its importance in electronics? Tell its
working operation with neat block diagram and waveforms.
2. Show that the ripple factor for full wave rectifier without filters is
0.481 with necessary definitions and explanation.
3. A full-wave rectifier circuit has a load resistance of 2 kΩ and is fed
by a transformer secondary voltage of 20 V RMS. Assume ideal
diodes. Apply your understanding of full-wave rectifier operation to
draw the waveform of the output voltage, to calculate the average
and RMS value of the output voltage and the ripple factor.
Short questions:
1. Examine the role of bridge rectifier in electronics when compared to
half wave rectifier.
2. You are given with two rectifier circuits. One rectifier circuit is
having a ripple factor of 0.1 and the second one is having a ripple
factor of 0.481. Examine which circuit you prefer among them and
why?
PIV (Peak Inverse Voltage)

• It is the maximum voltage a diode can withstand in the reverse-

biased condition without breaking down or getting damaged.

Type of Rectifier PIV per Diode

Half Wave Rectifier PIV = Vm (peak input voltage)

Center-Tap Full Wave PIV = 2Vm per diode

Bridge Rectifier PIV = Vm per diode

 LC-4

Principle of capacitor filter, LC and CLC filters

What is filter?
• The device that converts Alternating Current (AC) into Direct Current
(DC) is referred to as rectifier.
• The output Direct Current (DC) produced by the full wave rectifier
contains large ripples.
• So, it is not suitable for practical applications.
• To overcome these problems, we use filters at the output.
• The filter is an electronic device that converts the pulsating Direct
Current into pure Direct Current.
Different types of filters
• There are three (3) different types of filters :

1. Capacitor filter

2. LC filter

3. CLC filter
Capacitor filter
1. The capacitor filter contains following components:
a) FWR
b) RL
c) Capacitor (C)
Working principle:
1. During the positive half cycle, the diode (D1) current reaches the
filter and charges the capacitor. However, the charging of the
capacitor happens only when the applied AC voltage is greater than
the capacitor voltage.
2. The capacitor stores a maximum charge exactly at the quarter
positive half cycle in the waveform. At this point, the supply voltage
is equal to the capacitor voltage.
3. When the AC voltage starts decreasing and becomes less than the
capacitor voltage, then the capacitor starts slowly discharging.
4. During the negative half cycle, the diode (D2) current reaches the
filter and charges the capacitor.
5. In both positive and negative half cycles, the current flows in the
same direction across the load resistor RL. So we get either complete
positive half cycles or negative half cycles.
Ripple voltage :

Ripple factor :

Where:
• f is the ripple frequency (twice the input AC frequency)
• C is the capacitance of the filter capacitor
• RL is the load resistance
• IDC average DC current
LC filter
1. The LC filter contains following components:
a) FWR
b) L
c) Capacitor (C)
d) RL
 Working principle
•AC input is given to the rectifier.

•The rectifier outputs pulsating DC (both half cycles used).

•The inductor resists sudden current changes — allowing smoother current to the load.

•The capacitor stores energy and maintains voltage when input drops.

•The result is a steady, smoothed DC output with minimal ripple.

•For Proper designing

Ripple voltage :

Ripple factor :

Where:
• f is the ripple frequency (twice the input AC frequency)
• C is the capacitance of the filter capacitor
• L is the load inductance
• IDC average DC current
CLC Filter or pi filter
1. The CLC filter contains following components:
a) FWR
D1
b) L
c) Capacitor (C1 and C2)

D2
• It consists of Capacitor filter followed by LC section filter.
• The combined action of capacitor filter and LC filter improves the DC
and eliminates ripples.

Ripple factor :
2 X c 2 X c1
  ripplefactor 
RL X L
Important questions:
Long questions:
1. Mention any three types of filters used in rectifiers to get DC
voltage and also mention their ripple factor expressions.
2. Explain the principle of capacitor and LC filters in rectifier circuits.
3. A 12 V DC output is required from a full-wave rectifier circuit with a
load resistance of 1 kΩ. To reduce the ripple voltage to 1 V peak-to-
peak, a capacitor filter is used. Apply the capacitor filter principle to
determine the minimum value of the capacitor required. Assume a
ripple frequency of 100 Hz. Also calculate ripple factor.
• Short questions:
1. Compare the performance of Capacitor filter with LC filter.