RECTIFIER

• Rectifier circuit converts AC to DC; the process is known as rectification

• Types of rectifier

 Half wave rectifier

 Full wave rectifier
Half Wave Rectifier
• Converts only one-half of the AC input signal to DC output signal.
• Conducts only the positive half cycle of the input AC signal.
• Negative half cycle is suppressed or clipped.
• Therefore, current always flows in one direction through the load
after every half-cycle.
• During the positive half-cycle of input A.C. voltage, the diode is
forward biased and hence it conducts current.
• During the negative half-cycle, the diode is reverse 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.
Disadvantages of Half Wave Rectifier
• Power is delivered only for one-half of the cycle; therefore, power output is
low.
• The DC output power thus produced is not sufficient to make general
power supply.
• 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.

Output frequency of Half Wave Rectifier

• Output frequency is equal to input frequency.
• fout=fin
Full Wave Rectifier
• Both half of the input AC signal is passed to the load but they have the
same direction.
• Two diodes are put into use alternatingly.
• Each half cycle activates only one of the two diodes.
• 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 utilizes both half-cycles of input A.C. voltage
to produce the D.C. output.
The following two circuits are commonly used for full-wave rectification: -
(i) Centre-tap full-wave rectifier (ii) Full-wave bridge rectifier
 Full Wave Rectifier

Centre Tapped Full wave Rectifier

Output frequency of Full Wave Rectifier

• Output frequency is equal to double of input frequency.
• fout= 2 fin
 Full Wave Rectifier- Centre Tapped
• Two diodes are present with centre tap transformer.
• D1 conducts in positive half; D2 conducts in negative half of the input
signal.
• Current through load has same direction for both cycle.
• It may be seen that current in the load RL is in the same direction for
both half-cycles of input A.C. voltage. Therefore, D.C. is obtained
across the load RL.
 Advantages of Full Wave Rectifier- Centre Tapped
•The D.C. output voltage and load current values are twice than that of a half wave
rectifier.
•The ripple factor is much less (0.482) than that of half rectifier (1.21).
•The efficiency is twice (81.2%) than that of half wave rectifier (40.6%).

Disadvantages of Full Wave Rectifier- Centre Tapped

•It is difficult to locate the centre tap on the secondary winding.
•The D.C. output is small as each diode utilizes only one-half of the transformer
secondary voltage.
•The diodes used must have high peak inverse voltage.
Full Wave Rectifier- Bridge Rectifier

• Four diodes are present which form a bridge.

• D1 and D3 conducts in first half while D2 and D4 are off.
• D2 and D4 conducts in second half while D1 and D3 are off.
• Current through load has same direction for both cycle.
Full Wave Rectifier- Bridge Rectifier
ADVANTAGES of Bridge Rectifier
• Need for centre tapped power transformer is eliminated.
• Output is twice of centre tap circuit.
• The PIV is one-half that of the centre-tap circuit (for same D.C.
output).
DISADVANTAGES of Bridge Rectifier
• Requires four diodes.
Rectifier Efficiency
Half Wave Rectifier

The output current is pulsating direct current. Therefore, in order to find D.C. power, average current has to be found out.

The A.C. power input is given by For a half-wave rectified wave,

Max. Rectifier Efficiency for HALF WAVE Rectifier = 40.6%, if rf << RL

Also, Vrms = Vm/2 for Half Wave and For Full Wave Rectifier Irms = Im/√2 and Vrms = Vm/√2
Full Wave Rectifier

The efficiency will be maximum if rf is negligible as compared to RL. ∴ Maximum 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.
 Ripple Factor
 The output of a rectifier consists of a d.c. component and an a.c. component (also known as ripple).
 The a.c. component is undesirable and accounts for the pulsations in the rectifier output.
 The effectiveness of a rectifier depends upon the magnitude of a.c. component in the output; the smaller this
component, the more effective is the rectifier.
 Ripple mean unwanted ac signal present in the rectified output.
The ratio of R.M.S. value of A.C. component to the D.C. component in the rectifier output is known as ripple factor i.e.

For Voltage, Ripple factor= and Ripple = Ripple factor × 100%

The R.M.S. value of total load current is given by
For half-wave:

For full-wave:

Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) : -

•The maximum value of reverse voltage occurs at the peak of the input cycle, which is equal to Vm.
•This maximum reverse voltage is called peak inverse voltage (PIV). Thus the PIV of diode : -
For Half Wave = Vm., b) For Center Tapped =2Vm and c) For Bridge Rectifier = Vm .
Average Value of Voltage & Current
For half-wave: Vdc = Vm/π = 0.318 Vm and Idc = Im/π = 0.318 Im

For full-wave: Vdc = 2Vm/π = 0.636 Vm and Idc = 2Im/π = 0.636 Im

 Ripple (r)

Ripple Voltage (Vr) and DC Voltage (VDC)

PROBLEM 1:
Using a dc and ac voltmeter to measure the output signal from a filter circuit, we obtain
readings of 25 V dc and 1.5 V rms. Calculate the ripple of the filter output voltage.

PROBLEM 2:
Calculate the ripple voltage of a full-wave rectifier with a 100-mF filter capacitor connected
to a load drawing 50 mA.

PROBLEM 3:
If the peak rectified voltage for the filter circuit of previous problem is 30 V, calculate the
filter dc voltage.
PROBLEM 4:
A dc voltage supply provides 60 V when the output is unloaded. When connected to a load,
the output drops to 56 V. Calculate the value of voltage regulation.
 SOLUTION 1:

SOLUTION 2:

SOLUTION 3:

SOLUTION 4:
 FILTER
• 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 offers infinite reactance to d.c.
We Know that XC= 1/2πfC. But for D.C., f = 0.
XC= 1/2πfC = 1/ 2π x 0 x C = ∞ (Means Capacitor shows infinite reactance to DC)
Hence, a Capacitor does not allow d.c. to pass through it.

 For inductor (L),

We know XL= 2πfL. For d.c., f = 0

XL = 2π x 0 x L = 0 (Means Inductor shows zero reactance to DC)
Hence Inductor passes d.c. quite readily.

A Capacitor passes A.C. 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.
 TYPES OF FILTER
• CAPACITOR FILTER

 A capacitor C is placed across the rectifieroutput 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 [Point A in Fig. (iii)], 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 decreases as shown by the line AB in Fig. (iii).
 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 and the output voltage waveform becomes ABCDEFG. It may be seen that
very little ripple is left in the output.
 The capacitor filter circuit is extremely popular because of its low cost, small size, little weight and good
characteristics.
 • INDUCTOR FILTER

• Here, we can see a typical Inductive filter circuit. It consists of an Inductor L placed across the rectifieroutput in series
with load RL .
• The Inductor offers high opposition to the passage of a.c. component but noopposition to the d.c. component.
• The result is that most of the a.c. component appears across the inductor while whole of d.c. componentpasses through the
inductor on its way to load. This results in the reduced pulsations at Load resistance RL.
• LC FILTER

(Rectified output Pulsating d.c) (LC Filter Circuit) (Output of LC Filter)

An LC filter c i r c ui t consists of an inductor 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 inductor 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 inductor while whole of d.c. component passes through the
inductor 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 inductor.
 Now, the low reactance of filter capacitor bypasses the a.c. 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.
• π-FILTER

 A typical capacitor input filter or π-filter consists of a filter capacitor C1 connected across the rectifier
output, an inductor L in series and another filter capacitor C2 connected across the load.
 Only one filter section is shown but several identical sections are often used to improve the smoothing
action. The pulsating output from the rectifier is applied across the input terminals 1 & 2 of the filter.
 The filtering action of the three components viz C1 , L and C2 of this filter is described below :
(a) The filter capacitor C1 offers low reactance to a.c. component of rectifier output while it offers infinite
reactance to the d.c. component. Therefore, capacitor C1 bypasses an appreciable amount of a.c. component
while the d.c. component continues its journey to the inductor L.
(b) The inductor L offers high reactance to the a.c. component but it offers almost zero reactance to the
d.c. component. Therefore, it allows the d.c. component to flow through it, while the un bypassed a.c.
component is blocked.
The filter capacitor C2 bypasses the a.c. component which the inductor has failed to block. Therefore, only d.c.
component appears across the load.
 •ZENER BREAKDOWN:-
A properly doped crystal diode which has a sharp breakdown voltage is known as a Zener Diode.

•When the reverse bias on a crystal diode is increased, a critical voltage, called breakdown voltage is reached
where the reverse current increases sharply to a high value.
•The breakdown region is the knee of the reverse characteristic as shown in Figure.
•The satisfactory explanation of this breakdown of the junction was first given by the American scientist C. Zener.
•The breakdown voltage is sometimes called Zener Voltage and the sudden increase in current is known as Zener
Current. The breakdown or Zener voltage depends upon the amount of doping. If the diode is heavily doped,
depletion layer will be thin and consequently 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.
 PROPERTIES OF ZENER DIODE:-
 The following points may be noted about the Zener diode:
 A Zener diode is like an ordinary diode except that it is properly doped to have a sharp breakdown voltage. A Zener diode is
always reverse connected i.e. it is always reverse biased. A Zener diode has sharp breakdown voltage, called Zener voltage
VZ.
 When forward biased, its characteristics are just those of ordinary diode.
 The Zener diode is not immediately burnt just because it has entered 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.
Zener diode operated in this region will have a relatively constant voltage across it, regardless of the value of current through the
device. This permits the Zener diode to be used as a Voltage Regulator.

•WORKING/OPERATION OF ZENER BREAKDOWN:-

•When the reverse voltage across the pn junction diode increases, the electric field across the diode junction increases (both
internal & external).
•This results in a force of attraction on the negatively charged electrons at junction.
•This force frees electrons from its covalent bond and moves those free electrons to conduction band. When the electric field
increases (with applied voltage), more and more electrons are freed from its covalent bonds.
•This results in drifting of electrons across the junction and electron hole recombination occurs. So a net current is developed
and it increases rapidly with increase in electric field. Zener breakdown phenomena occurs in a pn junction diode with heavy
doping & thin junction (means depletion layer width is very small).
•Zener breakdown does not result in damage of diode since current is only due to drifting of electrons, there is a limit to the increase in
current as well.
 VOLTAGE REGULATOR

SERIES VOLTAGE REGULATOR

SERIES REGULATOR CIRCUIT

Transistor Q1 is the series control element, and Zener diode DZ provides the reference voltage.
1. If the output voltage decreases, the increased base-emitter voltage causes transistor Q1 to
conduct more, thereby raising the output voltage—maintaining the output constant.
2. If the output voltage increases, the decreased base-emitter voltage causes transistor Q1 to
conduct less, thereby reducing the output voltage—maintaining the output constant.
PROBLEM: Calculate the output voltage and the Zener current in the regulator circuit of Figure for RL = 1 k.

SOLUTION:
 IMPROVED SERIES REGULATOR CIRCUIT

Resistors R1 and R2 act as a sampling circuit, with Zener diode DZ providing a reference voltage, and transistor Q2 then
controls the base current to transistor Q1 to vary the current passed by transistor Q1 to maintain the output voltage
constant.
If the output voltage tries to increase, the increased voltage, V2 , sampled by R1 and R2 , causes the base-emitter voltage
of transistor Q2 to go up (since V Z remains fixed).
If Q2 conducts more current, less goes to the base of transistor Q1 , which then passes less current to the load, reducing
the output voltage—thereby maintaining the output voltage constant.
The opposite takes place if the output voltage tries to decrease, causing less current to be supplied to the load, to keep the
voltage from decreasing.
The voltage V2 provided by sensing resistors R1 and R2 must equal the sum of the base emitter voltage of Q2 and the
Zener diode, that is,
 Solving the above equation for the regulated output voltage Vo gives

PROBLEM:
What regulated output voltage is provided by the circuit of improved series regulator circuit
for the circuit elements R1 = 20 k, R2 = 30 k, and VZ = 8.3 V?
SOLUTION: The regulated output voltage VO is
 OPERATIONALAMPLIFIERS

• Op-amps are integrated circuits composed of many transistors & resistors such that the
resulting circuit follows a certain set of rules.
• The most common type of op-amp is the voltage feedback type.

• There are two input pins (non-inverting and inverting), an output pin, and two power
pins.
• The ideal op-amp has infinite gain. It amplifies the voltage differencebetween the two
inputs and that voltage appears at the output.
• It has high input impedance and low output impedance.
• Without feedback this op-amp would act like a comparator (i.e. when the non-
inverting input is at a higher voltage than the inverting input the output will be high,
when the inputs are reversed the output will be low).
 NON-INVERTING AMPLIFIER:

• No current flows into the input, Rin = ∞

• The output adjusts to bring Vin- to the same voltage as Vin+.
• Therefore Vin- = Vin and since no current flows into Vin- the same current must flow through R1
& R2.
• Vout is therefore VR1 + VR2 = Vin- + IR2 = Vin- + (Vin/R1)R2.
 Op-Amp SERIES REGULATOR CIRCUIT

The op-amp compares the Zener diode reference voltage with the feedback voltage from sensing resistors R1 and R2 . If the
output voltage varies, the conduction of transistor Q1 is controlled to maintain the output voltage constant. The output
voltage will be maintained at a value of
PROBLEM: Calculate the regulated output voltage in the circuit
SHUNT VOLTAGE REGULATOR

• A shunt voltage regulator provides regulation by shunting current away from the load to regulate the
output voltage.
• Figure shows the block diagram of such a voltage regulator. The input unregulated voltage provides
current to the load.
• Some of the current is pulled away by the control element to maintain the regulated output voltage across
the load.
• If the load voltage tries to change due to a change in the load, the sampling circuit provides a feedback
signal to a comparator, which then provides a control signal to vary the amount of the current shunted
away from the load.
• As the output voltage tries to get larger, for example, the sampling circuit provides a feedback signal to the
comparator circuit, which then provides a control signal to draw increased shunt current, providing less
load current, thereby keeping the regulated voltage from rising.
BASIC TRANSISTOR SHUNT VOLTAGE REGULATOR

• A simple shunt regulator circuit is shown.

• Resistor RS drops the unregulated voltage by an amount that depends on the current supplied to the load, RL.
• The voltage across the load is set by the Zener diode and transistor base-emitter voltage.
• If the load resistance decreases, a reduced drive current to the base of Q1 results, shunting less collector current.
• The load current is thus larger, thereby maintaining the regulated voltage across the load.
• The output voltage to the load is
PROBLEM: Determine the regulated voltage and circuit currents for the shunt regulator of

SOLUTION:
IMPROVED SHUNT VOLTAGE REGULATOR

• The circuit of Figure shows an improved shunt voltage regulator circuit.

• The Zener diode provides a reference voltage so that the voltage across R1 senses the output
voltage.
• As the output voltage tries to change, the current shunted by transistor Q1 is varied to maintain
the output voltage constant.
• Transistor Q2 provides a larger base current to transistor Q1 than the circuit of Figure, so that the
regulator handles a larger load current.
• The output voltage is set by the Zener voltage and that across the two transistor base–emitters,
SHUNT VOLTAGE REGULATOR USING OP-AMP

• Figure shows another version of a shunt voltage regulator using an op-amp as voltage
comparator.
• The Zener voltage is compared to the feedback voltage obtained from voltage divider R1
and R2 to provide the control drive current to shunt element Q1.
• The current through resistor RS is thus controlled to drop a voltage across RS so that the
output voltage is maintained.
 IC VOLTAGE REGULATOR

• Regulator IC units contain the circuitry for reference source, comparator amplifier, control device, and overload protection
all in a single IC.
• IC units provide regulation of either a fixed positive voltage, a fixed negative voltage, or an adjustably set voltage.
• The regulators can be selected for operation with load currents from hundreds of milliamperes to tens of amperes,
corresponding to power ratings from milliwatts to tens of watts.

Three-Terminal Voltage Regulators

• Figure shows the basic connection of a
three-terminal voltage regulator IC to a
load.
• The fixed voltage regulator has an
unregulated dc input voltage V i
applied to one input terminal, a
regulated output dc voltage V o from a
second terminal, and the third
terminal connected to ground.

• For a selected regulator, IC device specifications list a voltage range over which the input voltage can vary to maintain a
regulated output voltage over a range of load current.
• The specifications also list the amount of output voltage change resulting from a change in load current (load
regulation) or in input voltage (line regulation).
Fixed-Positive-Voltage Regulators
• The series 78 regulators provide fixed regulated voltages from 5 V to 24 V.
• Figure shows how one such IC, a 7812, is connected to provide voltage regulation with output from this unit of 12 V dc.
• An unregulated input voltage V i is filtered by capacitor C1 and connected to the IC’s IN terminal.
• The IC’s OUT terminal provides a regulated 12 V, which is filtered by capacitor C2 (mostly for any high-frequency noise).
The third IC terminal is connected to ground (GND).
• Whereas the input voltage may vary over some permissible voltage range and the output load may vary over some
acceptable range, the output voltage remains constant within specified voltage variation limits.
• These limitations are spelled out in the manufacturer’s specification sheets. A table of positive-voltage regulator ICs is
provided in Table.
Fixed-Negative-Voltage Regulators
• The series 7900 ICs provide negative-voltage regulators, similar to those providing positive voltages.
• A list of negative-voltage regulator ICs is provided in Table. As shown, IC regulators are available for a range of fixed negative
voltages, the selected IC providing the rated output voltage as long as the input voltage is maintained greater than the
minimum input value.
• For example, the 7912 provides an output of -12 V as long as the input to the regulator IC is more negative than -14.6 V.
• The connection of a 7812 in a complete voltage supply is shown in the connection of Fig. 15.27 . The ac line voltage (120 V
rms) is stepped down to 18 V rms across each half of the center-tapped transformer. A full-wave rectifier and capacitor filter
then provides an unregulated dc voltage, shown as a dc voltage of about 22 V, with ac ripple of a few volts as input to the
voltage regulator. The 7812 IC then provides an output that is a regulated 12 V dc.
SMPS
• SMPS is Switched Mode Power Supply.
• SMPS is an electronic power supply system that makes use of a switching regulator to transfer electrical power effectively. It
is a PSU (power supply unit) and is usually used in computers to change the voltage to the appropriate range for the
computer.
• An SMPS adjusts output voltage and current between different electrical configurations by switching the basics of typically
lossless storage such as capacitors and inductors.
• Ideal switching concepts determined by transistors controlled outside of their active state that have no resistance when ‘on’
and carry no current when ‘off.’ It is the idea why switches with an ideal function will operate with 100 per cent output, that
is, all input energy is provided to the load; no power is wasted as dissipated heating. In fact, such ideal systems do not exist,
which is why a switching power source can not be 100 per cent proficient, but it is still a vital improvement in effectiveness
over a linear regulator.
A Switch-Mode Power Supply (SMPS) is a power supply unit that uses switching regulators to convert electrical power
efficiently. Unlike traditional linear power supplies, which use linear regulation to maintain a stable output voltage, SMPSs
use high-frequency switching and energy storage components like inductors and capacitors to achieve voltage regulation.

Key features of SMPS include:

1. Efficiency: SMPSs are typically more efficient than linear power supplies, often achieving efficiencies of 80% or higher.
This efficiency is due to reduced power dissipation and less heat generation.
2. Compact Size: Due to their efficiency and the use of high-frequency switching, SMPSs can be much smaller and lighter
than linear power supplies.
3. Wide Input Range: They can handle a wide range of input voltages, making them versatile for various applications.
4. Regulation: They provide stable output voltages with minimal fluctuation, even when the input voltage or load changes.

SMPSs are commonly used in computers, telecommunications equipment, and many electronic devices due to their
reliability and efficiency.