PE424UCR/ HWR/ Febr uar y 10, 2006 Hal f - wave di ode r ect i f i er

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APPLI CATI ONS OF DI ODES
Di odes are used i n so many ways t hat we wi l l not be abl e t o di scuss al l of t hem.
The maj or appl i cat i ons of t he di odes t hat are wi t hi n t he scope of t hi s book are
(a) Rect i f i ers
(b) Cl i ppers or Li mi t ers
(c) Cl amper s
(d) Vol t age Mul t i pl i ers
I n t he f ol l owi ng sect i ons, we wi l l di scuss t he appl i cat i on i n whi ch t he
di odes are used as rect i f i ers.
Most of t he l ow-power el ect roni c devi ces requi re a const ant (dc) vol t age
of about 15 V or l ess f or t hei r operat i on. The peak val ue of t he si ngl e-phase
vol t age source avai l abl e i n t he Uni t ed St at es i s about 170 V (havi ng 120-V as i t s
ef f ect i ve val ue) varyi ng wi t h a f requency of 60 Hz. Theref ore, i t may be
necessar y t o use a st ep-down t ransf ormer pri or t o i t s rect i f i cat i on. I n t he desi gn
of el ect roni cs ci rcui t s, i t pays t o assume t hat t he t ransf or mer, i f t her e i s any i n
t he ci rcui t , behaves al most as an i deal t ransf ormer.
The wi ndi ng of a t wo-wi ndi ng t ransf ormer t o whi ch t he si ngl e-phase
source i s connect ed i s usual l y ref er red t o as t he pri mary wi ndi ng, t he pri mary
si de, or t he i nput si de. The ot her wi ndi ng t o whi ch t he l oad i s connect ed i s
cal l ed t he secondary si de, t he secondary wi ndi ng, or t he output si de. I n a
st ep-down t ransf or mer , t he secondar y- wi ndi ng vol t age i s l ower t han t he pri mary-
wi ndi ng vol t age. I n an i deal t ransf ormer t he power i nput t o t he pri mary i s equal
t o t he power suppl i ed by t he secondary. Thus, t he current on t he secondary si de
i s hi gher t han t hat on t he pri mar y si de f or t he same power out put .
Let us use subscri pt 1 f or t he pri mar y and 2 f or t he secondary. Then, t he
vol t age cur rent rel at i ons f or an i deal t ransf or mer are gi ven as
a
N
N
I
I
V
V
2
1
1
2
2
1
= = = (1)
where , I , V
1 1
and
1
N are t he vol t age, cur rent , and t he number of t urns on t he
pri mar y si de. Li kewi se, , I , V
2 2
and
2
N are t he vol t age, current , and t he number of
t urns on t he secondar y si de. The rat i o of t he t urns N
1
/N
2
i s usual l y ref er red t o
PE424UCR/ HWR/ Febr uar y 10, 2006 Hal f - wave di ode r ect i f i er
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as t he transf ormati on rati o, t urns rat i o, or si mpl y t he a- rati o. I t i s denot ed by
t he l ower- case l et t er such t hat a = N
1
/N
2
. However, nei t her t he number of t urns
nor t he t urns rat i o i s speci f i ed by t he manuf act urer. I t i s general l y assumed t hat
t he t urns rat i o i s t he r at i o of t he nomi nal vol t ages such t hat a = V
1
/V
2
.

RECTI FI ERS
Si nce t he easi l y avai l abl e vol t age i s a si nusoi d, whi ch al t ernat es as a f unct i on of
t i me, t he f i rst t ask i s t o convert i t i nt o a usef ul and rel i abl e const ant (dc) vol t age
f or t he successf ul oper at i on of el ect roni c ci rcui t s and di rect - cur rent machi nes.
The conversi on process i s cal l ed t he recti fi cati on. Al t hough t here are ot her
semi conduct or devi ces sui t abl e f or rect i f i cat i on, di odes are f requent l y empl oyed.
A si ngl e-phase vol t age i s convert ed i nt o a uni di rect i onal vol t age usi ng a
si ngl e di ode f or a hal f - wave rect i f i cat i on, and 2 or 4 di odes f or a f ul l -wave
rect i f i cat i on. The maxi mum val ue of a rect i f i ed vol t age i s equal t o t he maxi mum
val ue of t he i nput t i me-varyi ng vol t age mi nus t he f or ward vol t age dr op across
each di ode i n t he rect i f yi ng ci rcui t .

Hal f - Wave Recti f i er
The hal f -wave rect i f i er ci rcui t wi t h a st ep-down t ransf or mer i s gi ven i n Fi gure-1.
On t he posi t i ve hal f -cycl e of t he secondar y vol t age, t he di ode i s f or ward bi ased
as l ong as t he secondary vol t age i s great er t han t he f orward-vol t age drop of t he
di ode. For our di scussi on, l et us assume t hat t he di ode i s i deal i n t he sense t hat
i t begi ns conduct i on when t he secondar y vol t age becomes posi t i ve and conduct s
as l ong as i t st ays posi t i ve. Thus, t he di ode conduct s dur i ng t he posi t i ve hal f -
cycl e of t he secondary vol t age.
Let us assume t hat t he pri mar y wi ndi ng vol t age i s
) ft 2 sin( V ) t ( v
PM P
= V, (2)
where
PM
V i s i t s maxi mum val ue, = 2f i s t he angul ar f requency ( rad/ s), f =
1/T i s t he f requency ( Hz), and T i s t he t i me peri od (s). Not e t hat = 2 T .
PE424UCR/ HWR/ Febr uar y 10, 2006 Hal f - wave di ode r ect i f i er
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(a) Hal f -wave rect i f i er usi ng a t wo- wi ndi ng t ransf ormer

(b) Ci rcui t of a hal f - wave r ect i f i er wi t hout a t ransf ormer
Fi gure-1: Hal f -wave recti fi er

Si nce t he t ransf ormat i on rat i o i s gi ven as a, t he maxi mum val ue of t he
secondary- wi ndi ng vol t age i s

a
V
V
PM
SM
= (3)
The secondary- wi ndi ng vol t age i s
) ft 2 sin( V ) t ( v
SM S
= V. (4)
A sket ch of t he secondary-wi ndi ng vol t age i s gi ven i n Fi gure-2.
Dur i ng t he negat i ve hal f - cycl e of t he secondary-wi ndi ng vol t age, t he
di ode i s reversed bi ased and t he i deal di ode behaves as an open swi t ch. As a
resul t , t he out put vol t age i s zero. I n ot her words, t he di ode al l ows t he posi t i ve
hal f of t he secondary vol t age t o appear across t he resi st i ve l oad R and bl ocks
t he negat i ve hal f as shown i n Fi gure-3. Such a wavef orm i s ref erred t o as t he
hal f -wave recti f i ed vol tage. The out put vol t age f or one cycl e i s

=
2 t 0
t 0 ) t sin( V
) t ( v
SM
O
(5)

PE424UCR/ HWR/ Febr uar y 10, 2006 Hal f - wave di ode r ect i f i er
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Fi gure-2: I nput (or secondary wi ndi ng) vol t age of a hal f -wave recti fi er

Fi gure-3: Out put vol t age of a hal f -wave recti fi er

Our ai m was t o obt ai n a const ant (dc) vol t age: The hal f -wave rect i f i er has
produced a uni di rect i onal pul sat i ng vol t age havi ng a maxi mum val ue of
SM
V and
a mi ni mum val ue of zero. The di f f erence bet ween t he maxi mum and t he mi ni mum
val ues i s cal l ed t he peak-t o- peak ri ppl e vol t age. Thus, t he peak-t o-peak ri ppl e
vol t age f or t he hal f - wave rect i f i er i s

SM min max PP
V V V V = = (6)
The peak-t o-peak ri ppl e i s of t en expressed i n t er ms of percent ri ppl e as
100
V
V
VR %
max
PP
|
|

\
|
= (7)
I n t hi s case, percent vol t age r i ppl e i s 100%.
The vol t age r i ppl e i s i ndi cat i ve of harmoni cs i n an out put si gnal . The
st rengt h of each har moni c i s det ermi ned usi ng t he Fouri er seri es anal ysi s.
PE424UCR/ HWR/ Febr uar y 10, 2006 Hal f - wave di ode r ect i f i er
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For some appl i cat i ons such as dc mot ors, t he hi gh r i ppl e i n t he appl i ed
vol t age may be t ol erabl e. However, i t i s def i ni t el y undesi rabl e f or semi conduct or
devi ces such as ampl i f i ers. For such appl i cat i ons, we need t o i nsert a f i l t er
bet ween t he rect i f i er and t he l oad.
The dc out put vol tage across R i s
dt ) t sin( V
T
1
V
T
0
SM DC , O
=

SM
SM
V 318 . 0
V

= (8)
The dc out put vol t age i s about 31. 8% of i t s maxi mum val ue. The ci r cui t
onl y needs one di ode wi t h a peak- i nverse vol t age rat i ng great er t han
SM
V .
The average l oad current for t he resi sti ve l oad i s
R
V 318 . 0
R
V
R
V
I
SM SM
DC , O
DC , O

= = (9)
The ef fecti ve (rms) val ue of t he output vol t age
( ) ( )

=
2 / T
0
2
M RMS , O
dt t sin V
T
1
V

SM
V 5 . 0 = (10)
The t otal average power di ssi pat ed by R i s
( )
R
V 5 . 0
R
V
P
2
SM
2
RMS , O
R
= = (11)
The power suppl i ed by the source ) t ( v
S
i s al so equal t o t he t ot al average
power consumed by t he l oad as l ong as t he di ode and t he t ransf or mer are i deal .

R IN
P P = (12)
Al t hough t he power f act or i s def i ned f or ci rcui t s exci t ed by si nusoi dal
sources, t he def i ni t i on i s al so appl i cabl e t o ci rcui t s wi t h nonsi nusoi dal current s.
The power f act or, f rom (12), i s

RMS , S RMS , S
R
I V
P
pf = (13)
PE424UCR/ HWR/ Febr uar y 10, 2006 Hal f - wave di ode r ect i f i er
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where
SM RMS , S
V 707 . 0 V = i s t he ef f ect i ve (r ms) source vol t age,
RMS , S
I i s t he
ef f ect i ve source current , and pf i s t he power f act or.
I f t here are no l osses i n t he t ransf or mer and t he di ode i s i deal , t he t ot al
power del i vered t o t he l oad i s equal t o t he power suppl i ed by t he source. Thus,

( )
R
V 5 . 0
P P
2
SM
R IN
= = (14)
For a hal f - wave rect i f i er, t he source cur rent i s t he same as t he l oad
cur rent . Furt hermore, t he ef f ect i ve val ue of t he source cur rent , f or a resi st i ve
l oad, may be comput ed f rom t he ef f ect i ve val ue of t he source vol t age. That i s,

R
V 5 . 0
R
V
I
SM
RMS , O
RMS , O
= = (15)
Consequent l y, t he ef f ect i ve val ue of t he sour ce cur rent i s

R
V 5 . 0
I I
SM
RMS , O RMS , S
= = (16)
Fi nal l y, f rom (13), (14) , and (16) , t he power f act or i s
707 . 0 pf = (17)
Remember t hat t he power f act or i s uni t y when a si nusoi dal sour ce
est abl i shes a si nusoi dal current i n a resi st i ve l oad. I t i s t he nonsi nusoi dal
cur rent t hat i s responsi bl e f or l oweri ng t he power f act or f rom uni t y t o 0. 707.
The dc power (component of t he t ot al average power ) del i vered t o t he
l oad i s
( )
R
V 318 . 0
R
V
R
V
P
2
SM
2
2
SM
2
DC , O
DC , O

= = (18)
The rat i o of t he dc power del i vered t o t he l oad t o t he apparent power
avai l abl e at t he l oad i s def i ned as t he recti fi cati on ef fi ci ency.
For t he hal f -wave rect i f i er, t he rect i f i cat i on ef f i ci ency, f rom (14) and (18),
i s
% 5 . 40 or 405 . 0
4
I V
P
2
rms , O rms , O
DC , O
=

= = (19)
Rect i f i cat i on ef f i ci ency i s a measure of t he ef f ect i veness of a rect i f i er i n
ut i l i zi ng t he t ot al apparent power avai l abl e at t he l oad as usef ul dc power.
PE424UCR/ HWR/ Febr uar y 10, 2006 Hal f - wave di ode r ect i f i er
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EXAMPLE 1 __________________________________________________
An i deal 120/ 24-V, 60- Hz, st ep-down t ransf or mer i s used f or t he hal f -wave
rect i f i cat i on process. I f t he pr i mary-wi ndi ng vol t age i s ) t sin( 170 ) t ( v
P
= V and
t he l oad resi st ance i s 20 , det ermi ne t he peak-t o-peak ri ppl e vol t age, dc power
out put , and t he t ot al power di ssi pat ed by t he resi st or. Det er mi ne t he rect i f i cat i on
rat i o and t he power f act or. Wri t e an expressi on f or t he pri mar y- wi ndi ng cur rent .
Sel ect a di ode usi ng a saf et y f act or of 2.
Sol uti on:
From t he nomi nal vol t age rat i ngs of t he t ransf ormer, i t s t urns- rat i o i s
5
24
120
a = =
Thus, t he maxi mum val ue of t he secondar y wi ndi ng vol t age ) t ( v
S
i s
34
5
170
V
SM
= = V
An expressi on f or t he secondary- wi ndi ng vol t age i s
) t sin( 34 ) t ( v
S
= V, 2 t 0
The vol t age across and t he cur rent t hrough t he 20- resi st or, respect i vel y, are

=
2 t 0
t 0 V ) t sin( 34
) t ( v
O

and

= =
2 t 0
t 0 A ) t sin( 7 . 1
20
) t ( v
) t ( i
0
O

From (6), t he peak-t o- peak ri ppl e vol t age i s
34 V
PP
= V
The dc vol t age across t he 20- resi st or , f rom (8), i s
823 . 10
34 V
V
SM
DC , O
=

= V
The cor respondi ng dc cur rent t hrough t he 20- resi st or i s
541 . 0
20
823 . 10
R
V
I
DC , O
DC , O
= = = A
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The dc component of t he t ot al power del i vered t o t he 20- resi st or i s
855 . 5 541 . 0 823 . 10 I V P
DC , O DC , O DC , O
= = = W

v t ( )
t
0 1.58 3.15 4.72 6.3
50
40
30
20
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
Applied Source Voltage


v
o
t ( )
t
0 1.58 3.15 4.72 6.3
0
10
20
30
40
50
The Output Voltage across R


The ef f ect i ve (r ms) val ue of t he out put vol t age i s
17 34 5 . 0 V 5 . 0 V
SM RMS , O
= = = V
The r ms l oad current i s
85 . 0
20
17
R
V
I
RMS , O
RMS , O
= = = A
The t ot al power di ssi pat ed by t he 20- resi st or i s
45 . 14
20
17
R
V
P
2
2
RMS , O
R
= = = W
The power suppl i ed by t he secondar y wi ndi ng i s al so 14. 45 W because t he di ode
and t he t ransf or mer ar e assumed as i deal ci r cui t el ement s.
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The rect i f i cat i on rat i o i s
405 . 0
85 . 0 17
855 . 5
I V
P
rms , O rms , O
DC , O
=

= = or 40. 5%
The ef f ect i ve val ues of t he secondar y wi ndi ng vol t age and cur rent ar e
04 . 24
2
34
V
RMS , S
= = V
85 . 0 I I
RMS , O RMS , S
= = A
Hence, t he power f act or i s
707 . 0
85 . 0 04 . 24
45 . 14
I V
P
pf
RMS , S RMS , S
R
=

= =
Si nce t he secondar y- wi ndi ng cur rent i s t he same as t he out put cur r ent , t he
pri mar y- wi ndi ng current , f rom (1), i s
) t ( i 2 . 0
a
) t ( i
) t ( i
O
O
P
= =
Thus, t he pri mar y- wi ndi ng cur rent i s

=
2 t 0
t 0 A ) t sin( 34 . 0
) t ( i
P

The average (dc) rect i f i ed cur rent t hrough t he di ode i s 0. 54 A. I t s peak-i nver se-
vol t age i s 34 V. Usi ng a saf et y f act or of 2, we need a di ode wi t h an average
cur rent rat i ng of nearl y 1. 08 A and a peak- i nverse-vol t age rat i ng of 68 V. Let us
sel ect 1N4002 di ode f or our appl i cat i on. I t has an average rect i f i ed f orward
cur rent rat i ng of 1 A, and a peak repet i t i ve reverse vol t age rat i ng of 100 V.
There are ot her usef ul def i ni t i ons t hat are commonl y used i n expl ai ni ng t he
operat i on of a rect i f i er . Some of t hem are def i ned as f ol l ows:
Transformer Uti l i zati on Factor: I t i s a rat i o of t he dc power del i vered t o t he
l oad t o t he apparent power i nput . I t i s al so cal l ed as t he power uti l i zati on
fact or and i s gi ven as
2865 . 0
85 . 0 04 . 24
855 . 5
I V
P
TUF
RMS , S RMS , S
DC , O
=

= = or 28. 65%

PE424UCR/ HWR/ Febr uar y 10, 2006 Hal f - wave di ode r ect i f i er
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Form factor: I t i s t he r at i o of t he rms and dc component s of t he out put cur rent .
That i s,
57 . 1
541 . 0
85 . 0
I
I
FF
DC , O
RMS , O
= = =
Ri ppl e factor: I t i s def i ned as t he rat i o of t he rms val ue of t he ac component s of
t he out put cur rent t o t he dc component of t he cur rent . That i s

1 FF
I
I I
I
I
RF
2
2
DC , O
2
DC , O
2
RMS , O
DC , O
AC , O
=

= =
For our exampl e, t he r i ppl e f act or i s
21 . 1 1 57 . 1 RF
2
= =
Not e t hat t he f or m f act or and t he r i ppl e f act or can al so be def i ned i n t er ms of
t he out put vol t age i nst ead of t he out put cur rent . I n addi t i on, t hese quant i t i es can
al so be def i ned on t he i nput si de when t he i nput vol t age and/ or curr ent are not
si nusoi ds.