Bridge Rectifier Circuit with Working Operation and Their Types

Bridge Rectifier
A bridge rectifier circuit is a common part of the electronic power supplies. Many electronic circuits require rectified
DC power supply for powering the various electronic basic components from available AC mains supply. We can find this
rectifier in a wide variety of electronic AC power devices like home appliances, motor controllers, modulation process,
welding applications, etc.
What is a Bridge Rectifier?

A Bridge rectifier is an Alternating Current (AC) to Direct Current (DC) converter that rectifies mains AC input to DC output.
Bridge Rectifiers are widely used in power supplies that provide necessary DC voltage for the electronic components
or devices. They can be constructed with four or more diodes or any other controlled solid state switches.
Depending on the load current requirements, a proper bridge rectifier is selected. Components’ ratings and
specifications, breakdown voltage, temperature ranges, transient current rating, forward current rating, mounting
requirements and other considerations are taken into account while selecting a rectifier power supply for an
appropriate electronic circuit’s application.
Types of Bridge Rectifiers

Bride rectifiers are classified into several types based on these factors: type of supply, controlling capability, bride
circuit’s configurations, etc. Bridge rectifiers are mainly classified into single and three phase rectifiers. Both these
types are further classified into uncontrolled, half controlled and full controlled rectifiers. Some of these types of
rectifiers are described below.

1. Single Phase and Three Phase Rectifiers

Single Phase and Three Phase Rectifiers

The nature of supply, i.e., a single phase or three-phase supply decides these rectifiers. The Single phase bridge
rectifier consists of four diodes for converting AC into DC, whereas a three phase rectifier uses six diodes, as shown in
the figure. These can be again uncontrolled or controlled rectifiers depending on the circuit components such as
diodes, thyristors, and so on.
2. Uncontrolled Bridge Rectifiers
 Uncontrolled Bridge Rectifiers
This bridge rectifier uses diodes for rectifying the input as shown in the figure. Since the diode is a unidirectional
device that allows the current flow in one direction only. With this configuration of diodes in the rectifier, it doesn’t
allow the power to vary depending on the load requirement. So this type of rectifier is used in constant or fixed power
supplies.
3. Controlled Bridge Rectifier

Controlled Bridge Rectifier

In this type of rectifier, AC/DC converter or rectifier – instead of uncontrolled diodes, controlled solid state devices like
SCR’s, MOSFET’s, IGBT’s, etc. are used to vary the output power at different voltages. By triggering these devices at
various instants, the output power at the load is appropriately changed.
Bridge Rectifier Circuit Diagram

The main advantage of bridge rectifier is that it produces almost double the output voltage as with the case of a full
wave rectifier using center-tapped transformer. But this circuit doesn’t need center tapped transformer so it
resembles low-cost rectifier.

The bridge rectifier circuit diagram consists of various stages of devices like transformer, Diode Bridge, filtering and
regulators. Generally all these blocks combination is called as regulated DC power supply that powers various
electronic appliances.
The first stage of the circuit is a transformer which is a step-down type that changes the amplitude of the input
voltage. Most of the electronic projects uses 230/12V transformer to step-down the AC mains 230V to 12V AC supply.

Bridge Rectifier Circuit Diagram

Next stage is a diode-bridge rectifier which uses four or more diodes depending on the type of bridge rectifier.
Choosing a particular diode or any other switching device for a corresponding rectifier needs some considerations of
the device like Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV), forward current If, voltage ratings, etc. It is responsible for producing
unidirectional or DC current at the load by conducting a set of diodes for every half cycle of the input signal.

Since the output after the diode bridge rectifiers is of pulsating nature, and for producing it as a pure DC, filtering is
necessary. Filtering is normally performed with one or more capacitors attached across the load, as you can observe in
the below figure wherein smoothing of wave is performed. This capacitor rating also depends on the output voltage.
The last stage of this regulated DC supply is a voltage regulator that maintains the output voltage to a constant level.
Suppose the microcontroller works at 5V DC, but the output after the bridge rectifier is around 16V, so to reduce this
voltage, and to maintain a constant level – no matter voltage changes in input side – a voltage regulator is necessary.
Bridge Rectifier Operation

As we discussed above, a single-phase bridge rectifier consists of four diodes and this configuration is connected
across the load. For understanding the bridge rectifier’s working principle, we have to consider the below circuit for
demonstration purpose.

During the Positive half cycle of the input AC waveform diodes D1 and D2 are forward biased and D3 and D4 are
reverse biased. When the voltage, more than the threshold level of the diodes D1 and D2, starts conducting – the load
current starts flowing through it, as shown as red lines path in the diagram below.

Bridge Rectifier Operation

During the negative half cycle of the input AC waveform, the diodes D3 and D4 are forward biased, and D1 and D2
are reverse biased. Load current starts flowing through the D3 and D4 diodes when these diodes starts conducting
as shown in the figure.

We can observe that in both the cases, the load current direction is same, i.e., up to down as shown in the figure – so
unidirectional, which means DC current. Thus, by the usage of a bridge rectifier, the input AC current is converted
into a DC current. The output at the load with this bridge wave rectifier is pulsating in nature, but for producing a pure
DC requires additional filter like capacitor. The same operation is applicable for different bridge rectifiers, but in case
of controlled rectifiers thyristors triggering is necessary to drive the current to load.
This is all about the bridge rectifier theory its types, circuit and working principles. We hope that this wholesome
matter about this topic will be helpful in building students’ electronics or electrical projects as well as in observing various
electronic devices or appliances. We appreciate you for your keen attention and focus on this article. And therefore,
please do write to us for choosing required component ratings in this bridge rectifier for your application and for any
other technical guidance.
Photo Credits:
 Bridge rectifier by numato
 Uncontrolled Bridge Rectifiers by electronics-tutorials
 Controlled Bridge Rectifier by eng.cam
 Bridge Rectifier Circuit Diagram by engineersgarage
 Bridge Rectifier Operation by eniquest

2……..The Diode Bridge Rectifier

The four diodes labelled D1 to D4 are arranged in “series pairs” with only two diodes conducting current during each
half cycle. During the positive half cycle of the supply, diodes D1 and D2 conduct in series while
diodes D3 and D4 are reverse biased and the current flows through the load as shown below.

The Positive Half-cycle

During the negative half cycle of the supply, diodes D3 and D4 conduct in series, but diodes D1 and D2 switch “OFF”
as they are now reverse biased. The current flowing through the load is the same direction as before.

The Negative Half-cycle

As the current flowing through the load is unidirectional, so the voltage developed across the load is also
unidirectional the same as for the previous two diode full-wave rectifier, therefore the average DC voltage across the
load is 0.637Vmax.
 Typical Bridge Rectifier
However in reality, during each half cycle the current flows through two diodes instead of just one so the amplitude of
the output voltage is two voltage drops ( 2*0.7 = 1.4V ) less than the input VMAX amplitude. The ripple frequency is
now twice the supply frequency (e.g. 100Hz for a 50Hz supply or 120Hz for a 60Hz supply.)
Although we can use four individual power diodes to make a full wave bridge rectifier, pre-made bridge rectifier
components are available “off-the-shelf” in a range of different voltage and current sizes that can be soldered directly
into a PCB circuit board or be connected by spade connectors.
The image to the right shows a typical single phase bridge rectifier with one corner cut off. This cut-off corner
indicates that the terminal nearest to the corner is the positive or +veoutput terminal or lead with the opposite
(diagonal) lead being the negative or -ve output lead. The other two connecting leads are for the input alternating
voltage from a transformer secondary winding.

The Smoothing Capacitor

We saw in the previous section that the single phase half-wave rectifier produces an output wave every half cycle
and that it was not practical to use this type of circuit to produce a steady DC supply. The full-wave bridge rectifier
however, gives us a greater mean DC value (0.637 Vmax) with less superimposed ripple while the output waveform
is twice that of the frequency of the input supply frequency.
We can improve the average DC output of the rectifier while at the same time reducing the AC variation of the
rectified output by using smoothing capacitors to filter the output waveform. Smoothing or reservoir capacitors
connected in parallel with the load across the output of the full wave bridge rectifier circuit increases the average DC
output level even higher as the capacitor acts like a storage device as shown below.

5uF Smoothing Capacitor

The blue plot on the waveform shows the result of using a 5.0uF smoothing capacitor across the rectifiers output.
Previously the load voltage followed the rectified output waveform down to zero volts. Here the 5uF capacitor is
charged to the peak voltage of the output DC pulse, but when it drops from its peak voltage back down to zero volts,
the capacitor can not discharge as quickly due to the RC time constant of the circuit.
This results in the capacitor discharging down to about 3.6 volts, in this example, maintaining the voltage across the
load resistor until the capacitor re-charges once again on the next positive slope of the DC pulse. In other words, the
capacitor only has time to discharge briefly before the next DC pulse recharges it back up to the peak value. Thus,
the DC voltage applied to the load resistor drops only by a small amount. But we can improve this still by increasing
the value of the smoothing capacitor as shown.

50uF Smoothing Capacitor

Here we have increased the value of the smoothing capacitor ten-fold from 5uF to 50uF which has reduced the ripple
increasing the minimum discharge voltage from the previous 3.6 volts to 7.9 volts. However, using the Partsim
Simulator Circuit we have chosen a load of 1kΩ to obtain these values, but as the load impedance decreases the
load current increases causing the capacitor to discharge more rapidly between charging pulses.
The effect of a supplying a heavy load with a single smoothing or reservoir capacitor can be reduced by the use of a
larger capacitor which stores more energy and discharges less between charging pulses. Generally for DC power
supply circuits the smoothing capacitor is an Aluminium Electrolytic type that has a capacitance value of 100uF or
more with repeated DC voltage pulses from the rectifier charging up the capacitor to peak voltage.
However, there are two important parameters to consider when choosing a suitable smoothing capacitor and these
are its Working Voltage, which must be higher than the no-load output value of the rectifier and its Capacitance
Value, which determines the amount of ripple that will appear superimposed on top of the DC voltage.
Too low a capacitance value and the capacitor has little effect on the output waveform. But if the smoothing capacitor
is sufficiently large enough (parallel capacitors can be used) and the load current is not too large, the output voltage
will be almost as smooth as pure DC. As a general rule of thumb, we are looking to have a ripple voltage of less than
100mV peak to peak.
The maximum ripple voltage present for a Full Wave Rectifier circuit is not only determined by the value of the
smoothing capacitor but by the frequency and load current, and is calculated as:

Bridge Rectifier Ripple Voltage

Where: I is the DC load current in amps, ƒ is the frequency of the ripple or twice the input frequency in Hertz, and C is
the capacitance in Farads.
The main advantages of a full-wave bridge rectifier is that it has a smaller AC ripple value for a given load and a
smaller reservoir or smoothing capacitor than an equivalent half-wave rectifier. Therefore, the fundamental frequency
of the ripple voltage is twice that of the AC supply frequency (100Hz) where for the half-wave rectifier it is exactly
equal to the supply frequency (50Hz).
The amount of ripple voltage that is superimposed on top of the DC supply voltage by the diodes can be virtually
eliminated by adding a much improved π-filter (pi-filter) to the output terminals of the bridge rectifier. This type of low-
pass filter consists of two smoothing capacitors, usually of the same value and a choke or inductance across them to
introduce a high impedance path to the alternating ripple component
Another more practical and cheaper alternative is to use an off the shelf 3-terminal voltage regulator IC, such as a
LM78xx (where “xx” stands for the output voltage rating) for a positive output voltage or its inverse equivalent
the LM79xx for a negative output voltage which can reduce the ripple by more than 70dB (Datasheet) while delivering
a constant output current of over 1 amp.
Why not test your knowledge about full wave rectifier circuits using the Partsim Simulator Tool today. Try different
values of smoothing capacitor and load resistance in your circuit to see the effects on the output waveform.
In the next tutorial about diodes, we will look at the Zener Diode which takes advantage of its reverse breakdown
voltage characteristic to produce a constant and fixed output voltage across itself.

Bridge Rectifier

3…………..Bridge Rectifier

Rectifier

A rectifier is a device that converts AC into DC. The power available to us is in the form of AC. But almost all electrical
equipments work on DC. So we need a converter that converts AC into DC. We employ a rectifier circuit for this purpose.
Rectifiers are basically classified into Half Wave and Full wave according to the cycles (either Half of a cycle or Full) that are
rectified. Among these the bridge rectifier is the most efficient rectifier circuit and is used for most of the rectification
applications. The most important part of a rectifier is a diode. The salient feature of pn junction diode used for rectification is its
uni-directional property i.e. it conducts in one direction only.

Bridge Rectifier

A bridge rectifier uses 4 diodes that are connected in the form of a Wheatstone’s bridge. In a single half cycle only two diodes
conduct. Consider the circuit diagram given below.

Bridge Rectifier Circuit Diagram

When the top end of transformer secondary is positive with respect to the bottom end, then we call it a positive half cycle. During
this period diode D1 and D3 are forward biased, as a result there is a current flow which passes through D1, Rl, and D3 back to
bottom end of secondary thereby passing that positive half cycle to the output. During this period D2 and D4 are reverse biased
so there is no current flow through them. Now during the negative half cycle, diodes D2 and D4 are forward biased, so the
current passes through D4, Rl and D2 back to secondary. During this process also, the current flow direction through Rl is same
as through that in first case and so is the voltage drop. So again a positive half cycle is created at the output due to the negative
half cycle at input. Hence we obtain two positive half cycles at the output due to a full cycle at the input. Hence this circuit is
called a Full wave rectifier.
Bridge Rectifier Working Animation

Wave forms

Bridge Rectifier Input Output Waveforms

Specifications Of A Rectifier

1. Peak Inverse Voltage :-

Peak inverse voltage is the maximum reverse voltage appearing across a single diode in a rectifier. Consider the positive half
cycle when the output voltage reaches Vmax, D1 and D3 are conducting whereas diode D2 and D4 are reverse biased. In this
case D1 and D3 have almost zero resistance. As a result the maximum reverse voltage appearing across D2 and D4 is equal to
Vmax.

Therefore PIV = Vmax.

2. Peak Current:-

Imax = Vmax/ ((2*Rf)+Rl);

Where Rf is the forward bias resistance of Diodes and Rl is the load resistance.

3. Average value of current:-

Idc = (2*Imax)/ ∏
 4. Root Mean Square (RMS) value of current:-

Irms = Imax / (√2).

5. Output frequency of Output = input frequency

6. Rectifier efficiency = 81.2 %
7. Ripple factor = .482

Ripple is the amount of AC component in output waveform.

Merits Of Bridge Rectifier over other rectifiers:-

 Lowcost
 High reliability
 PIV (bridge) = PIV (centre tappd) /2
 Smaller in size
 No special centre tapped transformer is required

Applications:-

 Simple Bridge Rectifier along with a shunt capacitor filter is usually used in Mobile Battery Chargers.
 Excessive applications in medium Load conditions.

4……Bridge Rectifier Circuit

The bridge rectifier consisting of four diodes enables full wave rectification without the need for a centre tapped transformer.

The bridge rectifier is widely used to provide full wave rectification and it is possibly the most widely used circuit for this.

Using four diodes the bridge rectifier the circuit has a distinctive format with the circuit diagram based on a square with one
diode on each leg.

Bridge rectifier circuits

A diagram of the basic bridge rectifier circuit has a bridge rectifier block at the centre. This consists of a bridge circuit which
includes four diodes. These can be individual diodes, or it is also easy to obtain bridge rectifiers as a single component. Low
current bridge rectifiers can be free standing, but higher current versions are often designed for mounting on a heat sink.

Full wave rectifier using a bridge rectifier

 The bridge rectifier full wave rectifier has the advantage over the full wave rectifier using a centre tapped transformer that there
is no centre tapped transformer requirement and that the both halves of the cycle are used in the winding.

To see how the bridge diode full wave rectifier operates it is useful to see the current flow.

Full wave bridge rectifier showing current flow

Bridge rectifiers

The bridge rectifier components can come in a variety of forms. They can be made using discrete diodes. A ring of the four
diodes can easily be made either on a tag or as part of a printed circuit board. Care must be taken to ensure that the diodes are
sufficiently ventilated as they can dissipate heat under load.

Bridge rectifier circuit and markings

Alternatively bridge rectifier components are available. These bridge rectifiers consist of the four diodes required to make the
bridge rectifier in a single encapsulation. The four connections are brought out and marked "+", "-" and "~". The "~" connection
is used to connect to the alternating input. The + and - connections are obvious.

Some of these bridge rectifiers are intended for mounting on a printed circuit board and mat have wires for through hole
mounting. Others may be surface mount devices.

Some bridge rectifiers are contained in larger encapsulations and are intended for mounting on a heat sink. As these rectifiers can
dissipate significant levels of heat when high current levels are drawn, the heat sink capability is useful.

Bridge rectifier circuit design considerations

There are several points that need to be considered when using a bridge rectifier to provide a DC output from an AC input:

 Voltage drops: It must not be forgotten that the current flowing in a bridge rectifier will pass through two diodes. As a result
the output voltage will have been dropped by this amount. As most bridge rectifiers use silicon diodes, this drop will be a
minimum of 1.2 volts and will increase as the current increases. Accordingly the maximum voltage output that can be
achieved is a minimum of 1.2 volts down on the peak voltage of the AC input.
 Calculate heat dissipated in the rectifier: The diodes will drop the voltage by a minimum of 1.2 volts (assuming a standard
silicon diode) which will rise as the current increases. This voltage drop and the current passing through the rectifier will give
rise to heat which will need to be dissipated. In some instances this can be easily dissipated by air cooling, but in other
instances, the bridge rectifier may need to be bolted to a heat sink. Many bridge rectifiers are constructed to be bolted onto a
heat sink for this purpose.
Bridge rectifiers are an ideal way of providing a rectified output from an alternating input. The bridge rectifier provides a full
wave rectified output which enables better performance to be achieved in many instances.

Split supply bridge rectifier circuit

For many circuits like operational amplifiers, split supplies may be needed. It is possible to create a split supply for these and
other applications very easily using a full wave bridge rectifier. Although it returns to the use of a split transformer, i.e. with a
centre tap, it can be worth it to gain the combination of both negative and positive supplies using the bridge rectifier.

The circuit operates effectively and efficiently because both halves of the input waveform are used in each section of the
transformer secondary winding.

The dual supply bridge rectifier solution does require the use of a centre tapped transformer, but a second winding would often be
required anyway to provide the dual supply.

The full wave rectifier circuit based around the bridge of diodes performs well and is used in most full wave rectifier
applications. It uses both halves of the waveform in the transformer winding and as a result reduces heat losses for a given level
of output current when compared to other solutions. Also this solution does not require a centre tapped transformer (except for
the dual supply version) and as a result the costs are reduced.

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5……….Bridge Rectifier

Before going to bridge rectifier, we need to know what actually a rectifier is and what is the need for a rectifier. So first
let’s take a look at the evolution of rectifiers.

Evolution of rectifiers

Rectifiers are mainly classified into three types: Half-wave rectifier, Center tapped full-wave rectifier and Bridge
rectifier. All these three rectifiers have a common aim that is to convertAlternating Current (AC) into Direct Current
(DC). Not all these three rectifiers efficiently convert the Alternating Current (AC) into Direct Current (DC), only the
center tapped full-wave rectifier and bridge rectifier efficiently convert the Alternating Current (AC) into Direct Current
(DC). In half wave rectifier, only 1 half cycle is allowed and the remaining half cycle is blocked. As a result, nearly
half of the applied power is wasted in half wave rectifier. In addition to this, the output current or voltage produced by
half wave rectifier is not a pure DC but a pulsating DC which is not much useful.
In order to overcome this problem, scientists developed a new type of rectifier known as center tapped full wave
rectifier.

The main advantage of center tapped full wave rectifier is that it allows electric current during both positive and
negative half cycles of the input AC signal. As a result, the DC output of the center tapped full wave rectifier is double
of that of a half-wave rectifier. In addition to this, the DC output of center tapped full wave rectifier contains very fewer
ripples. As a result, the DC output of the center tapped full wave rectifier is smoother than the half wave rectifier.

However, the center tapped full wave rectifier has one drawback that is the center-tapped transformer used in it is

very expensive and occupies large space. To cut this extra cost, scientists developed a new type of rectifier known as
a bridge rectifier. In bridge rectifier, center tap is not required. If stepping down or stepping up of voltage is not
required, then even the transformer can be eliminated in the bridge rectifier.
The rectifier efficiency of a bridge rectifier is almost equal to the center tapped full wave rectifier. The only advantage
of bridge rectifier over center tapped full wave rectifier is the reduction in cost.In bridge rectifier, instead of using the
center-tapped transformer, four diodes are used.

Now we get an idea about the three types of rectifiers. The half wave rectifier and the center tapped full wave rectifier
(full wave rectifier) are already discussed in the previous tutorials. This tutorial is mainly focused on the bridge
rectifier.

Let’s take a look at the bridge rectifier …!

Bridge rectifier definition

A bridge rectifier is a type of full wave rectifier which uses four or more diodes in a bridge circuit configuration to
efficiently convert the Alternating Current (AC) into Direct Current (DC).

Bridge rectifier construction

The construction diagram of a bridge rectifier is shown in the below figure. The bridge rectifier is made up of
four diodes namely D1, D2, D3, D4 and load resistor RL. The four diodes are connected in a closed loop (Bridge)
configuration to efficiently convert the Alternating Current (AC) into Direct Current (DC). The main advantage of this
bridge circuit configuration is that we do not require an expensive center tapped transformer, thereby reducing its
cost and size.
The input AC signal is applied across two terminals A and B and the output DC signal is obtained across the
load resistor RL which is connected between the terminals C and D.

The four diodes D1, D2, D3, D4 are arranged in series with only two diodes allowing electric current during each half
cycle. For example, diodes D1 and D3 are considered as one pair which allows electric current during the positive half
cycle whereas diodes D2 and D4 are considered as another pair which allows electric current during the negative half
cycle of the input AC signal.

How bridge rectifier works?

When input AC signal is applied across the bridge rectifier, during the positive half cycle diodes D1 and D3 are forward
biased and allows electric current while the diodes D2 and D4are reverse biased and blocks electric current. On the
other hand, during the negative half cycle diodes D2 and D4 are forward biased and allows electric current while
diodes D1 and D3are reverse biased and blocks electric current.

During the positive half cycle, the terminal A becomes positive while the terminal B becomes negative. This causes
the diodes D1 and D3 forward biased and at the same time, it causes the diodes D2 and D4 reverse biased.

The current flow direction during the positive half cycle is shown in the figure A (I.e. A to D to C to B).

During the negative half cycle, the terminal B becomes positive while the terminal A becomes negative. This causes
the diodes D2 and D4 forward biased and at the same time, it causes the diodes D1 and D3 reverse biased.

The current flow direction during negative half cycle is shown in the figure B (I.e. B to D to C to A).
From the above two figures (A and B), we can observe that the direction of current flow across load resistor RL is
same during the positive half cycle and negative half cycle. Therefore, the polarity of the output DC signal is same for
both positive and negative half cycles. The output DC signal polarity may be either completely positive or negative. In
our case, it is completely positive. If the direction of diodes is reversed then we get a complete negative DC voltage.

Thus, a bridge rectifier allows electric current during both positive and negative half cycles of the input AC signal.

The output waveforms of the bridge rectifier is shown in the below figure.

Characteristics of bridge rectifier

Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV)

The maximum voltage a diode can withstand in the reverse bias condition is called Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV)

or

The maximum voltage that the non-conducting diode can withstand is called Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV).

During the positive half cycle, the diodes D1 and D3 are in the conducting state while the diodes D2 and D4 are in the
non-conducting state. On the other hand, during the negative half cycle, the diodes D2 and D4 are in the conducting
state while the diodes D1 and D3 are in the non-conducting state.

The Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV) for a bridge rectifier is given by

PIV = VSmax

Ripple factor

The smoothness of the output DC signal is measured by using a factor known as ripple factor. The output DC signal
with very fewer ripples is considered as the smooth DC signal while the output DC signal with high ripples is
considered as the high pulsating DC signal.

Ripple factor is mathematically defined as the ratio of ripple voltage to the pure DC voltage.

The ripple factor for a bridge rectifier is given by

The ripple factor of the bridge rectifier is 0.48 which is same as the center tapped full wave rectifier.

Rectifier efficiency

The rectifier efficiency determines how efficiently the rectifier converts Alternating Current (AC) into Direct Current
(DC).

High rectifier efficiency indicates a most reliable rectifier while the low rectifier efficiency indicates a poor rectifier.

Rectifier efficiency is defined as the ratio of the DC output power to the AC input power.

The maximum rectifier efficiency of a bridge rectifier is 81.2% which is same as the center tapped full wave rectifier.

Advantages of bridge rectifier

Low ripples in the output DC signal

The DC output signal of the bridge rectifier is smoother than the half wave rectifier. In other words, the bridge rectifier
has fewer ripples as compared to the half wave rectifier. However, the ripple factor of the bridge rectifier is same as
the center tapped full wave rectifier.

High rectifier efficiency

The rectifier efficiency of the bridge rectifier is very high as compared to the half wave rectifier. However, the rectifier
efficiency of bridge rectifier and center tapped full wave rectifier is same.

Low power loss

In half wave rectifier only one half cycle of the input AC signal is allowed and the remaining half cycle of the input AC
signal is blocked. As a result, nearly half of the applied input power is wasted.

However, in the bridge rectifier, the electric current is allowed during both positive and negative half cycles of the
input AC signal. So the output DC power is almost equal to the input AC power.

Disadvantages of bridge rectifier

Bridge rectifier circuit looks very complex

In a half wave rectifier, only a single diode is used whereas in a center tapped full wave rectifier two diodes are used.
But in the bridge rectifier, we use four diodes for the circuit operation. So the bridge rectifier circuit looks more
complex than the half wave rectifier and center tapped full wave rectifier.

More power loss as compared to the Center tapped full wave rectifier

In electronic circuits, the more diodes we use the more voltage drop will occur. The power loss in bridge rectifier is
almost equal to the center tapped full wave rectifier. However, in a bridge rectifier, the voltage drop is slightly high as
compared to the center tapped full wave rectifier. This is due to two additional diodes (total four diodes).

In center tapped full wave rectifier, only one diode conducts during each half cycle. So the voltage drop in the circuit
is 0.7 volts. But in the bridge rectifier, two diodes which are connected in series conduct during each half cycle. So
the voltage drop occurs due to two diodes which is equal to 1.4 volts (0.7 + 0.7 = 1.4 volts). However, the power loss
due to this voltage drop is very small.

6……….Diode bridge
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Diode bridge in various packages

A hand-made diode bridge. The wide silver band on the diodes indicates the cathode side of the diode.

A diode bridge is an arrangement of four (or more) diodes in a bridge circuit configuration that provides the
same polarity of output for either polarity of input.
When used in its most common application, for conversion of an alternating-current (AC) input into a direct-
current (DC) output, it is known as a bridge rectifier. A bridge rectifier provides full-wave rectification from a two-wire
AC input, resulting in lower cost and weight as compared to a rectifier with a 3-wire input from a transformer with
a center-tapped secondary winding.[1]
The essential feature of a diode bridge is that the polarity of the output is the same regardless of the polarity at the
input. The diode bridge circuit was invented by Polish electrotechnician Karol Pollak and patented in December 1895
in Great Britain[2] and in January 1896 in Germany[3][4]. In 1897, the German physicist Leo Graetz independently
invented and published a similar circuit.[5][6] Today the circuit is still often referred to as a Graetz circuit or Graetz
bridge.[7]
Prior to the availability of integrated circuits, a bridge rectifier was constructed from "discrete components", i.e.,
separate diodes. Since about 1950, a single four-terminal component containing the four diodes connected in a
bridge configuration became a standard commercial component and is now available with various voltage and current
ratings.
Diodes are also used in bridge topologies along with capacitors as voltage multipliers.

Contents

 1Current flow
 2Rectifier
 3Smoothing
 4Polyphase diode bridges
 5Diode switching artifacts and snubber circuits
 6See also
 7References
 8External links

Current flow[edit]
According to the conventional model of current flow (originally established by Benjamin Franklin and still followed by
most engineers today[8]), current flows through electrical conductors from the positive to the negative pole (defined as
"positive flow"). In actuality, free electrons in a conductor nearly always flow from the negative to the positive pole. In
the vast majority of applications, however, the actual direction of current flow is irrelevant. Therefore, in the
discussion below the conventional model is retained.
The fundamental characteristic of a diode is that current can flow only one way through it, which is defined as the
forward direction. A diode bridge uses diodes as series components to allow current to pass in the forward direction
during the positive part of the AC cycle and as shunt components to redirect current flowing in the reverse direction
during the negative part of the AC cycle to the opposite rails.

Rectifier[edit]
In the diagrams below, when the input connected to the left corner of the diamond is positive, and the input
connected to the right corner is negative, current flows from the uppersupply terminal to the right along
the red (positive) path to the output and returns to the lower supply terminal through the blue (negative) path.
When the input connected to the left corner is negative, and the input connected to the right corner is positive, current
flows from the lower supply terminal to the right along the red(positive) path to the output and returns to the upper
supply terminal through the blue (negative) path.[9]

In each case, the upper right output remains positive, and lower right output negative. Since this is true whether the
input is AC or DC, this circuit not only produces a DC output from an AC input, it can also provide what is sometimes
called "reverse-polarity protection". That is, it permits normal functioning of DC-powered equipment
when batteries have been installed backwards, or when the leads (wires) from a DC power source have been
reversed, and protects the equipment from potential damage caused by reverse polarity.
Alternatives to the diode-bridge full-wave rectifiers are the center-tapped transformer and double-diode rectifier,
and voltage doubler rectifier using two diodes and two capacitors in a bridge topology.

AC, half-wave and full-wave rectified signals[10]

Smoothing[edit]
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See also: Rectifier § Rectifier output smoothing
With AC input, the output of a diode bridge (called a full-wave rectifier for this purpose; there is also half-wave
rectification, which does not use a diode bridge) is polarized pulsating non-sinusoidal voltage of the same amplitude
but twice the frequency of the input. It may be considered as DC voltage upon which is superimposed a very
large ripple voltage. This kind of electric power is not very usable, because ripple is dissipated as waste heat in DC
circuit components and may cause noise or distortion during circuit operation. So nearly all rectifiers are followed by a
series of bandpass or bandstop filters and/or a voltage regulator to convert most or all of the ripple voltage into a
smoother and possibly higher DC output. A filter may be as simple as a single sufficiently large capacitor or choke,
but most power-supply filters have multiple alternating series and shunt components. When the ripple voltage
rises, reactive power is stored in the filter components, reducing the voltage; when the ripple voltage falls, reactive
power is discharged from the filter components, raising the voltage. The final stage of rectification may consist of
a zener diode-based voltage regulator, which almost completely eliminates any residual ripple.

Polyphase diode bridges[edit]

See also: Rectifier § Three-phase rectifiers
The diode bridge can be generalized to rectify polyphase AC inputs. For example, for a three-phase AC input, a half-
wave rectifier consists of three diodes, but a full-wave bridge rectifier consists of six diodes.
Half-wave rectifier may be considered as wye connection (star connection), because it returns the current through the
centre (neutral) wire. Full-wave is more like delta connection, although it can be connected to the three-phase source
of either wye or delta and it does not use the centre (neutral) wire.

Three-phase full-wave bridge rectifier

3-phase AC input waveform (top), half-wave rectified waveform (center), and full-wave rectified waveform (bottom)

Three-phase bridge rectifier for a wind turbine

Diode switching artifacts and snubber circuits[edit]

Power-supply transformers have leakage inductance and parasitic capacitance. When the diodes in a bridge rectifier
switch off, these "non-ideal" elements form a resonant circuit, which can oscillate at high frequency. This high-
frequency oscillation can then couple into the rest of the circuitry. Snubber circuits are used in an attempt to mitigate
this problem. A snubber circuit consists of either a very small capacitor or series capacitor and resistor across a
diode.