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PN-Junction Diode
Applications
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Outline
• Analysis of Diode Circuit
▫ Models
 Circuit model
• Applications of diode
▫ Rectification
▫ Half wave Rectifiers
▫ Full wave Rectifiers
▫ Centre-tap
▫ Bridge
▫ Filtration
▫ Voltage Regulators
 Zener Diode
Diode Circuits

• After we have studied in detail the physics of a

diode, it is time to study its behavior as a circuit
element and its many applications.
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The Diode Models

Circuit Model
a) Simplified diode model
b) The constant-voltage-drop model
c) Zener Diode Model
Ideal Diode

• In an ideal diode, if the voltage across it tends to

exceed zero, current flows.
• It is analogous to a water pipe that allows water
to flow in only one direction.
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Diodes in Series

• Diodes cannot be connected in series randomly. For the

circuits above, only a) can conduct current from A to C.

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IV Characteristics of an Ideal Diode
V V
R 0 I   RI  0
R R

• If the voltage across anode and cathode is greater than

zero, the resistance of an ideal diode is zero and current
becomes infinite. However, if the voltage is less than zero,
the resistance becomes infinite and current is zero.

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Simplified Diode Model

Piecewise-linear model of the diode forward characteristic and its

equivalent circuit representation.
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The Constant-Voltage-Drop Model

The constant-voltage-drop model of the diode forward

characteristics and its equivalent-circuit representation.
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Zener Diode Model

VZ  VZ 0  I Z rZ
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Zener Diode

Circuit symbol

The diode i–v

characteristic with the
breakdown region shown
in some detail.
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Method of Analysis

Load line

Diode characteristic

Q is the intersect
point

Visualization
Diode-Resistor Combination

• The IV characteristic of this diode-resistor

combination is zero for negative voltages and
Ohm’s law for positive voltages.
Input/Output Characteristics

• When Vin is less than zero, the diode opens, so Vout = Vin.
• When Vin is greater than zero, the diode shorts, so Vout = 0.
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Rectifier Circuits
One of the most important applications of diodes is in the
design of rectifier circuits. Used to convert an AC signal into
a DC voltage used by most electronics.
Diode’s Application: Rectifier

• A rectifier is a device that passes positive-half cycle of a

sinusoid and blocks the negative half-cycle or vice versa.
• When Vin is greater than 0, diode shorts, so Vout = Vin;
however, when Vin is less than 0, diode opens, no current
flows thru R1, Vout = IR1R1 = 0.
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Diode’s Application: Cell Phone Charger

• An important application of diode is chargers.

• Diode acts as the black box (after transformer) that passes
only the positive half of the stepped-down sinusoid.
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Diode’s Action in The Black Box (Ideal Diode)

• The diode behaves as a short circuit during the

positive half cycle (voltage across it tends to exceed
zero), and an open circuit during the negative half
cycle (voltage across it is less than zero).

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 Rectification Technologies
• Rectification Based on Diode
▫ Rectification is most popular application of diode
▫ Diodes provide compact and inexpensive means of rectification
▫ Can create rectifiers from multiple diodes or purchase integrated
module

Diodes Diode Rectifier Modules

 Types of Rectification

Half Wave Rectifier

Full Wave Rectifier

• While output of the rectifiers is now DC (current only flows

in one direction), output oscillates
 Types of Rectification

• Half Wave:
▫ Negative components of sine
wave are discarded

• Full Wave:
▫ Negative components are
inverted
 Rectification Circuit: Half-Wave

• Simplest kind of rectifier circuit is half-wave rectifier.

• Allows one half of AC waveform to pass through to load.
• Converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC).
• Involves device that only allows one-way flow of
electrons, and this is exactly what semiconductor diode
does.

Half-wave rectifier circuit

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Half-Wave Rectifier

(a) Half-wave rectifier.

(b) Equivalent circuit of the half-wave rectifier with the diode
replaced with its battery-plus-resistance model.
Simple Half-Wave Rectifier

What would the waveform

look like if not an ideal diode?
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(c) Transfer characteristic of the rectifier circuit.

D  R
(d) Input and output waveforms, assuming rthat
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* Half-Wave Rectifier with Smoothing Capacitor

* To place a large capacitance across the output terminals:

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* Battery-Charging Circuit

* The current flows only in the direction that charges the battery.
Average or DC Value

Vout  V p sin t  0 for 0t 

T
2
1T 1 T /2
Vout, avg   Vout (t )dt   V p sin tdt
T0 T 0
1 Vp Vp
  cos t 0 
T /2
for
T
t T
T   2

• The averaged value of a rectifier output can be used as a

signal strength indicator for the input, since Vout,avg is
proportional to Vp, the input signal’s amplitude.

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V p  Vm I p  Im

Vdc
I avg  I dc  Rf = forward resistance of Diode
RL RL = Load Resistance
Vp /Vm = Peak Voltage
Vm Ip /Im = Peak Current
Vdc  Idc/Iavg = Load Current
 Vdc = output dc Voltage
Vm Im
I dc  
RL 

Vm
Vdc   I dc .R f

Vm
I dc 
 ( RL  R f )
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Efficiency of a half-wave rectifier

output dc power
Rectifier efficiency,  
input ac power

I dc 2 R

I rms 2 (rf  R)
2
 Im 
  R
  
2
 Im 
  ( rf  R )
 2 

4  R 
 2  For maximum efficiency, the
  (rf  R) 
value of rf should be negligible
0.405 compared to R. Therefore, the
 maximum efficiency of the half-
r
1 f wave rectifier is 40.5%.
R
Rectification Circuit: Half-Wave
• For most power applications, half-wave rectification is
insufficient for task.
▫ Harmonic content of rectifier's output waveform is very large and
consequently difficult to filter.
▫ AC power source only supplies power to load once every half-
cycle, meaning that much of its capacity is unused.
▫ Half-wave rectification is, however, very simple way to reduce
power to resistive load.
• Two-position lamp dimmer switches apply full AC power
to lamp filament for “full” brightness and then half-wave
rectify it for a lesser light output.

Half-wave rectifier application: Two level lamp dimmer.

 Rectification Circuit: Half-Wave

• In “Dim” switch position, incandescent lamp receives approximately

one-half power it would normally receive operating on full-wave AC.

▫ Because half-wave rectified power pulses far more rapidly than filament
has time to heat up and cool down, lamp does not blink.
▫ Instead, its filament merely operates at lesser temperature than normal,
providing less light output.

• This principle of “pulsing” power rapidly to slow-responding load

device to control electrical power sent to it is common in world of
industrial electronics.

• Since controlling device (diode, in this case) is either fully

conducting or fully non-conducting at any given time, it dissipates
little heat energy while controlling load power, making this method
of power control very energy-efficient.

• This circuit is perhaps crudest possible method of pulsing power to a

load, but it suffices as a proof-of-concept application.
Rectifier Circuit: Full-Wave
• If we need to rectify AC power:
▫ In order obtain full use of both half-cycles of sine wave
 Full-wave rectifier must be used
• Types of full-wave rectifier:
▫ Center-tap design
▫ Full-wave bridge.
• Center-tap design
 Uses transformer with center-tapped secondary winding and two diodes

Full-wave rectifier, center-tapped design.

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Full-Wave Rectifier Circuits

* Centre-Tapped Full-Wave Rectifier – two half-wave rectifier with out-of-

phase source voltages and a common ground.
* When upper source supplies “+” voltage to diode A,
the lower source supplies “-” voltage to diode B;
and vice versa.
* We can also smooth the output by using a large capacitance.
 Rectifier circuit
• Look at its circuit operation one half-cycle at a time.
• Consider first half-cycle:
▫ Source voltage polarity is positive (+) on top and negative (-) on
bottom.
▫ Only top diode is conducting; bottom diode is blocking current,
and load “sees” first half of sine wave.
▫ Only top half of transformer's secondary winding carries current
during this half-cycle.

Full-wave center-tap rectifier: Top half of secondary winding conducts

during positive half-cycle of input, delivering positive half-cycle to load.
 Rectifier circuit
• Consider next (second) half-cycle:
▫ AC polarity reverses
▫ Other diode and other half of transformer's secondary winding
now carry current
▫ Portions of circuit formerly carrying current during first half-
cycle sit idle
▫ Load still “sees” half of sine wave, of same polarity as before.

Full-wave center-tap rectifier: During negative input half-cycle, bottom half

of secondary winding conducts, delivering a positive half-cycle to the load.
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2Vm
Vdc 

V p ( sec )
Vm 
2
 Vp ( sec )  2Vm

PIV  Vp ( sec )  2Vm

Rectifier Circuit: Full-Wave

• One disadvantage of this full-wave rectifier design is:

▫ Necessity of transformer with center-tapped secondary winding.
• If circuit in question is one of high power:
▫ Size and expense of suitable transformer will be significant.
• Consequently:
▫ Center-tap rectifier design is only seen in low-power applications.

Disadvantages
1. Since, each diode uses only one-half of the transformers secondary voltage,
the d.c. output is comparatively small.
2. It is difficult to locate the centre-tap on secondary winding of the
transformer.
3. The diodes used must have high peak-inverse voltage.
• Full-wave Bridge Rectifier.
▫ More popular full-wave rectifier design
▫ Built around four-diode bridge configuration.
▫ For obvious reasons, this design is called full-wave bridge.

Full-wave bridge rectifier.

• Full-wave Bridge
▫ Current directions for positive and negative half-cycles of:
 AC source waveform are shown below and next page respectively.

▫ Note: regardless of polarity of input, current flows in same direction through

load.

▫ That is, negative half-cycle of source is positive half-cycle at load.

Full-wave bridge rectifier: Electron flow for positive half-cycles

Rectifier circuit: Full-Wave Bridge

Full-wave bridge rectifier: Electron flow for negative half -cycles.

▫ Current flow is through two diodes in series for both polarities.

▫ Thus, sum of voltage drops for two diodes is 2(0.7) volts
▫ This is disadvantage when compared to full-wave center-tap design.
 Will only be problem in very low voltage power supplies
• Full-wave Bridge: with horizontal altitude
▫ Remembering proper layout of diodes in full-wave bridge rectifier
circuit can often be frustrating some times.
▫ Alternative representation of this circuit is easier both to
remember and to comprehend.
▫ It is exact same circuit, except all diodes are drawn in horizontal
altitude, all “pointing” same direction.

Alternative layout style for Full-wave bridge rectifier.

▫ One advantage of remembering this layout for bridge rectifier
circuit is that it expands easily into poly-phase version (beyond
basic electronics).
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Disadvantages
• It requires four diodes.
• The use of two extra diodes cause an additional
voltage drop thereby reducing the output
voltage.
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Efficiency of a full-wave rectifier

output dc power For a bridge rectification
Rectifier efficiency,  
input ac power circuit, the supply passes
through two diodes (2 rf ) at
I dc 2 R any particular time

I rms 2 (2rf  R)
2
 2Im 
   R
 2
 Im 
 2  (2rf  R)
 

8  R 
 2 
  (rf  R) 

0.81

2 rf
1
R
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In the case of a centre-tap rectification circuit, only one diode conducts at any
particular time.
Thus, its efficiency will be

0.81

rf
1
R

For maximum efficiency, the value of rf should be negligible compared to

R. Therefore, the maximum efficiency of the full-wave rectifier is 81% and
is twice as efficient as the half-wave rectifier.
The peak inverse voltage (PIV) of the diode
is the peak value of the voltage that a diode can
withstand when it is reversed biased

Type of PIV
Rectifier
Half Wave Peak value of the input secondary
voltage, Vm (peak)
Full Wave : Center- 2Vm(peak)
Tapped
Full Wave: Bridge Vm(peak)
Rectifier circuit

• In any case of rectification: single-phase or poly-

phase
▫ Amount of AC voltage mixed with rectifier's
DC output is called ripple voltage.
• In most cases, since “pure” DC is desired goal
▫ Ripple voltage is undesirable.
• If power levels are not too great
▫ Filtering networks may be employed to reduce amount
of ripple in output voltage.
 Output Ripple
• Output ripple will always be present in circuits shown above
• Amplitude of ripple can be reduced by adding smoothing capacitor
• Capacitor and load (shown here as resistor) from low pass filter with
time constant : T = RC
• Time constant should be much longer than one ripple
• For given ripple amplitude: capacitor size (in microfarads) is given by
Iload Iload
C 106 (Half wave) or C 106 (Full wave)
fVrip 2 fVrip
f: line frequency
Iload: Load Current
Vrip: Amplitude of ripple voltage

NOTE: Voltage rating of the capacitor must be > 1.4*Vout

Large capacitors should have bleeder resistors for safety!
 Rectifier Circuit: Output Voltage

• Full wave rectification will produce voltage roughly equal

to

Vo  2Vi,RMS
• In practice, there will be small voltage drop across
diodes that will reduce this voltage
• For accurate supplies, regulation is necessary

Rectifier circuit

REVIEW:
• Rectification is conversion of alternating current (AC) to
direct current (DC).
• A half-wave rectifier is circuit that allows only one half-
cycle of AC voltage waveform to be applied to load,
resulting in one non-alternating polarity across it.
▫ The resulting DC delivered to load “pulsates” significantly.
• A full-wave rectifier is circuit that converts both half-
cycles of AC voltage waveform to unbroken series of
voltage pulses of same polarity.
▫ The resulting DC delivered to load doesn't “pulsate” as much.
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• The ripple factor indicates how close the

rectified output is to the pure ideal dc voltage
waveform
• The rms value of a full-wave signal is Vrms =
0.707Vp, which is the same as Vrms for a full-
wave sine wave
• Efficiency of a rectifier is defined as the ratio of
dc power delivered to the load to the ac power
from the secondary winding of the transformer
…that’s all folks…
…thanks for your time…