Rectifiers and its types

Rectifier
A Rectifier is an electrical device that is made of one or more than one diodes
that converts the alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC). It is used
for rectification where the process below shows that how it convert AC into DC.

Rectification
Rectification is the process of conversion of the alternating current (which
periodically changes direction) into direct current (flow in a single direction).

Types of Rectifiers
There are mainly two types of rectifiers:
1. Uncontrolled Rectifier
2. Controlled Rectifier

Based on the type of rectification circuit does, the rectifiers are classified into
two categories.
 Half wave rectifier
 Full wave rectifier
Half wave rectifier only converts half of the AC wave into DC signal whereas
Full wave rectifier converts complete AC signal into DC.

Simple bridge rectifier circuit is the most popular method for full wave
rectification.

Uncontrolled Rectifier:
The type of rectifier whose output voltage cannot be controlled is called
an uncontrolled rectifier.
A rectifier uses switches to work. The switches can be of various types, broadly,
controllable switches and uncontrollable switches.
A diode is unidirectional device that allows the current flow in only one
direction. The working of a diode is not controlled as it will conduct as long as
it is forward biased.
With a configuration of diodes in any given rectifier, the rectifier is not fully in
the operator’s control, so these types of rectifiers are called uncontrolled
rectifiers.
It does not allow the power to vary depending on the load requirement. So this
type of rectifier is commonly used in constant or fixed power supplies.
Uncontrolled rectifier uses only diodes and they give a fixed output voltage
depending only on the AC input.
Types Of Uncontrolled Rectifier:

Uncontrolled Rectifiers are further divided into two types:

1. Half Wave Rectifier
2. Full Wave Rectifier
Half Wave Rectifier:
A Type of rectifier that converts only the half cycle of the alternating current
(AC) into direct current (DC) is known as halfwave rectifier.
 Positive Half Wave Rectifier:
A half wave rectifier that converts only the positive half cycle and blocks the
negative half cycle.

 Negative Half Wave Rectifier:

A negative half wave rectifier converts only the negative half cycle of the AC
into DC.
In all types of rectifiers, a half-wave rectifier is the simplest of them all as it is
composed of only a single diode.
A diode allows the current flow in only one direction known
as forward bias. A load resistor RL is connected in series with the diode.

Positive Half Cycle:

During the positive half cycle, the diode terminal anode will become positive
and the cathode will become negative known as forward bias. And it will
allow the positive cycle to flow through.

Negative Half Cycle:

During the negative half cycle, the anode will become negative and
the cathode will become positive, which is known as reverse bias. So the diode
will block the negative cycle.

So when an AC source is connected to the half-wave rectifier, only half

cycle will flow through it as shown in the figure below.
The output of this rectifier is taken across the load resistor RL. if we look at
the input-to-output graph, it shows a pulsating positive half cycle of the input.
The output of the half wave rectifier has too many ripples & it is not very
practical to use this output as DC source. To smooth this pulsating output,
a capacitor is introduced across the resistor. The capacitor will charge during
the positive cycle and discharge during the negative cycle to give out a smooth
output signal.

Such types of rectifiers waste the power of AC input’s half cycle.

Full Wave Rectifier:

A full wave rectifier converts both positive and negative half cycles of the AC
(alternating current) into DC (direct current). It provides double output voltage
compared to the halfwave rectifier
A full wave rectifier is made up of more than one diode.
There are two types of full wave rectifier.
1. Bridge Rectifier
2. Center-Tap Rectifier
Bridge Rectifier
A bridge rectifier uses four diodes to convert both half cycle of the input AC
into DC output.
In this type of rectifier, the diodes are connected in a specific form as given
below.
Positive Half Cycle:
During input positive half cycle, the diode D1 & D2 becomes forward bias
while D3 & D4 becomes reverse bias. The diode D1 & D2 form a closed loop
that provides a positive output voltage across the load resistor RL.

Negative Half Cycle:

During the negative half cycle, the diode D3 & D4 becomes forward bias
while D1 & D2 becomes reverse bias. But the polarity across the load
resistor RL remains the same and provides a positive output across the load.
The output of full wave rectifier has low ripples compared to half-wave rectifier
but still, it’s not smooth and steady.

In order to make the output voltage smooth & steady, a capacitor is placed at
the output as shown in the figure below.

The capacitor charge & discharges which make smooth transitions between the
half cycles.

Working of Bridge Rectifier Circuit

From the circuit diagram it is apparent that the diodes are connected in a
particular fashion. This unique arrangement gives the converter its name.
In bridge rectifier, voltage that is given as the input can be from any source. It
can be from a transformer that is used to step up or down the voltage or it can be
from the mains of our domestic power supply.
In the first phase of working of the rectifier, during the positive half cycle,
diodes D3-D2 get forward biased and conducts. Diodes D1-D4 gets reversed
biased and do not conduct in this half cycle, acting as open switches. Thus, we
get a positive half cycle at the output. Conversely, in the negative half cycle,
diodes D1-D4 get forward biased, and start conducting whereas diodes D3-D2
gets reversed biased and do not conduct in this half cycle.
Again, we get a positive half cycle at the output. At the end of the rectification
process, the negative part of the AC current is converted into a positive cycle.
The output from the rectifier is two half-positive pulses with the same frequency
and magnitude as that of the input.
In contrast to the working of a half-wave rectifier, the full bridge rectifier has
another branch which allows it to conduct for the negative half of the voltage
waveform which the half-bridge rectifier had no means of doing. So the average
voltage at the output of the full bridge rectifier is double than that of the half-
bridge rectifier.
Four individual power diodes are used 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 used directly to make a working
circuit.
The output voltage waveform after the rectification is not a proper DC.
Smoothing or reservoir capacitors that are connected in parallel with the load
across the output of the full wave bridge rectifier circuit increases the average
DC output level to the required average DC voltage at the output because the
capacitor not only acts as a filtering component, but it also periodically charges
and discharges effectively increasing the output voltage.
Capacitor charge till the waveform goes to its peak and discharges uniformly
into the load circuit when waveform starts going low. So when the output is
going low, capacitor maintains the proper voltage supply into the load circuit,
hence creating the DC.

Advantages of a Bridge Rectifier:

1. Low ripples in the output DC signal
2. High rectifier efficiency
3. Low power loss
Disadvantages of Bridge Rectifier:
1. Bridge rectifier is more complex than a half-wave rectifier
2. More power loss compared to canter-tapped full wave rectifier.
Center-Tap Rectifier
This type of full-wave rectifier uses a center-tap transformer & two diodes.
A center-tap transformer is a dual-voltage transformer that has two inputs (I1
& I2) and three output terminals (T1, T2, T3). The T2 terminal is connected to
the center of the output coil which acts as a reference ground (o volt reference).
The T1 terminal produces positive voltage and the T3 terminal
produces negative voltage with respect to the T2.

The design of the center-tap rectifier is given below:

Positive Half Cycle:

During the input positive half cycle, the T1 will produce positive and T2 will
produce a negative voltage. The diode D1 will become forward bias &
diode D2 will become reverse bias. This makes a close path from T1 to
T2 through the load resistor RL as shown below.
Negative Half Cycle:
Now during the input negative half cycle, T1 will generate negative cycle
& T2 will generate a positive cycle. This will put the diode D1 into reverse bias
& diode D2 in forward bias. But the polarity across the load resistor RL is still
the same as the current takes the path from T3 to T1 as shown in the figure
below.

The DC output of a center-tap rectifier also has ripples and it’s not smooth &
steady DC. A capacitor at the output will remove the ripple and make a
steady DC output.

Controlled Rectifier:
A type of rectifier whose output voltage can be varied or changed is
called controlled rectifier.
The need for a controlled rectifier is apparent when we look into the
shortcomings of an uncontrolled bridge rectifier. To make an uncontrolled
rectifier into a controlled one we use current-controlled solid-state devices such
as SCRs, MOSFETs, and IGBTs. We have the full control when SCRs are
switched ON or OFF based on the gate pulses we apply to it. These are
generally more preferred than their uncontrolled counterparts.
It is composed of one or more than one SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier).
An SCR, also known as thyristor is a three-terminal diode. These terminals
are Anode, Cathode & a control input known as Gate.
Just like a simple diode an SCR conduct in forward bias and blocks current in
reverse bias but it only starts forward conduction when there is a pulse at the
gate input. So the output voltage can be controlled using the gate input.

Types of Controlled Rectifiers

There are two types of controlled rectifier.
Half Wave Controlled Rectifier
The half wave controlled rectifier is made up of a single SCR (Silicon
Controlled Rectifier).
Half wave controlled rectifier has the same design as the half wave uncontrolled
rectifier except we replace the diode with an SCR as shown in figure down
below.

An SCR does not conduct in reverse bias, so it will block the negative half
cycle.
During the positive half cycle, the SCR will conduct current on one condition
when a pulse is applied to the gate input. The gate input is, of course, a periodic
pulse signal which is designed to activate the SCR at each positive half cycle.
In this way, we can control the output voltage of this rectifier.
The output of the SCR is also a pulsating DC voltage/current. These pulses are
removed by using a capacitor parallel to the load resistor RL.

Full Wave Controlled Rectifier

A type of rectifier that converts both positive and negative half cycle of the AC
into DC as well as controls the output amplitude is known as a full wave
controlled rectifier.
Just like uncontrolled rectifier, controlled full wave rectifier has two types.

Controlled Bridge Rectifier

In this rectifier, the diode bridge is replaced by an SCR (Thyristor) bridge with
the same configuration as shown in the figure below.

Positive Half Cycle:

During the positive cycle, the SCR (thyristor) T1 & T2 will conduct when the
gate pulse is applied. T3 & T4 will be reversed bias, so they will block the
current. The output voltage will be established across the load resistor RL as
shown below.
Negative Half Cycle:
During the negative half cycle, the thyristor T3 & T4 will become forward bias
considering the gate input pulse & the T1 & T2 will become reverse bias. The
output voltage will appear across the load resistor RL.

At the end of the output, a capacitor is used to remove the ripples and makes
the output steady & smooth.

Controlled Center-Tap Rectifier:

Just like center-tap uncontrolled rectifier, this design uses two SCR replacing
the two diodes.
Both of these SCR switching will be timed differently according to the
input AC frequency.
Its operation is the same as the uncontrolled rectifier & its schematic design is
given below.

 Related Post: Types of Latches – SR & D Latches

Single Phase and Three Phase Rectifiers
This classification is based on the type of input a rectifier works on. The naming
is pretty straightforward. When the input is single phase, the rectifier is called a
single phase rectifier and when the input is three phase, it is called a three phase
rectifier.
The single phase bridge rectifier consists of four diodes, whereas a three phase
rectifier uses six diodes arranged in a particular fashion to get the desired
output. These can be controlled or uncontrolled rectifiers depending on the
switching components used in each rectifier such as diodes, Thyristors, and so
on.
Comparison of Rectifiers
The following table shows the compassion between different types of rectifiers
such as half wave rectifier, full wave rectifier and center tapped rectifier.

Applications Of Rectifiers
Basically, almost all electronic circuits operated on DC voltages. The main
purpose of using rectifier is for rectification which means converting AC
voltages to DC Voltages. Its mean, rectifiers are used in almost all power
rectification and electronics appliances.
Below is the list of common applications and uses of different Rectifiers.
 Rectification i.e. converting DC Voltages to AC Voltages.
 Rectifiers are used in electric welding to provide the polarized voltage.
 It is also used in traction, rolling stock and three phase traction motors
used for running trains.
 Half wave rectifiers are used in mosquito repellent and soldering iron.
 Half wave rectifier also used in AM Radio as a detector and signal
peak detector.
 Rectifiers also used in modulation, demodulation and voltage
multipliers.