Instituto Politécnico Nacional

Escuela Superior de Cómputo

Analog electronics

PRACTICE REPORT No. 2

“Rectifiers”

Group: 2CV4

Members:
 Alcántara López Daniel
 Jimenez Rodriguez Ricardo Andres

Teacher: Martínez Guerrero José Alfredo

Delivery date: March, 7th ,2018

Objectives:

- Analyze the operation of the different rectifiers with diodes

- Analyze the behavior of the different rectifiers with integration filter
- Interpret the values obtained and compare them with the theoretical values

Material:

- Protoboard
- 4 1N4003 diodes
- Transformer from 12V to 1 A
- 1.5 m of duplex no. 14 cable
- Plug
- Tape
- Resistor of 100Ω at 10W
- Resistor of 22Ω at 25W
- Electrolytic capacitor of 470 μF at 50V
- Electrolytic capacitor of 2200 μF at 50V

Theoretical introduction

In order to power any circuit, a power supply is needed; and if you want to power electronic
devices from an AC supply, a rectifier is needed.

Figure 1.1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a DC power supply. There is a 120 V (rms), 60 Hz AC
line that feeds the power supply, which delivers a voltage VO to the electronic circuit (load
block). VO must be a stable DC voltage to ensure that the electronic circuitry functions correctly.

Figure 1.1
Looking at the diagram, first we see the transformer. This transformer is a step-down transformer
that “steps down” the high AC input voltage to a lower AC voltage to be inputted into the rectifier.
This transformer consists of two separate coil windings (primary and secondary windings) that
have a different number of turns, N1 for the primary and N2 for the secondary. Thus, the AC
voltage vS can be written as 120(N2/N1) V (rms) and is measured between the two terminals of the
secondary winding.

Next, the diode rectifier converts the AC voltage vS to a DC voltage. This voltage will exhibit large
variations and thus will not be suitable for electronic circuitry. A filter is used to smooth out these
variations.

Even after filtering, though, the voltage will exhibit small variations known as ripple. Consequently,
a voltage regulator is used to greatly reduce the ripple and establish a reliable DC supply rail.

Half-Wave Rectifier Circuit

The half-wave rectifier eliminates the negative portions of the input sinusoid. In Figure 1.2 (A), the
half-wave rectifier is illustrated. In this article, we will use the constant voltage drop (CVD) model
of a diode owing to its simplicity. From this model, we are provided with

v0=0v0=0

when

vS<VDvS<VD

Equation 1.1 (A)

v0=vS−VDv0=vS−VD

when

vS≥VDvS≥VD

Equation 1.1 (B)

where VD ≈ 0.7 V. The above equations lead to the transfer characteristic illustrated in Figure 1.2
(B). Figure 1.2 (C) illustrates the voltage output that is provided when the input voltage vS is
sinusoidal.
Figure 1.2 (B) Transfer characteristics of the rectifier circuit

Figure 1.2 (C) Input and output waveforms

When determining which diodes to use in a rectifier circuit, there are two things to take into
consideration: 1) the diode's ability to handle current, which must be chosen based on the largest
current that is expected to be conducted by the diode, and 2) the peak inverse voltage (PIV), which
is the highest reverse voltage to which the diode will be subjected; the diode must be able to
withstand the PIV. Looking at Figure 1.2 (A), we can observe that when the voltage vS is negative,
the diode will be cut off and the voltage vO will have a value of zero, leading to a reverse voltage
across the diode of magnitude vS. Thus, the PIV is the peak of vS:

PIV = VS

Equation 1.2

where VS (with an uppercase V) represents the peak amplitude of the input sinusoid.
One thing worth noting is that the circuit clearly will not operate effectively when the input
sinusoid's peak amplitude is not significantly higher than VD. For example, a sinusoidal input with
peak amplitude of 200 mV will not be rectified at all because the diode will never "turn on," i.e., it
will never conduct significant amounts of current.

Full-Wave Rectifier Circuit

Unlike the half-wave rectifier, the full-wave rectifier can utilize both the negative and the positive
portion of the AC input voltage. In order to achieve a unipolar output, the negative portion of the
sinusoidal waveform must be inverted. This can be accomplished by using the circuit shown in
Figure 1.3 (A).

In this configuration, the step-down transformer's secondary winding is what is called "center-
tapped." A center tap, or CT, is an electrical contact made halfway along the winding. This CT is
used to provide two equal voltages, vS, across the two halves of the transformer's secondary
winding. When the input voltage is positive, both vS signals will also be positive, and when the
input voltage becomes greater than VD, diode D1 will be conducting and diode D2 will be reverse-
biased. The current that flows into diode D1 will also flow through resistor R and then back to the
CT. The circuit behaves just like the half-wave rectifier during the positive half-cycle of an input
sinusoid.

During the negative half-cycle, both vS voltages will be negative. Now, diode D1 is reverse-biased
and diode D2 is conducting. The current that flows through D2 will then flow through resistor R and
back to the CT.

Thus, current flows during both half-cycles, and furthermore the current through the resistor will
always flow in the same direction. The result is a unipolar output voltage, as shown in Figure
1.3 (C).

If we consider the circuit's operation during a positive half-cycle, the voltage at the cathode
of D2 is (vS - VD) and the voltage at the anode of D2 is -vS. Thus, the PIV is (VS - VD) - (-VS):

PIV = 2VS - VD

Note that this PIV is roughly double that of the half-wave rectifier.
Practice development

The first step of the practice was to build a simple circuit and measure the voltage of the
resistors.

100 Ω 14.58 V
22 Ω 13.17 V

Then we needed to build another circuit, but these has different steps, we measured the
current and the voltage of the resistor.

V0= 6.23V and I0= 62.26mA

Then we used the oscilloscope, and we obtained the next image:

Vp= 40.6V

Vp-Vd= 39.9V

Then using the resistor of 100 ohms, we had to use the capacitors asked in the practice, then
measure the voltage and the current.

Capacitor
470 µF 16.02 V 163.3 mA 1.14 V
2200 µF 16.5 V 168.7 mA 5V
 After that we used the oscilloscope again, and we obtained the next images:

The next circuit had two diodes, but practically were the same steps as the previously circuits,
measure the voltage and the current on the circuit.

Vo= 5.82V and Io= 58.8mA

Using the oscilloscope, we obtained the next images:

Vp=10.5V

Vp-Vd=9.8V
In this circuit we had to use two diodes and the capacitor to achieve the results. We measured the
voltage and the current of the circuit and put the values on the table.

Capacitor
470 µF 8.61 V 86.4 mA 3.2 V
2200 µF 8.64 V 88.15 mA 3.5 V

Then using the oscilloscope, we obtained the next images:

The next circuit was a little bit more difficult, because we had to use 4 diodes and measure the
voltage and the current like the previous steps.

Vo=11.28V and Io=115.2mA

Then we used the oscilloscope and we obtained the next images:

Vp= 20.3V

Vp-2Vd= 18.9
The next circuit was very similar like the previous, the only difference between these two circuits
was the use of a capacitor. We measure the next values and put them in the next table:

Capacitor

470 µF 15.85 V 163.9 mA 2.2 V

2200 µF 16.1 V 164.2 mA 680 mV

Then we use the oscilloscope and we obtained the next images:

Conclusion:

at the beginning of the practice was a little confusing to us because we were doing the things in a
wrong way, but then we saw what were our mistakes and we started to do the steps of the
practice very fast, it was simple once we already know how to put the things in the right way. We
measure the values asked very quickly and finished the practice on time.