Application of Diodes
Clippers, Clampers and
Rectifiers
By: Prem R Dhungana
Cosmos college of management and technology
2008 July
Clippers
Clippers are the diode networks those have the ability to “clip”
[cut] of a portion of the input signal without distorting the
remaining part.
Half wave rectifier [circuit with one resister and one diode] is
the most fundamental clipper circuit.
Clippers………
Clippers…………………………
The orientation of the diode determines which portion
(negative or positive) of the input signal will be clipped
off.
Series Clipper
Series clipper: diode in series with load
Parallel Clipper
Parallel clipper: diode is in parallel with load
Analyzing clipper circuits:
No general procedure, but think of continuing
towards solution.
1.Make the mental sketch of the response of the network based on
the direction of the diode and applied voltage levels.
2.Determine the applied voltage that will change the state of the
diode.
3.Be continuously aware of the defined terminals and polarity
4.Better you draw the input signal above the output and determine
the output at instantaneous values of the input.
An ideal diode Rf = 0; RR = ∞; vγ = 0.
Diode is in
forward bias
vi > vB
Diode is in
forward bias
vi < vB
Output voltage is same as input when diode is in reverse bias.
An ideal diode Rf = 0; RR = ∞; vγ = 0.
Diode is in
reverse bias
vi > vB
Diode is in
reverse bias
vi < vB
Output voltage is same as input when diode is in forward bias
Exercise:
Exercise:
Exercise:
Exercise:
Practice problems:
32, 33, 34, 35, 36 [page no.:126-27]
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory
-Boylestad
Eighth Edition
Clampers
• Clampers are the diode circuits with capacitor and resistor
having ability to “clamp” the signal at different dc level.
Clampers……….
Clampers……….
• Clamper circuit must have capacitor and the resistor but
the dc bias is not obligatory. The battery will cause
additional shift to the signal.
• Be careful while selecting the values of R and C. The time
constant τ = RC should be large enough to ensure that the
voltage across the capacitor does not change significantly
while the diode is non-conducting.
Analyzing Clamping circuits
Follow the following steps while analyzing the
clamping circuit:
1.Consider that part of the circuit when the diode is forward biased.
2.Assume that the diode will be instantaneously charged to a voltage level
determined by the network when the diode is “on”.
3.Assume that the capacitor will hold the established voltage level when the
diode is “off”.
4.Always be careful about the location and the reference polarity for output
voltage so that the proper levels of voltages are obtained.
5.Always remember that “Total swing of the output is equal to the total
swing of the input.”
Exercise
Practice problems:
37, 38, 39, 40, 41 [page no.: 127-29]
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory
-Boylestad
Eighth Edition
Rectifiers and Power Supplies
• The power available to us is generally 220V ac. This ac power must
suitably be converted to the required dc level for various purposes.
The circuit that converts the ac current to the required dc level is
referred to as power supply. Thus power supply is also regarded as
ac-to-dc conversion process. A power supply therefore requires the
following fundamental components:
1. A rectifier that converts an ac voltage to a pulsating dc voltage and
permits current to flow in one direction only.
2. A low pass filter that suppresses the pulsations in the rectified
waveform and passes its dc (average value) component; and
3. A voltage regulator that maintains a substantially constant power
voltage under variations in line voltage.
Typical Power Supply Unit
Performance parameters for
Rectifiers
• Average value of output signal……………………?
• RMS value of output signal ……………..?
• Form factor………………..?
• Ripple Factor *
• Efficiency………………….?
• PIV (or PRV) for diodes………………..?
** Find the definition and expression for ripple factor
somewhere below.
Half Wave Rectifier
The diode becomes forward biased for the positive half cycle (0 to
T/2) of input alternating waveform therefore behaves like a closed
switch.
For the negative half cycle (T/2 to T) the diode will be reverse
biased so output doesn't appear.
Half Wave Rectifier…………
• Calculate the average value of the half-wave
rectified signal at output.
• Calculate the average value of the half-wave
rectified signal at output.
Half Wave Rectifier…………
PIV (or PRV)
• It is the maximum voltage rating that must not be
exceeded in the reverse bias region or the diode will
enter the Zener avalanche region.
• For the half-wave rectifier circuit, the PIV rating of
the diode must be equal or exceed the peak value of
the applied voltage.
Half Wave Rectifier…………
Form Factor:
• It is the ratio of RMS value to the average Value. For
sinusoidal input signal,
Ripple factor: **
• The ripple factor of the output signal is the ratio of
rms ripple voltage of output signal to the average
value. It is denoted by .
Half Wave Rectifier…………
Efficiency (ŋ):
• It is the ratio of output dc power to the total
amount of input power supplied to the circuit.
• Maximum possible efficiency of HW rectifier is
40.6%. (find this)
* Expression for Ripple factor
** Calculation of ripple factor for HW rectifier
Practice problems:
22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 [page
no.:124]
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory
-Boylestad
Eighth Edition
Full-Wave Rectifier
• A full wave rectifier is a two (4 in case of bridge
rectifier) diode ac-dc conversion circuit that utilizes
both of the half cycles of the input alternating
waveforms. The use of central-tap transformer is an
essential requirement of 2-diode full wave rectifier.
Full-Wave Rectifier…………
• Average value:
• RMS Value:
• Form factor:
• PIV: maximum reverse-bias voltage that a diode
encounters when it is non-conducting
Full-Wave Rectifier…………
• Ripple factor:***
• Efficiency:
• Frequency of output signal:
*** Calculation of ripple factor for FW rectifier
Full-Wave Bridge Rectifier
Also trace the waveforms for:
(i) output current.
(ii) voltage across diodes
Practice problems:
28, 29, 30, 31 [page no.:125]
Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory
-Boylestad
Eighth Edition
Filters
• Capacitor Filter:
In capacitor filter the capacitor is placed across the rectified
output and in parallel with the load.
Capacitor charges and
discharges during the full
cycle of the ac input with
time constant RLC.
For positive half cycle of the input, the capacitor charges up to
the value Vmax and it will be discharged when the diode is non-
conducting.
Capacitor Filter…………..
When the ripple is small,
then the discharge time will
be nearly equal to T. Again
the shape of the waveform is
nearly similarly to the saw-
tooth waveform. So, you can
approximate the wave as the
saw-tooth wave.
RC Filter (RC π-filter)
Assignment:
The output of bridge rectifier circuit supplied with 30V rms and 50 Hz is fed to
the RC-pie filter. The values of capacitors are C1= C2= 1000μF and R= 20Ω.
Calculate the ripple voltage across a load resistor with value R L=200Ω.
(Refer fig above)
LC Filter (LC π-filter)
