Full wave Rectifier

A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The process is known as rectification. Rectifiers have many uses, but are often found serving as components of DC power supplies and highvoltage direct current power transmission systems. Rectification may serve in roles other than to generate direct current for use as a source of power.

Rectifier devices
Before the development of silicon semiconductor rectifiers, vacuum tube diodes and copper (I) oxide or selenium rectifier stacks were used. High power rectifiers, such as are used in high-voltage direct current power transmission, now uniformly employ silicon semiconductor devices of various types. These are thyristors or other controlled switching solid-state switches which effectively function as diodes to pass current in only one direction.

Full-wave rectification
A full-wave rectifier converts the whole of the input waveform to one of constant polarity (positive or negative) at its output. Full-wave rectification converts both polarities of the input waveform to DC (direct current), and is more efficient. However, in a circuit with a non-center tapped transformer, four diodes are required instead of the one needed for half-wave rectification. (See semiconductors, diode). Four diodes arranged this way are called a diode bridge or bridge rectifier.

For single-phase AC, if the transformer is center-tapped, then two diodes back-to-back (i.e. anodes-toanode or cathode-to-cathode) can form a full-wave rectifier. Twice as many windings are required on the transformer secondary to obtain the same output voltage compared to the bridge rectifier above.

The average and root-mean-square output voltages of an ideal single phase full wave rectifier can be calculated as:

For an ideal three-phase full wave rectifier, the average output voltage is

Rectifier output smoothing

While half-wave and full-wave rectification suffice to deliver a form of DC output, neither produces constantvoltage DC. In order to produce steady DC from a rectified AC supply, a smoothing circuit or filter is required. In its simplest form this can be just a reservoir capacitor or smoothing capacitor, placed at the DC output of the rectifier. There will still remain an amount of AC ripple voltage where the voltage is not completely smoothed. Sizing of the capacitor represents a tradeoff. For a given load, a larger capacitor will reduce ripple but will cost more and will create higher peak currents in the transformer secondary and in the supply feeding it. In extreme cases where many rectifiers are loaded onto a power distribution circuit, it may prove difficult for the power distribution authority to maintain a correctly shaped sinusoidal voltage curve. For a given tolerable ripple the required capacitor size is proportional to the load current and inversely proportional to the supply frequency and the number of output peaks of the rectifier per input cycle. The load current and the supply frequency are generally outside the control of the designer of the rectifier system but the number of peaks per input cycle can be affected by the choice of rectifier design. A half-wave rectifier will only give one peak per cycle and for this and other reasons is only used in very small power supplies. A full wave rectifier achieves two peaks per cycle and this is the best that can be done with single-phase input. For three-phase inputs a three-phase bridge will give six peaks per cycle and even higher numbers of peaks can be achieved by using transformer networks placed before the rectifier to convert to a higher phase order. To further reduce this ripple, a capacitor-input filter can be used. This complements the reservoir capacitor with a choke (inductor) and a second filter capacitor, so that a steadier DC output can be obtained across the terminals of the filter capacitor. The choke presents a high impedance to the ripple current. A more usual alternative to a filter, and essential if the DC load is very demanding of a smooth supply voltage, is to follow the reservoir capacitor with a voltage regulator. The reservoir capacitor needs to be large enough to prevent the troughs of the ripple getting below the voltage the DC is being regulated to. The regulator serves both to remove the last of the ripple and to deal with variations in supply and load characteristics. It would be possible to use a smaller reservoir capacitor (these can be large on high-current power supplies) and then apply some filtering as well as the regulator, but this is not a common strategy. The extreme of this approach is to dispense with the reservoir capacitor altogether and put the rectified waveform straight into a choke-input filter. The advantage of this circuit is that the current waveform is smoother and consequently the rectifier no longer has to deal with the current as a large current pulse, but instead the current delivery is spread over the entire cycle. The downside is that the voltage output is much lower approximately the average of an AC half-cycle rather than the peak.

1N4007 007

Voltage regulator IC
A voltage regulator is an electrical regulator designed to automatically maintain a constant voltage level. A voltage regulator may be a simple "feed-forward" design or may include negative feedback control loops. It may use an electromechanical mechanism, or electronic components. Depending on the design, it may be used to regulate one or more AC or DC voltages. Electronic voltage regulators are found in devices such as computer power supplies where they stabilize the DC voltages used by the processor and other elements. In automobile alternators and central power station generator plants, voltage regulators control the output of the plant. In an electric power distribution system, voltage regulators may be installed at a substation or along distribution lines so that all customers receive steady voltage independent of how much power is drawn from the line. IC voltage regulators are three-terminal devices that provide a constant DC output voltage that is independent of the input voltage, output load current, and temperature. There are three types of IC voltage regulators: IC linear voltage regulators, IC switching voltage regulators, and DC/DC converter chips. IC linear voltage regulators use an active pass element to reduce the input voltage to a regulated output voltage. By contrast, IC switching voltage regulators store energy in an inductor, transformer, or capacitor and then use this storage device to transfer energy from the input to the output in discrete packets over a low-resistance switch. DC/DC converter chips, a third type of IC voltage regulators, also provide a regulated DC voltage output from a different, unregulated input voltage. In addition, DC/DC converters are provide noise isolation regulate power buses. For each type of IC voltage regulator, the output voltage can be fixed or adjusted to a value within a specified range. IC voltage regulators are available with a variety of features. Some devices have more than one output or channel. Others have an internal circuit to control the amount of current produced, or an error flag for monitoring outputs that drop below a nominal value. Reverse voltage protection prevents damage in applications where users can accidentally reverse battery polarity. Thermal shutdown protection turns off IC voltage regulators when the temperature exceeds a predefined limit. Shutdown (inhibit) pins are used to disable regulator outputs.

Electronic voltage regulators

A simple voltage regulator can be made from a resistor in series with a diode (or series of diodes). Due to the logarithmic shape of diode V-I curves, the voltage across the diode changes only slightly due to changes in current drawn. When precise voltage control is not important, this design may work fine. Feedback voltage regulators operate by comparing the actual output voltage to some fixed reference voltage. Any difference is amplified and used to control the regulation element in such a way as to reduce the voltage error. This forms a negative feedback control loop; increasing the open-loop gain tends to increase regulation accuracy but reduce stability (avoidance of oscillation, or ringing during step changes). There will also be a trade-off between stability and the speed of the response to changes. If the output voltage is too low (perhaps due to input voltage reducing or load current increasing), the regulation element is commanded, up to a point, to produce a higher output voltageby dropping less of the input voltage (for linear series regulators and buck switching regulators), or to draw input current for longer periods (boosttype switching regulators); if the output voltage is too high, the regulation element will normally be commanded to produce a lower voltage. However, many regulators have over-current protection, so that they will entirely stop sourcing current (or limit the current in some way) if the output current is too high, and some regulators may also shut down if the input voltage is outside a given range.

78xx (7812 & 7805)

The 78xx (sometimes LM78xx) is a family of self-contained fixed linear voltage regulator integrated circuits. The 78xx family is commonly used in electronic circuits requiring a regulated power supply due to their easeof-use and low cost. For ICs within the family, the xx is replaced with two digits, indicating the output voltage (for example, the 7805 has a 5 volt output, while the 7812 produces 12 volts). The 78xx lines are positive voltage regulators: they produce a voltage that is positive relative to a common ground. There is a related line of 79xx devices which are complementary negative voltage regulators. 78xx and 79xx ICs can be used in combination to provide positive and negative supply voltages in the same circuit. 78xx ICs have three terminals and are commonly found in the TO220 form factor, although smaller surfacemount and larger TO3 packages are available. These devices support an input voltage anywhere from a couple of volts over the intended output voltage, up to a maximum of 35 or 40 volts, and typically provide 1 or 1.5 amperes of current (though smaller or larger packages may have a lower or higher current rating).

Advantages

78xx series ICs do not require additional components to provide a constant, regulated source of power, making them easy to use, as well as economical and efficient uses of space. Other voltage regulators may require additional components to set the output voltage level, or to assist in the regulation process. Some other designs (such as a switching power supply) may need substantial engineering expertise to implement. 78xx series ICs have built-in protection against a circuit drawing too much power. They have protection against overheating and short-circuits, making them quite robust in most applications. In some cases, the current-limiting features of the 78xx devices can provide protection not only for the 78xx itself, but also for other parts of the circuit.

Disadvantages

The input voltage must always be higher than the output voltage by some minimum amount (typically 2 volts). This can make these devices unsuitable for powering some devices from certain types of power sources (for example, powering a circuit that requires 5 volts using 6-volt batteries will not work using a 7805). As they are based on a linear regulator design, the input current required is always the same as the output current. As the input voltage must always be higher than the output voltage, this means that the total power (voltage multiplied by current) going into the 78xx will be more than the output power provided. The extra input power is dissipated as heat. This means both that for some applications an adequate heat-sink must be provided, and also that a (often substantial) portion of the input power is wasted during the process, rendering them less efficient than some other types of power supplies. When the input voltage is significantly higher than the regulated output voltage (for example, powering a 7805 using a 24 volt power source), this inefficiency can be a significant issue. Even in larger packages, 78xx integrated circuits cannot supply as much power as many designs which use discrete components, and are generally inappropriate for applications requiring more than a few amperes of current.

Individual devices in the series

There are common configurations for 78xx ICs, including 7805 (5 volt), 7806 (6 volt), 7808 (8 volt), 7809 (9 volt), 7810 (10 volt), 7812 (12 volt), 7815 (15 volt), 7818 (18 volt), and 7824 (24 volt) versions. The 7805 is common, as its regulated 5 volt supply provides a convenient power source for most TTL components.

Transistortransistor logic (TTL)

Transistortransistor logic (TTL) is a class of digital circuits built from bipolar junction transistors (BJT) and resistors. It is called transistortransistor logic because both the logic gating functions. TTL is notable for being a widespread integrated circuit (IC) family used in many applications such as computers, industrial controls, test equipment and instrumentation, consumer electronics, synthesizers, etc. The designation TTL is sometimes used to mean TTL-compatible logic levels, even when not associated directly with TTL integrated circuits, for example as a label on the inputs and outputs of electronic instruments.

Peak inverse voltage

The peak inverse voltage is either the specified maximum voltage that a diode rectifier can block, or, alternatively, the maximum that a rectifier needs to block in a given application.

In semiconductor diodes
Peak reverse voltage' or peak inverse voltage is the maximum voltage that a diode can withstand in the reverse direction without breaking down or avalanching. If this voltage is exceeded the diode may be destroyed. Diodes must have a peak inverse voltage rating that is higher than the maximum voltage that will be applied to them in a given application.

In rectifier applications
For rectifier applications, peak inverse voltage (PIV) or peak reverse voltage (PRV) is the maximum value of reverse voltage which occurs at the peak of the input cycle when the diode is reverse-biased. The portion of the sinusoidal waveform which repeats or duplicate itself is known as the cycle. The part of the cycle above the horizontal axis is called the positive half-cycle, or alternation; the part of the cycle below the horizontal axis is called the negative alternation. With reference to the amplitude of the cycle, the peak inverse voltage is specified as the maximum negative value of the sine-wave within a cycle's negative alternation.

Zener diode
A Zener diode is a special kind of diode which allows current to flow in the forward direction in the same manner as an ideal diode, but will also permit it to flow in the reverse direction when the voltage is above a certain value known as the breakdown voltage, "Zener knee voltage" or "Zener voltage." The device was named after Clarence Zener, who discovered this electrical property. A conventional solid-state diode will not allow significant current if it is reverse-biased below its reverse breakdown voltage. When the reverse bias breakdown voltage is exceeded, a conventional diode is subject to high current due to avalanche breakdown. Unless this current is limited by circuitry, the diode will be permanently damaged due to overheating. In the case of a large forward bias (current in the direction of the arrow), the diode exhibits a voltage drop due to its junction built-in voltage and internal resistance. The amount of the voltage drop depends on the semiconductor material and the doping concentrations. A Zener diode exhibits almost the same properties, except the device is specially designed so as to have a greatly reduced breakdown voltage, the so-called Zener voltage. By contrast with the conventional device, a reverse-biased Zener diode will exhibit a controlled breakdown and allow the current to keep the voltage across the Zener diode close to the Zener breakdown voltage. For example, a diode with a Zener breakdown voltage of 3.2 V will exhibit a voltage drop of very nearly 3.2 V across a wide range of reverse currents. The Zener diode is therefore ideal for applications such as the generation of a reference voltage (e.g. for an amplifier stage), or as a voltage stabilizer for low-current applications. The Zener diode's operation depends on the heavy doping of its p-n junction allowing electrons to tunnel from the valence band of the p-type material to the conduction band of the n-type material. In the atomic scale, this tunneling corresponds to the transport of valence band electrons into the empty conduction band states; as a result of the reduced barrier between these bands and high electric fields that are induced due to the relatively high levels of dopings on both sides. The breakdown voltage can be controlled quite accurately in the doping process. While tolerances within 0.05% are available, the most widely used tolerances are 5% and 10%. Breakdown voltage for commonly available zener diodes can vary widely from 1.2 volts to 200 volts. Another mechanism that produces a similar effect is the avalanche effect as in the avalanche diode. The two types of diode are in fact constructed the same way and both effects are present in diodes of this type. In silicon diodes up to about 5.6 volts, the Zener effect is the predominant effect and shows a marked negative temperature coefficient. Above 5.6 volts, the avalanche effect becomes predominant and exhibits a positive temperature coefficient. In a 5.6 V diode, the two effects occur together and their temperature coefficients nearly cancel each other out, thus the 5.6 V diode is the component of choice in temperaturecritical applications. Modern manufacturing techniques have produced devices with voltages lower than 5.6 V with negligible temperature coefficients, but as higher voltage devices are encountered, the temperature coefficient rises dramatically. A 75 V diode has 10 times the coefficient of a 12 V diode.

Current-voltage characteristic of a Zener diode with a breakdown voltage of 17 volts. Notice the change of voltage scale between the forward biased (positive) direction and the reverse biased (negative) direction.

Simple Zener regulator

The image shows a simple Zener voltage regulator. It is a shunt regulator and operates by way of the Zener diode's action of maintaining a constant voltage across itself when the current through it is sufficient to take it into the Zener breakdown region. The resistor R1 supplies the Zener current IZ as well as the load current IR2 (R2 is the load). R1 can be calculated as -

where, VZ is the Zener voltage, and IR2 is the required load current.

This regulator is used for very simple low power applications where the currents involved are very small and the load is permanently connected across the Zener diode (such as voltage reference or voltage source circuits). Once R1 has been calculated, removing R2 will cause the full load current (plus the Zener current) to flow through the diode and may exceed the diode's maximum current rating thereby damaging it. The regulation of this circuit is also not very good because the Zener current (and hence the Zener voltage) will vary depending on VS and inversely depending on the load current.

Light-emitting diode

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting. When a light-emitting diode is forward-biased (switched on), electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence and the color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by 2 the energy gap of the semiconductor. LEDs are often small in area (less than 1 mm ), and integrated optical components may be used to shape its radiation pattern. LEDs present many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller size, and faster switching. LEDs powerful enough for room lighting are relatively expensive and require more precise current and heat management than compact fluorescent lamp sources of comparable output. Light-emitting diodes are used in applications as diverse as replacements for aviation lighting, automotive lighting (in particular brake lamps, turn signals, and indicators) as well as in traffic signals. LEDs have allowed new text, video displays, and sensors to be developed, while their high switching rates are also useful in advanced communications technology. Infrared LEDs are also used in the remote control units of many commercial products including televisions, DVD players, and other domestic appliances.

The LED consists of a chip of semiconducting material doped with impurities to create a p-n junction. As in other diodes, current flows easily from the p-side, or anode, to the n-side, or cathode, but not in the reverse direction. Charge-carrierselectrons and holesflow into the junction from electrodes with different voltages. When an electron meets a hole, it falls into a lower energy level, and releases energy in the form of a photon. The wavelength of the light emitted, and thus its color depends on the band gap energy of the materials forming the p-n junction. In silicon or germanium diodes, the electrons and holes recombine by a nonradiative transition, which produces no optical emission, because these are indirect band gap materials. The materials used for the LED have a direct band gap with energies corresponding to near-infrared, visible, or near-ultraviolet light. LED development began with infrared and red devices made with gallium arsenide. Advances in materials science have enabled making devices with ever-shorter wavelengths, emitting light in a variety of colors. LEDs are usually built on an n-type substrate, with an electrode attached to the p-type layer deposited on its surface. P-type substrates, while less common, occur as well. Many commercial LEDs, especially GaN/InGaN, also use sapphire substrate. Most materials used for LED production have very high refractive indices. This means that much light will be reflected back into the material at the material/air surface interface. Thus, light extraction in LEDs is an important aspect of LED production, subject to much research and development.