Department of Biomedical Engineering

Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Program: B.Sc. Biomedical Engineering

Subject: BM-223L Basic Electronics

Lab # 04:
Rectifiers: Half Wave and Full Wave Rectifiers

Group Members:
Farhana Mehmood (231909)

Rubab Jafar (231920)

Eman Zafar (231935)

Maham Mazhar (231903)

Amen Ali (231912)

OBJECTIVES:
• To observe waveform at the output of half wave rectifier with and without filter
• capacitor.
• To observe waveform at the output of bridge rectifier with and without filter
capacitor.
• To measure DC voltage, DC current, ripple factor with and without filter capacitor.

Assessment table:
Description Total Obtained
Marks Marks

Ability to conduct the experiment 5

Lab
Performance Teamwork 5

Data Presentation 5

Lab Report Conclusion/Results 5

Responsiveness to Questions 5

Lab Viva Subject Knowledge 5

Total Marks 30

Total Marks Obtained

Remarks (if any): ………………………………………

Signature of faculty: ………………….

Equipment:
• Frequency generator
• Oscilloscope
• Resistor (2.2k)
• Diode (ln4007)
• Capacitor (47uF)
• DMM
• Breadboard

Discussion:
▪ Half wave rectifier
The primary function of half-wave and full-wave rectification systems is to establish a
DC level from a sinusoidal input signal that has zero average (DC) level. The half-wave
voltage signal of Fig.1, normally established by a network with a single diode, has an
average or equivalent DC voltage level equal to 31.8% of the peak voltage Vm.
That is,
𝑽𝑫𝑪 = 𝟎.𝟑𝟏𝟖 * 𝑽𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒔
The full-wave rectified signal of Fig.1 has twice the average or DC level of the half-
wave signal, or 63.6% of the peak value Vm.
That is,

𝑽𝑫𝑪 = 𝟎.𝟔𝟑𝟔 * 𝑽𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒔

Figure -1 Half-wave and Full-wave rectified signal

In rectification systems the peak inverse voltage (PIV) must be considered carefully. The
PIV voltage is the maximum reverse-bias voltage that a diode can handle before entering
the Zener breakdown region. For typical single-diode half-wave rectification systems,
the required PIV level is equal to the peak value of the applied sinusoidal signal. For the
four-diode full wave bridge rectification system, the required PIV level is again the peak
value, but for a two-diode center-tapped configuration, it is twice the peak value of the
applied signal.

One of the very important applications of diode is in DC power supply as a

rectifier to convert AC into DC. DC Power supply is the important element of
any electronic equipment. This is because it provides power to energize all
electronic circuits like oscillators, amplifiers and so on.
The reliability and performance of the electronic system proper design of power
supply is necessary. The first block of DC power supply is rectifier. Rectifier
may be defined as an electronic device used to convert ac voltage or current into
unidirectional voltage or current. Essentially rectifier needs unidirectional device.
Diode has unidirectional property hence suitable for rectifier. Rectifier broadly
divided into two categories: Half wave rectifier and full wave rectifier. In this
experiment, you will construct half wave rectifier.

▪ Working principle of half wave rectifier:

In half wave rectifier only half cycle of applied AC voltage is used. Another half
cycle of AC voltage (negative cycle) is not used. Only one diode is used which
conducts during positive cycle. The circuit diagram of half wave rectifier without
capacitor is shown in the following figure. During positive half cycle of the input
voltage anode of the diode is positive compared with the cathode. Diode is in
forward bias and current passes through the diode and positive cycle develops
across the load resistance RL. During negative half cycle of input voltage, anode
is negative with respected to cathode and diode is in reverse bias. No current
passes through the diode hence output voltage is zero.

Figure 2: Half-wave rectifier

▪ FULL WAVE RECTIFIER

Half wave rectifier without filter capacitor convert AC voltage into pulsating DC
voltage. Filter capacitor is used to obtain smooth DC voltage.

▪ BRIDGE RECTIFIER
The Bridge rectifier is a circuit, which converts an ac voltage to dc voltage using
both half cycles of the input ac voltage. The Bridge rectifier circuit is shown in
the following figure.

The circuit has four diodes connected to form a bridge. The ac input voltage is
applied to the diagonally opposite ends of the bridge. The load resistance is
connected between the other two ends of the bridge
 Figure 3: Working of a bridge rectifier

For the positive half cycle of the input ac voltage, diodes D1 and D2 conduct,
whereas diodes D3 and D4 remain in the OFF state. The conducting diodes will
be in series with the load resistance RL and hence the load current flows through
RL.
For the negative half cycle of the input ac voltage, diodes D3 and D4 conduct
whereas, D1 and D2 remain OFF. The conducting diodes D3 and D4 will be in
series with the load resistance RL and hence the current flows through RL in the
same direction as in the previous half cycle. Thus a bi-directional wave is
converted into a unidirectional wave.

Bridge rectifier package (combination of four diodes in form of bridge) is easily

available in the market for various current capacities ranging from 500 mA to 30A.
For laboratory purpose you can use 1A package.

PROCEDURE

1. Construct following circuit to perform this practical.

2. Connect multimeter across the 2.2k load.
3. Measure the AC and DC voltages by setting the multimeter to the ac and
dc mode, respectively.
 4. Calculate the ripple factor using the formula: r=VAC/VDC
5. Connect the Oscilloscope channel-1 across output i.e. load and observe
the output waveform.
6. Now calculate the peak voltage of input and output waveforms and also
the frequency.

Without filter (capacitor):

Figure 4: Half wave without filter capacitor

Practical Circuit:
Input Waveform:

Output waveform:
 With filter capacitor:

Figure 5: Half wave with filter capacitor

Input Waveform:
Output waveform:

OBSERVATIONS:

Without filter capacitor

1. AC Input voltage (rms) Vrms= 1.4V
2. DC output voltage VDC = 0.5V
3. DC current: IDC = 1.84 mA
4. AC output voltage (Ripple voltage) Vr: 0.59V
5. Ripple factor: (Vr/VDC) = 1.18
With filter capacitor
1. AC Input voltage (rms) Vrms= 2.9 V
2. DC output voltage VDC = 4.4V
3. DC current: IDC = 2.07 mA
4. AC output voltage (Ripple voltage) Vr: 0.14V
5. Ripple factor: (Vr/VDC) = 0.03
 Figure 6: Bridge rectifier

1. Patch the circuit given above.

Practical Circuit:

2. Observe the final voltage at the load resistor using the Oscilloscope and draw
the output waveform.
Input Waveform:

Output waveform:

Without filter capacitor

AC Input voltage (rms) Vrms= 7.85 V
DC output voltage VDC = 2.7V
DC current: IDC = 46.2 mA
AC output voltage (Ripple voltage) Vr: 5.36 V
Ripple factor: (Vr/VDC) = 1.98
Questions:

[1] Define ripple factor.

The ripple effect refers to the variations in voltage and current that occurs after
rectification. In power supplies. These fluctuations can impact the performance of
circuits, leading to noise and instability. Effective filtering is often needed to
minimize this ripple and ensure stable operation.

[2] What is the effect of load resistance on ripple voltage in presence of filter
capacitor?
The load resistance effects ripple voltage by determining how quickly the capacitor
discharges. A lower load resistance leads to higher current draw current., causing the
capacitor to discharge more quickly, ripple voltage also increases. A load resistance
reduces ripple effect and allows capacitor to maintain charge longer.

[3] What is the effect of value of filter capacitor on ripple voltage?

The value of filter capacitor directly effects ripple voltage. A larger capacitor stores
more charge. Which helps smooth out fluctuation in voltage. As the capacitance
increases, the ripple voltage Deceases because the capacitor discharges slowly under
the load. Conversely a smaller capacitor Will lead to higher ripple voltage due to
higher discharge rates.

[4] What is the PIV necessary for the diode if transformer of 24V is used?
The peak inverse voltage (PIV) for diode must be at least twice for transformer
secondary voltage to account for reverse voltage during operation. For a 24 V
transformer, the peak voltage is approximately24V × √2, which approximately equals
to 34V.Therefore, diode should have PIV rating of At least 70V to ensure safe
operation.

[5] What is the mathematical relationship between rms input AC voltage

and DC output voltage in half wave rectifier with and without filter
capacitor?
In half wave rectifier without capacitor, The DC output voltage is approximately
0.318 times the RMS input AC voltage (V_rms): Vdc≈0. 318×Vrms.With a
capacitor, the DC output voltage s closer to the peak voltage of the AC input, which
is Vpeak=Vrms×2V_{peak} = Vrms×2, resulting in Vdc≈0.636×Vrms. Thus, the
presence of the filter capacitor. Significantly increases the average DC output
voltage.
 SOFTWARE SIMULATION

1) Half wave rectifier without filter

Output wave without filter

2) Half wave rectifier with filter

Output wave with filter

3) Full wave rectifier

Output waveform of full wave rectifier

Conclusion:

In this experiment, we investigated the principles of half-wave and full-wave rectification

by constructing circuits incorporating diodes, load resistors, and filter capacitors. The half-
wave rectifier demonstrated the functionality of a single diode in allowing current to flow
in one direction, resulting in a pulsed DC output. The addition of a filter capacitor
significantly smoothed this output, reducing ripple voltage. In contrast, the full-wave
rectifier, utilizing a bridge configuration, effectively doubled the frequency of the output
voltage, yielding a more stable DC signal compared to the half-wave setup. Measurements
of AC and DC currents, alongside voltage readings obtained with a digital multimeter and
visualized on an oscilloscope, validated the expected relationships between input and
output. Overall, both practical implementations and simulations in Proteus software
reinforced our understanding of rectification processes and the critical role of filtering in
the design of efficient DC power supplies.

Result:

• A half-wave rectifier without a capacitor produces a pulsating DC signal, allowing

only positive peaks from the AC input.
• A half-wave rectifier with a capacitor produces a smoother DC signal, with the
capacitor charging during peaks and discharging slowly between them.
• A full-wave rectifier converts the entire AC waveform into a continuous DC signal by
using both halves of the input cycle, resulting in a smoother output than a half-wave
rectifier.