In this article, we discuss about What is Half Wave Rectifier and Its Circuit Diagram, Operation, and Disadvantages. Poly Notes Hub loves to share this topic with all the readers of this site.
What is Half Wave Rectifier?
It is a that type electronic circuit which is basically used to convert Alternating Current to Pulsating Direct current. This circuit is only allows on half cycle of the input A.C. signal to pass through while blocking the other half. The circuit diagram of the half wave rectifier is also very simple. Below shows the circuit diagram of the half wave rectifier.
In the half-wave rectification, the rectifier conducts current only during the positive half cycles of input a.c. supply. The negative half cycles of a.c. supply are suppressed that is during negative half cycles, no current is conducted and hence no voltage appears at the load. Therefore, the current always flows in one direction ( i.e. D.C. or Direct Current) through the load after every half cycle.
Circuit Diagram of Half Wave Rectifier
Above is the circuit diagram of the half-wave rectifier. The circuit diagram is very simple. In this circuit, only one PN Junction diode is required. The AC source is connected at the primary winding of the transformer and the secondary of the transformer is connected with PN the Junction Diode. The output is taken from the load and only one-half cycle appears at the load after rectification. For this reason, this circuit is called Half-wave Rectifier.
Operation of Half Wave Rectifier
First, the AC supply is fed to the primary winding of the transformer. The transformer steps down the voltage and feeds it to the diode. For a positive half cycle, the diode becomes forward-biased and conducts current. So, we get the output at the load.
For the negative half cycle, the diode becomes reverse-biased and does not conduct current. So, we do not get any output in this condition.
By this process, we only get positive half cycles at the output of the circuit. The input and output waveform are shown on the above diagram.
If anyone wants to get only negative half cycle at the load. Then just one change is required in the circuit diagram. Just change the direction of the diode then we get only negative half cycles at the output.
Disadvantages
In the half-wave rectifier, there are lots of disadvantages:
- Power Loss happens at the circuit.
- Output voltage is low.
- The output of the circuit contains lots of ripples.
Applications of Half Wave Rectifier
Below we discuss some common applications of half wave rectifier:
- Can be used in Battery Charging circuit.
- Used in signal demodulation circuit.
- Can be used in simple power supplies circuits.
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