Semiconductor Fundamentals Unit 3 – Full-Wave Rectification and Filtering
The large ripple of the dc pulses from a full-wave bridge rectifier are reduced to a relatively
smooth dc signal by an electrolytic capacitor across the output of the rectifier. The capacitor
filter charges up quickly and discharges slowly to reduce the rectifier dc output ripple.
A voltage doublercomposed of two pairs of diodes and capacitors, produces a full-wave
rectified, filtered dc output (VO) equal to two times the ac input peak voltage (Vpk). The
capacitors are connected in series so that the capacitor charges are added at the output.
NEW TERMS AND WORDS
full-wave rectifier - a diode configuration in which positive and negative alternations of an ac
input signal are converted into a pulsating dc output signal.
bridge rectifier - a type of full-wave rectifier circuit.
electrolytic capacitor - a high-capacity capacitor that is polarized and used in power supply filter
applications.
capacitor filter - a capacitor used to average the output pulses of a rectifier circuit.
voltage doubler - a circuit designed to rectify, filter, and double the value of a peak ac input
voltage.