Semiconductor Fundamentals Unit 2 – Diodes and Half-Wave Rectification
If an ac voltage large enough to overcome the barrier voltage is applied to a diode, the diode
conducts during alternations when the ac voltage is in the forward biased direction.
The diode cannot conduct during alternations when it is reverse biased.
The resulting output voltage or current is a pulsating dc current called ripple which flows in one
direction or not at all. The process of converting a half-cycle of an ac voltage to a pulsating dc
voltage is half-wave rectification.