Rectification
The process of converting alternating current into the direct current is called Rectification. There are two types of rectifiers, one is a half-wave rectifier and the other is a full-wave rectifier.
Half-wave Rectifier Circuit
The circuit consists of a transformer, a p-n junction diode, and a resistor. In a half-wave rectifier circuit, either a positive half or the negative half of the AC input is passed into while the other half is blocked.
Only one-half of the input wave reaches the output. Therefore, it is called a half-wave rectifier. Here p-n junction diode acts as a rectifying diode. The efficiency of the Half wave rectifier is 40.6%
Full Wave Rectifier
The positive and negative half cycles of the AC input signal pass through the full-wave rectifier circuit and are called a full-wave rectifier.
It consists of two p-n junction diodes, a centre tapped transformer, and a load resistor (RL). The efficiency of a full-wave rectifier is twice the half-wave rectifier which is 81.2%. It is due to positive and negative cycles being rectified.
