Chapter Two: Diode Rectifiers

Haftom G. ([Link].)
ghaftom33@[Link]
Haramaya University
Haramaya Institute of Technology
School of Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering
Communication Engineering

March 18, 2026

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 1 / 64

Rectifier Circuits

Rectifier is one of the most important application of diodes.

Diode rectifier forms an essential building block of the dc power supplies
As indicated in the block diagram of dc power supply
► The power supply is fed from the 120-V (rms) 60-Hz ac line, and it delivers
a dc voltage VO (usually in the range of 4 V to 20 V) to an electronic circuit
represented by the load block.
► The dc voltage VO is required to be as constant as possible in spite of vari-
ations in the ac line voltage and in the current drawn by the load.

Figure: 1. Block diagram of a dc power supply

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 2 / 64

Rectifier Circuits
❖ Power transformer
It is the first block in a dc power supply.
It consists of two separate coils wound around an iron core that magneti-
cally couples the two windings.
1 Primary winding, having N1 turns, is connected to the 120-V ac supply
2 Secondary winding, having N2 turns, is connected to the circuit of the dc
power supply.
Thus, an ac voltage vS of 120(N2/N1) V (rms) develops between the two
terminals of the secondary winding.
By selecting an appropriate turns ratio (N1/N2), the designer can step the
line voltage down to the value required to yield the particular dc voltage
output of the supply.
In addition, the power transformer provides electrical isolation between
the electronic equipment and the power-line circuit.
This isolation minimizes the risk of electric shock to the equipment user.
Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 3 / 64
Rectifier Circuits
❖ Diode Rectifier
It converts the input sinusoid vS to a unipolar output, which can have the
pulsating waveform indicated in figure above.
Although this waveform has a nonzero average or a dc component, its
pulsating nature makes it unsuitable as a dc source for electronic circuits,
hence the need for a filter.
❖ Filter
It considerably reduces the variations in the magnitude of the rectifier
output.
Though the output of the rectifier filter is much more constant than with-
out the filter, it still contains a time-dependent component, known as rip-
ple.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 4 / 64

Rectifier Circuits
❖ Voltage Regulator
To reduce the ripple and to stabilize the magnitude of the dc output voltage
against variations caused by changes in load current, a voltage regulator
is employed.
Such a regulator can be implemented using the Zener shunt regulator con-
figuration studied in previous chapter.
Alternatively, and much more commonly at present, an integrated-circuit
regulator can be used.
❖ The three common types of rectifiers are:
1 Half-wave Rectifier
2 Center-tapped Full-Wave Rectifier
3 Bridge Full-Wave Rectifier

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 5 / 64

The Half-Wave Rectifier

Utilizes alternate half-cycles of the input sinusoid.

Figure 2(a) shows the circuit of a half-wave rectifier.
This circuit was analyzed assuming an ideal diode.
Using the more realistic constant-voltage-drop diode model, we obtain

v0 = 0, vs < 𝑉𝐷 (1)
v0 = vs − 𝑉𝐷, vs ≥ 𝑉𝐷 (2)

The transfer characteristic represented by these equations is sketched in

Fig.2(b) below, where VD = 0.7 V or 0.8 V.
Fig. 2(c) below shows the output voltage obtained when the input vS is a
sinusoid.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 6 / 64

The Half-Wave Rectifier

Figure: 2.(a) Half-wave rectifier. (b)

Transfer characteristic of the rectifier
circuit. (c) Input and output waveforms.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 7 / 64

The Half-Wave Rectifier

Two important parameters which must be specified in selecting diodes for

rectifier design are :
1
Current-Handling Capability: The diode must be able to survive the
maximum current expected to flow through it.
2 Peak Inverse Voltage (PIV): This is the maximum "reverse pressure"
the diode can withstand when it is not conducting.

In the rectifier circuit of Fig.2(a) above, we observe that when vS is nega-

tive the diode will be cut off and vO will be zero.
It follows that the PIV is equal to the peak of vS,

PIV = Vs (3)

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 8 / 64

The Half-Wave Rectifier

It is usually better, however, to select a diode that has a reverse break-

down voltage at least 50% greater than the expected PIV.
Whether we analyze the circuit accurately or not, it is obvious that this
circuit does not function properly when the input signal is small.
For instance, this circuit cannot be used to rectify an input sinusoid of
100-mV amplitude.
For such an applications resorts to a so-called precision rectifier, a circuit
utilizing diodes in conjunction with op amps.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 9 / 64

The Full-Wave Rectifier

Utilizes both halves of the input sinusoid.

To provide a unipolar output, it inverts the negative halves of the sine
wave.
One possible implementation is shown in Fig.3(a) below.
Here the transformer secondary winding is center-tapped to provide
two equal voltages vS across the two halves of the secondary winding with
the polarities indicated.
During the positive half cycle of the input line voltage:
► Both of the signals labeled vS will be positive.
► In this case D1 will conduct and D2 will be reverse biased.
► The current through D1 will flow through R and back to the center tap of
the secondary.
► The circuit then behaves like a half-wave rectifier, and the output during the
positive half-cycles when D1 conducts will be identical to that produced by
the half-wave rectifier.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 10 / 64

Figure: [Link]-wave rectifier utilizing a transformer with a center-tapped secondary
winding: (a) circuit; (b) transfer characteristic assuming a constant-voltage-drop
model for the diodes; (c) input and output waveforms.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 11 / 64

During the negative half-cycle of the ac line voltage:
► Both of the voltages labeled vS will be negative.
► Thus, D1 will be cut off while D2 will conduct
► Current through D2 will flow through R and back to the center tap.
► Hence, the circuit behaves again as a half-wave rectifier.
The current through R always flows in the same direction, and thus vO
will be unipolar, as indicated in Fig.3(c).
The output waveform shown is obtained by assuming that a conducting
diode has a constant voltage drop VD.
The full-wave rectifier produces a more "energetic" waveform than that
provided by the half-wave rectifier.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 12 / 64

In almost all rectifier applications, a full-wave type is preferred.
To find the PIV of the diodes in the full-wave rectifier circuit, consider the
situation during the positive half-cycles.
Diode D1 is conducting, and D2 is cut off.
The voltage at the cathode of D2 is vO, and that at its anode is −vS.
Thus, the reverse voltage across D2 will be (vO + vS), which will reach its
maximum when vO is at its peak value of (Vs − VD), and 𝑣𝑠 is at its peak
value of Vs; thus,

PIV = 2Vs − VD (4)

which is approximately twice that for the case of the half-wave rectifier.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 13 / 64

The Bridge Rectifier

Bridge rectifier has been named after Wheatstone bridge due to its con-
figuration similarity.
► It does not require center-tapped transformer which is a distinctive advan-
tage over full-wave rectifier.
► Requires 4 diodes as compared to two in the full-wave rectifier.
► This is not much of a disadvantage, because diodes are inexpensive.
The bridge-rectifier circuit operates as follows:
► During the positive half-cycles of the input voltage:
* vS is positive, and thus current is conducted through diode D1, R, and D2.
* Meanwhile, diodes D3 and D4 will be reverse biased.
* Observe that there are two diodes in series in the conduction path, and thus
vO will be lower than vS by two diode drops (compared to one drop in the
full-wave).
* This is somewhat of a disadvantage of the bridge rectifier.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 14 / 64

The Bridge Rectifier

During the negative half-cycles of the input voltage:

► The secondary voltage vS will be negative, and thus -vS will be positive,
forcing current through D3, R, and D4.
► Meanwhile, diodes D1 and D2 will be reverse biased.
Note that during both half-cycles, current flows through R in the same
direction (from right to left), and thus vO will always be positive, as indi-
cated in Fig.4(b).
To determine the PIV of each diode, consider the circuit during the posi-
tive half-cycles.
► The reverse voltage across D3 can be determined from the loop formed by
D3, R, and D2
► Thus, the maximum value of vD3 occurs at the peak of vO and is given by

PIV = Vs − 2VD + VD = Vs − VD

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 15 / 64

The Bridge Rectifier

Observe that here the PIV is about half the value for the full-wave rectifier
with a center-tapped transformer.
This is another advantage of the bridge rectifier.
Yet one more advantage of the bridge-rectifier circuit over that utilizing
a center-tapped transformer is that only about half as many turns are re-
quired for the secondary winding of the transformer.
Another way of looking at this point can be obtained by observing that
each half of the secondary winding of the center-tapped transformer is
utilized for only half the time.
These advantages have made the bridge rectifier the most popular rectifier
circuit configuration.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 16 / 64

Figure: The bridge rectifier: (a) circuit; (b) input and output waveforms.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 17 / 64

Question-1 For the half-wave rectifier circuit in Fig.2(a), show the following:
1 For the half-cycles during which the diode conducts, conduction begins at

an angle 𝜃 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛−1 (𝑉𝐷 /𝑉𝑠 ) and terminates at (𝜋 − 𝜃), for a total

conduction angle of (𝜋 − 2𝜃).
2 1
The average value (dc component) of vO is 𝑉0 ≈ 𝜋
𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝐷 /2.
3 The peak diode current is (Vs − VD)/R.

Find numerical values for these quantities for the case of 12-V (rms)
sinusoidal input, VD ≈ 0.7V,and R = 100 . Also, give the value for
PIV.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 18 / 64

Solution
1

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 19 / 64

Question-2 For the full-wave rectifier circuit in Figure 3 above, show the
following:
1 The output is zero for an angle of 2sin−1(VD/Vs) centered around the

zero-crossing points of the sine-wave input.

2 2
The average value (dc component) of vO is 𝑉0 ≈ 𝜋
𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝐷 .
3
The peak current through each diode is (Vs − VD)/R.
Find the fraction (percentage) of each cycle during which vO > 0, the value of
vO, the peak diode current, and the value of PIV, all for the case in which vS is
a 12-V (rms) sinusoid, VD ≈ 0.7 V, and R = 100 .

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 20 / 64

Solution
1

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 21 / 64

Solution
1

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 22 / 64

Question-3 For the bridge-rectifier circuit of Fig. 4(b) above, use the
constant-voltage-drop diode model to show that
2
1 the average (or dc component) of the output voltage is 𝑉0 ≈ 𝑉
𝜋 𝑠
− 2𝑉𝐷 and
2 the peak diode current is (V − 2V )/R.
s D

Find numerical values for the quantities in (a) and (b) and the PIV for the case
in which vS is a 12-V (rms) sinusoid, VD ≈ 0.7 V, and R = 100 .

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 23 / 64

Solution
1

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 24 / 64

Exercises
Exercise-1 A half-wave rectifier circuit with a 1 − kΩ load operates from a
120-V (rms) 60-Hz household supply through a 10-to-1 step-down
transformer. It uses a silicon diode that can be modeled to have a 0.7-V drop
for any current. What is the peak voltage of the rectified output? For what
fraction of the cycle does the diode conduct? What is the average output
voltage? What is the average current in the load?

Exercise-2 A full-wave bridge rectifier circuit with a 1-kΩ load operates from
a 120-V (rms) 60-Hz household supply through a 10-to-1 step-down
transformer having a single secondary winding. It uses four diodes, each of
which can be modeled to have a 0.7-V drop for any current. What is the peak
value of the rectified voltage across the load? For what fraction of a cycle
does each diode conduct? What is the average voltage across the load? What
is the average current through the load?

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 25 / 64

The Rectifier with a Filter Capacitor

It is termed as the Peak Rectifier

A simple way to reduce the variation of the output voltage is to place a
capacitor across the load resistor.
❖ Consider an ideal peak rectifier
Figure below shows how the rectifier circuit with a filter capacitor works.

Figure: a)A simple circuit used to illustrate the effect of a filter capacitor.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 26 / 64

Let the input vI be a sinusoid with a peak value Vp, and assume the diode
to be ideal.
► As vI goes positive, the diode conducts and the capacitor is charged so that
vO = vI .
► This situation continues until vI reaches its peak value Vp.
► Beyond the peak, as vI decreases the diode becomes reverse biased and the
output voltage remains constant at the value Vp.

Figure: b)Input and output waveforms assuming an ideal diode.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 27 / 64

Theoretically speaking, because there is no way for the capacitor to dis-
charge the capacitor will retain its charge (its voltage) indefinitely.
Thus, the circuit provides a dc voltage output equal to the peak of the
input sine wave.
The circuit is therefore known as a peak rectifier or a peak detector

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 28 / 64

❖ Practical peak rectifier
Consider the more practical situation where a load resistance R is con-
nected across the capacitor C, as depicted in [Link](a).
Still, we will continue to assume the diode to be ideal.
Principle of operation of peak rectifier
► As before the capacitor charges to the peak of the input Vp.
► Then the diode cuts off, and the capacitor discharges through the load re-
sistance R.
► The capacitor discharge will continue for almost the entire cycle, until the
time at which vI exceeds the capacitor voltage.
► Then the diode turns on again and charges the capacitor up to the peak of
vI , and the process repeats itself.
To minimize the drop in output voltage during capacitor discharge,
choose a capacitance value C such that the time constant CR is
significantly larger than the discharge interval.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 29 / 64

Figure (b) below shows the steady-state input and output voltage wave-
forms under the assumption that CR » T, where T is the period of the
input sinusoid.
The waveforms of the load current
v
iL = 0 (5)
R
and of the diode current (when conducting)
iD = iL + iC (6)
dvi
=C + iL (7)
dt

Figure a)
Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 30 / 64
Figure: (Voltage and current waveforms in the peak rectifier circuit with CR » T)

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 31 / 64

The following observations are in order:
1 The diode conducts for a brief interval, ∆t, near the peak of the input si-
nusoid and supplies the capacitor with charge equal to that lost during the
much longer discharge interval. The latter is approximately equal to the
period T.
2 Assuming an ideal diode, the diode conduction begins at time t1, at which
the input vI equals the exponentially decaying output vO. Conduction stops
at t2 shortly after the peak of vI ; the exact value of t2 can be determined by
setting iD = 0 in (7).
3 During the diode-off interval, the capacitor C discharges through R, and
thus, v0 decays exponentially with a time constant CR. The discharge in-
terval begins just past the peak of vI . At the end of the discharge interval,
which lasts for almost the entire period T, v0 = Vp − Vr , where Vr is the
peak-to-peak ripple voltage.
 When CR » T, the value of Vr is small.
4 WhenVr is small, v0 is almost constant and equal to the peak value of vI .
Thus, the dc output voltage is approximately equal to Vp.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 32 / 64

Similarly, the current IL is almost constant, and its dc component IL is
given by
VP
IL = (8)
R
A more accurate expression for the output dc voltage can be obtained
by taking the average of the extreme values of v0
1
V0 = VP − Vr (9)
2
During the diode-off interval, vO can be expressed as
−T
v0 = VPe CR (10)

At the end of the discharge interval, we have

−T
VP − Vr  VPe CR (11)

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 33 / 64

 −T
Since CR » T, we can use the approximation e CR  1 − T/CR to obtain
T
Vr = VP( ) (12)
CR
➢ To keep Vr small we must select a capacitance C = ⇒ CR » T
The ripple voltage Vr in Eq. (12) can be expressed in terms of the fre-
quency f = 1/T as

VP
Vr = (13)
fCR
Using Eq. (8) we can express Vr by the alternate expression
IL
Vr = (14)
fC

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 34 / 64

Equation (14) is valid as long as Vr « Vp.
Assuming that diode conduction ceases almost at the peak of vI , we can
determine the conduction interval ∆ t from

Vpcos(ω∆t) = VP − Vr (15)
where ω = 2f = 2/T-is the angular frequency of vI
Since (ω∆t) is a small angle, we can approximate cos(ω∆t)  1 −
2 (ω∆t) to obtain
1 2

𝜔∆𝑡 ≈ 2𝑉𝑟 /𝑉𝑝 (16)

Note that when Vr « Vp, the conduction angle ω∆t will be small, as
assumed
To determine the average diode current during conduction, iDav, we equate
the charge that the diode supplies to the capacitor,
Qsupplied = iCav∆t (17)
where from Eq.(6), iCav = iDav − IL
Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 35 / 64
(i) The charge that the capacitor loses during the discharge interval, Qlost =
CVr
(ii) Using Eqs. (14),(16) and (17), we obtain,

2𝑉𝑝
𝑖𝐷,𝑎𝑣 = 𝐼𝐿 1 + 𝜋 )18(
𝑉𝑟

Observe that when Vr « Vp, the average diode current during conduction
is much greater than the dc load current.
The peak value of the diode current, iDmax, can be determined by eval-
uating the expression in Eq. (7) at the onset of diode conduction-i.e, at
t = t1 = −∆t (where t= 0 is at the peak).
Assuming that iL is almost constant at the value given by Eq. (8), we
obtain
2𝑉𝑝
𝑖𝐷,𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐼𝐿 1 + 2𝜋 𝑉𝑟
)19(

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 36 / 64

 From Eqs. (18) and (19), we see that for Vr « Vp, iDmax  2iDav, which
correlates with the fact that the waveform of iD is almost a right-angle
triangle (see Fig.c above)
Example:-Consider a peak rectifier fed by a 60-Hz sinusoid having a peak
value Vp = 100V. Let the load resistance R = 10kΩ. Find the value of the
capacitance C that will result in a peak-to-peak ripple of 2 V. Also, calculate
the fraction of the cycle during which the diode is conducting and the average
and peak values of the diode current.

Exercise:-Derive equation (18) and (19)

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 37 / 64

Full-wave Peak Rectifier

The circuit of Fig.(a) above is known as a half-wave peak rectifier.

The full-wave rectifier circuits of either the center-tapped or bridge full
wave rectifier can be converted to peak rectifiers by including a capacitor
across the load resistor.

Figure: Waveforms in the full-wave peak rectifier

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 38 / 64

As in the half-wave case, the output dc voltage will be almost equal to the
peak value of the input sine wave ([Link]).
The ripple frequency, however, will be twice that of the input.
The peak-to-peak ripple voltage, for this case, can be derived using a pro-
cedure identical to that above but with the discharge period T replaced by
T/2, resulting in

VP
Vr = (20)
2fCR
While the diode conduction interval, ∆t, will still be given by Eq. (16),
the average and peak currents in each of the diodes will be given by

𝑉𝑃
𝑖𝐷,𝑎𝑣 = 𝐼𝐿 1 + 𝜋 2𝑉𝑟
)21(

𝑉𝑃
𝑖𝐷, 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 = 𝐼𝐿 1 + 2𝜋 )22(
2𝑉𝑟

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 39 / 64

❖ Note
1 For the same values of Vp, f , R, and Vr (and thus the same IL), we need a
capacitor half the size of that required in the half-wave rectifier.
2 Diodes in a full-wave rectifier conduct half the current of those in a half-
wave design for identical loads.

We can make an accurate analysis by taking the diode voltage drop, VD,
into account.
This can be easily done by replacing the peak voltage Vp to which the
capacitor charges with
► (Vp − VD) for the half-wave circuit & the full-wave circuit using a center-
tapped transformer
► (Vp − 2VD) for the bridge-rectifier

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 40 / 64

Note:- Peak-rectifier circuits is used in a signal-processing systems where it is
required to detect the peak of an input signal.
 In such a case, the circuit is referred to as a peak detector.
A particularly popular application of the peak detector is in the design of
a demodulator for amplitude-modulated (AM) signals
Exercise: Derive equation (21) and (22)

Half-Wave Peak
Feature Full-Wave Peak Rectifier
Rectifier
Recharge pulses 1 per cycle 2 per cycle
Discharge time T T/2
Ripple Voltage (𝑽𝒓 ) 𝐼𝐿 /(𝑓𝐶) 𝐼𝐿 /(2𝑓𝐶)
Capacitor Size Large (100%) Small (50%) for same 𝑉𝑟
Diode Stress Very High Lower (Shared workload)

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 41 / 64

Example:-Consider a bridge-rectifier circuit with a filter capacitor C placed
across the load resistor R for the case in which the transformer secondary
delivers a sinusoid of 12 V (rms) having a 60-Hz frequency and assuming
VD = 0.8V and a load resistance R = 100Ω .
(a) Find the value of C that results in a ripple voltage no larger than 1 V peak-
to-peak.
(b) What is the dc voltage at the output?
(c) Find the load current.
(d) Find the diodes’ conduction angle. Provide the average and peak diode
currents.
(e) What is the peak reverse voltage across each diode?
(f) Specify the diode in terms of its peak current and its PIV.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 42 / 64

Exercise:- It is required to use a peak rectifier to design a dc power supply
that provides an average dc output voltage of 12 V on which a maximum of
±1-V ripple is allowed. The rectifier feeds a load of 200 . The rectifier is fed
from the line voltage (120 V rms, 60 Hz) through a transformer. The diodes
available have 0.7-V drop when conducting. If the designer opts for the
half-wave circuit:
(a) Specify the rms voltage that must appear across the transformer secondary.
(b) Find the required value of the filter capacitor.
(c) Find the maximum reverse voltage that will appear across the diode, and
specify the PIV rating of the diode.
(d) Calculate the average current through the diode during conduction.
(e) Calculate the peak diode current.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 43 / 64

Limiting and Clamping Circuits
Two nonlinear circuit applications of diodes are
Limiter Circuits
Clamping Circuits
❖ Limiter Circuits

Figure: General transfer characteristic for a limiter circuis

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 44 / 64

Limiter Circuits

Figure above shows the general transfer characteristic of a limiter circuit.

For inputs in a certain range, L − /K ≤ vI ≤ L+/K , the limiter acts as a
linear circuit, providing an output proportional to the input, vO = KvI .
Although in general K can be greater than 1, the circuits discussed in this
section have K ≤ 1 and are known as passive limiters.
► If vI exceeds the upper threshold , the output voltage is limited or clamped
to the upper limiting level L+.
► If vI is reduced below the lower limiting threshold , the output voltage V0
is limited to the lower limiting level L − .
The general transfer characteristic of [Link] describes a double lim-
iter–that is, a limiter that works on both the positive and negative peaks
of an input waveform.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 45 / 64

Single limiters, of course, exist.
Finally, note that if an input waveform such as that shown in [Link] is
fed to a double limiter, its two peaks will be clipped off.
Limiters therefore are sometimes referred to as clippers.

Figure: Applying a sine wave to a limiter can result in clipping off its two peaks.

Limiters can be classified as Hard Limiter and Soft Limiter.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 46 / 64

Hard Limiter-is The limiter whose characteristics are depicted in [Link].
Soft limiting is characterized by smoother transitions between the
linear region and the saturation regions and a slope greater than zero in
the saturation regions, as illustrated in [Link]

Figure: Soft Limiting

Depending on the application, either hard or soft limiting may be pre-

ferred.
Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 47 / 64
Limiters find application in a variety of signal-processing systems.
One of their simplest applications is restricting the voltage between an
op-amp's input terminals to a safe level, preventing damage to the
delicate input-stage transistors (e.g., from electrostatic discharge or
excessive differential voltages).
Diodes can be combined with resistors to provide simple realizations of
the limiter function.
In each part of the figure below both the circuit and its transfer character-
istic are given.
The transfer characteristics are obtained using the constant-voltage-drop
(VD = 0.7 V) diode model but assuming a smooth transition between the
linear and saturation regions of the transfer characteristic.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 48 / 64

The circuit in Fig.(a) is that of the half-wave rectifier except that here the
output is taken across the diode.
For vI < 0.7V, the diode is cut off, no current flows, and the voltage drop
across R is zero; thus vO = vI .
As vI exceeds 0.5 V, the diode turns on, eventually limiting vO to one
diode drop (0.7 V)
The circuit of Fig.(b) is similar to that in Fig.(a) except that the diode is
reversed.

Figure: (a)
Figure: (b)

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 49 / 64

Double limiting can be implemented by placing two diodes of opposite
polarity in parallel, as shown in Fig.(c).
Here the linear region of the characteristic is obtained for −0.5V ≤ vI ≤
0.5V
For this range of vI , both diodes are off and vO = vI .
► As vI exceeds 0.5 V, D1 turns on and eventually limits vO to + 0.7 V.
► As vI goes more negative than -0.5 V, D2 turns on and eventually limits vO
to -0.7 V.

Figure: (c)

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 50 / 64

The thresholds and saturation levels of diode limiters can be controlled by
using strings of diodes and/or by connecting a dc voltage in series with
the diode(s).
The latter idea is illustrated in Fig.(d).

Figure: (d)

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 51 / 64

Rather than strings of diodes, we may use two zener diodes in series, as
shown in Fig.(e).
In this circuit, limiting occurs in the positive direction at a voltage of VZ2
+ 0.7, where 0.7 V represents the voltage drop across zener diode Z1 when
conducting in the forward direction.
For negative inputs, Z1 acts as a zener, while Z2 conducts in the forward
direction.

Figure: (e)

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 52 / 64

 It should be mentioned that pairs of zener diodes connected in series
are available commercially for applications of this type under the name
double-anode zener.
Example:-Assuming the diodes to be ideal, describe the transfer characteristic
of the circuit shown in [Link]

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 53 / 64

Exercise:- Design limiter circuits using only diodes and 10-k resistors to
provide an output signal limited to the range:
1 -0.7 V and above

2 +2.1 V and below

3 ± 1.4 V

Exercise:- In the circuit shown in [Link], the diodes exhibit a 0.7-V drop
at 0.1 mA. For inputs over the range of ±5 V, use the diode exponential model
to provide a calibrated sketch of the voltages at outputs B and C versus vA. For
a 5-V peak, 100-Hz sinusoid applied at A, sketch the signals at nodes B and C.

Figure
Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 54 / 64
The Clamped Capacitor or DC Restorer

If in the basic peak-rectifier circuit, the output is taken across the diode
rather than across the capacitor, a circuit, called a dc restorer results.
A dc restorer, is shown in [Link] fed with a square wave.
Because of the polarity in which the diode is connected, the capacitor will
charge to a voltage vC with the polarity indicated in [Link] and equal
to the magnitude of the most negative peak of the input signal.
► Subsequently, the diode turns off and the capacitor retains its voltage indef-
initely.
If, for instance, the input square wave has the arbitrary levels -6 V and +4
V, then vC will be equal to 6 V.
Now, since the output voltage vO is given by
V0 = VI + Vc (23)
it follows that the output waveform will be identical to that of the input,
except that it is shifted upward by vC volts. In our example the output will
thus be a square wave with levels of 0 V and +10 V.
Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 55 / 64
Figure: The clamped capacitor or dc restorer with a square-wave input and no load

Note that because the diode is connected across the output with the po-
larity shown, it prevents the output voltage from going below 0 V (by
conducting and charging up the capacitor, thus causing the output to rise
to 0 V), but this connection will not constrain the positive excursion of
vO.
The output waveform will therefore have its lowest peak clamped to 0 V,
which is why the circuit is called a clamped capacitor.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 56 / 64

Reversing the diode polarity will provide an output waveform whose high-
est peak is clamped to 0 V.
In either case, the output waveform will have a finite average value or dc
component.
This dc component is entirely unrelated to the average value of the input
waveform.
As an application, consider a pulse signal being transmitted through a
capacitively coupled or ac-coupled system.
The capacitive coupling will cause the pulse train to lose whatever dc
component it originally had.
Feeding the resulting pulse waveform to a clamping circuit provides it
with a well-determined dc component, a process known as dc restoration.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 57 / 64

This is why the circuit is also called a dc restorer.
Restoring dc is useful because the dc component or average value of a
pulse waveform is an effective measure of its duty cycle.
The duty cycle of a pulse waveform can be modulated (in a process called
PWM) and made to carry information.
In such a system, detection or demodulation could be achieved simply
by feeding the received pulse waveform to a dc restorer and then using a
simple RC low-pass filter to separate the average of the output waveform
from the superimposed pulses.
When a load resistance R is connected across the diode in a clamping
circuit, as shown in [Link], the situation changes significantly.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 58 / 64

 Figure: (a)

Figure: (b & c)

While the output is above ground,a current must flow in R.

Since at this time the diode is off, this current obviously comes from the
capacitor, thus causing the capacitor to discharge and the output voltage
to fall.
Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 59 / 64
This is shown in [Link] for a square-wave input.
During the interval t0 to t1, the output voltage falls exponentially with
time constant CR.
At t1 the input decreases by Va volts, and the output attempts to follow.
This causes the diode to conduct heavily and to quickly charge the capac-
itor.
At the end of the interval t1 to t2, the output voltage would normally be a
few tenths of a volt negative (e.g., -0.5 V).
Then, as the input rises by Va volts (at t2), the output follows, and the
cycle repeats itself.
In the steady state the charge lost by the capacitor during the interval t0 to
t1 is recovered during the interval t1 to t2.
This charge equilibrium enables us to calculate the average diode current
as well as the details of the output waveform.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 60 / 64

The Voltage Doubler

Figure(a) below shows a circuit composed of two sections in cascade: a

clamped capacitor formed by C1 and D1, and a peak rectifier formed by
D2 and C2.
When excited by a sinusoid of amplitude Vp the clamping section pro-
vides the voltage waveform shown, assuming ideal diodes, in Fig.(b).
Note that while the positive peaks are clamped to 0 V, the negative peak
reaches -2Vp.
In response to this waveform, the peak detector section provides across
capacitor C2 a negative dc voltage of magnitude 2Vp.
Because the output voltage is double the input peak, the circuit is known
as a voltage doubler.
The technique can be extended to provide output dc voltages that are
higher multiples of Vp.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 61 / 64

 Figure: (a)

Figure: (b)

Figure: Voltage doubler: (a) circuit; (b) waveform of the voltage across D1.

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 62 / 64

Exercise1:-Design a two-sided limiting circuit using a resistor, two diodes,
and two power supplies to feed a 1-kΩ load with nominal limiting levels of
±3 V. Use diodes modeled by a constant 0.7 V. In the non limiting region, the
voltage gain should be at least 0.95 V/V
Exercise2:-A clamped capacitor using an ideal diode with cathode grounded
is supplied with a sine wave of 10-V rms. What is the average (dc) value of
the resulting output?

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 63 / 64

Special Diode Types

The Schottky-Barrier Diode (SBD)

Varactors
Photodiodes
► PiN diode
► APD
Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
Tunnel Diodes
Gunn Diodes
Laser Diode
Impatt Diodes

Haftom G. (HiT) Diode Rectifiers 3/18/2026 64 / 64