READING:

Floyd, Sections 2-2 through 2-4

OBJECTIVES:
After performing this experiment, you will be able to:
1. Construct half-wave, full-wave, and bridge rectifier circuits, and compare the input and output
voltage for each.
2. Connect a filter capacitor to each circuit in objective 1 and measure the ripple voltage and ripple
frequency.

MATERIAL NEEDED:
One 12.6 V AC center-tapped transformer with fused line cord
Four diodes 1N4007 (or equivalent)
Two 2.2 k resistors
Two 100F capacitors

PROCEDURE:
Do this experiment only under supervision.

Warning! In this experiment, you are instructed to connect a low-voltage (12.6V ac) transformer to the ac
line. Be certain that you are using a properly fused and grounded transformer that has no exposed primary
leads. Do not touch any connection in the circuit. At no time will you make a measurement on the primary
side of the transformer. Have your connections checked by your instructor before applying power to the
circuit.

1. Connect the half-wave rectifier circuit shown in Figure 2. Notice the polarity of the diode. The line
indicates the cathode (negative) side. Connect the oscilloscope so that channel 1 is across the
transformer secondary and channel 2 is across the load resistor. The oscilloscope should be set for
LINE triggering throughout this experiment as the waveforms to be viewed will all be synchronized
with the ac line voltage. View the ac voltage into the rectifier, VIN and load voltage, VLOAD, for this
circuit and sketch them on Plot 1. Label voltages on your sketch.








Plot 1


Measure the input voltage to the diode, VIN, and the output peak voltage, VLOAD. Remember to convert
the oscilloscope reading to rms voltage. Record the data in Table 1.




















VIN VLOAD
2. The output isnt very useful as a dc source because of the variations in the output waveform.
Connect a 100F capacitor (C1) in parallel with the load resistor (R1). Note the polarity of the
capacitor. Measure the dc load voltage, VLOAD and the peak-to-peak ripple voltage, VRIPPLE, in the
output. To measure the ripple voltage, switch the oscilloscope vertical input to AC COUPLING. This
allows you to magnify the small ac ripple voltage without including the much larger dc level.
Measure the peak-to-peak ripple voltage and the ripple frequency. The ripple frequency is the
frequency at which the waveform repeats. Record all data in Table. 1.

Table 1 Half-Wave Rectifier Circuit

Without Filter Capacitor With Filter Capacitors
CRO Measured
DVM-AC
Measured
2 x VIN(RMS)
Computed
CRO Measured
DVM-DC
Measured
Measured Ripple
Frequency
VIN (PEAK) VIN (rms) VIN (PEAK) VLOAD (PEAK) VLOAD (DC) VLOAD (dc) VRIPPLE





3. Disconnect power and change the circuit to the full-wave rectifier circuit shown in Figure 3. Notice
that the ground for the circuit has changed. The oscilloscope ground needs to be connected as
shown. Check your circuit carefully before applying power. Compute the expected peak output
voltage. Then apply power and view the VIN and VLOAD waveforms. Sketch the observed waveforms
on Plot 2.








Plot 2

Measure VIN (rms) and the peak output voltage (VLOAD) without a filter capacitor. Record the data in
Table 2.










4. Connect the 100F capacitor in parallel with the load resistor. Measure VLOAD, the peak-to-peak
ripple voltage, and the ripple frequency as before. Record the data in Table 2.

Table 2 Full-Wave Rectifier Circuit

Without Filter Capacitor With Filter Capacitors
CRO Measured
DVM-AC
Measured
2 x VIN(RMS)
Computed
CRO Measured
DVM-DC
Measured
Measured Ripple
Frequency
VIN (PEAK) VIN (rms) VIN (PEAK) VLOAD (PEAK) VLOAD (DC) VLOAD (dc) VRIPPLE















VIN VLOAD
5. Investigate the effect of the load resistor on the ripple voltage by connecting a second 2.2 k load
resistor in parallel with RL and C1 in the full-wave circuit in Figure 3. Measure the ripple voltage.
What can you conclude about the effect of additional load current on the ripple voltage?
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6. Disconnect power and change the circuit to the bridge rectifier circuit shown in Figure 4. Notice that
no terminal of the transformer secondary is at ground potential. The input voltage to the bridge, VIN,
is not referenced to ground. The oscilloscope cannot be used to view both the input voltage and the
load voltage at the same time. Check your circuit carefully before applying power. Compute the
expected peak output voltage. Then apply power and use a voltmeter to measure VIN (rms). Use the
oscilloscope to measure the peak output voltage (VLOAD) without a filter capacitor. Record the data in
Table 3.











7. Connect the 100F capacitor in parallel with the load resistor. Measure VLOAD, the peak-to-peak
ripple voltage, and the ripple frequency as before. Record the data in Table 3.

Table 3 Bridge Rectifier Circuit

Without Filter Capacitor With Filter Capacitors
2 x VIN(RMS)
Computed
DVM-AC
Measured
DVM-DC Measured
VLOAD(DC) =0.636Vload(PEAK)
CRO
Measured
DVM-DC
Measured (Step#8)
Measured Ripple
Frequency
VIN (PEAK) VIN(rms) VLOAD (DC) VLOAD (PEAK) VLOAD (DC) VLOAD (dc) VRIPPLE





8. Simulate an open diode in the bridge by removing one diode from the circuit. What happens to the
load DC voltage? The ripple voltage? The ripple frequency?
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9. ZENER DIODE REGULATOR:
1. Measure VRIN, VROUT (Ripple Voltage Vpk-pk)
2. Calculate Rz










EVALUATION AND REVIEW QUESTIONS:

1. What advantage does a full-wave rectifier circuit have over a half-wave rectifier circuit?










2. Compare a bridge rectifier circuit with a full-wave rectifier circuit. Which has the higher output
voltage? Which has the greater current in the diodes?










3. In step 3, you moved the ground reference to the center-tap of the transformer. If you wanted to look
at the voltage across the entire secondary, you would need to connect the oscilloscope as shown in
Figure 5 and subtract channel 2 from channel 1. (Some oscilloscopes do not have this capability).
Why is it necessary to use two channels to view the entire secondary voltage?










4. Explain how you would measure the ripple frequency to determine if a diode was open in a bridge
rectifier circuit.













RECTIFIERS


1. Dual Voltage Positive FW CT Bridge















2. Dual Voltage Positive/Negative FW CT













3. Dual Voltage Positive/Negative HW