ECE 591L – EXP 2: VOLTAGE MULTIPLIER

OBJECTIVE: After performing the experiment, the student should be able to:
- Construct an experimental circuit on an Electronic Circuits Simulator.
- Measure the output voltage versus a given input voltage.
- Verify the output of a voltage doubler and voltage tripler.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND:

A voltage multiplier is a specialized rectifier circuit producing an output which is theoretically an integer times
the AC peak input, for example, 2, 3, or 4 times the AC peak input. Thus, it is possible to get 200 VDC from a 100
Vpeak AC source using a doubler, 400 VDC from a quadrupler. Any load in a practical circuit will lower these
voltages.

Voltage Doubler
A voltage doubler application is a DC power supply capable of using either a 240 VAC or 120 VAC source. The
supply uses a switch selected full-wave bridge to produce about 300 VDC from a 240 VAC source. The 120 V
position of the switch rewires the bridge as a doubler producing about 300 VDC from the 120 VAC. In both cases,
300 VDC is produced. This is the input to a switching regulator producing lower voltages for powering, say, a
personal computer.

Figure 1: (a) Half-wave voltage doubler, (b) Clamper, (c) Half-wave rectifier.

Referring to Figure(b) above , C2 charges to 5 V (4.3 V considering the diode drop) on the negative half cycle of
AC input. The right end is grounded by the conducting D2. The left end is charged at the negative peak of the AC
input. This is the operation of the clamper.

During the positive half cycle, the half-wave rectifier comes into play at Figure(c) above . Diode D2 is out of the
circuit since it is reverse biased. C2 is now in series with the voltage source. Note the polarities of the generator
and C2, series aiding. Thus, rectifier D1 sees a total of 10 V at the peak of the sinewave, 5 V from generator and
5 V from C2. D1 conducts waveform v(1) (figure below), charging C1 to the peak of the sine wave riding on 5 V
DC (figure below v(2)). Waveform v(2) is the output of the doubler, which stabilizes at 10 V (8.6 V with diode
drops) after a few cycles of sine wave input.

Voltage Tripler
A voltage tripler (Figure below) is built from a combination of a doubler and a half wave rectifier (C3, D3). The
half-wave rectifier produces 5 V (4.3 V) at node 3. The doubler provides another 10 V (8.4 V) between nodes 2
and 3. for a total of 15 V (12.9 V) at the output node 2 with respect to ground. The netlist is in Figure below.

Figure 2: Voltage tripler composed of doubler stacked atop a single stage rectifier.

Note that V(3) in Figure below rises to 5 V (4.3 V) on the first negative half cycle. Input v(4) is shifted upward by
5 V (4.3 V) due to 5 V from the half-wave rectifier. And 5 V more at v(1) due to the clamper (C2, D2). D1 charges
C1 (waveform v(2)) to the peak value of v(1).

MATERIALS & EQUIPMENT:

- Function Generator
- Oscilloscope
- Diodes (1N4001)
- Capacitors (100μF)
- Multitester

PROCEDURES:

1. Construct the circuit shown in Fig 1 (a) and set the function generator to 10Vp.
2. Measure the output voltage using a multimeter and oscilloscope.
3. Increase the voltage as indicated in Table 1. Record the results.
4. Construct the circuit shown in Fig 2 and repeat steps 1 to 3.
5. Record the results in Table 2.

DATA AND RESULTS:

Table 1
Input Voltage (Vp) Output Voltage
2 3.27 V
4 7.26 V
6 11.32 V
8 15.35 V
10 19.32 V
Table 2
Input Voltage (Vp) Output Voltage
2 5.18 V
4 11.10 V
6 17.09 V
8 23.06 V
10 27.06 V
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the role of the diode and capacitor for a voltage multiplier circuit?
- The capacitors are used to store the charge whereas the diodes are used for rectification. As
the AC signal is applied, we get a voltage across each capacitor, which approximately
doubles with each stage.

2. Show how to make an N-stage voltage multiplier by stacking layers of diodes and capacitors.
- A voltage doubler application is a DC power supply capable of using either a 240 VAC or 120
VAC source. The supply uses a switch selected full-wave bridge to produce about 300 VDC
from a 240 VAC source. The 120 V position of the switch rewires the bridge as a doubler
producing about 300 VDC from the 120 VAC. In both cases, 300 VDC is produced. This is the
input to a switching regulator producing lower voltages for powering, say, a personal
computer.

3. Name some applications of voltage multipliers.

- Originally used for television CRT's, voltage multipliers are now used for lasers, x-ray
systems, traveling wave tubes (TWT's), photomultiplier tubes, ion pumps, electrostatic
systems, copy machines, and many other applications that utilize high voltage DC.
CONCLUSION: We have concluded that the students can now create a circuit that consists of thyristors and
use them in variety of ways from switching on and off and etc. the students also are now
capable of measuring the minimum trigger voltage of each device. I can say that this
experiment is a success given that we have completed the objectives and followed the
procedure exactly.