ECE 342

Electronic Circuits

Lecture 5
Diode Applications

Jose E. Schutt-Aine
Electrical & Computer Engineering
University of Illinois
jesa@illinois.edu

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 Diodes as Voltage Regulators

• Objective
– Provide constant dc voltage between output terminals
– Load current changes
– Dc power supply changes
– Take advantage of diode I-V exponential behavior

Big change in current

correlates to small
change in voltage

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 Voltage Regulator - Example
Assume n=2 and calculate % change caused by a ±10%
change in power-supply voltage (a) with no load (b) with 1-k
load
Nominal value of current is:
10  2.1
I  7.9 mA
1
Incremental resistance for each diode:
nVT 2  25
rd    6.3
I 7.9
Resistance for all 3 diodes:

r  3rd  18.9 
Voltage change
r 0.0189
vo  2 2  37.1 mV  18.5 mV  0.9%
rR 0.0189  1
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 Voltage Regulator – Example (con’t)
When 1k load is connected, it draws a current
of 2.1 mA resulting in a decrease in voltage
across the 3 diodes given by

vo  2.1  r

vo  2.1 18.9  39.7 mV

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 Diode as Rectifier

While applied source alternates in

polarity and has zero average
value, output voltage is
unidirectional and has a finite
average value or a dc component

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 Diode as Rectifier

vs is a sinusoid with 24-V peak amplitude. The diode conducts when vs

exceeds 12 V. The conduction angle is 2 where  is given by

24cos  12    60
The conduction angle is 120o, or one-third of a cycle. The peak value of
the diode current is given by
24  12
Id   0.12 A
100
The maximum reverse voltage across the diode occurs when vs is at its
negative peak: 24+12=36 V

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Half-Wave Rectifier

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Full-Wave Rectifier

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Bridge Rectifier

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 Bridge Rectifier

• Properties
– Uses four diodes.
– vo is lower than vs by two diode drops.
– Current flows through R in the same direction during both
half cycles.

The peak inverse voltage (PIV) of each diode:

PIV  vs  2vD  vD  vs  vD

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 Peak Rectifier

Filter capacitor is
used to reduce the
variations in the
rectifier output

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Rectifier with Filter Capacitor

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 Rectifier with Filter Capacitor
• Operation
– Diode conducts for brief interval t
– Conduction stops shortly after peak
– Capacitor discharges through R
– CR>>T
– Vr is peak-to-peak ripple

iL  vo / R I L  Vp / R

 
dvI
iD  iC  iL  C  iL iDav  I L 1   2V p / Vr
dt
vo  V p e  t / CR

Vr  V p
T

Vp

IL 
iD max  I L 1  2 2V p / Vr 
CR fCR fC

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 Diode Circuits - Rectification
Vin  A sin t

C must be large enough so that RC time

Rectification with ripple reduction.
constant is much larger than period

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