DC SOURCES
Basic DC Theory
Half-Wave Rectifier Circuit
When a diode is connected to a source of alternating voltage, it will be alternately
forward-biased, and then reverse-biased, during each cycle of the AC sine-wave. When a single
diode is used in a rectifier circuit, current will flow through the circuit only during one-half of
the input voltage cycle (Figure 6). For this reason, this rectifier circuit is called a half-wave
rectifier. The output of a half-wave rectifier circuit is pulsating DC.
Figure 6 Half-Wave Rectifier
ES-02
Page 8
Rev. 0
