Week 03
Rectifiers and Ripple
I organize a study path from diodes to single-transistor amplifiers in the order that makes the circuit behavior easiest to revisit.
What I connect in this unit
Half-wave rectification passes one input polarity, while full-wave rectification folds both half-cycles into the same polarity. A smoothing capacitor charges near each peak and discharges through the load, producing ripple voltage.
Concept map
- Half-wave rectification
- Full-wave rectification
- Smoothing capacitors
- Ripple voltage
Technical anchor
For small ripple, a full-wave rectifier gives ΔV ≈ Iload/(2fC), whereas a half-wave rectifier gives approximately ΔV ≈ Iload/(fC).
How I review it
Sketch the input sine wave, rectified output, and capacitor voltage on one time axis, marking charge intervals, discharge slope, and ripple period.
Connection to the full course
Unit 3 of 12. Unit numbers form a concept-study sequence and do not claim the original class schedule.