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Half-Wave Rectifier

One diode is enough to turn AC into pulsing DC. The diode passes the positive half of each cycle and blocks the negative half.

Schematic of the Half-Wave Rectifier circuit

Simulation result

The simulator computed these waveforms from the circuit above, over the first 50 ms.

CH1 5 V/divAC source voltageCH2 5 V/divVoltage across the load RL5 ms/div

Numbers from the simulation

Computed by the simulator from the part values in the schematic.

Source peak voltage
8.49 V
Load peak voltage
7.87 V

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How it works

During the positive half cycle the anode is more positive than the cathode, so the diode conducts. The load follows the source, less the 0.6 to 0.7 V that drops across the diode.

During the negative half cycle the diode is reverse biased and the current stops. The load stays at 0 V.

The 6 V source is an RMS value, as printed on a transformer. Its peak is 6 × √2, about 8.5 V.

Try changing

  1. Add a 470 µF capacitor in parallel with RL. The output no longer drops to 0 V between peaks.
  2. Turn the diode around. Now only the negative half cycles get through.
  3. Swap the diode for a 1N5819 (Schottky). The output peak rises, because its forward voltage is lower.

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