ABSTRACT
A diode generally refers to a two-terminal solid-state semiconductor device that presents a low impedance to
current flow in one direction and a high impedance to current flow in the opposite direction. These properties
allow the diode to be used as a one-way current valve in electronic circuits. Rectifiers are a class of circuits
whose purpose is to convert ac waveforms (usually sinusoidal and with zero average value) into a waveform
that has a significant nonzero average value (dc component). Simply stated, rectifiers are ac-to-dc energy
converter circuits. Most rectifier circuits employ diodes as the principal elements in the energy conversion
process; thus the almost inseparable notions of diodes and rectifiers. The general electrical characteristics of
common diodes and some simple rectifier topologies incorporating diodes are discussed.
