Rectifier, LED and Solar Cell

Also called

rectifier · half-wave rectifier · full-wave rectifier · bridge rectifier · p-n junction diode · forward bias · reverse bias · smoothing capacitor · filter circuit · ripple · Zener diode · voltage regulator · LED · light emitting diode · solar cell · photovoltaic · energy band gap · दिष्टकारी · प्रकाश उत्सर्जक डायोड · सौर सेल

Topics

• A p-n junction diode conducts when forward biased and blocks when reverse biased, so it can rectify AC.
• A half-wave rectifier passes only the positive half-cycles: the output is one hump per cycle with gaps.
• A bridge of four diodes steers both half-cycles the same way through the load: two humps per cycle.
• A capacitor across the load charges at each peak and discharges slowly between them, smoothing the ripple.
• In an LED an electron crossing the junction falls into a hole and the energy leaves as a photon of energy ≈ Eg.
• In a solar cell a photon with energy above Eg makes an electron-hole pair; the junction field drives them apart.
• The separated charges make the n side negative and the p side positive, so current flows through a load.
• A reverse-biased Zener diode keeps the voltage across it fixed: when the input rises it takes the extra current.
• The series resistor drops the difference between the input and the Zener voltage, so the load sees a steady voltage.

About this model

A GLB file of about 955 KB, shown in Lably's 3D viewer and, on a phone, placed in your room with AR. Credit: Model, science and animation: Lably (built procedurally with three.js; no downloaded meshes). | CC BY 4.0. Original geometry and animation made for Lably.

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