Rectifier - Rectifier Devices

Rectifier Devices

Before the development of silicon semiconductor rectifiers, vacuum tube diodes and copper(I) oxide or selenium rectifier stacks were used. With the introduction of semiconductor electronics, vacuum tube rectifiers became obsolete, except for some enthusiasts of vacuum tube audio equipment. For power rectification from very low to very high current, semiconductor diodes of various types (junction diodes, Schottky diodes, etc.) are widely used. Other devices which have control electrodes as well as acting as unidirectional current valves are used where more than simple rectification is required, e.g., where variable output voltage is needed. High power rectifiers, such as are used in high-voltage direct current power transmission, employ silicon semiconductor devices of various types. These are thyristors or other controlled switching solid-state switches which effectively function as diodes to pass current in only one direction.