Characteristics of Voltage-Multiplying Rectifiers

A combined experimental and theoretical analysis is used to determine the manner in which the characteristics of the half-wave and full-wave voltage-doubling rectifier circuits depend upon the resistance of the diodes and upon the load resistance. The characteristic curves reproduced include those for the load voltage, ripple voltage, and maximum tube currents. Since it was found that the rectifier characteristics are nearly independent of the load-resistance parameter in the usual operating range, it is possible to obtain general characteristics which hold not only for the doublers but also for multiplying rectifier circuits of higher orders. Various combinations of these multiplying circuits are also discussed.