Fullwave

Fullwave refers to a rectification approach in electronics that uses both halves of an alternating current (AC) waveform to produce a unidirectional direct current (DC) output. This is achieved with a full-wave rectifier, which converts the entire AC cycle into pulsating DC.

In a typical single‑phase full-wave rectifier, the circuit can use either a center-tapped transformer with two diodes or a bridge of four diodes. During each half-cycle, the conducting diodes route current in the same direction through the load. As a result, the output voltage is always positive, and the ripple frequency doubles that of the input AC.

Compared with half-wave rectification, full-wave rectification delivers a higher average output voltage and smoother DC for the same transformer and source. It also requires more components—a center-tapped arrangement uses two diodes and a specialized transformer, while a bridge rectifier uses four diodes and can operate with a non-center-tapped transformer. Diode voltage drops and transformer losses introduce inefficiencies, and additional filtering components, such as capacitors and inductors, are commonly employed to reduce ripple and obtain a steadier DC level.

Variants and related concepts include the bridge rectifier, which provides full-wave rectification without a center-tapped transformer, and synchronous or active rectification, which uses controlled switches to improve efficiency. Fullwave concepts also appear in broader signal processing contexts where both halves of a waveform are utilized to produce rectified or envelope-detected signals.

See also: rectification, half-wave rectifier, bridge rectifier, power supply.