A new versatile full wave rectifier using voltage conveyors

Abstract

In this paper we propose a new versatile full wave rectifier circuit using voltage conveyor (VCs) as active blocks. The proposed circuit uses two VCs, a single grounded resistor and two diodes. Compared to other previously reported rectifier circuits, it shows a simple and compact structure, employing the minimum possible number of elements. Moreover, the rectified output is available in forms of both voltage and current signals, at low impedance voltage output Z port and high impedance X port of VC, respectively. Therefore, for practical use, the proposed rectifier is cascadable without the need for extra voltage and current buffers. In addition, also the input signal can be applied in both forms of a current and of a voltage. To validate the presented theory, SPICE simulations, using 0.35 µm CMOS technology parameters and supply voltage of ±1.65 V, are reported, together with a set of measurements conducted over an equivalent discrete-level circuit, where AD844s were used to mimic VCs behavior.