Selenium rectifier: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Type of power rectifier}}

[[File:Selenium Rectifier.jpg|thumb|An 8-plate 160 V 450 mA Federal brand selenium rectifier|224x224px]]

A '''selenium rectifier''' is a type of [[metal rectifier]], invented in 1933.<ref>{{Cite book|lastlast1=Hempstead|firstfirst1=Colin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ZCNAgAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA669&dq=selenium+rectifier+invented&hlpg=enPA669|title=Encyclopedia of 20th-Century Technology|last2=Worthington|first2=William|date=2005-08-08|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-45551-4|pages=669|language=en|quote=selenium rectifiers, which were invented by Charles E. Fitts in 1933}}</ref> They were used in [[power supply|power supplies]] for electronic equipment and in high-current battery-charger applications until they were superseded by [[silicon diode]] rectifiers in the late 1960s. The arrival of the [[alternator (automotive)|alternator]] in some automobiles was the result of compact, low-cost, high-current silicon rectifiers. These units were small enough to be inside the alternator case, unlike the [[selenium]] units that preceded silicon devices.

The rectifying properties of selenium, amongst other semiconductors, were observed by Braun, Schuster and Siemens between 1874 and 1883.<ref>[https://books.google.co.ukcom/books?id=JXqKERUAdQcC&pg=PA342&dq=History+Selenium+Rectifier+Willoughby&hlpg=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLnOfxp5vXAhWG2BoKHdHbAq8Q6AEINzAD#v=onepage&q=History%20Selenium%20Rectifier%20Willoughby&f=falsePA342 books.google.co.uk]</ref> The photoelectric and rectifying properties of selenium were also observed by Adams and Day in 1876<ref>[https://books.google.co.ukcom/books?id=N_3uCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&dq=Adams+Day+1876+Selenium+Rectifier&sourcepg=bl&ots=ECJ9DHBjdr&sig=FKjLMGFdfot_YY4q2AS1v32p28A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjR9qPOq5vXAhXGiRoKHeehBVQQ6AEIODAG#v=onepage&q=Adams%20Day%201876%20Selenium%20Rectifier&f=falsePA2 books.google.co.uk]</ref> and C. E. Fitts around 1886, but practical rectifier devices were not manufactured routinely until the 1930s. Compared with the earlier [[metal rectifier|copper-oxide rectifier]], the selenium cell could withstand higher voltage, but at a lower current capacity per unit area.<ref>Peter Robin Morris. ''A history of the world semiconductor industry'', IET, 1990, {{ISBN|0-86341-227-0}}, pages 13, 18.</ref>

==Construction==

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[[File:MADDIDA Selen Rectifier.JPG|thumb|right|Selenium rectifiers used in 1950s [[MADDIDA]] computer]]

[[File:Selenium rectifier.agr.jpg|thumb|Selenium rectifier from 1960s. Each plate is 1-inch square.]]

Selenium rectifiers are able to withstand repetitive significant overload without the need of special protective measures. It is commonly used in electroplating rectifier under 200,000&nbsp;A and electrostatic precipitators operating between 30 and 100&nbsp;kV<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Reeves |first1=E. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KcI99VbjwPwC&pg=PA95 |title=Newnes Electrical Pocket Book |last2=Heathcote |first2=Martin |date=2013-06-17 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-136-37644-3 |pages=95 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Receiver (radio)|Radio]] and television receivers used them from about 1947 to 1975 to provide up to a few hundred volts of plate voltage. Vacuum-tube rectifiers had efficiencies of only 60% compared to the 85% of selenium rectifiers, partially because vacuum-tube rectifiers required heating. Selenium rectifiers have no warm-up time, unlike high-vacuum rectifiers. Selenium rectifiers were also cheaper and simpler to specify and install than vacuum tubes. However, they were later replaced by silicon diodes with high efficiencies (close to 100% at high voltages). Selenium rectifiers had the capability to act as current limiters, which can temporarily protect the rectifier during a short circuit and provide stable current for charging batteries.

[[Receiver (radio)|Radio]] and television receivers used them from about 1947 to 1975 to provide up to a few hundred volts of plate voltage. Vacuum-tube rectifiers had efficiencies of only 60% compared to the 85% of selenium rectifiers, partially because vacuum-tube rectifiers required heating. Selenium rectifiers have no warm-up time, unlike high-vacuum rectifiers. Selenium rectifiers were also cheaper and simpler to specify and install than vacuum tubes. However, they were later replaced by silicon diodes with high efficiencies (close to 100% at high voltages). Selenium rectifiers had the capability to act as current limiters, which can temporarily protect the rectifier during a short circuit and provide stable current for charging batteries.{{Citation needed |date=January 2022}}

==Properties==

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==Replacement==

Selenium rectifiers had a shorter lifespan than desired. In the early stage of failure they produce a modest amount of sweet-smelling gas, sometimes described as "sickly sweet". At that point the rectification properties are almost totally gone, allowing reverse voltage to leak through the rectifier. During catastrophic failure they producedproduce significant quantities of malodorous and highly toxic fumes[[hydrogen selenide]]<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1950-08-22 |title=Constitution and mechanism of the selenium rectifier photocell |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspa.1950.0112 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences |language=en |volume=202 |issue=1071 |pages=449–466 |doi=10.1098/rspa.1950.0112 |bibcode=1950RSPSA.202..449P |issn=0080-4630 |last1=Preston |first1=J. S. |s2cid=93164294 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |year=1978 |title=Occupational Health Guideline for Hydrogen Selenide |url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/81-123/pdfs/0336.pdf |access-date=2022-10-01 |website=cdc.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=PubChem |title=Hydrogen selenide |url=https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/533 |access-date=2022-10-01 |website=pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov |language=en}}</ref> that let the repair technician know what the problem was. By far the most common failure mode was a progressive increase in forward resistance, increasing forward [[voltage drop]] and reducing the rectifier's efficiency. During the 1960s they began to be superseded by [[silicon rectifiers]], which exhibited lower forward [[voltage drop]], lower cost, and higher reliability.<ref>[http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-018/of03-018.pdf Selenium], U.S. Department of the Interior].</ref> They are still manufactured for exact replacement purposes, but are not designed into new equipment.

==Selenium diode computer logic==

In 1961 IBM started developing a low-speed computer logic family<ref>[https://wwwpatents.google.com/patentspatent/US3218472 US Patent 3218472]: Transistor switch with noise rejection provided by variable capacitance feedback diode.</ref> that used selenium diodes with similar characteristics to silicon but cost less than one cent. The [[computer terminal|terminal]] development departments were begging for low cost and did not need speed. It was possible to punch 1/8-inch (3.175 mm) discs from a sheet of selenium diode. GE claimed that they could make reliable selenium diodes. A design was achieved for a DDTL circuit with two levels of [[diode logic]] feeding one [[Alloy-junction_transistorjunction transistor|alloy transistor]] and no series input resistor or speed-up capacitor. The family was called SMAL<ref name="ibm" /> or SMALL, for "selenium matrix alloy logic". The alloy transistor proved to be too fast for the selenium diode [[Diode#Reverse-recovery_effectrecovery effect|recovery]]. To solve this problem, a selenium diode was connected around the base–emitter to slow it down. The two-level logic was similar to the PLAs programmable logic array (PLA) that would come on the market many years later. Nearly any static logic function that yielded one output could be achieved with one transistor and a handful of cheap diodes. Several years later the selenium diodes were found to be not reliable and were replaced by silicon diodes. The logic family was packaged on [[IBM Standard Modular System|SMS cards]].<ref name="ibm">{{cite book |title=The 1060 Data Communications System |publisher=IBM |page=2 |url=http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/IBM-ProdAnn/1060.pdf}}</ref>

==Further reading==

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[[Category:Diodes]]

[[Category:Selenium]]

[[Category:Electrical components]]

[[Category:Rectifiers]]