Selenium rectifier: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:51, 29 January 2023

Revision as of 06:49, 14 March 2023

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A '''selenium rectifier''' is a type of [[metal rectifier]], invented in 1933.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hempstead|first1=Colin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ZCNAgAAQBAJ&dq=selenium+rectifier+invented&pg=PA669|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supply|power supplies]] for electronic equipment and in high-current battery-charger applications until they were superseded by [[silicon diode]] rectifiers in the late 1960s.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==