Germanium rectifiers for industrial applications

MANY processes and applications in industry require d-c power which has to be obtained from an a-c source. Metallic rectifiers have served well in this field of conversion, and the operating characteristics of magnesium copper sulphide, copper oxide, and selenium are well known. A more recent development is the germanium rectifier, with different characteristics which required that new design techniques be developed. A review of these characteristics in terms of the older metallic rectifiers will be a help in understanding the design and application problems.