Metal rectifier

<p>A metal rectifier is an early type of <a href="/facts/Semiconductor/zFf3mGTE">semiconductor</a> <a href="/facts/Rectifier/me8XDxND">rectifier</a> in which the semiconductor is <a href="/facts/Copper(I)_oxide/lVQAEWXx">copper oxide</a>, <a href="/facts/Germanium/wtoALHGs">germanium</a> or <a href="/facts/Selenium/k975NApC">selenium</a>.  They were used in power applications to convert <a href="/facts/Alternating_current/qxICS3xa">alternating current</a> to <a href="/facts/Direct_current/r9MNUx84">direct current</a> in devices such as <a href="/facts/Radio_receiver/5olDTxkg">radios</a> and <a href="/facts/Battery_charger/JfygTRaJ">battery chargers</a>.   <a href="/facts/Westinghouse_Electric/Nln2BzI3">Westinghouse Electric</a> was a major manufacturer of these rectifiers since the late 1920s, under the trade name Westector (now used as a trade name for an overcurrent trip device by Westinghouse Nuclear).
</p><p>In some countries the term "metal rectifier" is applied to all such devices; in others the term "metal rectifier" normally refers to copper-oxide types, and "<a href="/facts/Selenium_rectifier/rBdXN0zq">selenium rectifier</a>" to  selenium-iron types.
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Metal rectifier open-in-new

Metal rectifier