<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section is missing information about conversion ratios for at least three - phase half - wave and full - wave rectification, since these rectifiers have their own sections in this article...Please expand the section to include this information . Further details may exist on the talk page . (October 2017) </Td> </Tr> <P> Several ratios are used to quantify the function and performance of rectifiers or their output, including transformer utilization factor (TUF), conversion ratio (η), ripple factor, form factor, and peak factor . The two primary measures are DC voltage (or offset) and peak - peak ripple voltage, which are constituent components of the output . </P> <P> Conversion ratio (also called "rectification ratio", and confusingly, "efficiency") η is defined as the ratio of DC output power to the input power from the AC supply . Even with ideal rectifiers, the ratio is less than 100% because some of the output power is AC power rather than DC which manifests as ripple superimposed on the DC waveform . The ratio can be improved with the use of smoothing circuits which reduce the ripple and hence reduce the AC content of the output . Conversion ratio is reduced by losses in transformer windings and power dissipation in the rectifier element itself . This ratio is of little practical significance because a rectifier is almost always followed by a filter to increase DC voltage and reduce ripple . In some three - phase and multi-phase applications the conversion ratio is high enough that smoothing circuitry is unnecessary . In other circuits, like filament heater circuits in vacuum tube electronics where the load is almost entirely resistive, smoothing circuitry may be omitted because resistors dissipate both AC and DC power, so no power is lost . </P> <P> For a half - wave rectifier the ratio is very modest . </P>

Use of full wave rectifier in daily life