A diode rectifier circuit converts AC voltage into a unidirectional DC voltage using either half-wave or full-wave configurations.

Consider a half-wave rectifier circuit consisting of a diode, resistor, and input sinusoidal signal in series combination.

During the positive half-cycles of the input signal, when the voltage exceeds or equals the diode's voltage drop, it becomes forward-biased, allowing current to flow.

The output voltage is then determined by subtracting the diode's voltage drop from the input voltage.

Conversely, during the negative half-cycle, the input voltage is lower than the diode's voltage drop, and the diode remains non-conductive, resulting in a zero output voltage.

Despite the input voltage changing polarity with an average value of zero, the output remains unidirectional with a consistent average value due to rectification.

Peak inverse voltage represents the maximum reverse voltage a diode can withstand without damage.

In a half-wave rectifier, this occurs during negative half-cycles when the input voltage reaches its peak in the negative direction.

So, the peak inverse voltage equals the input voltage peak but with reversed polarity.