Are voltage multiplers DC or AC ?
will its both but the tpub link deals only with AC V multipliers.
u may find AC and DC V multipliers.
most of AC multipliers work with the Diode-Capacitor ladder circuit u've seen on tpub link, the DC multipliers uses multivibrators beside the doide-capacitor ladder circuit to act as AC voltage source.
i'll upload the circuits to u.
how do voltage multiplers circuits work?
always think of diodes as direction valves like in car tire,which only passes current in one direction and denies the other.Capacitors in Ac is actually buckets which is filled up(charged) during one cycle and emptying(discharging) its charge at the opposite cycle; Caps. in DC is nothing more but filtering objects.
now take the doubler, in the +ve half cycle as the diode matches the polarity and acts as a current path so, the cap chargesup to the supply limit.
at the -ve cycle the valve (diode) blocks the current,but the second diode matches the polarity and switches on supporting current to flow charging up the second cap;now the charge on the second cap equals the supply voltage plus the first cap voltage due to same polarities and the whole supply voltage is doubled.
Whats the difference between a voltage multipler VS a step up transformer?
will, tansformers allows impedance maching and circuit I/O isolation ,i mean protection.
multipliers outputs to constant loads i.e. input voltage and voltage regulation ratios is not considered to change.