Can anyone enlighten me on why a rectifier is used on the April board instead of a simple diode, I assume the purpose of the part is reverse polarity protection form the battery pads, but is the rectifier simply to avoid the voltage drop from a diode ?
Hi Mora,
April doesn’t actually have a rectifier, the part I think you’re referring to is a simple MOSFET.
As for its function, you’ve hit the nail on the head - the FET provides reverse-voltage protection without causing a voltage drop like a diode would, because it’s biased on.
-Tom
…and here is a great piece from TI on the subject.
Thanks 