RAJSHAHI UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHONOLOGY

Md. Kamruzzaman (131064)

Submission date : 09/04/2017

1. IGBT :
An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily
used as an electronic switch which, as it was developed, came to combine high efficiency and fast
switching. It switches electric power in many applications: variable-frequency drives (VFDs), electric cars,
trains, variable speed refrigerators, lamp ballasts, air-conditioners and even stereo systems with
switching amplifiers. The IGBT is a semiconductor device with four alternating layers (P-N-P-N) that are
controlled by a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) gate structure without regenerative action.

Symbol :
Characteristics curve :

Controlling :
When used as static controlled switch, the insulated gate bipolar transistor has voltage and current
ratings similar to that of the bipolar transistor. However, the presence of an isolated gate in an IGBT
makes it a lot simpler to drive than the BJT as much less drive power is needed.

An insulated gate bipolar transistor is simply turned “ON” or “OFF” by activating and deactivating its
Gate terminal. Applying a positive input voltage signal across the Gate and the Emitter will keep the
device in its “ON” state, while making the input gate signal zero or slightly negative will cause it to turn
“OFF” in much the same way as a bipolar transistor or eMOSFET. Another advantage of the IGBT is that
it has a much lower on-state channel resistance than a standard MOSFET.
2.GTO

Symbol :

Controlling :

Normal thyristors (silicon-controlled rectifiers) are not fully controllable switches (a "fully controllable
switch" can be turned on and off at will). Thyristors can only be turned ON and cannot be turned OFF.
Thyristors are switched ON by a gate signal, but even after the gate signal is de-asserted (removed), the
thyristor remains in the ON-state until any turn-off condition occurs (which can be the application of a
reverse voltage to the terminals, or when the current flowing through (forward current) falls below a
certain threshold value known as the "holding current"). Thus, a thyristor behaves like a normal
semiconductor diode after it is turned on or "fired".

The GTO can be turned on by a gate signal, and can also be turned off by a gate signal of negative
polarity.
Turn on is accomplished by a "positive current" pulse between the gate and cathode terminals. As the
gate-cathode behaves like PN junction, there will be some relatively small voltage between the
terminals. The turn on phenomenon in GTO is however, not as reliable as an SCR (thyristor) and small
positive gate current must be maintained even after turn on to improve reliability.Turn off is
accomplished by a "negative voltage" pulse between the gate and cathode terminals. Some of the
forward current (about one-third to one-fifth) is "stolen" and used to induce a cathode-gate voltage
which in turn induces the forward current to fall and the GTO will switch off (transitioning to the
'blocking' state.)

Characteristic curve :
3.SCR

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Controlling :

If an SCR’s gate is left floating (disconnected), it behaves exactly as a Shockley diode. It may be latched
by breakover voltage or by exceeding the critical rate of voltage rise between anode and cathode, just as
with the Shockley diode. Dropout is accomplished by reducing current until one or both internal
transistors fall into cutoff mode, also like the Shockley diode. However, because the gate terminal
connects directly to the base of the lower transistor, it may be used as an alternative means to latch the
SCR. By applying a small voltage between gate and cathode, the lower transistor will be forced on by the
resulting base current, which will cause the upper transistor to conduct, which then supplies the lower
transistor’s base with current so that it no longer needs to be activated by a gate voltage. The necessary
gate current to initiate latch-up, of course, will be much lower than the current through the SCR from
cathode to anode, so the SCR does achieve a measure of amplification.

This method of securing SCR conduction is called triggering, and it is by far the most common way that
SCRs are latched in actual practice. In fact, SCRs are usually chosen so that their breakover voltage is far
beyond the greatest voltage expected to be experienced from the power source, so that it can be turned
on only by an intentional voltage pulse applied to the gate.
Characteristics Curve :
4.UJT
Symbol :

Controlling :
Although a unijunction transistor is not a thyristor, this device can trigger larger thyristors with a pulse at
base B1. A unijunction transistor is composed of a bar of N-type silicon having a P-type connection in the
middle. See Figure below(a). The connections at the ends of the bar are known as bases B1 and B2; the
P-type mid-point is the emitter. With the emitter disconnected, the total resistance RBBO, a datasheet
item, is the sum of RB1 and RB2 as shown in Figure below(b). RBBO ranges from 4-12kΩ for different
device types. The intrinsic standoff ratio η is the ratio of RB1 to RBBO. It varies from 0.4 to 0.8 for
different devices. The schematic symbol is Figure below(c)
Characteristics curve :

5.DIAC :

The DIAC is a diode that conducts electrical current only after its breakover voltage, VBO, has been
reached momentarily. The term is an acronym of "diode for alternating current".

Symbol
Characteristics curve:

Controlling :

As the AC supply voltage increases at the beginning of the cycle, capacitor, C is charged through the
series combination of the fixed resistor, R1 and the potentiometer, VR1 and the voltage across its plates
increases. When the charging voltage reaches the breakover voltage of the diac (about 30 V for the ST2),
the diac breaks down and the capacitor discharges through the diac, producing a sudden pulse of
current, which fires the triac into conduction. The phase angle at which the triac is triggered can be
varied using VR1, which controls the charging rate of the capacitor.

Once the triac has been fired into conduction, it is maintained in its “ON” state by the load current
flowing through it, while the voltage across the resistor–capacitor combination is limited by the “ON”
voltage of the triac and is maintained until the end of the present half-cycle of the AC supply.

At the end of the half cycle the supply voltage falls to zero, reducing the current through the triac below
its holding current, IH turning it “OFF” and the diac stops conduction. The supply voltage then enters its
next half-cycle, the capacitor voltage again begins to rise (this time in the opposite direction) and the
cycle of firing the triac repeats over again.

6.TRIAC :

Symbol:
Characteristics Curve:

Controlling:
A TRIAC starts conducting when a current flowing into or out of its gate is sufficient to turn on the
relevant junctions in the quadrant of operation. The minimum current able to do this is called gate
threshold current and is generally indicated by IGT. In a typical TRIAC, the gate threshold current is
generally a few milliamperes.

When the gate current is discontinued, if the current between the two main terminals is more than
what is called the latching current, the device keeps conducting, otherwise the device might turn off.
Latching current is the minimum that can make up for the missing gate current in order to keep the
device internal structure latched.
7.BJT :
A bipolar junction transistor (bipolar transistor or BJT) is a type of transistor that uses both electron and
hole charge carriers. In contrast, unipolar transistors, such as field-effect transistors, only use one kind of
charge carrier. For their operation, BJTs use two junctions between two semiconductor types, n-type
and p-type.

Symbol :

Characteristics:
Controlling:
The collector–emitter current can be viewed as being controlled by the base–emitter current (current
control), or by the base–emitter voltage (voltage control). These views are related by the current–
voltage relation of the base–emitter junction, which is just the usual exponential current–voltage curve
of a p-n junction (diode).The physical explanation for collector current is the concentration of minority
carriers in the base region. Due to low level injection (in which there are much fewer excess carriers
than normal majority carriers) the ambipolar transport rates (in which the excess majority and minority
carriers flow at the same rate) is in effect determined by the excess minority carriers.

8.MOSFET

Symbol :
Characteristics curve :

Controlling :
To use a MOSFET as a switch, you have to have its gate voltage (Vgs) higher than the source. If you
connect the gate to the source (Vgs=0) it is turned off.

For example we have a IRFZ44N which is a “standard” MOSFET and only turns on when Vgs=10V – 20V.
But usually we try not to push it too hard so 10V-15V is common for Vgs for this type of MOSFET.

However if you want to drive this from an Arduino which is running at 5V, you will need a “logic-level”
MOSFET that can be turned on at 5V (Vgs = 5V). For example, the ST STP55NF06L. You should also have
a resistor in series with the Arduino output to limit the current, since the gate is highly capacitive and
can draw a big instantaneous current when you try to turn it on. Around 220 ohms is a good value.