POWER ELECTRONICS

POWER ELECTRONIC DEVICES

THYRISTORS

Chapter 3
Introduction of thyristor family
Thyristor include a group of semiconductor devices primarily used in
current switching applications. These devices consist of four or more
semiconductor layers and include those listed here.
DEVICES
➢Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR)
➢Complimentary silicon controlled rectifier(CSCR)
➢TRIAC
➢Gate Turn-off Switch (GTO)
➢Silicon Controlled Switch (SCS)
➢DIAC
➢Uni-junction Transistor (UJT)
➢Programmable Uni-junction Transistor (PUT)
➢Light Activated Silicon Controlled Rectifier (LASCR)
Symbol of thyristor family
Introduction of SCR
• The Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) is the most important
and mostly used member of the thyristor family. SCR can be
used for different applications like rectification, regulation of
power and inversion, etc. Like a diode, SCR is a unidirectional
device that allows the current in one direction and opposes in
another direction.
• SCR is a three terminal device; anode, cathode and gate as
shown in figure. SCR has built in feature to turn ON or OFF and
its switching is controlled by biasing conditions and gate input
terminal.
• This results in varying the average power delivered at the load
, by varying the ON periods of the SCR. It can handle several
thousands of voltages and currents. SCR symbol and its
terminals are shown in figure.
Figure: SCR symbol and its terminal
Construction of Silicon Controlled Rectifier(SCR)
• The SCR is a four layer and three terminal device. The four layers made
of P and N layers, are arranged alternately such that they form three
junctions J1, J2 and J3. These junctions are either alloyed or diffused
based on the type of construction.
• The outer layers (P and N-layers) are heavily doped whereas middle P
and N-layers are lightly doped. The gate terminal is taken at the middle
P-layer, anode is from outer P- layer and cathode is from N- layer
terminals. The SCR is made of silicon because compared to germanium
leakage current in silicon is very small.
• To manufacture the SCR, three types of constructions are used, namely the
planar type, Mesa type and Press pack type. For low power SCRs, planar
construction is used where all the junctions in an SCR are diffused. In mesa
type construction, junction J2 is formed by diffusion method and thereby
outer layers are alloyed to it.
• This construction is mainly used for high power Silicon Controlled
Rectifiers. To provide high mechanical strength, the SCR is braced with
plates made up of either molybdenum or tungsten. And one of these
plates is soldered to a copper stud which is further threaded to connect
the heat sink.
Working or Modes of Operation of SCR
• Depending on the biasing given to the SCR, the operation of SCR is divided
into three modes. They are
• Forward blocking Mode
• Forward Conduction Mode and
• Reverse Blocking Mode
Forward Blocking Mode
• In this mode of operation, the Silicon Controlled Rectifier is connected such
that the anode terminal is made positive with respect to cathode while the
gate terminal kept open. In this state junctions J1 and J3 are forward biased
and the junction J2 reverse biased.
• Due to this, a small leakage current flows through the SCR. Until the voltage
applied across the SCR is more than the break over voltage of it, SCR offers a
very high resistance to the current flow. Therefore, the SCR acts as a open
switch in this mode by blocking forward current flowing through the SCR as
shown in the VI characteristics curve of the SCR.
 Forward Conduction Mode
• In this mode, SCR or thyristor comes into the conduction mode from
blocking mode. It can be done in two ways as either by applying positive
pulse to gate terminal or by increasing the forward voltage (or voltage
across the anode and cathode) beyond the break over voltage of the SCR.
• Once any one of these methods is applied, the avalanche breakdown
occurs at junction J2. Therefore the SCR turns into conduction mode and
acts as a closed switch thereby current starts flowing through it.
• Note that in the VI characteristic figure, if the gate current value is high,
the minimum will be the time to come in conduction mode as Ig3 > Ig2 >
Ig1. In this mode, maximum current flows through the SCR and its value
depends on the load resistance or impedance.
• It is also noted that if gate current is increasing, the voltage required to
turn ON the SCR is less if gate biasing is preferred. The current at which
the SCR turns into conduction mode from blocking mode is called as
latching current (IL).
• And also when the forward current reaches to level at which the SCR
returns to blocking state is called as holding current (IH). At this holding
current level, depletion region starts to develop around junction J2.
Hence the holding current is slightly less than the latching current.
Reverse Blocking Mode
• In this mode of operation, cathode is made positive with respect to anode.
Then the junctions J1 and J3 are reverse biased and J2 is forward biased. This
reverse voltage drives the SCR into reverse blocking region results to flow a
small leakage current through it and acts as an open switch as shown in
figure.
• So, the device offers a high impedance in this mode until the voltage applied
is less than the reverse breakdown voltage VBR of the SCR. If the reverse
applied voltage is increased beyond the VBR, then avalanche breakdown
occurs at junctions J1 and J3 which results to increase reverse current flow
through the SCR.
• This reverse current causes more losses in the SCR and even to increase the
heat of it. So there will be a considerable damage to the SCR when the
reverse voltage applied more than VBR.
Two Transistor Analogy of SCR
• The two transistor analogy or two transistor model of SCR expresses the
easiest way to understand the working of SCR by visualizing it as a
combination of two transistors as shown in figure. The collector of each
transistor is connected to the base of the other transistor.
• Assume that load resistance is connected between the anode and cathode
terminals and a small voltage is applied at the gate and cathode terminals.
When there is no gate voltage, the transistor 2 is in cut-off mode due to
zero base current. Therefore, no current flows through the collector and
hence the base of transistor T1. Hence, both transistors are open circuited
and thereby no current flows through the load.
• When a particular voltage is applied between the gate and cathode, a small
base current flows through the base of the transistor 2 and thereby
collector current will increase. And hence the base current at the transistor
T1 drives the transistor into saturation mode and thus load current will
flow from anode to cathode.
Figure : Two Transistor Analogy of SCR
• From the above figure the base current of transistor T2 becomes the collector current of
transistor T1 and vice-versa.
Hence
Ib2 = Ic1 and Ic2 = Ib1
Also current through the cathode terminal, Ik = Ig + Ia …(1)
For a transistor,
Ib1 = Ie1 – Ic1 ……(2)
and Ic1 = α1Ie1 + Ico1……(3)
Where Ico1 is the leakage current.
Substituting equation 3 in equation 2 we get
Ib1 = Ie1 (1 – α1) – Ico1 …….(4)
From the figure anode current is the emitter current of transistor T1,
Ia = Ie1
Then Ib1 = Ia (1 – α1) – Ico1
And also for transistor T2
Ic2 = α2Ie2 + Ico2
But Ik = Ie2
Therefore, Ic2 = α2Ik + Ico2
Ic2 = α2 (Ig + Ia) + Ico2 …..(5)
 But Ib1 = Ic2 …..(6)
• Substituting the equations 4 and 5 in equation 6 we get
Ia (1 – α1) – Ico1 = α2 (Ig + Ia) + Ico2
Ia = [α2 Ig + Ico1 + Ico2] / [1- (α1 + α2)]
• By assuming the leakage currents are negligible in both transistors we
get
Ia = [α2 Ig] / [1- (α1 + α2)]
where α1 and α2 are the respective gains of the two transistors.
 Thyristor turn-ON methods
• Thyristor turning ON is also known as Triggering.
• With anode positive with respect to cathode, a thyristor
can be turned ON by any one of the following techniques :
– Forward voltage triggering
– Gate triggering
– dv/dt triggering
– Temperature triggering
– Light triggering
 Forward Voltage Triggering
• When breakover voltage (VBO) across a thyristor is exceeded
than the rated maximum voltage of the device, thyristor
turns ON.
• At the breakover voltage the value of the thyristor anode
current is called the latching current (IL) .
• Breakover voltage triggering is not normally used as a
triggering method, and most circuit designs attempt to avoid
its occurrence.
• When a thyristor is triggered by exceeding VBO, the fall time
of the forward voltage is quite low (about 1/20th of the time
taken when the thyristor is gate-triggered).
• However, a thyristor switches faster with VBO turn-ON than
with gate turn-ON, so permitted di/dt for breakover voltage
turn-on is lower.
 Gate Triggering
• Turning ON of thyristors by gate triggering is simple and efficient method of
firing the forward biased SCRs.
• In Gate Triggering, thyristor with forward breakover voltage (VBO), higher than
the normal working voltage is chosen.
– This means that thyristor will remain in forward blocking state with normal
working voltage across anode and cathode with gate open.
• Whenever thyristor’s turn-ON is required, a positive gate voltage b/w gate and
cathode is applied.
• With gate current established, charges are injected into the inner p layer and
voltage at which forward breakover occurs is reduced.
• Forward voltage at which device switches to on-state depends upon the
magnitude of gate current.
– Higher the gate current, lower is the forward breakover voltage .
• When positive gate current is applied, gate P layer is flooded with electrons
from cathode, as cathode N layer is heavily doped as compared to gate P layer.
• As the thyristor is forward biased, some of these electrons reach junction J2.
• As a result, width of depletion layer around junction J2 is reduced.
– This causes junction J2 to breakdown at an applied voltage lower than
forward breakover voltage VB0.
• If magnitude of gate current is increased, more electrons will reach junction J2,
thus thyristor will get turned ON at a much lower forward applied voltage.
 dv/dt triggering
• With forward voltage across anode & cathode of a thyristor, two
outer junctions (A & C) are forward biased but the inner junction
(J2) is reverse biased.
• The reversed biased junction J2 behaves like a capacitor because of
the space-charge present there.
• As p-n junction has capacitance, so larger the junction area the
larger the capacitance.
• If a voltage ramp is applied across the anode-to-cathode, a current
will flow in the device to charge the device capacitance according
to the relation:

• If the charging current becomes large enough, density of moving

current carriers in the device induces switch-on.
• This method of triggering is not desirable because high charging
current (Ic) may damage the thyristor.
 Temperature Triggering
• During forward blocking, most of the applied voltage
appears across reverse biased junction J2.
• This voltage across junction J2 associated with leakage
current may raise the temperature of this junction.
• With increase in temperature, leakage current through
junction J2 further increases.
• This cumulative process may turn on the SCR at some high
temperature.
• High temperature triggering may cause Thermal runaway
and is generally avoided.
 Light Triggering
• In this method light particles (photons) are made to
strike the reverse biased junction, which causes an
increase in the number of electron hole pairs and
triggering of the thyristor.
• For light-triggered SCRs, a slot (niche) is made in the
inner p-layer.
• When it is irradiated, free charge carriers are
generated just like when gate signal is applied b/w
gate and cathode.
• Pulse light of appropriate wavelength is guided by
optical fibers for irradiation.
• If the intensity of this light thrown on the recess
exceeds a certain value, forward-biased SCR is turned
on. Such a thyristor is known as light-activated SCR
(LASCR).
• Light-triggered thyristors is mostly used in high-
voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems.
 Thyristor Gate Control Methods
• An easy method to switch ON a SCR into conduction is to
apply a proper positive signal to the gate.
• This signal should be applied when the thyristor is forward
biased and should be removed after the device has been
switched ON.
• Thyristor turn ON time should be in range of 1-4 micro
seconds, while turn-OFF time must be between 8-50 micro
seconds.
• Thyristor gate signal can be of three varieties.
– D.C Gate signal
– A.c Gate Signal
– Pulse
 Thyristor Gate Control Methods
D.C Gate signal: Application of a d.c gate signal causes the flow of gate
current which triggers the SCR.
– Disadvantage is that the gate signal has to be continuously applied,
resulting in power loss.
– Gate control circuit is also not isolated from the main power circuit.
A.C Gate Signal: In this method a phase - shifted a.c voltage derived from
the mains supplies the gate signal.
– Instant of firing can be controlled by phase angle control of the gate
signal.
Pulse: Here the SCR is triggered by the application of a positive pulse of
correct magnitude.
– For Thyristors it is important to switched ON at proper instants in a
certain sequence.
– This can be done by train of the high frequency pulses at proper
instants through a logic circuit.
– A pulse transformer is used for circuit isolation.
– Here, the gate looses are very low because the drive is discontinuous.
 Thyristor Commutation
• Commutation: Process of turning off a conducting thyristor
– Current Commutation
– Voltage Commutation
• A thyristor can be turned ON by applying a positive voltage
of about a volt or a current of a few tens of milliamps at the
gate-cathode terminals.
• But SCR cannot be turned OFF via the gate terminal.
• It will turn-off only after the anode current is negated
either naturally or using forced commutation techniques.
• These methods of turn-off do not refer to those cases
where the anode current is gradually reduced below
Holding Current level manually or through a slow process.
• Once the SCR is turned ON, it remains ON even after
removal of the gate signal, as long as a minimum current,
the Holding Current (IH), is maintained in the main or
rectifier circuit.
 Thyristor Turn-off Mechanism
• In all practical cases, a negative current flows through the device.
• This current returns to zero only after the reverse recovery time (trr) ,
when the SCR is said to have regained its reverse blocking capability.
• The device can block a forward voltage only after a further tfr, the
forward recovery time has elapsed.
• Consequently, the SCR must continue to be reverse-biased for a
minimum of tfr + trr = tq, the rated turn-off time of the device.
• The external circuit must therefore reverse bias the SCR for a time toff >
tq.
• Subsequently, the reapplied forward biasing voltage must rise at a dv/dt
< dv/dt (reapplied) rated. This dv/dt is less than the static counterpart.
 Thyristor Commutation Classification
• Commutation can be classified as
– Natural commutation
– Forced commutation
 Line Commutation (Natural Commutation)
• Occurs only in AC circuits.
• Natural Commutation of thyristor takes place in
– AC Voltage Regulators
– Phase controlled rectifiers
– Cycloconverters
Thyristor Turn-Off: Line-Commutated Thyristor Circuit
 Forced Commutation
• Applied to d.c circuits.
• If a thyristor is used in a DC circuit, when first turned on, it will stay on until the
current goes to zero. To turn off the thyristor it is possible to use a Forced
commutation circuit. The circuit creates a reverse voltage over the thyristor (and
a small reverse current) for a short time, but long enough to turn off the
thyristor.
• A simple circuit consist of a precharged capacitor and a switch (e.g. another
thyristor) parallel to the thyristor. When the switch is closed, the current is
supplied by the capacitor for a short while. This cause a reversed voltage over
the thyristor, and the thyristor is turned off.
• Commutation is achieved by reverse biasing thyristor or reducing the thysristor
current below the holding current value.
• Commutating elements such as inductor, capacitors are used for commutation
purpose.
• Force commutation is applied to choppers and inverters.
• Force Commutation methods
– Class A- Resonant Load
– Class B- Self commutation
– Class C- Auxiliary commutation
– Class D- Complimentary commutation
– Class E- External pulse commutation
Thyristor Turn-Off: Forced- Commutated Thyristor Circuit
 THYRISTOR SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS

Thyristor Turn−ON time for a resistive Load Thyristor Turn −OFF time for a resistive Load
THYRISTOR turn-ON & turn-OFF Characteristics
 Thyristor protection circuits
• Reliable operation of a thyristor demands that its specified ratings
are not exceeded.
• In practice, a thyristor may be subjected to overvoltages or
overcurrents. During SCR turn-on, di/dt may be prohibitively
large.
• There may be false triggering of SCR by high value of dv/dt.
• A spurious signal across gate-cathode terminals may lead to
unwanted turn-on.
• A thyristor must be protected against all such abnormal
conditions for satisfactory and reliable operation of SCR circuit
and the equipment.
• SCRs are very delicate devices, their protection against abnormal
operating conditions is, therefore, essential.
• The object of this section is to discuss various techniques adopted
for the protection of SCRs.
– di/dt protection.
– dv/dtprotection.
 di/dt protection
• When a thyristor is forward biased and is turned on by a gate pulse,
conduction of anode current begins in the immediate neighbourhood of
the gate-cathode junction.
• Thereafter, the current spreads across the whole area of junction.
• The thyristor design permits the spread of conduction to the whole
junction area as rapidly as possible.
• However, if the rate of rise of anode current, i.e. di/dt, is large as
compared to the spread velocity of carriers, local hot spots will be
formed near the gate connection on account of high current density.
• This localized heating may destroy the thyristor. Therefore, the rate of
rise of anode current at the time of turn-on must be kept below the
specified limiting value.
• The value of di/dt can be maintained below acceptable limit by using a
small inductor, called di/dt inductor, in series with the anode circuit.
Typical di/dt limit values of SCRs are 20-500 A/µ sec.
• Local spot heating can also be avoided by ensuring that the conduction
spreads to the whole area as rapidly as possible.
• This can be achieved by applying a gate current nearer to (but never
greater than) the maximum specified gate current.
 di/dt Protection
• A thyristor requires a minimum time to spread the current conduction
uniformly throughout the junctions
• Otherwise, a localized “hot-spot” heating may occur due to high current
density.
 dv/dt protection
• With forward voltage across the anode & cathode of a thyristor, the two outer junctions
(A & C) are forward biased but the inner junction (J2) is reverse biased.
• The reversed biased junction J2 behaves like a capacitor because of the space-charge
present there.
• Let the capacitance of this junction be Cj. For any capacitor, i = C dv/dt.
• In case it is assumed that entire forward voltage va appears across reverse biased
junction J2 then charging current across the junction is given by
– i = dQ/dt =d(Cj Va )/dt
– i=Cj (d Va /dt) + Va(d Cj /dt)
– i = Cj dva /dt
• This charging or displacement current across junction J2 is collector currents of Q2 and
Q1 Currents IC2, IC1 will induce emitter current in Q2, Q1.
• In case rate of rise of anode voltage is large, the emitter currents will be large and as a
result, α1+ α2 will approach unity leading to eventual switching action of the thyristor.
• If the rate of rise of forward voltage dVa/dt is high, the charging current i will be more.
This charging current plays the role of gate current and turns on the SCR even when gate
signal is zero.
• Such phenomena of turning-on a thyristor, called dv/dt turn-on must be avoided as it
leads to false operation of the thyristor circuit.
• For controllable operation of the thyristor, the rate of rise of forward anode to cathode
voltage dVa/dt must be kept below the specified rated limit.
• Typical values of dv/dt are 20 – 500 V/µsec. False turn-on of a thyristor by large dv/dt
can be prevented by using a snubber circuit in parallel with the device.
 Snubber circuit
• A snubber circuit consists of a series combination of resistance Rs and capacitance Cs
in parallel with the thyristor as shown in Fig.
• Strictly speaking, a capacitor Cs in parallel with the device is sufficient to prevent
unwanted dv/dt triggering of the SCR.
• When switch S is closed, a sudden voltage appears across the circuit. Capacitor Cs
behaves like a short circuit, therefore voltage across SCR is zero.
• With the passage of time, voltage across Cs builds up at a slow rate such that dv/dt
across Cs and therefore across SCR is less than the specified maximum dv/dt rating
of the device.
• Here the question arises that if Cs is enough to prevent accidental turn-on of the
device by dv/dt, what is the need of putting Rs in series with Cs ? The answer to this
is as under.
 snubber circuit (continue……)
• Before SCR is fired by gate pulse, Cs charges to full voltage Vs.
When the SCR is turned on, capacitor discharges through the SCR
and sends a current equal to Vs / (resistance of local path formed
by Cs and SCR).
• As this resistance is quite low, the turn-on di/dt will tend to be
excessive and as a result, SCR may be destroyed. In order to limit
the magnitude of discharge current, a resistance Rs is inserted in
series with Cs as shown in Fig.
• Now when SCR is turned on, initial discharge current Vs/Rs is
relatively small and turn-on di/dt is reduced.
• In actual practice ; Rs, Cs and the load circuit parameters should
be such that dv/dt across Cs during its charging is less than the
specified dv/dt rating of the SCR and discharge current at the
turn-on of SCR is within reasonable limits.
• Normally, Rs Cs and load circuit parameters form an
underdamped circuit so that dv/dt is limited to acceptable values.
 Thyristor Family Members
• SCR: Silicon Controlled Rectifier
• DIAC: Diode on Alternating Current
• TRIAC : Triode for Alternating Current
• SCS: Silicon Control Switch
• SUS: Silicon Unilateral Switch
• SBS: Silicon Bidirectional Switch
• SIS: Silicon Induction Switch
• LASCS: Light Activated Silicon Control Switch
• LASCR: Light Activated Silicon Control Rectifier
• SITh : Static Induction Thyristor
• RCT: Reverse Conducting Thyristor
• GTO : Gate Turn-Off thyristor
• MCT: MOSFET Controlled Thyristor
• ETOs: Emitter Turn ON thyristor
 Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (SCR)
• SCR is a synonym of thyristor
• SCR is a four-layer pnpn device.
– Has 3 terminals: anode, cathode, and gate.
– In off state, it has a very high resistance.
– In on state, there is a small on (forward) resistance.
• Applications: motor controls, time-delay circuits, heater controls, phase
controls, etc.
 Turning the SCR –ON Method and its Characteristics
• The positive pulse of current at the gate ◼ The SCR can be turned on by
turns on Q2 providing a path for IB1. exceeding the forward breakover
voltage or by gate current.
• Q1 then turns on providing more base
current for Q2 even after the trigger is ◼ Notice that the gate current
removed. controls the amount of forward
breakover voltage required for
– Thus, the device stays on (latches).
turning it on.
◼ VBR(F) decreases as IG is
increased.
 Turning SCR Off
• The SCR will conduct as long as forward current exceeds IH.
• There are two ways to drop the SCR out of conduction:
– Anode Current Interruption
– Forced Commutation.
 Turning SCR Off : Anode Current Interruption
• Anode current can be interrupted by breaking the anode current path ,
providing a path around the SCR, or dropping the anode voltage to the
point that IA < IH.
 Turning The SCR Off: Force Commutation
• Force commutation uses an external circuit to momentarily force current in the
opposite direction to forward conduction.
• SCRs are commonly used in ac circuits, which forces the SCR out of conduction
when the ac reverses.
 SCR Characteristics & Ratings
• Forward- breakover voltage, VBR(F): voltage at which SCR enters forward-conduction
(ON) region.
• Holding current, IH: value of anode current for SCR to remain in on region.
• Gate trigger current, IGT: value of gate current to switch SCR on.
• Average forward current, IF (avg): maximum continuous anode current (dc) that the
SCR can withstand.
• Reverse-breakdown voltage, VBR(R): maximum reverse voltage before SCR breaks into
avalanche.
 SCR Applications - dc motor control
• SCRs are used in a variety of power control
applications.
• One of the most common applications is to use
it in ac circuits to control a dc motor or
appliance because the SCR can both rectify and
control.
• The SCR is triggered on the positive cycle and
turns off on the negative cycle.
• A circuit like this is useful for speed control for
fans or power tools and other related
applications.
 SCR Applications- crowbar circuits
• Another application for SCRs is in
crowbar circuits (which get their name
from the idea of putting a crowbar
across a voltage source and shorting it
out!)
• The purpose of a crowbar circuit is to
shut down a power supply in case of
over-voltage.
• Once triggered, the SCR latches on.
• The SCR can handle a large current,
which causes the fuse (or circuit
breaker) to open.
 DIAC (diode for alternating current)
• The DIAC is a five-layer device trigger diode that conducts current only after its
breakdown voltage has been exceeded momentarily.
• When this occurs, the resistance of the diode abruptly decreases, leading to a
sharp decrease in the voltage drop across the diode and, usually, a sharp
increase in current flow through the diode.
• The diode remains "in conduction" until the current flow through it drops below
a value characteristic for the device, called the holding current.
• Below this value, the diode switches back to its high-resistance (non-conducting)
state.
• This behavior is bidirectional, meaning typically the same for both directions of
current flow .
– their terminals are not labeled as anode and cathode but as A1 and A2 or
MT1 ("Main Terminal") and MT2.
• Most DIACs have a breakdown voltage around 30 V.
• DIACs have no gate electrode, unlike some other thyristors they are commonly
used to trigger, such as TRIACs.
• diac is normally used in ac circuits
• The drawback of the diac is that it cannot be triggered at just any point in the ac
power cycle; it triggers at its preset breakover voltage only. If we could add a
gate to the diac, we could have variable control of the trigger point, and
therefore a greater degree of control over just how much power will be applied
to the line-powered device.
DIAC (diode for alternating current)
 TRIAC (Triode for Alternating Current)
• Triac is five layer device that is able to pass current
bidirectionally and is therefore behaves as an a.c. power control
device.
• In triac , the main connections are simply named main terminal 1
(MT1) and main terminal 2 (MT2).
• The gate designation still applies, and is still used as it was with the
SCR.
• The useful feature of the triac is that it not only carries current in
either direction, but the gate trigger pulse can be either polarity
regardless of the polarity of the main applied voltage.
• The gate can inject either free electrons or holes into the body of the
triac to trigger conduction either way.
– So triac is referred to as a "four-quadrant" device.
• Triac is used in an ac environment, so it will always turn off when the
applied voltage reaches zero at the end of the current half-cycle.
• If we apply a turn-on pulse at some controllable point after the start
of each half cycle, we can directly control what percentage of that
half-cycle gets applied to the load, which is typically connected in
series with MT2.
• This makes the triac an ideal candidate for light dimmer controls and
motor speed controls. This is a common application for triacs.
 Triac operation
• The triac can be considered as two thyristors connected in antiparallel as
shown in Fig .
• The single gate terminal is common to both thyristors.
• The main terminals MT1 and MT2 are connected to both p and n regions
of the device and the current path through the layers of the device
depends upon the polarity of the applied voltage between the main
terminals.
• The device polarity is usually described with reference to MT1, where the
term MT2+ denotes that terminal MT2 is positive with respect to terminal
MT1.
The Gate Turn-Off Thyristor (GTO)
GTOs Schematic representation
GTO Turn-on and Turn-off Pulses
 Thyristor Summary
• A thyristor is a latching device and it can be turned on with a small gate
pulse, typically 100μs .
• Thyristors are generally off by line commutation due to the natural behavior
of the input ac line supply.
• During the turn-off process, thyristors must be subjected to a reverse voltage
for a certain minimum time known the turn-off.
 Summary: Thyristors
The thyristor family:
– double injection yields lowest forward voltage drop in high voltage
devices.
– More difficult to parallel than MOSFETs and IGBTs
The SCR:
– highest voltage and current ratings, low cost, passive turn-off transition
The GTO:
– intermediate ratings (less than SCR, somewhat more than IGBT). Slower
than IGBT.
– Slower than MCT.
– Difficult to drive.
The MCT:
– So far, ratings lower than IGBT.
– Slower than IGBT.
– Easy to drive.
– Still emerging devices?
 Thyristor (SCR) Ia
A (Anode)
Ia
+ Ig>0
Ig Ig=0
Vak Ih
Vr Ibo
_
G (Gate)
Vbo Vak
K (Cathode)

Thyristor: Symbol v-i characteristics

• If the forward breakover voltage (Vbo) is exceeded, the SCR “self-

triggers” into the conducting state.
• The presence of gate current will reduce Vbo.
• “Normal” conditions for thyristors to turn on:
– the device is in forward blocking state (i.e Vak is positive)
– a positive gate current (Ig) is applied at the gate
• Once conducting, the anode current is latched. Vak collapses to normal
forward volt-drop, typically 1.5-3V.
• In reverse -biased mode, the SCR behaves like a diode.
 Thyristor Conduction
ig v s
ia

+ wt
+
vs vo vo
_ _

wt

ig

a wt

• Thyristor cannot be turned off by applying negative gate current. It can

only be turned off if Ia goes negative (reverse)
– This happens when negative portion of the of sine-wave occurs
(natural commutation).
• Another method of turning off is known as “forced commutation”,
– The anode current is “diverted” to another circuitry.
 Types of thyristors
• Phase controlled
– rectifying line frequency voltage and current for ac and dc motor drives
– large voltage (up to 7kV) and current (up to 4kA) capability
– low on-state voltage drop (1.5 to 3V)

• Inverter grade
– used in inverter and chopper
– Quite fast. Can be turned-on using “force-commutation” method.

• Light activated
– Similar to phase controlled, but triggered by pulse of light.
– Normally very high power ratings

• TRIAC
– Dual polarity thyristors
 AC to DC CONVERTERS
DIODE AS A RECTICTIER