21EEE51

Power Electronics Credits: 3:0:0

Module : 1 : Power Semiconductor Devices

Course Instructor

Dr. Vinoth Kumar. K [Link]., Ph.D., SMIEEE

Professor
Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering

1
 CO No. Course Outcome Details
CO1 Analyze various power semiconductor devices
Course Outcome , At the end of CO2 Investigate the protection, gating and commutation circuits

the semester, the student will be CO3 Examine different types of controlled rectifiers, choppers and inverters

able to CO4 Choose suitable techniques to minimize the harmonics

CO5 Analyze the performance of different power converters
CO6 Design power converters for industrial applications

COURSE SYLLABUS
Module No Contents of Module Hrs CO’s
Power Semiconductor Devices
1 Introduction, Construction, Principle of operation - Diode, BJT, IGBT, MOSFET, SCR, TRIAC, GTO - Static and 09 CO1, CO2
dynamic characteristics. Two transistor model of SCR- Protection circuits - Commutation Techniques - Firing circuits.
AC-DC Converter
2 Single phase and Three phase-controlled rectifiers (half and full converters) with R, RL and RLE load, Dual converters. 09 CO2, CO3

DC-DC Converter
DC chopper - Time ratio control and current limit control – Buck, boost, buck-boost converter – Four Quadrant chopper.
3 AC-AC Converter 09 CO2, CO3, CO5
ON-OFF control and phase control, Single phase bi-directional controllers with R and RL loads-Multilevel converters

DC-AC Converter
4 Inverters – Single phase bridge inverters - Three phase bridge inverters (1800 and 1200 mode) – PWM schemes – Harmonic 09 CO2, CO3, CO4, CO5
distortion analysis-Current Source Inverter.
Industrial Applications
5 Drives, Heating, welding, SMPS, HVDC power transmission, static compensator, tap changers. Digital Simulation –Rectifier- 09 CO5, CO6
Chopper-Inverter- Battery charger. 2
Textbook

3
 Basics of Power Electronics

Power electronics is the

application of electronics
to the control and
conversion of electric
power.

4
Applications of Power Electronics

5
 Applications of Power Electronics

1. Our Daily Life: If we look around ourselves, we can find a whole lot of power electronics
applications such as a fan regulator, light dimmer, air-conditioning, induction cooking, emergency
lights, personal computers, vacuum cleaners, UPS (uninterrupted power system), battery charges,
etc.
2. Automotives and Traction: Subways, hybrid electric vehicles, trolley, fork-lifts, and many more. A
modern car itself has so many components where power electronic is used such as ignition switch,
windshield wiper control, adaptive front lighting, interior lighting, electric power steering and so
on. Besides power electronics are extensively used in modern traction systems and ships.
3. Industries: Almost all the motors employed in the industries are controlled by power electronic
drives, for eg. Rolling mills, textile mills, cement mills, compressors, pumps, fans, blowers,
elevators, rotary kilns etc. Other applications include welding, arc furnace, cranes, heating
applications, emergency power systems, construction machinery, excavators etc.
4. Defense and Aerospace: Power supplies in aircraft, satellites, space shuttles, advance control in
missiles, unmanned vehicles and other defense equipments.
5. Renewable Energy: Generation systems such as solar, wind etc. needs power conditioning systems,
storage systems and conversion systems in order to become usable. For example solar cells generate
DC power and for general application we need AC power and hence power electronic converter is
used.
6. Utility System: HVDC transmission, VAR compensation (SVC), static circuit breakers, generator
excitation systems, FACTS, smart grids, etc.
6
 Block diagram of power electronic system

❖ The major components of a power electronic system are shown in figure.1.

❖ Main power source may be an AC supply system or a DC supply system.
❖ The output from the power electronic circuit may be variable dc or ac voltage or it may be a variable voltage
and frequency. In general, the output of a power electronic circuit depends on requirement of the load.
❖ The feedback component measures a parameter of the load, say speed in case of a rotating machine and
compares it with the command. The difference the two, through the digital circuit components, controls the
instant of turn-on / off semiconductor devices forming the solid state power converter system.

7
8
 Diode
A diode is defined as a two-terminal electronic component Diode Symbol
(unidirectional device) that only conducts current in one
direction (so long as it is operated within a specified voltage
level). An ideal diode will have zero resistance in one direction,
and infinite resistance in the reverse direction.

1. Semiconductor diodes are the most common type of diode. These diodes begin conducting electricity only if a
certain threshold voltage is present in the forward direction (i.e. the “low resistance” direction). The diode is
said to be “forward biased” when conducting current in this direction. When connected within a circuit in the
reverse direction (i.e. the “high resistance” direction), the diode is said to be “reverse biased”.
2. The diode is said to be “forward biased” when conducting current in this direction. When connected within a
circuit in the reverse direction (i.e. the “high resistance” direction), the diode is said to be “reverse biased”.
3. A diode only blocks current in the reverse direction (i.e. when it is reverse biased) while the reverse voltage is
within a specified range. Above this range, the reverse barrier breaks. The voltage at which this breakdown
occurs is called the “reverse breakdown voltage”.
4. When the voltage of the circuit is higher than the reverse breakdown voltage, the diode is able to conduct
electricity in the reverse direction (i.e. the “high resistance” direction). This is why in practice we say diodes
have a high resistance in the reverse direction – not an infinite resistance. 9
 Working Principle of Diode

1. A diode’s working principle depends on the interaction

of n-type and p-type semiconductors. An n-type
semiconductor has plenty of free electrons and a very
few numbers of holes. In other words, we can say that
the concentration of free electrons is high and that of
holes is very low in an n-type semiconductor.
2. Free electrons in the n-type semiconductor are referred
to as majority charge carriers, and holes in the n-type
semiconductor are referred to as minority charge
carriers.
3. A p-type semiconductor has a high concentration of
holes and a low concentration of free electrons. Holes in
the p-type semiconductor are majority charge carriers,
and free electrons in the p-type semiconductor are
minority charge carriers.

10
Forward Biasing Characteristic of Diode
When, P terminal is more positive as compared to N terminal i.e.
P-terminal connected to positive terminal of battery and N
terminal connected to negative terminal of battery, it is said to be
forward biased. The positive terminal of the battery repels
majority carriers, holes, in P-region and negative terminal repels
electrons in the N region and pushes them towards the junction.
This result in increase in concentration of charge carriers near
junction, recombination takes place and width of depletion region
decreases. As forward bias voltage is raised depletion region
continues to reduce in width, and more and more carriers
recombine. This results in an exponential rise of current.

Reverse Biasing Characteristic of Diode

In reverse biasing P- terminal is connected to negative terminal of the battery and N- terminal to
positive terminal of battery. Thus applied voltage makes N side more positive than P side. Negative
terminal of the battery attracts majority carriers, holes, in P-region and positive terminal attracts
electrons in the N-region and pull them away from the junction. This result in decrease in
concentration of charge carriers near junction and width of depletion region increases. A small amount
of current flow due to minority carriers, called as reverse bias current or leakage current. As reverse
bias voltage is raised depletion region continues to increase in width and no current flows. It can be
concluded that diode acts only when forward biased. Operation of diode can be summarized in form 11
of I-V diode characteristics graph.
Diode Reverse recovery Characteristics

12
 Power Transistors
Power transistors are three terminal devices which are composed of semiconductor
materials. They feature emitter, base and collector terminals. These devices are
particularly designed to control high current – voltage rating. The speciality of this
device is when voltage or current is applied to one pair of terminals, it controls the
voltage or current at the other pair of terminals. These transistors might be either of
NPN or PNP polarity. Power transistors are available in different types with different
power and switching speed ratings.

Types of Power Transistors

Power transistors are classified into the following types:

[Link] Junction Transistors (BJTs)

[Link] Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFETs)
[Link] Induction Transistor (SITs)
[Link] Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBTs)
13
 BJT
A Bipolar Junction Transistor (also known as a BJT or BJT Transistor) is a three-terminal semiconductor
device consisting of two p-n junctions which are able to amplify or magnify a signal. It is a current
controlled device. The three terminals of the BJT are the base, the collector and the emitter. A BJT is a
type of transistor that uses both electrons and holes as charge carriers.

14
BJT

15
Steady State characteristics

Input characteristics Output characteristics

16
Output characteristics and Load Line

17
18
19
20
Transistor Switching Performance

21
 Applications of BJT

BJT’s are used in a discrete circuit designed due to

availability of many types, and obviously because of its
high transconductance and output resistance which is
better than MOSFET. BJT’s are suitable for the high-
frequency application also.

That’s why they are used in radio frequency for wireless

systems. Another application of BJT can be stated as a
small-signal amplifier, metal proximity photocell, etc.

22
 MOSFET
• The MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) transistor is a semiconductor device that is
widely used for switching purposes and for the amplification of electronic signals in electronic devices.
• A MOSFET is either a core or integrated circuit where it is designed and fabricated in a single chip because the
device is available in very small sizes.
• A MOSFET is a four-terminal device having source(S), gate (G), drain (D) and body (B) terminals. In general,
The body of the MOSFET is in connection with the source terminal thus forming a three-terminal device such as a
field-effect transistor. MOSFET is generally considered as a transistor and employed in both the analog and
digital circuits.

23
Working Principle of MOSFET

24
MOSFET Characteristics
Transfer Characteristics

25
Output Characteristics

26
27
Comparison of MOSFET and BJT

28
 Applications

• Amplifiers made of MOSFET are extremely employed in extensive frequency

applications
• The regulation for DC motors are provided by these devices, As because these
have enhanced switching speeds, it acts as perfect for the construction of chopper
amplifiers
• Functions as a passive component for various electronic elements.

29
 IGBT
• IGBT is known by various other names also, such as- Metal Oxide Insulated Gate Transistor
(MOSIGT), Gain Modulated Field Effect Transistor (GEMFET), Conductively Modulated Field Effect
Transistor (COMFET), Insulated Gate Transistor (IGT)
• The three terminals of IGBT are Gate, Collector and Emitter.
• Excellent switching characteristics, high input impedance.
• IGBT is a voltage controlled device .

30
Structure of IGBT

31
32
IGBT Characteristics

33
Switching Characteristics

34
35
Advantages of IGBT

• Lower gate drive requirements

• Low switching losses
• Small snubber circuitry requirements
• High input impedance
• Voltage controlled device
• Temperature coefficient of ON state resistance is positive and less than PMOSFET,
hence less On-state voltage drop and power loss.
• Enhanced conduction due to bipolar nature
• Better Safe Operating Area

Disadvantages of IGBT

• Cost
• Latching-up problem
• High turn off time compared to PMOSFET

36
 Applications

• AC and DC drives
• UPS
• Solenoids
• Relays
• Inverted fed Induction motor drives
• Ratings of IGBT upto 1200V, 500A ratings are available

37
 SCR
• Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) is a unidirectional semiconductor device made of silicon. This
device is the solid state equivalent of thyratron and hence it is also referred to as thyristor or thyroid
transistor. In fact, SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier) is a trade name given to the thyristor by
General Electric Company. Basically, SCR is a three-terminal, four-layer semiconductor device
consisting of alternate layers of p-type and n-type material.
• Hence it has three pn junctions J1, J2 and J3. The figure below shows an SCR with the layers p-n-p-n.
The device has terminals Anode(A), Cathode(K) and the Gate(G). The Gate terminal(G) is attached to
the p-layer nearer to the Cathode(K) terminal.

38
 Static V-I Characteristics

The working of SCR can be understood by analyzing its

behavior in the following modes:
1. Reverse Blocking mode
2. Forward Blocking mode
3. Forward Conduction mode

Reverse Blocking mode

Reverse leakage current

• In this mode, the SCR is reverse biased by connecting its anode terminal (A) to negative end and the cathode terminal (K) to
the positive end of the battery. This leads to the reverse biasing of the junctions J1 and J3, which in turn prohibits the flow of
current through the device, in spite of the fact that the junction J2 remains in forward biased condition.
• In this state, the SCR behaves as a typical diode. In this reverse biased condition, only reverse saturation current flows
through the device as in the case of the reverse biased diode which is shown in the characteristic curve by blue line. The
device also exhibits the reverse breakdown phenomenon beyond a reverse safe voltage limit just like a diode 39
 Static V-I Characteristics

Forward Blocking mode

Forward leakage current

• Here a positive bias is applied to the SCR by connecting anode terminal (A) to the positive and cathode terminal (K) to the
negative terminal of the battery, as shown in the figure below. Under this condition, the junction J1 and J3 get forward biased
while junction J2 gets reverse biased.
• OM represents the forward blocking mode of SCR. As the forward leakage current is small, SCR offers high impedance.
• Therefore, a thyristor can be treated as an open switch even in the forward blocking mode.
40
 Static V-I Characteristics

Forward Conduction mode

The SCR can be made to conduct either

(i) By increasing the positive voltage applied at anode terminal
(A) beyond the Break Over Voltage, VB or
(ii) By applying positive voltage at the gate terminal (G) as
shown in the figure below.

In the first case, the increase in the applied bias causes the initially reverse biased junction J2 to break down at the
point corresponding to forward Break Over Voltage, VB. This results in the sudden increase in the current flowing
through the SCR as shown by the pink curve in the characteristic curve, although the gate terminal of the SCR
remains unbiased.
However, SCR can also be turned on at a much smaller voltage level by proving small positive voltage at the gate
terminal 41
SCR TURN-ON Methods

[Link] Voltage Triggering

[Link] Triggering
[Link]/dt Triggering
[Link] Triggering
[Link] Triggering
Forward Voltage Triggering
In forward voltage triggering method, the SCR is forward biased i.e., anode is more positive than
cathode but this voltage is increased significantly. The gate terminal is kept open.

Temperature Triggering
This type of triggering is also known as Thermal Triggering as the SCR is turned by heating it. The
reverse leakage current depends on the temperature. If the temperature is increased to a certain
value, the number of hole-pairs also increases. This causes to increase the leakage current and
further it increases the current gains of the SCR. This starts the regenerative action inside the SCR
since the (α1 + α2) value approaches to unity (as the current gains increases).

42
dv/dt Triggering
In forward blocking state i.e., anode is more positive than cathode, the junctions J1 and J3 are forward biased and
the junction J2 is reverse biased. So, the junction J2 behaves as a capacitor (J1 and J3 as conducting plates with a
dielectric J2) due to the space charges in the depletion region.
The charging current of the capacitor is given as:
IC = dQ / dt
= d(Cj v) / dt
Using Product Rule of Differentiation, we get
= Cj dv / dt + v dCj / dt
As the junction Capacitance is always almost constant, we can
ignore the rate of change of junction Capacitance dCj / dt. So,
the final Charging Current is:
IC = Cj dv/ dt

Light Triggering
An SCR turned ON by light radiation is also called as Light Activated SCR (LASCR). Hence, Light Triggering is also
known as Radiation Triggering. Generally, this type of triggering is employed in phase controlled converters in
HVDC transmission systems.

Gate Triggering
This is most common and most efficient method to turn ON the SCR. When the SCR is forward biased, a sufficient positive voltage at the gate
terminal injects some electrons into the junction J2. Depending on the size of the SCR, the gate current varies from a few milli-amps to 250
milli-amps or more. If the gate current applied is more, then more electrons are injected into the junction J2 and results to come into the
conduction state at much lower applied voltage.
43
DC Gate Triggering
In this triggering, a sufficient DC voltage is applied between the gate and cathode terminals in such a
way that the gate is made positive with respect to the cathode. The gate current drives the SCR into
conduction mode.
In this method, a continuous gate signal (DC Voltage) is applied at the gate and hence it causes internal
power dissipation (or more power loss). Another important drawback is there is no isolation between
the power and control circuits (as they both are DC).
AC Triggering
This is the most commonly used method of turning on the SCR, especially in AC applications. With
proper isolation between the power and control circuits (using transformers), the SCR is triggered by
the phase-shift AC voltage derived from the main supply. The firing angle is controlled by changing the
phase angle of the gate signal.

Pulse Triggering
The most popular method of triggering the SCR is the pulse triggering. In this method, gate is supplied with
single pulse or a train of high frequency pulses.
44
Switching Characteristics of SCR

45
46
 Two-Transistor Model of a Thyristor
Basic operating principle of SCR, can easily be understood by the two transistor model of
SCR, as it is a combination of p and n layers.

This is a pnpn thyristor. If we bisect it through the dotted line then we

will get two transistors i.e. one pnp transistor with J1 and J2 junctions
and another is with J2 and J3 junctions as shown in figure below.

47
Equivalent Circuit

48
49
50
51
 Thyristor Protection
Protection of a device is an important aspect for its reliable and efficient operation.
Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) are a very delicate semiconductor device. So we have to use it
in its specified ratings to get desired output. SCR may face different types of threats during its
operation due to over voltages, over currents etc.
There are different types of thyristor protection schemes available for satisfactory operation of the
device like

[Link] voltage protection.

[Link] current protection.
[Link] dv/dt protection.
[Link] di/dt protection.
[Link] protection.

52
 Over Voltage Protection
• It is the most important protection scheme w. r. t. others as thyristors are very sensitive to over voltages.
Maximum time thyristor failures happen due to over-voltage transients.

• A thyristor may be subjected to internal or external over-voltages.

• Internal Over-Voltages : After commutation of a thyristor reverse recovery current decays abruptly with high
di/dt which causes a high reverse voltage [as, V = L(di/dt) so if di/dt is high then V will be large] that can
exceed the rated break-over voltage and the device may be damaged.

• External Over-Voltages : These are caused due to various reasons in the supply line like lightning, surge
conditions (abnormal voltage spike) etc. External over voltage may cause different types of problem in
thyristor operation like increase in leakage current, permanent breakdown of junctions, unwanted turn-on of
devices etc. So, we have to suppress the over-voltages.

Protective Measure: The effect of over-voltages can be minimized by using non-linear resistors
called voltage clamping devices like metal oxide varistors. At the time of normal operation, it
offers high impedance and acts as it is not present in the circuit. But when the voltage exceeds the
rated voltage then it serves as a low impedance path to protect SCR.

53
 Over Current Protection

Overcurrent mainly occurs due to different types of faults in the circuit. Due to
overcurrent i2R loss will increase and high generation of heat may take place that can
exceed the permissible limit and burn the device.

Protective Measure: SCR can be protected from overcurrent by using Circuit Breaker
(CB) and fast acting current limiting fuses (FACLF). CBs are used for protection of
thyristor against continuous overloads or against surge currents of long duration as a CB
has long tripping time. But fast-acting fuses is used for protecting SCR against high surge
current of very short duration.

54
High dv/dt Protection

When a thyristor is in forward blocking state then only J2 junction is reverse biased which acts as a capacitor having
constant capacitance value Cj (junction capacitance). As we know that current through capacitor follows the relation

Hence leakage current through the J2 junction which is nothing but the leakage current through the device will
increase with the increase in dva/dt i.e. rate of change of applied voltage across the thyristor. This current can turn-on
the device even when the gate signal is absent. This is called dv/dt triggering and must be avoided which can be
achieved by using Snubber circuit in parallel with the device.

Protective Measure :
Snubber Circuit: It consists of a capacitor connected in series with a resistor which is applied parallel with the
thyristor, when S is closed then voltage Vs is applied across the device as well as Cs suddenly. At first Snubber circuit
behaves like a short circuit. Therefore voltage across the device is zero. Gradually voltage across C s builds up at a
slow rate. So dv/dt across the thyristor will stay in allowable range.
Before turning on of thyristor Cs is fully charged and after turning on of thyristor it discharges through the SCR. This
discharging current can be limited with the help of a resistance (Rs) connected in series with the capacitor (Cs) to
keep the value of current and rate of change of current in a safe limit.

55
Working of Snubber Circuit

The protection against high voltage reverse recovery transients and dv/dt is achieved
by using an RC snubber circuit. This snubber circuit consists of a series
combination of capacitor and resistor which is connected across the SCR. This
also consist an inductance in series with the SCR to prevent the high di/dt. The
resistance value is of few hundred ohms. The snubber network used for the
protection of SCR is shown below.

56
• When the switch closed, a sudden voltage appears across the SCR which is
bypassed to the RC network. This is because the capacitor acts as a short circuit
which reduces the voltage across the SCR to zero. As the time increases, voltage
across the capacitor builds up at slow rate such that dv/dt across the capacitor
is too small to turn ON the SCR. Therefore, the dv/dt across the SCR and the
capacitor is less than the maximum dv/dt rating of the SCR.

• Normally, the capacitor is charged to a voltage equal the maximum supply

voltage which is the forward blocking voltage of the SCR. If the SCR is turned
ON, the capacitor starts discharging which causes a high current to flow
through the SCR.

• This produces a high di/dt that leads to damage the SCR. And hence, to limit the
high di/dt and peak discharge current, a small resistance is placed in series with
the capacitor as shown in above. These snubber circuits can also be connected
to any switching circuit to limit the high surge or transient voltages.

57
High di/dt Protection

• When a thyristor is turned on by gate pulse then charge carriers spread through its
junction rapidly. But if rate of rise of anode current, i.e. di/dt is greater than the
spreading of charge carriers then localized heat generation will take place which is
known as local hot spots. This may damage the thyristor.

• Protective Measure: To avoid local hot spots we use an inductor in series with the
device as it prevents high rate of change of current through it.

High Temperature Protection

• With the increase in the temperature of the junction, insulation may get failed. So we
have to take proper measures to limit the temperature rise.

• Protective Measure: We can achieve this by mounting the thyristor on heat sink which
is mainly made by high thermal conductivity metals like aluminum (Al), Copper (Cu)
etc. Mainly aluminum (Al) is used due to its low cost. There are several types of
mounting techniques for SCR such as – Lead-mounting, stud-mounting, Bolt-down
mounting, press-fit mounting, press-pack mounting etc. 58
Gate Protection of Thyristor

• Like a thyristor, Gate circuit should also be protected from overvoltages and
overcurrents. Overvoltages in the gate circuit can cause false triggering and
overcurrent can cause high junction temperature.

• Protective Measure: Overvoltages thyristor protection is achieved by using a zener

diode and a resistor can be used to protect the gate circuit from overcurrent. Noise in
gate circuit can also cause false triggering which can be avoided by using a resistor
and a capacitor in parallel. A diode (D) may be connected in series or in parallel with
the gate to protect it from high reverse voltage.

59
Firing Circuits of Thyristor

60
61
 The circuit used for turning ON the thyristor by giving gate
pulses is called the Firing or Triggering Circuit of SCR.

Conditions for Triggering or Firing Circuits of Thyristors :

❖ Gate current should be of sufficient amplitude and should flow in the circuit for the required
duration.
❖ Voltage pulses should be fed to the driver circuit first and then to the gate-cathode circuit.
❖ For a circuit with more than one thyristor, the gate current for each thyristor must be
provided at the desired instant of time.

62
General layout for firing the thyristor is shown below.

The firing circuit consists

of a control circuit, a
driver circuit, and a power
circuit. The output of the
pulse generator is fed to
the pulse amplifier for
amplification. Amplified
pulses are given to the
pulse transformer through
shielded cables. The pulse
transformer separates the
low-voltage gate-cathode
circuit from the high-
voltage anode-cathode
circuit.

63
Triggering or Firing Circuits of Thyristor or SCR :

1. Resistance Firing Circuit (R-Firing),

2. Resistance-Capacitance Firing(RC-Firing),
3. UJT-Firing Circuit.

64
 Resistance Firing Circuit (R-Firing) :

The below shows the circuit configuration and waveforms of the resistance firing circuit. This firing circuit is the
simplest method of controlling the firing angle of SCR. In this firing circuit, the firing angle can vary over a limited
range of 0° to 90°. Instead of giving gate pulses to the thyristor, an ac supply is given to the gate terminal for firing.
65
Working of Resistance Firing Circuit (R-Firing) :
• The working of the resistance firing circuit is as follows,
• During the positive half-cycle of the voltage source VS, thyristor, T is forward-biased, but it doesn’t conduct because of insufficient gate current.
Hence, load voltage VL is zero.
• As voltage source VS increases, thyristor and diode both are forward-biased, and gate current IG flows in the circuit. When gate current IG reaches to
value equal to IG(min), the thyristor is turned-ON and load voltage follows source voltage, and the voltage drop across the thyristor is equal to the on-
state drop.
• During the negative half cycle of the supply voltage, the thyristor is reverse-biased, and hence it is turned OFF. Thus load voltage VL becomes zero
and voltage across the thyristor VT will be equal to source voltage VS.
• The diode in the gate circuit prevents the reverse voltage of the thyristor during the negative half-cycle from exceeding peak reverse voltage. The
limiting resistance RL placed between anode and gate of thyristor limits the gate current not to exceed peak gate current IG(max).
• From the waveforms above, the firing angle and the output voltage can be controlled by varying the variable resistance RV. If RV is large, then the
current will be small, and hence firing angle (α) increases and vice versa.

66
Resistance-Capacitance Firing Circuit (RC-Firing) :
The limitations of the resistance firing circuit can be overcome by using a resistance-capacitance firing circuit. Using an RC-firing
circuit the firing angle can be controlled from 0 to 180 electrical degrees. There are two types of RC-firing circuits,
1. RC half-wave firing circuit, and
2. RC full-wave firing circuit.

RC Half-Wave Firing Circuit :

The above figure illustrates the RC half-wave

firing circuit. The capacitor charges to the
negative peak of the ac voltage in every negative
half-cycle through the diode D2. During the
positive half-cycle, it begins to charge through
the resistance RV. When the voltage across the
capacitor reaches the required positive value,
the thyristor is fired and the capacitor voltage
remains almost constant.
The diode D1 prevents the breakdown of the
gate-cathode junction during the negative half-
cycle. For power frequencies, the value of RV C
for zero output voltage is empirically given by,

67
If the value of RV is high, then the capacitor takes more time to charge. Hence the firing
angle is more but the average output is low and vice-versa. In order to have more output,
the value of RV should be less.
68
RC Full-Wave Firing Circuit :

The advantages of a full-wave firing circuit over a half-wave firing circuit are,
1. Power can be delivered to load both during positive and negative half-cycles because of the full-wave
bridge diode.
2. The firing angle can be controlled from 0° to 180°.
3. The power delivered to the load is doubled.
4. The output voltage is present even in the negative half cycle.

Initially, the capacitor starts charging from zero voltage, and this low voltage is achieved by the clamping action of the SCR gate. When
VC reaches Vgt, SCR is turned-ON and ac line voltage which is rectified into dc by a full-wave diode bridge appears across the load. In this
circuit, RVC and RV are given by, 69
70
UJT Firing Circuit
The above discussed R-firing and RC-firing circuits produce continuous gate pulses due to which there will be quite
high power dissipation at the gate circuit of the thyristor. This power dissipation in the gate circuit can be reduced by
using a UJT in the firing circuit. The UJT will work as a relaxation oscillator that produces sharp repetitive pulses with
good rise time, and it also has good frequency stability under voltage fluctuations and temperature variations.
In the above UJT firing circuit, the UJT starts conducting once the value of the voltage across the capacitor is equal to
or more than the peak voltage VP value of the UJT. Now the capacitor starts discharging, and once its voltage
decreases to the valley voltage VV of UJT, the UJT will be turned OFF. The capacitor again gets charged to supply
voltage and the above process repeats.

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