Comparison between BJT,FET & Thyristor
• If a transistor and a thyristor do the same job, what's the difference between them? With a
transistor, when a small current flows into the base, it makes a larger current flow between
the emitter and the collector. In other words, it acts as both a switch and an amplifier at the
same time.
• A similar thing happens inside a FET, except that we apply a small voltage to the gate to
produce an electric field that helps a current flow from the source to the drain. If we
remove the small current at the base (or gate), the large current immediately stops flowing
from the emitter to the collector (or from the source to the drain in a FET).
• Now often that's not what we want to happen. In something like an intruder alarm circuit
(where maybe an intruder steps on a pressure pad and the bells start ringing), we want the
small current (activated by the pressure pad) to trip the larger current (the ringing bells)
and for the larger current to keep on flowing even when the smaller current stops (so the
bells still ring even if our hapless intruder realizes his mistake and steps back off the pad). In
a thyristor, that's exactly what happens. A small current at the gate triggers a much larger
current between the anode and the cathode. But even if we then remove the gate current,
the larger current keeps on flowing from the anode to the cathode. In other words, the
thyristor stays ("latches") on and remains in that state until the circuit is reset.
Introduction to thyristor
• In a transistor, we have three layers of semiconductor arranged alternately
(either p-n-p or n-p-n), giving two junctions where interesting things can
happen. (A FET is slightly different, with extra layers of metal and oxide,
but still essentially an n-p-n or p-n-p sandwich.). A thyristor is simply the
next step in the sequence: four layers of semiconductor, again arranged
alternately to give us p-n-p-n (or n-p-n-p if you swap it around)
with three junctions in between them. The anode connects to the outer p
layer, the cathode to the outer n layer, and the gate to the internal p layer,
like this:
Contd..
• A thyristor is like two transistors
• What's less obvious is that the four layers work like two transistors (an n-
p-n and a p-n-p) that are connected together so the output from one
forms the input to the other. The gate serves as a kind of "starter motor"
to activate them i.e. the current flowing through the device is controlled
by electrical signal applied to the gate (G) terminal
Thyristor working
[Link] no current flowing into the gate, the thyristor is switched off
and no current flows between the anode and the cathode.
[Link] a current flows into the gate, it effectively flows into the base
(input) of the lower (n-p-n) transistor, turning it on.
[Link] the lower transistor is switched on, current can flow through
it and into the base (input) of the upper (p-n-p) transistor, turning
that on as well.
[Link] both transistors are turned on completely ("saturated"),
current can flow all the way through both of them—through the
entire thyristor from the anode to the cathode.
[Link] the two transistors keep one another switched on, the
thyristor stays on—"latches"—even if the gate current is removed.
Thyristor family
• SCR
• Diac
• Triac etc.
• The most important member of the thyristor
family is SCR
Characteristics of Thyristor
A detailed study of the characteristics reveal that the thyristor has three basic
modes of operation, namely :
• forward blocking (off-state) mode and
• forward conduction (on-state) mode
• reverse blocking mode,
which are discussed in detail to understand the overall characteristics of thyristor.
Forward blocking mode
In this mode of operation, the anode is given a positive voltage while
the cathode is given a negative voltage, keeping the gate at zero
potential i.e. disconnected. In this case junction J1 and J3 are forward-
biased, while J2 is reverse-biased, due to which only a small leakage
current exists from the anode to the cathode until the applied voltage
reaches its breakover value, at which J2 undergoes avalanche
breakdown, and at this breakover voltage it starts conducting, but
below breakover voltage it offers very high resistance to the current
and is said to be in the off state.
Forward conduction mode
SCR can be brought from blocking mode to conduction mode in two ways:
either by increasing the voltage across anode to cathode beyond breakover
voltage or by applying positive pulse at gate. Once SCR starts conducting,
no more gate voltage is required to maintain it in the on state. There are two
ways to turn it off: 1. Reduce the current through it below a minimal value
called the holding current and 2. With the gate turned off, short out the
anode and cathode momentarily with a push-button switch or transistor
across the junction.
Reverse Blocking Mode
Here Junctions J1 and J3 are reverse biased whereas the junction
J2 is forward biased
As a result only a small leakage current of the order of a few
μAmps flows. This is the reverse blocking mode or the off-state,
of the thyristor.
If the reverse voltage is now increased, then at a particular
voltage, known as the critical breakdown voltage VBR, an avalanche
occurs at J1 and J3 and the reverse current increases rapidly.
Silicon Controlled Rectifier
• A Silicon Controlled Rectifier (or Semiconductor Controlled
Rectifier) is a four layer solid state device that controls current
flow
• The name “silicon controlled rectifier” is a trade name for the
type of thyristor commercialized at General Electric in 1957
Silicon Controlled Rectifier
• An SCR can be seen as a conventional rectifier controlled by a
gate signal
• It is a 4-layered 3-terminal device
• When the gate to cathode voltage exceeds a certain threshold,
the device turns 'on' and conducts current
Silicon Controlled Rectifier
• The operation of a SCR can be understood in terms of a pair of
tightly coupled Bipolar Junction Transistors
• SCR has three states:
– Reverse blocking mode, forward blocking mode, and forward
conducting mode
Silicon Controlled Rectifier
• Industrially SCRs are applied to produce DC voltages for
motors from AC line voltage
• Rectifier
– Half-wave rectifier, full-wave rectifier
Half-wave rectifier
Half-wave rectifier
Half-wave rectifier
Phase controlled rectifier using SCR
The input supply fed to a controlled rectifier is ac supply at a fixed rms
voltage and at a fixed frequency. We can obtain variable dc output voltage
by using controlled rectifiers. By employing phase controlled thyristors in
the controlled rectifier circuits we can obtain variable dc output voltage
and variable dc (average) output current by varying the trigger angle
(phase angle) at which the thyristors are triggered.
Single Phase Controlled Rectifiers are further subdivided into different
types:-
• Half wave controlled rectifier which uses a single thyristor device (which
provides output control only in one half cycle of input ac supply, and it
provides low dc output).
• Full wave controlled rectifiers (which provide higher dc output)
Firing Angle
• The angle at which a thyristor is fired/triggered/turned ON, is called its
firing angle.
A time period of a sinusoid is from 0 to 2*pi radians, or 0 degrees to 360
degrees.
Now that instant during the 2*pi radians of a sinusoid, at which it is
applied at the GATE of the thyristor, will be its firing angle.
Look at the LOAD Current
Conduction time Conduction Angle = 180 -
“Firing” time Firing Angle ()
SCR Application – Power Control
XSC1
G
T
A B When the voltage across
the capacitor reaches the
“trigger-point” voltage of
the SCR, the SCR turns ON,
current flows in the Load for
R the remainder of the
25kOhm 60%
Key = a positive half-cycle.
D1
Vs 2N1776
170V
120.21V_rms
60Hz Current flow stops when the
0Deg
C
applied voltage goes
Rload
15ohm
0.01uF negative.
semi-controlled full-wave bridge rectifier
The circuit in Configuration 1 contains two SCRs and two diodes. When source V in is positive, SCR
S1 can be triggered at a firing angle a and then current flows out of the source through SCR S 1 first,
then through the load and returns via diode D 3.
then SCR S1 and diode D3 conduct during a < wt < p. From p < wt < 2 p , Vin is negative and SCR
S2 is normally triggered when wt = p+ a. During p < wt < (p + a) , the output of the bridge circuit
would have been negative if we had used a fully-controlled bridge rectifier and if the current flow
was continuous. But here we have two diodes D 3 and D4 instead of two SCRs.
When the output of the bridge tends to becomes negative just after wt exceeds p, diode D4 tends to
get forward-biased and it starts conducting. Then diode D 3 is reverse-biased and it stops
conducting. During p< wt < (p + a) ,the devices in conduction are SCR S1 and diode D4 and the
output of the bridge is clamped at zero, assuming that the on-state drops across devices in
conduction is zero. During ( p+a)< wt < 2p, the devices in conduction are SCR S2 and diode D4.
SCR S2 and diode D3 would conduct during 0 < wt < a .
semi-controlled bridge rectifier
In this circuit, SCRs S1 and S3 conduct during a < wt < p. During p <
wt < (p + a) , the device in conduction is diode D and the output of
the bridge is clamped at zero. During (p + a) < wt < 2p , the devices
in conduction are SCRs S2 and S4. Diode D would conduct during 0 <
wt < a .
Application
• Mainly used where high currents and voltages are involved,
and are often used to control alternating currents, where the
change of polarity of the current causes the device to switch
off automatically; referred to as Zero Cross operation.
• Thyristors can be used as the control elements for phase
angle triggered controllers, also known as phase fired
controllers.
Cntd…
• In power supplies for digital circuits, thyristor can be used as a
sort of "circuit breaker" or "crowbar" to prevent a failure in
the power supply from damaging downstream components,
by shorting the power supply output to ground
Load voltage regulated by thyristor phase
control.
Red trace: load voltage
Blue trace: trigger signal.