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Thyristor Types

Thyristors are semiconductor devices that can operate only in the switching mode. Thyristor are current operated devices, a small Gate current controls a larger Anode current. Conducts current only when forward biased and triggering current applied to the Gate.

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Mustafa Anwar
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184 views

Thyristor Types

Thyristors are semiconductor devices that can operate only in the switching mode. Thyristor are current operated devices, a small Gate current controls a larger Anode current. Conducts current only when forward biased and triggering current applied to the Gate.

Uploaded by

Mustafa Anwar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Thyristor Types

POWER ELECTRONICS

Mustafa Anwar Sabeeh


NORTHEN TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
DEP. ELECTRONIC AND CONTROL
2020-06-13
What is a Thyristor
Thyristor is a four-layer solid-state semiconductor device with P and N
type material, that basically acts like switches, the thyristor circuit
symbol is shown in fig. (1), It has
three terminals Anode, cathode and
gate.

Figure 1: thyristor symbol

How Does the Thyristor Works?


Whenever a gate receives a triggering current then it starts’ conducting
until the voltage across the thyristor device is under forward bias. So it
acts as a bistable switch under this condition. To control the large
amount of current of the two leads we have to design a three lead
thyristor by combining the small amount of current to that current.
This process is known as control lead. If the potential difference
between the two leads is under breakdown voltage, then a two lead
thyristor is used to switch on the device. There are three states in a
thyristor, first one is Forward conducting mode in this case the
thyristor has triggered and current will flow through the device until
the forward current reaches below the threshold value which is known
as “Holding current”. The second state is Forward blocking mode in
this mode, the voltage applied in a direction makes a diode to conduct.
But conduction will not happen here because the thyristor has not
triggered. The last state is Reverse blocking mode in this mode of
operation, the diode will block the voltage which is applied.

PAGE 1
DC & AC Circuits
The DC thyristor circuit is connected to the DC supply, to control
the larger DC loads and current we use thyristor. The main advantage
of thyristor in a DC circuit as a switch gives a high gain in current. A
small gate current can control large amounts of anode current, so the
thyristor is known as a current operated device.

AC thyristor circuit When connected to the AC supply, thyristor acts


differently because it is not same as DC connected circuit. During one
half of a cycle, thyristor used as an AC circuit causing it to turn off
automatically due to its reverse biased condition.

Types of Thyristors
There are many types of thyristors which are classified Based on turn
on and turn off capabilities, here I’m going to talk about most of the
popular ones and their uses.

1. Silicon controlled thyristor or SCRs


A silicon controlled rectifier is also known as thyristor rectifier. It
is a four layered current controlling solid state device. SCRs can
conduct current in only one direction (unidirectional devices).
SCRs can be triggered normally by the current which is applied
to the gate terminal.
SCRs are mainly used in devices where the control of high
power, possibly coupled with high voltage, is demanded. Their
operation makes them suitable for use in medium- to high-
voltage AC power control applications, such as lamp dimming,
power regulators and motor control

PAGE 2
2. Gate turn off Thyristors (GTOs)
One of the special types of high power semiconductor devices is
GTO (gate turn-off thyristor), figure 2 is shown GTO symbol.
The gate terminal controls the switches to be turned ON and
OFF. If positive pulse applied between the cathode and gate
terminals, then the device will be turned ON. Cathode and gate
terminals behave as a PN junction and there exists a small
voltage relatively between the terminals. It is not reliable as an
SCR. To improve the reliability, we must maintain a small
amount of positive gate current. If negative voltage pulse
applied between the gate and cathode terminals, then the device
will turn OFF. To induce the gate cathode voltage some of
Figure 2: GTO symbol forward current is stolen, which in turn induced forward current
may fall and automatically GTO will transition to the blocking
state.
The GTOs mainly used in two application High power inverters
and traction and Variable speed motor drives for the Variable
Speed There are two main reasons for adjustable speed drive is
process energy conversation and control. And it provides
smoother operation. High frequency reverse conducting GTO is
available in this application.

3. Emitter Turn OFF Thyristor (ETO)


The Emitter turn OFF thyristor is one type of the
thyristor and it will turn ON and turn OFF by
using MOSFET. It includes both the advantages of
the MOSFET and GTO. It consists of two gates-
one gate is used to turn ON and another gate with
a series MOSFET is used to turn OFF. If a gate 2 is
applied with some positive voltage and it will turn
ON, the MOSFET which is connected in series
with the PNPN thyristor cathode terminal. The
MOSFET connected to the thyristor gate terminal

PAGE 3
will turn OFF when we applied positive voltage to gate 1. The
drawback of MOSFET connecting in series with gate terminal is
that total voltage drop increases from 0.3V to 0.5V and losses
corresponding to it.

ETO device is used for the fault current limiter and solid-state
circuit breaker because of its high capability current
interruption, fast switching speed, compact structure and low
conduction loss.

4. Bidirectional Triode Thyristors or TRIACs


TRIAC is a device for controlling current and it is a three
terminal semiconductor device. It is derived from the name
called Triode for Alternating Current. Thyristors can conduct
only in one direction, but TRIAC is able to conduct in both
directions. There are two
options to switch AC
waveform for both halves- one
is using TRIAC and the other
is back to back connected
Thyristors. To switch ON one
half of the cycle, we use one
Thyristor and to operate other
cycle we use reverse connected Thyristors.

TRIACs used in Domestic light dimmers, small motor controls,


electric fan speed controls, controlling of small domestic AC
power appliances.

In conclusion the thyristor since it proposed by William Shockley in


1950, it played a major role in industry and modern technology, for it
helped for developing many devices that has a massive benefit to our
life.

PAGE 4

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