DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

College of Engineering and Architecture

Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

EXPERIMENT 1
OPERATION OF AN SCR

DATA AND RESULTS

Table 4-1. Ohmmeter readings

Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

Resistance (Ω)

Table 4-2. a EasyEDA

S1 S2 Condition of
VG VA IA
Condition Condition SCR (on or off)
A A 0.346V 0.927V 0.111A OFF

B A 119.19uV 0.924V 0.111A ON

A A 0.346V 0.927V 0.111A OFF

A B 12V 12V 181.188pA OFF

A A 0.346V 0.927V 0.111A OFF

S1 Position Current VAK

A IRA = +VAA/RA = 120uV 0.924 V
B IRB = +VAA/RB = 545uV 0.927 V

Step 14. Is the SCR on or off? off

Step 16. Is the SCR on or off? off

Step 19. VAK = 0.927 A IA = 0.111A

Step 20. IH = 4.92mA

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 1

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

Table 4-2. b TinkerCAD

S1 S2 Condition of
VG VA IA
Condition Condition SCR (on or off)
A A 398mV 12V 39.9uA OFF

B A 794mV 798mV 112mA ON

A A 398mV 12V 39.9uA ON

A B 0V 12V 0A OFF

A A 398mV 12V 39.9uA OFF

Table 4-3.
S1 Position Current VAK
A IRA = +VAA/RA =
B IRB = +VAA/RB =

Step 14. Is the SCR on or off? _______________

Step 16. Is the SCR on or off? _______________

Step 19. VAK = _______________ IA = _______________

Step 20. IH = _______________

VI. REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Before firing, the voltage from the anode to ground of the SCR is equal to Voltage Source.
2. When the gate is made more Positive, the SCR fires and IAK flow.
3. Once the SCR fires, the gate loses control and the current is allowed to flow through the SCR.
4. When the SCR is conducting, the voltage from the anode to ground is equal to 10.384mV.
5. The SCR can be turned off by reducing the current.

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 2

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

VII. DISCUSSION

Upon conducting the experiment, the experimenters were able to simulate the operation of an
SCR with the help of EASYEDA and TINKERCAD. Recalling the lesson from the experimenters’ ESYSTEMS
lectures wherein an SCR is composed of a pnpn diode, an SCR is only capable of conducting electrical
current in one direction. The anode and cathode act as the power terminals while the gate serves as the
control terminal. A combination of the two switches in the circuit were simulated to familiarize the
various operations that the SCR undergoes. The experiment resulted with the data which was observed
and recorded in the tables above.
With the interpretation and analyzation of the data collected, the experimenters were able to
hypothesize that an SCR begins at an idle state of being turned off which can only be turned on once a
working current is sufficiently flowing through the gate and enable the SCR to remain open until anode
current interruption or forced commutation is applied. The SCR would also remain in its off state if the
current does not overcome the minimum holding current. The nature of an SCR allows it to remain on
even if the power supply is disconnected due to the current flowing towards the gate which in turn
creates a sort of loop that keeps the three depletion layers of the PNPN diode forward-biased.
In summary, the two outermost pn-junctions of an SCR are forward-biased while the middle pn-
junction is set at reverse biased, effectively stopping current to flow. However, applying a small gate
current sets the middle pn-junction at forward biased and allow larger current to flow. This effectively
keeps the SCR to stay on even when the gate current is removed. Sources of error include random errors
and systematic errors. This include the limitations of using free simulators such that the C106MG SCR in
EASYEDA was replaced with a 2N5060EE due to the unavailability of the former model. Making use of
two different simulators helped in determining an agreement between the collected data however
errors could still come from the dissimilar simulation of the two, which may cause an incorrect circuit
connection from the experimenters.

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 3

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 4

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 5

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 6

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 7

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 8

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 9

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 10

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 11

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 12

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 13

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

Experiment 1 – Operation of an SCR Page 14

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

EXPERIMENT 2
AC TRIGGERING OF AN SCR

DATA AND RESULTS

Step 5. Across SCR Step 7. Across Load
Volts/div = __________ Vpp = __________ Volts/div = __________ Vpp = __________

Step 12. Across SCR Step 14. Across Load

Volts/div = __________ Vpp = __________ Volts/div = __________ Vpp = __________

VI. FILL-IN QUESTIONS

1. Using a potentiometer, the ac trigger time of an SCR can be varied from about __ to __ degrees.
2. Using a potentiometer and a capacitor, the ac trigger time of an SCR can be varied from about __ to __
degrees.
3. When the SCR conducts, the voltage across R L is about equal to the __.
4. When the SCR conducts, the voltage across A-K terminals is about __ V.
5. The Voltage across R L when the SCR conducts is the result of __ times __.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

1. ______________________ 2. ___________ ____________ 3. ___________________________

4. ______________________ 5. ___________ _____________

Experiment 2 – AC Triggering of an SCR Page 15

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN

VII. DISCUSSION

Experiment 2 – AC Triggering of an SCR Page 16

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Architecture
Holy Angel University – Angeles City
LABORATORY MANUAL FOR ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DESIGN