Ques.1.

 A silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) is a

1. Unijunction device
2. Device with three junction
3. Device with four junction
4. None of the above
Ans:2 Device with three junction

Question-2 A thyristor is basically

1. PNPN device
2. A combination of diac and triac
3. A set of SCRs
4. A set of SCR, diac and a triac
Ans: 1. A PNPN device

Ques.3. Which semiconductor power device out of the following, is

not a current triggering device?
1. Thyristor
2. Triac
3. G.T.O
4. MOSFET
Ans: MOSFET (Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor

Ques.4. Which of the following device incorporates a terminal for

synchronizing purposes?
1. Diac

2. Triac
3. SUS
4. None of the above
Ans: 3. SUS(Silicone unilateral switch)
 Comparison of SCR, Power BJT, Power
MOSFET, IGBT

Sr No Parameter SCR Power BJT Power MOSFET IGBT

Operating
1 frequency 400 to 500 Hz 10 kHz 100 kHz 10 kHz

On-state
2 voltage drop < 2 volts <2 volts 4-5 volts 3 volts

Current
controlled
need single Current controlled Voltage controlled Voltage controlle
pulse to turn- needs continuous needs continuous need continuous
3 Trigger circuit on. base drive. gate drive. gate drive.

Snubber can be Snubber can be

eliminated. If used a eliminated. If use
Necessary polarized snubber is polarized snubbe
4 Snubber (unpolarized) Necessary (polarized) used. used.

DC motor
drives, UPS, SMPS, Static SMPS, BLDC dr
inverters, VAR systems, AC AC motor control, AC motor contr
5 Applications rectifiers. motor control, SMPS UPS.

Maximum VI
6 Rating 10 kV/ 5000 A 2 kV/ 1000 A 600 V/ 200 A 1500 V/ 400 A

7 Type of Device Minority carrier Minority carrier Majority carrier Minority carrier

8 Voltage or Current Current controlled Voltage controlled Voltage controlle

Current controlled
 Controlled

Communication
9 Circuit Necessary Not Necessary Not Necessary Not Necessary

Blocking
10 Capacity Symmetrical Asymmetrical Asymmetrical Asymmetrical

Temperature
11 Coefficient Negative Negative Positive Flat

Thermal
12 Runaway Possible Possible Not Possible Not Possible

External
equalizing
Parallel circuit is Equalizing circuit
13 Operation necessary. required. Easy to parallel. Easy to parallel.

Power MOSFET
14 Symbol SCR Symbol Power BJT Symbol Symbol Symbol of IGBT

A TRIAC (triode for alternating current; also bidirectional triode thyristor or bilateral triode
thyristor) is a three terminal electronic component that conducts current in either direction
when triggered. ... The bidirectionality of TRIACs makes them convenient switches for
alternating-current (AC).
IGBT stands for insulated-gate bipolar transistor. Figure (a) shows the symbol of an IGBT. It
is a power transistor that combines an input MOS and an output bipolar transistor. ...
Consequently, an IGBT is a switching transistor with low ON voltage even at high
breakdown voltage.
A gate turn-off thyristor (GTO) is a special type of thyristor, which is a high-
power semiconductor device. It was invented by General Electric. GTOs, as opposed to
normal thyristors, are fully controllable switches which can be turned on and off by their third
lead, the gate lead.
A thyristor is a four-layer device with alternating P-type and N-type semiconductors (P-N-
P-N). ... The primary function of a thyristor is to control electric power and current by acting
as a switch

Ques.5. The advantages of SCS over SCR is

 1. Slow switching time and large VH
2. Slow switching time and smallerVH
3. Faster switching time and smallerVH
4. Faster switching time and large VH
3. Faster switching time and smallerVHQues.6. A thyristor
equivalent of a thyratron tube is a
1. Diac
2. Triac
3. Silicon controlled rectifier
4. None of the above
Hide Explanation
Answer.3. Silicon controlled rectifier
Explanation:-
History of Power amplifier
Power electronics originated at the beginning of the 19th century
with the development of mercury-arc rectifiers. A mercury-arc
rectifier or mercury-vapor valve is a type of electrical rectifier which
is used to convert high ac voltage into dc voltage. They were very
useful to provide power for industrial motors, electric railways, and
electric locomotives, as well as high voltage direct current (HVDC)
power transmission. The mercury arc rectifiers with a glass
envelope, grid controlled mercury-arc rectifiers and mercury-
arc rectifiers with metal envelope were developed in 1900, 1903
and 1908 respectively. Thyratrons, i.e., hot cathode mercury arc
rectifier with grid control was developed by Langmuir in 1914.
The thyratron is a type of gas-filled tube which is used as a high
voltage electrical switch and a controlled rectifier. Usually,
thyratrons are manufactured as triode, tetrode, and pentode. Due to
the mercury vapor or neon or xenon gas fill, thyratrons can handle
much greater currents.
The thyratron is a gas-filled vacuum tube that acts as an on-off
switch. Similar in action to a silicon controlled rectifier, once fired by
a small signal, it continues to conduct until current flow is
interrupted.
Silicon Controlled Rectifier: a solid-state, controlled rectifier
usually used as an electronic switch, like a super-quick relay. A small
current “fires” or triggers the device, causing it to conduct freely. It
is similar to a thyratron tube. 
Ques.7. A triac is a
1. 2 terminal switch
2. 2 terminal bilateral switch
3. 3 terminal bilateral switch
4. 3 terminal bidirectional switch
Hide Explanation
Answer.4. 3 terminal bidirectional switch
Explanation:-
The major drawback of an SCR is that it can conduct current in one
direction only. Therefore, an SCR can only control dc power or
forward biased half-cycles of ac in a load. However, in an a.c system,
it is often desirable and necessary to exercise control over both
positive and negative half-cycles. For this purpose, a semiconductor
device called triac is used.
The triac is a three-terminal ac switch that is triggered into
conduction when a low-energy signal is applied to its gate terminal.
Unlike the SCR, the triac conducts in either direction when turned
on. The triac also differs from the SCR in that either a positive or
negative gate signal trigger it into conduction. Thus the triac is a
three terminal, four layers, directional, the semiconductor device
that controls ac power whereas an SCR controls dc power or
forward biased half cycles of ac in a load. Because of its
bidirectional conduction property, the triac is widely used in the
field of power electronics for control purposes.
“Triac” is an abbreviation for three terminal ac switch. ‘Tri’ indicates
that the device has three terminals and ‘ac’ indicates the device
controls alternating current or can conduct in either direction.

The triac is equivalent to two thyristors connected back to back with

their gate terminals tied up. When MT2 is positive with respect to
MT1, the SCR 1 is forward biased. If the gate is made positive with
respect to MT2. the SCR 1 conducts and the device goes from high
impedance state to low impedance state. When MT1 is made
positive with respect to MT2, SCR 2 is forward biased and it conducts
when the gate is made positive. Thus the triac can conduct in both
the directions. The SCR demands a positive voltage between gate
and cathode. But the triac can conduct with either positive or
negative voltage at the gate.
Ques.8. The fig. below represents a

1. Triac thyristor
2. Diac trigger
3. Diode rectifier
4. None of the above
Hide Explanation
Answer.2. Diac trigger
Explanation:-
DIAC
Diac is usually employed for triggering triacs. A diac is a two-
electrode bidirectional avalanche diode which can be switched from
off-state to the on-state for either polarity of the applied voltage.
This is just like a triac without gate terminal, as shown in Figure(a).
Its equivalent circuit is a pair of inverted four-layer diodes. Two
schematic symbols are shown in Figure(b). Again the terminal
designations are arbitrary since the diac, like triac, is also a bilateral
device. The switching from off-state to on-state is achieved by
simply exceeding the avalanche breakdown voltage in either
direction.
 Diac Construction
A diac is p-n-p-n structured four-layer, two terminal semiconductor
device, as shown in Figure(a). MT2 and MT1 are the two main
terminals of the device. From the diagram, a diac unlike a diode
resembles a bipolar junction transistor (BJT) but with following
exceptions.
(i) there is no terminal attached to the middle layer (ii) the three
regions are nearly identical in size
(iii) the doping level at the two end p-layers is the same so that the
device gives symmetrical switching characteristics for either polarity
of the applied voltage.
(iii) the doping level at the two end p-layers is the same so that the
device gives symmetries switching characteristics for either polarity
of the applied voltage.
Diac is a five-layer four junction device.  The word diac can be split
into DI and AC. Dl stands for two electrodes namely MT1 and MT2.
AC indicates its ability to conduct in both the directions. From the
structure, the equivalent circuit can be drawn with two PNPN
devices connected back to back. When MT2 is made positive with
respect to MT1, device 1 is forward biased. When MT1 is made
positive with respect to MT2, the device 2 is forward biased. 
Ques.9. The triple frequency of a six-phase half wave rectifier for
220 V, 60 Hz input will be
1. 2160 Hz
2. 720 Hz
3. 360 Hz
4. 60 Hz
Hide Explanation
Answer.3. 360 Hz
Explanation:-
Six phases half wave rectifier or 3 Phase Full Wave Rectifier
In three-phase full wave rectifier, six diodes are used. It is also
called 6-diode half-wave rectifier. In this, each diode conducts for
1/6th part of the AC cycle. The three-phase full-wave circuit is often
used instead of three-phase halfwave when less ripple is required
and the static magnetization of the transformer core is to be
avoided.
The six-phase voltages can be obtained in the secondary by using a
center-tapped arrangement on a Star connected three-phase
winding and the vector diagram of six phase voltages is shown in
Fig. There are six diodes in a six-phase rectifier. When a particular
phase voltage is higher than other phases, diodes on the particular
phase conducts. This rectifier circuit is also called as three-phase
midpoint six-pulse rectifier.

Each diode conducts for π/3 or 60° duration. Current flows through
one diode at a time. Therefore, average current is low but the ratio
between maximum current to the average current in the diodes is
high. Hence the utilization of transformer secondary is poor. The dc
currents in the secondary of the six-phase Star rectifier can be
canceled in the secondary windings and core saturation is not
encountered.
The ripple frequency of a six-phase half wave rectifier is six-
time supply frequency.
Since the Supply frequency is 60 Hz, therefore, the ripple frequency
is 6 × 60 Hz = 360 Hz
Ques.10. The minimum duration of the pulse in a pulse triggering
system for thyristors should be at
1. 10 μs
2. 10 ms
3. 30 ms
4. 1 sec
Hide Explanation
Answer.1. 10 µs
Explanation:-
Thyristors and triacs can be triggered by a single pulse, a train of
pulses or a steady d.c voltage on the gate. Pulse triggering is most
frequently used; single-pulse triggering is used in specific
applications and low-cost systems, and d.c. triggering only in cases
of difficulty in reaching latching current. A thyristor or triac with
the anode positive with respect to the cathode, and with
adequate gate drive, will turn on within 10μs. Conduction will
continue irrespective of load current for as long as the gate drive is
present. Conduction will continue after the gate drive ceases only if
the load current has reached the latching level.
Pulse triggering is preferred to d.c. triggering for general use
because the gate dissipation is lower and the trigger system is
simpler. Both pulse and d.c. trigger systems must be synchronized
to the mains supply, and both use a pulse generator operating
through a variable delay to provide the control over the trigger
angle required for phase control. Whereas in a pulse trigger system
the output from the pulse generator can be passed to the thyristor
gate through an isolating transformer, a d.c. trigger system requires
either rectification of the pulse transformer output or gating of a
further supply by the pulse transformer to provide the d.c. gate
drive. 
A simple trigger circuit for thyristors and triacs can be constructed
with a diac. The diac is a three-layer device and therefore, strictly
speaking, not a thyristor. Its function, however, is as a trigger device
for thyristors, and it is generally considered with these devices.

Types of Capacitors
A short view to the figures in the table above gives the explanation for some simple facts:

 Supercapacitors have the highest capacitance density because of their special charge

storage principles
 Electrolytic capacitors have lesser capacitance density than supercapacitors but the
highest capacitance density of conventional capacitors due to the thin dielectric.
 Ceramic capacitors class 2 have much higher capacitance values in a given case than
class 1 capacitors because of their much higher permittivity.
 Film capacitors with their different plastic film material do have a small spread in the
dimensions for a given capacitance/voltage value of a film capacitor because the minimum
dielectric film thickness differs between the different film materials.

Minimum
Maximum/realize
Relative thicknes
d
Capacitor Permittivit s
Dielectric dielectric
style y of the
strength
at 1 kHz dielectric
(Volt/µm)
(µm)

Ceramic
capacitors, paraelectric 12 to 40 < 100(?) 1
Class 1

Ceramic
200 to
capacitors, ferroelectric < 35 0.5
14,000
Class 2
Film capacitors Polypropylene ( PP) 2.2 650 / 450 1.9 to 3.0

Polyethylene terephthalate,
Film capacitors 3.3 580 / 280 0.7 to 0.9
Polyester (PET)

Film capacitors Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) 3.0 470 / 220 1.2

Polyethylene
Film capacitors 3.0 500 / 300 0.9 to 1.4
naphthalate (PEN)

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTF
Film capacitors 2.0 450(?) / 250 5.5
E)

Paper
Paper 3.5 to 5.5 60 5 to 10
capacitors

< 0.01
Aluminum
Aluminium oxide (6.3 V)
electrolytic 9.6[7] 710
Al2O3 < 0.8
capacitors
(450 V)

< 0.01
Tantalum
Tantalum pentoxide (6.3 V)
electrolytic 26[7] 625
Ta2O5 < 0.08
capacitors
(40 V)

< 0.01
Niobium
Niobium pentoxide, (6.3 V)
electrolytic 42 455
Nb2O5 < 0.10
capacitors
(40 V)

Supercapacitor
s < 0.001
Helmholtz double-layer - 5000
Double-layer (2.7 V)
capacitors

Vacuum
Vacuum 1 40 -
capacitors

Air gap Air 1 3.3 -

capacitors

Glass
Glass 5 to 10 450 -
capacitors

Mica capacitors Mica 5 to 8 118 4 to 50