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Turn On & Turn Off Methods of Thyrister: By: Jyotiram Ganpat Kamble
Turn On & Turn Off Methods of Thyrister: By: Jyotiram Ganpat Kamble
i R 1
R 2
vS= V m s in t
D V T
R V g
RC Triggering
v O
LO A D
+
R
D 2 V T
-
v S= V s in t
m D 1
V C C
dv/dt triggering
• With forward voltage across anode & cathode of a thyristor, two
outer junctions (A & C) are forward biased but the inner junction (J2)
is reverse biased.
• The reversed biased junction J2 behaves like a capacitor because of
the space-charge present there.
• As p-n junction has capacitance, so larger the junction area the larger
the capacitance.
• If a voltage ramp is applied across the anode-to-cathode, a current
will flow in the device to charge the device capacitance according to
the relation:
Thyristor Turn−ON time for a resistive Load Thyristor Turn −OFF time for a resistive Load
THYRISTOR turn-ON & turn-OFF Characteristics
Thyristor protection circuits
• Reliable operation of a thyristor demands that its specified ratings
are not exceeded.
• In practice, a thyristor may be subjected to overvoltages or
overcurrents. During SCR turn-on, di/dt may be prohibitively large.
• There may be false triggering of SCR by high value of dv/dt.
• A spurious signal across gate-cathode terminals may lead to
unwanted turn-on.
• A thyristor must be protected against all such abnormal conditions
for satisfactory and reliable operation of SCR circuit and the
equipment.
• SCRs are very delicate devices, their protection against abnormal
operating conditions is, therefore, essential.
• The object of this section is to discuss various techniques adopted
for the protection of SCRs.
– di/dt protection.
– dv/dtprotection.
di/dt protection
• When a thyristor is forward biased and is turned on by a gate pulse,
conduction of anode current begins in the immediate neighbourhood of
the gate-cathode junction.
• Thereafter, the current spreads across the whole area of junction.
• The thyristor design permits the spread of conduction to the whole
junction area as rapidly as possible.
• However, if the rate of rise of anode current, i.e. di/dt, is large as
compared to the spread velocity of carriers, local hot spots will be
formed near the gate connection on account of high current density.
• This localized heating may destroy the thyristor. Therefore, the rate of
rise of anode current at the time of turn-on must be kept below the
specified limiting value.
• The value of di/dt can be maintained below acceptable limit by using a
small inductor, called di/dt inductor, in series with the anode circuit.
Typical di/dt limit values of SCRs are 20-500 A/µ sec.
• Local spot heating can also be avoided by ensuring that the conduction
spreads to the whole area as rapidly as possible.
• This can be achieved by applying a gate current nearer to (but never
greater than) the maximum specified gate current.
di/dt Protection
• A thyristor requires a minimum time to spread the current conduction
uniformly throughout the junctions
• Otherwise, a localized “hot-spot” heating may occur due to high current
density.
dv/dt protection
• With forward voltage across the anode & cathode of a thyristor, the two outer junctions
(A & C) are forward biased but the inner junction (J2) is reverse biased.
• The reversed biased junction J2 behaves like a capacitor because of the space-charge
present there.
• Let the capacitance of this junction be Cj. For any capacitor, i = C dv/dt.
• In case it is assumed that entire forward voltage va appears across reverse biased
junction J2 then charging current across the junction is given by
– i = dQ/dt =d(Cj Va )/dt
– i=Cj (d Va /dt) + Va(d Cj /dt)
– i = Cj dva /dt
• This charging or displacement current across junction J2 is collector currents of Q2 and
Q1 Currents IC2, IC1 will induce emitter current in Q2, Q1.
• In case rate of rise of anode voltage is large, the emitter currents will be large and as a
result, α1+ α2 will approach unity leading to eventual switching action of the thyristor.
• If the rate of rise of forward voltage dVa/dt is high, the charging current i will be more.
This charging current plays the role of gate current and turns on the SCR even when gate
signal is zero.
• Such phenomena of turning-on a thyristor, called dv/dt turn-on must be avoided as it
leads to false operation of the thyristor circuit.
• For controllable operation of the thyristor, the rate of rise of forward anode to cathode
voltage dVa/dt must be kept below the specified rated limit.
• Typical values of dv/dt are 20 – 500 V/µsec. False turn-on of a thyristor by large dv/dt
can be prevented by using a snubber circuit in parallel with the device.
Snubber circuit
• A snubber circuit consists of a series combination of resistance Rs and capacitance
Cs in parallel with the thyristor as shown in Fig.
• Strictly speaking, a capacitor Cs in parallel with the device is sufficient to prevent
unwanted dv/dt triggering of the SCR.
• When switch S is closed, a sudden voltage appears across the circuit. Capacitor Cs
behaves like a short circuit, therefore voltage across SCR is zero.
• With the passage of time, voltage across Cs builds up at a slow rate such that dv/dt
across Cs and therefore across SCR is less than the specified maximum dv/dt rating
of the device.
• Here the question arises that if Cs is enough to prevent accidental turn-on of the
device by dv/dt, what is the need of putting Rs in series with Cs ? The answer to this
is as under.
snubber circuit (continue……)
• Before SCR is fired by gate pulse, Cs charges to full voltage Vs.
When the SCR is turned on, capacitor discharges through the SCR
and sends a current equal to Vs / (resistance of local path formed
by Cs and SCR).
• As this resistance is quite low, the turn-on di/dt will tend to be
excessive and as a result, SCR may be destroyed. In order to limit
the magnitude of discharge current, a resistance Rs is inserted in
series with Cs as shown in Fig.
• Now when SCR is turned on, initial discharge current Vs/Rs is
relatively small and turn-on di/dt is reduced.
• In actual practice ; Rs, Cs and the load circuit parameters should
be such that dv/dt across Cs during its charging is less than the
specified dv/dt rating of the SCR and discharge current at the
turn-on of SCR is within reasonable limits.
• Normally, Rs Cs and load circuit parameters form an
underdamped circuit so that dv/dt is limited to acceptable values.
Thyristor Family Members
• SCR: Silicon Controlled Rectifier
• DIAC: Diode on Alternating Current
• TRIAC : Triode for Alternating Current
• SCS: Silicon Control Switch
• SUS: Silicon Unilateral Switch
• SBS: Silicon Bidirectional Switch
• SIS: Silicon Induction Switch
• LASCS: Light Activated Silicon Control Switch
• LASCR: Light Activated Silicon Control Rectifier
• SITh : Static Induction Thyristor
• RCT: Reverse Conducting Thyristor
• GTO : Gate Turn-Off thyristor
• MCT: MOSFET Controlled Thyristor
• ETOs: Emitter Turn ON thyristor
Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (SCR)
• SCR is a synonym of thyristor
• SCR is a four-layer pnpn device.
– Has 3 terminals: anode, cathode, and gate.
– In off state, it has a very high resistance.
– In on state, there is a small on (forward) resistance.
• Applications: motor controls, time-delay circuits, heater controls, phase
controls, etc.
Turning the SCR –ON Method and its Characteristics
• The positive pulse of current at the gate
The SCR can be turned on by
turns on Q2 providing a path for IB1. exceeding the forward breakover
voltage or by gate current.
• Q1 then turns on providing more base
current for Q2 even after the trigger is
Notice that the gate current
removed. controls the amount of forward
breakover voltage required for
– Thus, the device stays on (latches).
turning it on.
VBR(F) decreases as IG is
increased.
Turning SCR Off
• The SCR will conduct as long as forward current exceeds IH.
• There are two ways to drop the SCR out of conduction:
– Anode Current Interruption
– Forced Commutation.
Turning SCR Off : Anode Current Interruption
• Anode current can be interrupted by breaking the anode current path ,
providing a path around the SCR, or dropping the anode voltage to the
point that IA < IH.
Turning The SCR Off: Force Commutation
• Force commutation uses an external circuit to momentarily force current in
the opposite direction to forward conduction.
• SCRs are commonly used in ac circuits, which forces the SCR out of conduction
when the ac reverses.
SCR Characteristics & Ratings
• Forward- breakover voltage, VBR(F): voltage at which SCR enters forward-conduction
(ON) region.
• Holding current, IH: value of anode current for SCR to remain in on region.
• Gate trigger current, IGT: value of gate current to switch SCR on.
• Average forward current, IF (avg): maximum continuous anode current (dc) that the
SCR can withstand.
• Reverse-breakdown voltage, VBR(R): maximum reverse voltage before SCR breaks
into avalanche.
SCR Applications - dc motor control
• SCRs are used in a variety of power control
applications.
• One of the most common applications is to use
it in ac circuits to control a dc motor or
appliance because the SCR can both rectify and
control.
• The SCR is triggered on the positive cycle and
turns off on the negative cycle.
• A circuit like this is useful for speed control for
fans or power tools and other related
applications.
SCR Applications- crowbar circuits
• Another application for SCRs is in
crowbar circuits (which get their name
from the idea of putting a crowbar
across a voltage source and shorting it
out!)
• The purpose of a crowbar circuit is to
shut down a power supply in case of
over-voltage.
• Once triggered, the SCR latches on.
• The SCR can handle a large current,
which causes the fuse (or circuit
breaker) to open.
DIAC (diode for alternating current)
• The DIAC is a five-layer device trigger diode that conducts current only after its
breakdown voltage has been exceeded momentarily.
• When this occurs, the resistance of the diode abruptly decreases, leading to a
sharp decrease in the voltage drop across the diode and, usually, a sharp
increase in current flow through the diode.
• The diode remains "in conduction" until the current flow through it drops below
a value characteristic for the device, called the holding current.
• Below this value, the diode switches back to its high-resistance (non-
conducting) state.
• This behavior is bidirectional, meaning typically the same for both directions of
current flow .
– their terminals are not labeled as anode and cathode but as A1 and A2 or
MT1 ("Main Terminal") and MT2.
• Most DIACs have a breakdown voltage around 30 V.
• DIACs have no gate electrode, unlike some other thyristors they are commonly
used to trigger, such as TRIACs.
• diac is normally used in ac circuits
• The drawback of the diac is that it cannot be triggered at just any point in the ac
power cycle; it triggers at its preset breakover voltage only. If we could add a
gate to the diac, we could have variable control of the trigger point, and
therefore a greater degree of control over just how much power will be applied
to the line-powered device.
DIAC (diode for alternating current)
TRIAC (Triode for Alternating Current)
• Triac is five layer device that is able to pass current
bidirectionally and is therefore behaves as an a.c. power control
device.
• In triac , the main connections are simply named main terminal 1
(MT1) and main terminal 2 (MT2).
• The gate designation still applies, and is still used as it was with the
SCR.
• The useful feature of the triac is that it not only carries current in
either direction, but the gate trigger pulse can be either polarity
regardless of the polarity of the main applied voltage.
• The gate can inject either free electrons or holes into the body of the
triac to trigger conduction either way.
– So triac is referred to as a "four-quadrant" device.
• Triac is used in an ac environment, so it will always turn off when the
applied voltage reaches zero at the end of the current half-cycle.
• If we apply a turn-on pulse at some controllable point after the start
of each half cycle, we can directly control what percentage of that
half-cycle gets applied to the load, which is typically connected in
series with MT2.
• This makes the triac an ideal candidate for light dimmer controls and
motor speed controls. This is a common application for triacs.
Triac operation
• The triac can be considered as two thyristors connected in antiparallel as
shown in Fig .
• The single gate terminal is common to both thyristors.
• The main terminals MT1 and MT2 are connected to both p and n regions
of the device and the current path through the layers of the device
depends upon the polarity of the applied voltage between the main
terminals.
• The device polarity is usually described with reference to MT1, where the
term MT2+ denotes that terminal MT2 is positive with respect to terminal
MT1.
The Gate Turn-Off Thyristor (GTO)
GTOs Schematic representation
GTO Turn-on and Turn-off Pulses
Thyristor Summary
• A thyristor is a latching device and it can be turned on with a small gate
pulse, typically 100μs .
• Thyristors are generally off by line commutation due to the natural behavior
of the input ac line supply.
• During the turn-off process, thyristors must be subjected to a reverse voltage
for a certain minimum time known the turn-off.
Summary: Thyristors
The thyristor family:
– double injection yields lowest forward voltage drop in high voltage
devices.
– More difficult to parallel than MOSFETs and IGBTs
The SCR:
– highest voltage and current ratings, low cost, passive turn-off transition
The GTO:
– intermediate ratings (less than SCR, somewhat more than IGBT). Slower
than IGBT.
– Slower than MCT.
– Difficult to drive.
The MCT:
– So far, ratings lower than IGBT.
– Slower than IGBT.
– Easy to drive.
– Still emerging devices?
Thyristor (SCR) Ia
A (Anode)
Ia
+ Ig>0
Ig Ig=0
Vak Ih
Vr Ibo
_
G (Gate)
Vbo Vak
K (Cathode)
+ t
+
vs vo vo
_ _
t
ig
t
• Inverter grade
– used in inverter and chopper
– Quite fast. Can be turned-on using “force-commutation” method.
• Light activated
– Similar to phase controlled, but triggered by pulse of light.
– Normally very high power ratings
• TRIAC
– Dual polarity thyristors