Silicon control Rectifier (SCR)

The Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) is a four layer

semiconductor device that is a member of a family of
control devices known as thyristor. The SCR has become
the workhorse of the industrial control industry.

The SCR is a three-terminal device with an anode and a
cathode (as with a standard diode) plus a third control lead
or gate. As the name implies, it is a rectifier which can be
controlled - or more correctly - one that can be triggered
to the ON state by applying a small positive voltage to
the gate lead.
Physical, Equivalent & Symbol
Modes of Operation
There are three modes of operations of SCR

1) Forward biased operation

a) Forward Blocking or Off-state condition
b) Conducting State or ON-state condition

2) Reverse Biased operation
Forward Bias Operation
A forward bias will result when a positive potential is
applied to the anode and negative to the cathode.

Even after the application of a forward bias, the device
remains non-conducting until the positive gate trigger
voltage is applied this is known as Forward Blocking or Off-
state condition.

After the device is triggered ON by applying a positive gate
trigger voltage it reverts to a low impedance state and
current flows through the unit. The unit will remain
conducting after the gate voltage has been removed, this
is known as Conducting State or ON-state condition.
Reversed Biased Off state
The reverse bias condition is represented by -V. A reverse
bias exists when the potential applied across the SCR
results in the cathode being more positive than the anode.

In this condition the SCR is non-conducting state and the
application of a trigger voltage will have no effect on the
device.

In the reverse bias mode, the knee of the curve is known
as the Peak Inverse Voltage PIV (or Peak Reverse Voltage
- PRV) and this value cannot be exceeded or the device will
break-down and be destroyed.

A good Rule-of -Thumb is to select a device with a PIV of
at least three times the RMS value of the applied voltage.
SCR Characteristics
Contd.
Holding Current:
The holding current Ih is the minimum
anode current to maintain the thyristor in the On state.
The holding current is always less than latching current.

Latching Current:
The latching Current IL is the minimum anode current
required to maintain the thyristor in the On state immediately after a
thyristor has been turned on and the gate signal has been removed.

Break over Voltage:
These are the anode to cathode voltage across the
SCR after that SCR will be in ON state without applying any gate
signal to gate terminal. Such a turn-on could be destructive


Important Points
The forward anode current of a thyristor must be more
than its latching current to latch into the conduction state;
otherwise, the device reverts to the blocking condition as
the anode to cathode voltage falls.

IF the forward anode current is reduced below its holding
current, the device becomes unlatched and remain in Off
State.

Once a thyristor conducts, it behaves like a conducting
diode and there is no control over the device. That is, the
device cannot be turned Off by another positive or
negative gate pulse. So we can say that it is a semi control
device.

Two-Transistor model of Thyristor
Since Thyristor is a Latching device so the regenerative or
Latching action due to positive feedback can be
demonstrated by using a two transistor model of SCR.

A thyristor can be considered as two complementary
transistors, one is pnp -transistor Q1 and other is npn
transistor
Q2.

The circuit representation of the two-transistor model of a
thyristor is shown in diagram.


Diagram
Contd.
In the off state of a transistor, collector current IC is
related to emitter current IE as-
(1)
where is the common-base current gain and ICBO is the
common base leakage current of collector-base junction of
a transistor with emitter open.
For transistor Q1 in diagram, emitter current IE = anode
current Ia and collector current Ic is Ic1. Therefore for
transistor Q1,
(2)

Contd.
Similarly for transistor Q2, collector current IC2 is given by

(3)




The sum of the two collector currents given by equations (2) and (3) is
equal to the anode current Ia.

(4)

(5)
Contd.
(6)


(7)

where Ik= (Ia + Ig)

It is clear from eq. (7), that 1+2 1 causes the thyristor to turn on
i.e. the anode current reaches a high value or the SCR starts
conducting.

1 varies with Ia (emitter current) and 2 varies with Ia+Ig. If Ig is
increased, this increases Ia, which further increases 1 and 2. This
will in turn increase Ia. This is a regenerative or positive
feedback effect.



Phase Control of SCR
In SCR Phase Control, the firing angle, or point
during the half-cycle at which the SCR is triggered,
determines the amount of current which flows
through the device as well as from the load.

It acts as a high-speed switch which is open for
the first part of the cycle, and then closes to allow
power flow after the trigger pulse is applied.


Firing angel

Contd.
Figure shows an AC waveform being applied with
a gating pulse at 45 degrees. There are 360
electrical degrees in a cycle; 180 degrees in a half-
cycle.

The number of degrees from the beginning of the
cycle until the SCR is gated ON is referred to as
the firing angle.

The number of degrees that the SCR remains
conducting is known as the conduction angle.

output voltage
applied to the load

Turning ON methods of SCR
There are five different methods
1) Thermal.
2) Light.
3) High voltage.
4) High dv/dt rating.
5) Gate current. (Most applicable)

Gate Current method
This is the most widely used method to turn-On
the thyristor by applying a small positive gate
signal to the SCR.

As the gate current increased ,the forward
blocking voltage (VBO) is decreased.

The Turn-ON time (TON) of SCR is the sum of
Delay time (td) and Rise time (tr).

Contd.
Delay Time:
It is defined as the time interval between 10%
of the gate current and 10% of on-state Anode current.

Rise Time:
It is the time interval between 10% of on-state
current and 90% of on-state current.

Turn-On Time:
It is the time interval between 10% of gate
current and 90% of on-state anode current.
Switching times

Application of SCR
Typical applications include :

1) DC motor control.
2) generator field regulation.
3) Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) DC Bus
voltage control.
4) Solid State Relays.
5) lighting system control.

Problems
Q1:
Determine the minimum duration of gate pulse
to turn the SCR On while Latching current is
300mA, Input voltage 100V , R=20ohm, L=1H.

Q2:
Determine the value of Resistor to turn Off
Thyristor while Vs=330V and Holding Current is
150 mA.
Types of Thyristor
Silicon Controlled Switch (SCS)
Mosfet controlled thyristor (MCT)
Gate turn-Off Thyristor (GTO)
Reverse conducting thyristor (RCT)
A-symmetrical Thyristor (ASCR)



SILICON-CONTROLLED
SWITCH
Silicon-Controlled Switch
It is a four-layer pnpn device
Its basic construction is the same with the SCR with the
addition of the second gate terminal.
Terminals are
Anode, cathode, Anode gate Ga, and Cathode gate Gk.

Gate Terminal Advantage
Effect: The higher the anode gate current, the lower the
required anode-to-cathode voltage to turn the device on.
Use: Used to turn the device either on or off

P
N
P
N
ANODE
ANODE
GATE
CATHODE
CATHODE
GATE
ANODE
ANODE
GATE
CATHODE
CATHODE
GATE
A.) SCS BASIC
CONSTRUCTION
B.) SCS GRAPHIC
SYMBOL
Symbol and Construction
Switching of SCS
Turn on switching of the SCS is as follows

1) positive pulse on Gk terminal
2) negative pulse on Ga terminal

o Turn Off switching is as

1) Negative pulse on Gk terminal
2) Positive Pulse on Ga terminal

SCS equivalent transistor circuit
Anode gate
Anode
I
C1
Q
2
npn
G
A
Cathode

I
GK
Cathode
gate
Q
1
pnp
Operation
(To turn on the device, a negative pulse must
be applied to the Anode gate terminal, or
you can apply positive pulse on Cathode
gate terminal).

ON State: A negative pulse at the anode gate
will forward-bias the base-to-emitter
junction of PNP Transistor Q
1
, turning it on.
The resulting heavy collector current I
C1
,
will turn on Q
2
, resulting in a regenerative
action and this will be the on state ( latching ) of the
SCS device.
Cont.
(To turn Off the device, a Positive pulse must be
applied to the Anode gate terminal, or you can
apply negative pulse on Cathode gate terminal)

To turn OFF: A positive pulse at the anode gate will
reverse-bias the base-to-emitter junction of Q
1
,
turning it off, resulting in the open circuitoff
state of the device.


Application
SCS & SCR are Both used in similar Application.

SCS has complete control on Gate terminal which is used in
both turn on & turn Off switching.

The Voltage and Current ratings are more limited as
compared to SCR.

It is used in Digital application such as counters, registers
& timing circuits.

Mosfet controlled thyristor MCT
MOS Controlled Thyristor (or MCT) is voltage controlled
fully controllable Thyristor.

The MCT is similar in operation with GTO thyristor, but it
has voltage controlled insulated gate.

It has two MOSFETs in its equivalent circuit. One is
responsible for turn-on and the another is responsible for
turn-off.

Types of MCT
There are basically two types of MCT

1) N type- Mosfet controlled thyristor
2) P type - Mosfet controlled thyristor


Equivalent Circuit & Circuit Symbol
P-MCT equivalent circuit P-MCT circuit symbol
N-MCT Equivalent Ckt & Symbol
N-MCT equivalent circuit N-MCT circuit symbol
Turn-on switching of N-MCT
Turn on MCT by turning on the ON-FET (n-Mosfet)

Positive gate-cathode voltage for N-MCT

ON-FET delivers base current to the low-gain BJT in the thyristor
equivalent circuit and activates that BJT.

PNP transistor in the N-MCT is Low gain BJT.

Low-gain transistor activates the higher gain transistor NPN and
thyristor latches on.

Once higher gain transistor NPN, which is in parallel with ON-FET is
activated, current is shunted from ON-FET to the BJT and the ON-FET
carries very little current in the MCT on-state.

Turn-Off switching of N-MCT
To Turn N-MCT off by turning on the OFF-FET (p-Mosfet)

Negative gate-cathode input for the N-MCT

OFF-FET shunts base current away from the higher gain
BJT in the thyristor equivalent circuit and forces it to cut-
off.

NPN transistor in the N-MCT is higher Gain BJT.

Cut-off of higher gain BJT then forces low-gain BJT into
cut-off. So that MCT will turn Off.


Gate Turn-off Thyristors GTO
The GTO is a non latching device

Turned on by applying positive gate signal.

Turned off by applying negative gate signal.

On state voltage is 3.4V for 550A, 1200V GTO.

Controllable peak on-state current I
TGQ
, is the peak value
of on-state current which can be turned-off by gate
control.

Symbol, Cross section and
Equivalent Circuit
Operation
The turn on mechanism of GTO is similar to that of
Conventional thyristor.

Gate current is maintained throughout the whole
conduction period to prevent any drop out from the
conduction state.

While in turn Off, the GTO has a relatively low gain thats
why it requires high reverse current on the Gate to turn
the device Off.

When negative gate signal is applied than sufficient
charge carriers from the cathode terminal is removed and
device drawn out from regenerative action.

Characteristics Curve
Advantage of GTO over SCR
Elimination of commutating components in forced
commutation resulting in reduction in cost, weight and
volume.
Faster turn OFF permitting high switching frequency.
Improved converters efficiency.
GTOs are sensitive to dv/dt. Therefore, snubber circuits are
used to minimize dv/dt and di/dt rating effects.

It can be used at high power levels.


Disadvantages of GTO
On-state voltage drop is more.

Due to multi cathode structure higher gate current is
required.

Reverse blocking capability is less than its forward blocking
capability so we will have to add a diode in series to
improve the reverse blocking performance.

Latching and holding current is more in GTO than those of
thyristor.
ON state voltage drop and associated losses are higher in
GTO than thyristor


Reverse Conducting Thyristor
Reverse conducting thyristor (RCT) is high-power
switching semiconductor device similar to thyristor with
integrated reverse diode .

This thyristor is not capable of reverse blocking mode.

The forward blocking voltage varies from 400 to 2000V.

These devices are advantageous where reverse or
freewheel diode must be used.


Contd.
Anti-parallel diode connected across
SCR on the same silicon chip.

This diode clamps the reverse blocking
voltage to 1 or 2V under steady state
condition & while in transient state that
is 30 to 40V due to induced voltage in
in circuit.

RCT also called Asymmetrical Thyristor
(ASCR).

Limited applications. used in frequency
changers and inverters.
Breakover Devices
The Breakover devices are used to apply the
triggering pulse to devices such as SCR and
TRIAC.

There are three types of Breakover devices

1) DIAC
2) UJT
3) PUT

.

DIAC
Bi-directional device without a gate terminal.
DIAC is a five layer device PNPNP.
Conducts in both directions but waits for a breakover
voltage.
Breakover voltages are always the same in both direction
and not controllable.
DIACs are also called symmetrical trigger diodes due to the
symmetry of their characteristic curve.
Excellent for controlling TRIAC

DIAC voltage domain Current
Relationship
Operation
The DIAC, or diode for alternating current, is a
bidirectional trigger diode that conducts current only after
its breakdown voltage has been exceeded.

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 terms anode and cathode no longer apply, so the
connections are simply named terminal 1 (T1) and terminal
2 (T2). Each terminal can serve as either anode or
cathode, according to the polarity of the applied voltage.
Continued
The diode remains "in conduction" until the current flowing
through it drops below a certain current value, called the
holding current. Below this value, the diode switches back
to its high-resistance (non-conducting) state.

When used in AC applications this commutation is
automatically happens when the current reverses polarity.

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.

DIAC - Application
DIAC - Application
Brightness of a lamp
In the of beginning half cycle, TRIAC off
capacitor charges based on RC time constant
When DIAC is activated
TRIAC is activated and conducts
Process repeated for each half cycle of the AC sine
wave
Adjust the brightness by changing the variable
resistance which effects charging time
UniJunction Transistor UJT
A Unijunction transistor (UJT) is an electronic
semiconductor device that is used to trigger the
device such as SCR.

The UJT does not belong to thyristor family
because it does not have the four layer
construction.

The term Unijunction refers to that the UJT has a
single pn junction.

Symbol & Terminals
The UJT has three terminals: an
emitter (E) and two bases (B1 and
B2).

The base is formed by lightly doped
n-type bar of silicon. Two ohmic
contacts B1 and B2 are attached at its
ends.

The emitter is of p-type and it is
heavily doped.

Equivalent Circuit
rB1 and rB2 are internal dynamic
resistances.

The interbase resistance,
rBB = rB1 + rB2.

rB1 varies inversely with emitter current,
IE.

rB1 can range from several thousand ohms
to tens of ohms depending on IE.

Basic UJT Biasing
VrB1 = VBB
= (rB1/rBB) is the standoff ratio.

If VEB1 < VrB1 + Vpn, then
IE = 0 since pn junction is not forward
Biased.

At VEB1=Vp = VBB + Vpn, the UJT turns
on and operates in a negative resistance
region up to a certain value of emitter
current.

It then becomes saturated at Valley point
and IE increases with VE simultaneously.

UJT Characteristic Curve
Applications of UJT
UJT can be used as trigger device
for SCR.

The UJT is also used as a Relaxation
Oscillator.

A relaxation oscillator is an
oscillator in which a capacitor is
charged gradually and then
discharged rapidly.

Other applications include
nonsinusoidal oscillators, sawtooth
generators, and timing circuits.


Conditions For UJT Relaxation
Oscillator Operation


In the relaxation oscillator,
Condition 1:
RE must not limit IE at the
peak point to less than IP at turn-on, i.e.,
[ VBB - IP RE > Vp]
Condition 2:
To ensure turn-off of the UJT at the valley point, RE
must be large enough so that IE can decrease below Iv,
i.e., [ VBB - IV RE < Vv]

Waveform of Oscillator
Oscillation Frequency

Charging cycle
) 1 )( (
1
t
t
low Hi Low c
e V V V V

+ =
) 1 )( (
) * ( C R
t
v BB v c
E
e V V V V

+ =
) ) (
) * ( C R
t
v BB v BB v c
E
e V V V V V V

+ =
) ( ) ) (
) * (
A e V V V V
C R
t
v BB BB c
E
=

Contd.
Since Capacitor is charging so (Vc= Vp) and
(t=t1)

) log( ) (
) log( ) log(
) ) (
) ) (
1
)
1
(
) * (
) * (
1
1
V BB
BB p
E
V BB
BB p
C R
t
C R
t
v BB BB P
C R
t
v BB BB P
V V
V V
C R
t
V V
V V
e
e V V V V
e V V V V
E
E
E

=
=
=

Contd.
) ( log ) (
log ) (
) log( ) (
1
1
1
B
V V
Vv V
C R t
V V
Vp V
C R t
V V
V V
C R
t
P BB
BB
E
V BB
BB
E
V BB
BB p
E

(

=
(

=
Discharging cycle
) log(
) (
) ) (( ( & ) .(
1 1
2
) (
) (
1 1 2
1 1
2
1 1
2
2
2
P
V
B
P
V
C R r
t
C R r
t
p V
B V C
t
p C
V
V
C R r
t
V
V
e
e V V
C R r V V Since
e V V
B
B
=
+

=
=
+ = =
=
+

t
t
Contd.
T
f
t t T
C
V
V
C R r t
V
V
C R r
t
V
p
B
P
V
B
1
) (
) ( log( ) (
) log(
) (
2 1
1 1 2
1 1
2
=
+ =

|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
=
+

Programmable Unijunction Transistor

PUT

The PUT is actually a type of thyristor and a four layer
device.
It can replace the UJT in some oscillator applications.
It is more similar to an SCR except that its anode to gate
VG voltage can be used to both turn on and
turn off the device.

PUT Construction & Symbol
Conditions of Operation
Notice that the gate is connected to the n region
adjacent to the anode.

The gate is always positive with respect to the
cathode.

The standoff ratio is replaced by external elements
to program VP that's why it is called
programmable.

The characteristic plot of VAK versus IA is similar to
the VE versus IE plot of the UJT.


Cont.
(VA VG) > 0.7
Where VA is the anode to
Cathode voltage & VG is Gate
voltage.
VG is the voltages that are
across the R3 that can be
programmed by changing the
stand off ratio that depends
upon R2 & R3 combination
externally.
Formulas
Vp or gate voltage is


Intrinsic standoff ratio is


Period of Oscillation





S P
V
R R
R
V ) (
2 1
2
+
=
) (
2 1
2
R R
R
V
V
S
P
+
= = q
) 1 ln( ) ln(
1
1
2
R
R
RC
V V
V
RC
f
T
p s
s
+ =

= =
PUT Characteristics Curve
PUT as Relaxation Oscillator
Advantages over UJT
RG1V can control the frequency of oscillation with a constant
charging rate.

Can operate from lower supply voltages compared to UJT.

In case of UJT the peak voltages are constant for certain
supply voltage while in PUT the peak voltage are depend
upon the User. We can select peak current and voltage for
different values of Supply voltage.

Can be used for very low frequencies that is because the
availability of lower IP.