ECE005

Duarte, John Paul D. Electronics 3

BSEE – 31A Assignment No.2

Research about the following for DIAC and TRIAC

DIAC (Diode for Alternating Current)

Definition

A DIAC is a bi-directional semiconductor switch that can be turned on in both forward and reverse
polarities above a certain voltage: it is often used to provide defined switching for a triac.

The name DIAC comes from the words DIode AC switch. The DIAC is an electronics component that
is widely used to assist even triggering of a TRIAC when used in AC switches and as a result they are
often found in light dimmers such as those used in domestic lighting. These electronic components
are also widely used in starter circuits for fluorescent lamps.

Although the term is not often seen, DIACs may also be called symmetrical trigger diodes - a term
resulting from the symmetry of their characteristic curve.

DIACs come in a variety of formats. As discrete components they may be contained in small leaded
packages, they can be obtained in surface mount packages, in large packages that bolt to a chassis,
or a variety of other packages. As they are often used as a DIAC TRIAC combination, they are often
integrated into the same die as a TRIAC.
A DIAC is a diode that conducts electrical current only after its breakover voltage (V BO) has been
reached. DIAC stands for “Diode for Alternating Current”. A DIAC is a device which has two
electrodes, and it is a member of the thyristor family. DIACs are used in the triggering of thyristors.
The figure below shows a symbol of a DIAC, which resembles the connection of two diodes in series.
DIACs have no gate electrode, unlike some other thyristors that they are commonly used to trigger,
such as a TRIAC.
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Symbol

The DIAC symbol used to depict this electronic component in circuit diagrams can be remembered as
a combination of what may appear to be two diodes in parallel with each other but connected in
opposite directions. Owing to the fact that DIACs are bi-direction devices the terminals cannot be
labelled as anode and cathode as they are for a diode. Instead they may be labelled as A1 and A2 or
MT1 and MT2, where MT stands for "Main Terminal."

Structure
The construction of DIAC will be quite similar to the structure of the transistor, but they have some
differences like the DIAC does not have any base terminal, all the three layers have the same amount
of doping and it delivers symmetrical switching
properties in both the polarities of the applied
voltage.

The diagram shows the typical construction of

the DIAC.  As mentioned earlier the DIAC has
two terminals namely MT1 and MT2 and it
can deliver current flow in both directions.  The
DIAC is made of a five-layered structure; the
layers closer to the terminals are the
combination of both positive and negative
layers. When the voltage is passed to the
terminals the layer with respective polarity to
the voltage gets activated, this combination of
both the polarities helps in operating the DIAC
in both the directions
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Working principles

The clear operation of the DIAC with respective to the polarities. Consider the MT1 terminal to be
positive, then the P1 layer near MT1 will be activated, so the conduction will be taking place in the
order of P1-N2-P2-N3. When the current is flowing from MT1 to MT2 the junction between P1-N2 and
P2-N3 are Forward Biased and the junction between N2-P2 is reverse biased.

Similarly, if we consider MT2 terminal to be positive, then the P2 layer near MT2 will be activated and
the conduction will be taking place in the order of P2-N2-P1-N1. The current will be flowing from MT2
to MT1 and the junctions between P2-N2 and P1-N1 are forward biased and the junction Between
N2- P1 is reverse biased. Hence the conduction will be possible in both the directions.

V-I Characteristics
The V-I characteristic curve of the DIAC will be in the shape of a Z and the curve will be lying on the
first and third quadrants because they conduct in both the positive and negative polarity.  The First
quadrant represents the positive half cycle where the current will be flowing from MT1 to MT2 and the
second quadrant represents the negative half cycle where the current will be flowing from MT2 to
MT1.
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Initially, the resistance of the DIAC will be higher because of the Reverse Bias junction between the
layers so there will be small leakage current flowing through the DIAC, it is mentioned as the blocking
state in the curve. Once the applied voltage reaches the breakdown voltage the resistance of the
DIAC drops abruptly and then it starts conducting which leads to a sharp decrease in voltage and the
current starts increasing, which is mentioned as a conduction state in the curve. Most of the DIACs
will be having the breakdown voltage around 30 Volts, the exact breakdown voltage will be based on
the type of the device.   The DIAC will be in the conducting state until the current reaches the
particular value called the holding current, where holding current is the minimum current that required
for a device to keep it in the ON state.

Applications

One of the major uses of DIACs within TRIAC circuits. TRIACs do not fire symmetrically as a result of
slight differences between the two halves of the device.

The non-symmetrical firing and resulting waveforms give rise to the generation of unwanted
harmonics – the less symmetrical the waveform the greater the level of harmonic generation.

To resolve the issues resulting from the non-symmetrical operation, a DIAC is often placed in series
with the gate. This device helps make the switching more even for both halves of the cycle. This
results from the fact that the DIAC switching characteristic is far more even than that of the TRIAC.

Since the DIAC prevents any gate current flowing until the trigger voltage has reached a certain
voltage in either direction, this makes the firing point of the TRIAC more even in both directions. In
view of their usefulness, DIACs may often be built into the gate terminal of a TRIAC.

If you want a TRIAC to conduct you need to provide a positive or negative pulse to the gate, in order
to provide symmetric firing, the DIAC are mostly used along with the TRIAC circuit. The  DIACs are
used for triggering TRIAC or other kinds of thyristors, apart from this they do not possess many
applications. The DIACs are used as a trigger device in various applications such as Phase control
circuits of motor speed control, light dimmers, heat controls, and many other control circuits. Let’s
look into the examples of Light Dimmer and heat control circuits.
 Heat Control:
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The Above circuit shows the typical structure of the DIAC-TRIAC combination used for smooth control
of AC power to a Heater. The Capacitor C1 and the choke L form an LC circuit that slows down the
voltage rise across the TRIAC when it is in OFF state.  The R2 is the potentiometer that is used to
control the applied voltage in both the half cycles and the resistor R4 across the DIAC ensures the
Smooth control. The longer the TRIAC is conducting the larger the heat is dissipated from the heater,
hence the DIAC here is used to deliver smooth control of the heat output from the heater.

Light Dimmer:

The Above circuit shows the RC phase shift network and DIAC controlled TRIAC for the light dimming
application. The voltage applied to the gate terminal of the TRIAC is varied by the RC arrangement
involving the Resistor R3 and the capacitor C3. When the device is in its OFF state the rate of voltage
rise is limited by the series R4-C1 network that is connected across the TRIAC.
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Once the input voltage is applied from the 230V power source the capacitors C1 and C2 start
charging at the rate determined by the Variable resistor R2. Once the voltage across the capacitor C3
exceeds the breakdown voltage of the DIAC, it gets triggered and the DIAC starts conducting and this
will discharge the capacitor C3 and the gate pulse is given to the TRIAC. The gate pulse turns ON the
TRIAC and the current starts flowing through the lamp. By varying the Resistance in R2, the rate of
charging of the capacitor also gets varied which in turn varies the voltage rate at which the TRIAC
gets triggered in both the positive and negative half-cycles.

Sample Problems

In Fig. 21.23, the switch is closed. A diac with breakover voltage VBO = 30V is connected in the
circuit. If the triac has a trigger voltage of 1V and a trigger current of 10 mA, what is the capacitor
voltage that triggers the triac?
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TRIAC (Triode for Alternating Current)

Definition

Triacs are electronic components that are widely used in AC power control applications. They are
able to switch high voltages and high levels of current, and over both parts of an AC waveform. This
makes triac circuits ideal for use in a variety of applications where power switching is needed.

One particular use of triac circuits is in light dimmers for domestic

lighting, and they are also used in many other power control
situations including motor control and electronic switches.

As a result of their performance, triacs tend to be used for low to

medium power electronic switching applications, leaving thyristors
to be used for the very heat duty AC power switching applications.

The word TRIAC can be expanded as a TRIode for Alternating

Current. While other power electronic switches like MOSFET,
IGBT, etc are used for switching/controlling DC power, the TRIAC
is used to control AC power because once turned on TRIAC can
conduct in both the direction allowing AC voltage to passes
completely in both the positive and negative cycle.

The TRIAC is a three-terminal semiconductor switching device

that is used for controlling current flow in a circuit. It is one of the
most important members of the thyristor family; it is a bidirectional
device that can pass the current in both forward and reverse
direction, which means that they can conduct in both the
conditions of the gate signal, positive and negative.
Symbol
A TRIACs can be formed by connecting two equivalent SCRs in inverse
parallel to one another and the gates of the two SCR are connected
together to form a single gate.  If you are new to DIACs as well then you
can read the DIAC Introduction Article to know more about it. The Symbol
of the TRIAC will be like the image below, it has three terminals Main
Terminal 1 (MT1), Main Terminal 2 (MT2) and Gate (G). 
 
The MT1 and MT 2 are also called as Anode 1 and Anode 2. The TRIAC
can be included in a circuit in a way that the current is flowing from either
MT1 to MT2 or MT2 to MT1, there will not be any current until we inject a
gate current pulse at G.
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Structure
The below shows the structure of the TRIAC, it is a four-layer device that consists of six doping
regions. The gate terminal is designed in a way to have ohmic contact with both N and P regions,
which helps the device to get triggered with both positive and negative polarities.

Although TRIAC is a bidirectional device, everyone prefers to specify voltage and current using MT1
as the reference in order to reduce confusion.

Working principles
TRIAC can go to conduction state if the applied voltage is equal to the breakdown voltage, but the
most preferred way of turning on a TRIAC is by providing a gate pulse, either positive or negative. If
the gate current is high, a very small amount of voltage is enough to turn on the TRIAC. As
the TRIAC is bidirectional and has an ability to get turned on with both the polarities to the gate
pulse it can operate in four different types of modes of operation as listed below 
1.       MT2 is positive with respect to MT1 with a gate polarity positive with respect to MT1.
2.       MT2 is positive with respect to MT1 with a gate polarity negative with respect to MT1.
3.       MT2 is negative with respect to MT1 with a gate polarity negative with respect to MT1.
4.       MT2 is negative with respect to MT1 with a gate polarity positive with respect to MT1.
 
MT2 is positive with respect to MT1 with a gate polarity positive with respect to MT1 
When the terminal MT2 is positive with respect to the Terminal MT1 the current will be flowing in the
path of P1-N1-P2-N2. During this operation, the junction between the layers P1-N1 and P2-N2
are forward biased whereas the Junction between N1-P2 is reverse biased. When the positive
signal is applied to the gate the junction between P2-N2 is forward biased and breakdown occurs.
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MT2 is positive with respect to MT1 with a gate polarity negative with respect to MT1 
When the MT2 is positive and the gate pulse is negative, the current flow will be in the same path as
the first mode which is P1-N1-P2-N2, but here the junction between the P2-N2 is forward biased and
the current carriers are injected into the P2 layer.
 

 
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MT2 is negative with respect to MT1 with a gate polarity negative with respect to MT1 
When the terminal MT2 is positive and negative pulse is provided to the gate terminal the current will
be flowing in the path of P2-N1-P2-N2. During the operation the junction between the layers P2-N1
and P1-N4 are forward biased whereas the junction between the layers N1-P1 is reverse biased,
hence the TRIAC is said to operate in the negatively biased region.

 
MT2 is negative with respect to MT1 with a gate polarity positive with respect to MT1 
When the terminal MT2 is negative and the gate is triggered with a positive pulse the junction
between P2-N2 is forward biased and the current carriers are injected, hence the TRIAC is turned on.
 

The TRIAC doesn’t usually operate in mode 4 because it carries a disadvantage that it should not be
used for circuits with high di/dt. The sensitivity of triggering of TRIAC with mode 2 and 3 is high and
negative gate pulse is used in case of a marginal triggering capability. The triggering of mode 1 is
even more sensitive than mode 2 and 3 triggering but it requires a positive gate pulse for triggering. In
most of the cases, the triggering mode 2 and 3 are preferred.
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V-I Characteristics
Since the TRIAC is a bidirectional device it’s the VI characteristics curve of TRIAC will be on the
first and third quadrant of the graph, which is similar to the VI characteristics of a Thyristor. If you
are completely news to Thyristors like SCR. When the terminal MT2 is set to be positive with respect
to the terminal MT1 the TRIAC will be operating in the forward blocking mode.
During the initial stage due to the resistance of the TRIAC, there will be a small leakage current
flowing through the device as the applied voltage is less than the breakdown voltage. When the
voltage is increased and it reaches the breakdown voltage the TRIAC is turned on and high current
starts flowing through the device.

Apart from increasing the voltage of the device the TRIAC can be turned ON by applying the gate
pulse, even if the applied voltage is less than the breakdown voltage. The same operation can be
carried out in the negative direction of the TRIAC which can leave us with a mirror image of the same
curve on the negative quadrant. The supply voltage at which the TRIAC starts conduction will depend
on the gate current applied to the TRIAC. If the gate current is higher, then the voltage required to
turn ON the TRIAC can be less. The characteristic curve that is given above shows the operation of
TRIAC in mode 1 on the first quadrant and mode 3 on the third quadrant.
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Applications
As mentioned earlier, TRIACs are commonly used to switch AC voltages.  A sample application
TRIAC circuit for AC switching is shown below.

The above circuit shows the typical set up of a switching system using a TRIAC. Initially, when the
switch SW1 is open there will not be any supply to the gate circuit and the current flow will be zero
through the lamp. If the switch is turned ON the current starts flowing through the resistor R and there
will be a pulse provided to the Gate terminal G. The given gate pulse will help in breaking down the
junctions of the TRIAC and help it conduct, hence the AC voltage Vs will be allowed to flow through
the circuit and lights up the Lamp.
TRIACs can be used in various applications such as

 Control circuits like electric fan speed control and smaller motor controls
 High Power lamp switching and light dimmers
 AC power control domestic appliances
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Sample Problems
The triac shown in Fig. 21.14 can be triggered by the gate triggering voltage VGT = ± 2V. How will
you trigger the triac by (i) only a positive gate voltage (ii) only a negative gate voltage?