OTHER MEMBERS OF THE THYRISTOR FAMILY:

1. PUT ( Programmable Unijunction Transistor)

Programmable unijunction transistor or PUT is a close relative of the
thyristor family. It has a four layered construction just like the thyristors
and have three terminals named anode(A), cathode(K) and gate(G) again
like the thyristors. Yet some authors call it a programmable UJT just
because its characteristics and parameters have much similarity to that
of the unijunction transistor. It is called programmable because the
parameters like intrinsic standoff ratio (η), peak voltage(Vp) etc can be
programmed with the help of two external resistors. In a UJT, the
parameters like Vp, η etc are fixed and we cannot change it. The main
application of programmable UJT is relaxation oscillators, thyristor firing,
pulse circuits and timing circuits. ON Semiconductor is the only
manufacturer of PUT now.

2. SUS ( silicon Unilateral Switch)

A SUS is similar to PUT but with an inbuilt low-voltage avalanche diode
between gate and cathode. Because of the presence of diode, SUS turns
on for a fixed anode-to-cathode voltage unlike an SCR whose trigger
voltage and/or current vary widely with changes in ambient
temperature. SUS is used mainly in timing, logic and trigger circuits. Its
ratings are about 20V and 0.5 A. circuit symbol, equivalent circuit and I-V
characteristics of an SUS are shown below.
3. SCS ( Silicon Controlled Switch)
SCS is a tetrode, i.e. four electrode thyristor. It has two gates, one anode
gate (AG) like a PUT and another cathode gate (KG) like an SCR. SCS is a
four layer, four terminal pnpn device; with anode A, anode gate AG and
cathode gate KG. it can be turned on by either gate.
When a negative pulse is applied to gate AG, junction J1 is forward
biased and SCS is turned on. A positive pulse at AG will reverse bias
junction J1 and turns off the SCS.
A positive pulse at gate KG turns on the device and a negative pulse at
KG turns it off.
Their ratings are about 100 V and 200mA. This can be operated like an
OR gate. Its application includes timing, logic and triggering circuits,
pulse generator, voltage sensor and oscillators.

4. Light Activated Thyristors (LASCR)

LASCRs are turned on by throwing a pulse of light on the silicon wafer of
the thyristor. The pulse of appropriate wavelength is guided by optical
fibres to the special sensitive area of the wafer. If the intensity of light
 exceeds a certain value, excess electron-hole pairs are generated due to
radiation and forward-biased thyristor gets turned on.
The primary use of light activated thyristor is in high-current
applications, static reactive-power compensation etc. A light-activated
thyristor has complete electrical isolation between the light triggering
source and the high-voltage anode-cathode circuit. Light- activated
thyristors are available up to 6kV and 3.5 kA, with on-state voltage drop
of 2 V and with light-triggering requirements of 5mW.

5. The Diac ( Bidirectional Thyristor Diode):

A cross-sectional view of diac showing all its layers and junctions is
shown in figure below. If voltage V12 with terminal 1 positive with
respect to terminal 2, exceeds break-over voltage VB01, then the
structure pn pn conducts. In case terminal 2 is positive with respect to
terminal 1 and when V12 exceeds breakover voltage VB02 , structure pn
pn’ conducts.Diac has symmetrical breakdown characteristics. Its leads
are interchangeable. Its turn-on voltage is about 30 v. when conducting,
it acts like a low resistance with about 3 V drop across it. When not
conducting, it acts like an open switch. A diac is sometimes called a
gateless triac.
 6. The Triac:
An SCR is a unidirectional device as it can conduct from anode to
cathode only and not from cathode to anode. A triac can conduct in both
directions. A triac is thus a bidirectional thyristor with three terminals. It
is used extensively for the control of power in ac circuits. When in
operation, a triac is equivalent to two SCRs connected in antiparallel.

FIRING CIRCUITS FOR THYRISTORS:

Main features of firing circuits:

The most common method for controlling the onset of conduction in an SCR is
by means of gate voltage control. The gate control circuit is also called firing or
triggering circuit. These gate circuits are usually low-power electronic circuits.
A firing circuit should fulfil the following two functions:

i. If the power circuit has more than one SCR, the firing circuit should
produce gating pulses for each SCR at the desired instant for proper
operation of the power circuit. These pulses must be periodic in nature
and the sequence of firing must correspond with the type of
thyristorised power controller.
ii. The control signal generated by a firing circuit may not be able to turn-
on an SCR. It is therefore common to feed the voltage pulses to a driver
circuit and then to gate-cathode circuit. A driver circuit consists of a
pulse amplifier and pulse transformer.
 (a) Resistance firing circuits:

Resistance trigger circuits are the simplest and most economical. They
however, suffer from a limited range of firing angle control (00 to 900), great
dependence between individual SCRs.
The basic circuit is shown below. R2 is the variable resistance, R is the
stabilizing resistance.
In case R2 is zero, gate current may flow from source, through load, R1, D and
gate to cathode. This current should not exceed maximum permissible gate
current Igm. R1 can therefore, be can be found from the relation,

≤ Igm

R1 ≥

Where, Vm is maximum value of source voltage. It is thus seen that function of

R1 is to limit the gate current to a safe value as R2 is varied.
 (b) RC firing circuits:

The limited range of firing angle control by resistance firing circuit can be
overcome by RC firing circuit.

i. RC half-wave trigger circuit:

Circuit for RC half wave circuit has been shown below. By varying the
value of R, firing angle can be controlled from 00 to 1800. In the
negative half cycle, capacitor C charges through D2 with lower plate
positive to the peak supply voltage Vm at ωt = -900. After ωt = -900 ,
source voltage vs decreases from - Vm at ωt = -900 to zero at ωt = 00 .
during this period, capacitor voltage vc may fall from - Vm at ωt = -900
to some lower value at ωt = 00.
Unijunction Transistor (UJT):