Instrumentation &

Power Electronics

Lecture 13 & 14Thyristors

THYRISTOR

• Thyristor, a three terminal, four layers solid state semiconductor device, each layer consisting of alternately N-type or P-type material, i.e; P-N-P-N, that can handle high currents and high voltages, with better switching speed and improved breakdown voltage .

• Name ‘thyristor’, is derived by a combination of the capital letters from THYRatron and transISTOR.

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THYRISTORS• Thyristor can handle high currents and high voltages.

• Typical rating are 1.5kA & 10kV which responds to 15MW power handling capacity.

• This power can be controlled by a gate current of about 1A only.

• Thyristor act as bistable switches.– It conducts when gate receives a current pulse, and

continue to conduct as long as forward biased (till device voltage is not reversed).

– They stay ON once they are triggered, and will go OFF only if current is too low or when triggered off.

Thyristor Two Transistor Model

Thyristor Operating modes

Thyristors have three modes :

• Forward blocking mode: Only leakage current flows, so thyristor is not conducting.

• Forward conducting mode: large forward current flows through the thyristor.

• Reverse blocking mode: When cathode voltage is increased to reverse breakdown voltage , Avalanche breakdown occurs and large current flows.

1-Phase Half Wave Controlled Rectifier

1-Phase Full Wave Controlled Rectifier

1-Phase Full Wave Controlled Rectifier

1-Phase Full Wave Controlled Rectifier

3-Phase Controlled Rectifier

Thyristor turn-ON methods

• Thyristor turning ON is also known as Triggering.

• With anode is positive with respect to cathode, a thyristor can be turned ON by any one of the following techniques :

– Forward voltage triggering – Gate triggering– dv/dt triggering– Temperature triggering– Light triggering

Forward Voltage Triggering• When breakover voltage (VBO) across a thyristor is exceeded

than the rated maximum voltage of the device, thyristor turns ON.

• At the breakover voltage the value of the thyristor anode current is called the latching current (IL) .

• Breakover voltage triggering is not normally used as a triggering method, and most circuit designs attempt to avoid its occurrence.

• When a thyristor is triggered by exceeding VBO, the fall time of the forward voltage is quite low (about 1/20th of the time taken when the thyristor is gate-triggered).

Gate Triggering• Turning ON of thyristors by gate triggering is simple and

efficient method of firing the forward biased SCRs.

• In Gate Triggering, thyristor with forward breakover voltage (VBO), higher than the normal working voltage is chosen.

• Whenever thyristor’s turn-ON is required, a positive gate voltage b/w gate and cathode is applied.

• Forward voltage at which device switches to on-state depends upon the magnitude of gate current. – Higher the gate current, lower is the forward

breakover voltage .

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:

• If the charging current becomes large enough, density of moving current carriers in the device induces switch-on.

• This method of triggering is not desirable because high charging current (Ic) may damage the thyristor.

Temperature Triggering• During forward blocking, most of the applied voltage

appears across reverse biased junction J2. • This voltage across junction J2 associated with leakage

current may raise the temperature of this junction. • With increase in temperature, leakage current through

junction J2 further increases. • This cumulative process may turn on the SCR at some high

temperature. • High temperature triggering may cause Thermal runaway

and is generally avoided.

Light Triggering• In this method light particles (photons) are made to

strike the reverse biased junction, which causes an increase in the number of electron hole pairs and triggering of the thyristor.

• For light-triggered SCRs, a slot (niche) is made in the inner p-layer.

• When it is irradiated, free charge carriers are generated just like when gate signal is applied b/w gate and cathode.

• Pulse light of appropriate wavelength is guided by optical fibers for irradiation.

• If the intensity of this light thrown on the recess exceeds a certain value, forward-biased SCR is turned on. Such a thyristor is known as light-activated SCR (LASCR).

• Light-triggered thyristors is mostly used in high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems.

Thyristor Gate Control Methods• An easy method to switch ON a SCR into conduction is to

apply a proper positive signal to the gate. • This signal should be applied when the thyristor is forward

biased and should be removed after the device has been switched ON.

• Thyristor turn ON time should be in range of 1-4 micro seconds, while turn-OFF time must be between 8-50 micro seconds.

• Thyristor gate signal can be of three varieties. – D.C Gate signal– A.c Gate Signal– Pulse

Thyristor Gate Control MethodsD.C Gate signal: Application of a d.c gate signal causes the flow of gate

current which triggers the SCR.– Disadvantage is that the gate signal has to be continuously applied,

resulting in power loss. – Gate control circuit is also not isolated from the main power circuit.

A.C Gate Signal: In this method a phase - shifted a.c voltage derived from the mains supplies the gate signal. – Instant of firing can be controlled by phase angle control of the gate

signal.Pulse: Here the SCR is triggered by the application of a positive pulse of

correct magnitude. – For Thyristors it is important to switched ON at proper instants in a

certain sequence. – This can be done by train of the high frequency pulses at proper

instants through a logic circuit. – A pulse transformer is used for circuit isolation.– Here, the gate looses are very low because the drive is discontinuous.

Gate Control Circuits

Gate Control Circuits

Thyristor Commutation• Commutation: Process of turning off a conducting thyristor– Current Commutation – Voltage Commutation

• A thyristor can be turned ON by applying a positive voltage of about a volt or a current of a few tens of milliamps at the gate-cathode terminals.

• But SCR cannot be turned OFF via the gate terminal. • It will turn-off only after the anode current is negated

either naturally or using forced commutation techniques. • These methods of turn-off do not refer to those cases

where the anode current is gradually reduced below Holding Current level manually or through a slow process.

• Once the SCR is turned ON, it remains ON even after removal of the gate signal, as long as a minimum current, the Holding Current (IH), is maintained in the main or rectifier circuit.

Thyristor Turn-off Mechanism • In all practical cases, a negative current flows through the device. • This current returns to zero only after the reverse recovery time (trr) ,

when the SCR is said to have regained its reverse blocking capability. • The device can block a forward voltage only after a further tfr, the

forward recovery time has elapsed. • Consequently, the SCR must continue to be reverse-biased for a

minimum of tfr + trr = tq, the rated turn-off time of the device. • The external circuit must therefore reverse bias the SCR for a time toff >

tq. • Subsequently, the reapplied forward biasing voltage must rise at a dv/dt

< dv/dt (reapplied) rated. This dv/dt is less than the static counterpart.

Thyristor Commutation Classification• Commutation can be classified as – Natural commutation – Forced commutation

Line Commutation (Natural Commutation) • Occurs only in AC circuits.• Natural Commutation of thyristor takes place in– AC Voltage Regulators – Phase controlled rectifiers– Cycloconverters

Thyristor Turn-Off: Line-Commutated Thyristor Circuit

Forced Commutation • Applied to d.c circuits.• If a thyristor is used in a DC circuit, when first turned on, it will stay on until the

current goes to zero. To turn off the thyristor it is possible to use a Forced commutation circuit. The circuit creates a reverse voltage over the thyristor (and a small reverse current) for a short time, but long enough to turn off the thyristor.

• A simple circuit consist of a precharged capacitor and a switch (e.g. another thyristor) parallel to the thyristor. When the switch is closed, the current is supplied by the capacitor for a short while. This cause a reversed voltage over the thyristor, and the thyristor is turned off.

• Commutation is achieved by reverse biasing thyristor or reducing the thysristor current below the holding current value.

• Commutating elements such as inductor, capacitors are used for commutation purpose.

• Force commutation is applied to choppers and inverters.• Force Commutation methods

– Class A- Resonant Load– Class B- Self commutation– Class C- Auxiliary commutation– Class D- Complimentary commutation– Class E- External pulse commutation

Thyristor Turn-Off: Forced- Commutated Thyristor Circuit

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

turns on Q2 providing a path for IB1.• Q1 then turns on providing more base

current for Q2 even after the trigger is removed.– Thus, the device stays on (latches).

The SCR can be turned on by exceeding the forward breakover voltage or by gate current.

Notice that the gate current controls the amount of forward breakover voltage required for 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

END OF LECTURES-13-14

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