Thyristor Tutorial

Thyristor Basics
In many ways the Silicon Controlled Rectifier, or the Thyristor as it is more commonly known, is similar to
the transistor. It is a multi-layer semiconductor device, hence the silicon part of its name. It requires a gate
signal to turn it ON, the controlled part of the name and once ON it behaves like a rectifying diode, the
rectifier part of the name. In fact the circuit symbol for the thyristor suggests that this device acts like a
controlled rectifying diode.

Thyristor Symbol
However, unlike the diode which is a two layer ( P-N ) semiconductor device, or the transistor
which is a three layer ( P-N-P, or N-P-N ) device, theThyristor is a four layer ( P-N-P-N )
semiconductor device that contains three PN junctions in series, and is represented by the symbol
as shown.
Like the diode, the Thyristor is a unidirectional device, that is it will only conduct current in one
direction only, but unlike a diode, the thyristor can be made to operate as either an open-circuit
switch or as a rectifying diode depending upon how the thyristors gate is triggered. In other
words, thyristors can operate only in the switching mode and cannot be used for amplification.
The silicon controlled rectifier SCR, is one of several power semiconductor devices along with
Triacs (Triode ACs), Diacs (Diode ACs) and UJTs (Unijunction Transistor) that are all capable
of acting like very fast solid state AC switches for controlling large AC voltages and currents. So
for the Electronics student this makes these very handy solid state devices for controlling AC
motors, lamps and for phase control.
The thyristor is a three-terminal device labelled: Anode, Cathode and Gate and consisting
of three PN junctions which can be switched ON and OFF at an extremely fast rate, or it can
be switched ON for variable lengths of time during half cycles to deliver a selected amount of
power to a load. The operation of the thyristor can be best explained by assuming it to be made
up of two transistors connected back-to-back as a pair of complementary regenerative switches
as shown.

A Thyristors Two Transistor Analogy

The two transistor equivalent circuit shows that the collector current of the NPN
transistor TR feeds directly into the base of the PNP transistor TR , while the collector current
of TR feeds into the base of TR . These two inter-connected transistors rely upon each other for
conduction as each transistor gets its base-emitter current from the others collector-emitter
current. So until one of the transistors is given some base current nothing can happen even if an
Anode-to-Cathode voltage is present.
2

When the thyristors Anode terminal is negative with respect to the Cathode, the centre NP junction is forward biased, but the two outer P-N junctions are reversed biased and it behaves
very much like an ordinary diode. Therefore a thyristor blocks the flow of reverse current until at
some high voltage level the breakdown voltage point of the two outer junctions is exceeded and
the thyristor conducts without the application of a Gate signal.
This is an important negative characteristic of the thyristor, as Thyristors can be unintentionally
triggered into conduction by a reverse over-voltage as well as high temperature or a rapidly
risingdv/dt voltage such as a spike.
If the Anode terminal is made positive with respect to the Cathode, the two outer P-N junctions
are now forward biased but the centre N-P junction is reverse biased. Therefore forward current
is also blocked. If a positive current is injected into the base of the NPN transistor TR , the
resulting collector current flows in the base of transistor TR . This in turn causes a collector
current to flow in the PNP transistor, TR which increases the base current of TR and so on.
2

Typical Thyristor
Very rapidly the two transistors force each other to conduct to saturation as they are connected in
a regenerative feedback loop that can not stop. Once triggered into conduction, the current

flowing through the device between the Anode and the Cathode is limited only by the resistance
of the external circuit as the forward resistance of the device when conducting can be very low at
less than 1 so the voltage drop across it and power loss is also low.
Then we can see that a thyristor blocks current in both directions of an AC supply in its OFF
state and can be turned ON and made to act like a normal rectifying diode by the application of
a positive current to the base of transistor, TR which for a silicon controlled rectifier is called the
Gate terminal.
2

The operating voltage-current I-V characteristics curves for the operation of a Silicon
Controlled Rectifier are given as:

Thyristor I-V Characteristics Curves

Once the thyristor has been turned ON and is conducting in the forward direction (anode
positive), the gate signal looses control due to the regenerative latching action of the two internal
transistors. The application of any gate signals or pulses after regeneration is initiated will have
no effect at all because the thyristor is already conducting and fully-ON.
Unlike the transistor, the SCR can not be biased to stay within some active region along a load
line between its blocking and saturation states. The magnitude and duration of the gate turn-on
pulse has little effect on the operation of the device since conduction is controlled internally.
Then applying a momentary gate pulse to the device is enough to cause it to conduct and will
remain permanently ON even if the gate signal is completely removed.

Therefore the thyristor can also be thought of as a Bistable Latch having two stable states OFF
or ON. This is because with no gate signal applied, a silicon controlled rectifier blocks current
in both directions of an AC waveform, and once it is triggered into conduction, the regenerative
latching action means that it cannot be turned OFF again just by using its Gate.
So how do we turn OFF the thyristor?. Once the thyristor has self-latched into its ON
state, it can only be turned OFF again by either removing the supply voltage and therefore the
Anode (I ) current completely, or by reducing its Anode to Cathode current by some external
means (the opening of a switch) to below a value commonly called the minimum holding
current, I .
A

The Anode current must therefore be reduced below this minimum holding level long enough for
the thyristors internally latched PN-junctions to recover their blocking state before a forward
voltage is again applied to the device without it automatically self-conducting.
Since the thyristor has the ability to turn OFF whenever the Anode current is reduced below
this minimum holding value, it follows then that when used on a sinusoidal AC supply the SCR
will automatically turn itself OFF at some value near to the cross over point of each half cycle,
and as we now know, will remain OFF until the application of the next Gate trigger pulse.
Since an AC sinusoidal voltage continually reverses in polarity from positive to negative on
every half-cycle, this allows the thyristor to turn OFF at the 180 zero point of the positive
waveform. This effect is known as natural commutation and is a very important characteristic
of the silicon controlled rectifier.
o

Thyristors used in circuits fed from DC supplies, this natural commutation condition cannot
occur as the DC supply voltage is continuous so some other way to turn OFF the thyristor must
be provided at the appropriate time because once triggered it will remain conducting.
However in AC sinusoidal circuits natural commutation occurs every half cycle. Then during the
positive half cycle of an AC sinusoidal waveform, the thyristor is forward biased (anode
positive) and a can be triggered ON using a Gate signal or pulse. During the negative half
cycle, the Anode becomes negative while the Cathode is positive. The thyristor is reverse biased
by this voltage and cannot conduct even if a Gate signal is present.
So by applying a Gate signal at the appropriate time during the positive half of an AC waveform,
the thyristor can be triggered into conduction until the end of the positive half cycle. Thus phase
control (as it is called) can be used to trigger the thyristor at any point along the positive half of
the AC waveform and one of the many uses of a Silicon Controlled Rectifier is in the power
control of AC systems as shown.

Thyristor Phase Control

At the start of each positive half-cycle the SCR is OFF. On the application of the gate pulse
triggers the SCR into conduction and remains fully latched ON for the duration of the positive
cycle. If the thyristor is triggered at the beginning of the half-cycle ( = 0 ), the load (a lamp)
will be ON for the full positive cycle of the AC waveform (half-wave rectified AC) at a high
average voltage of 0.318 x Vp.
o

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As the application of the gate trigger pulse increases along the half cycle ( = 0 to 90 ), the lamp
is illuminated for less time and the average voltage delivered to the lamp will also be
proportionally less reducing its brightness.
o

Then we can use a silicon controlled rectifier as an AC light dimmer as well as in a variety of
other AC power applications such as: AC motor-speed control, temperature control systems and
power regulator circuits, etc.

Thus far we have seen that a thyristor is essentially a half-wave device that conducts in only the
positive half of the cycle when the Anode is positive and blocks current flow like a diode when
the Anode is negative, irrespective of the Gate signal.
But there are more semiconductor devices available which come under the banner of Thyristor
that can conduct in both directions, full-wave devices, or can be turned OFF by the Gate
signal.
Such devices include Gate Turn-OFF Thyristors (GTO), Static Induction Thyristors (SITH),
MOS Controlled Thyristors (MCT), Silicon Controlled Switch (SCS), Triode Thyristors
(TRIAC) and Light Activated Thyristors (LASCR) to name a few, with all these devices
available in a variety of voltage and current ratings making them attractive for use in applications
at very high power levels.

Thyristor Summary
Silicon Controlled Rectifiers known commonly as Thyristors are three-junction PNPN
semiconductor devices which can be regarded as two inter-connected transistors that can be used
in the switching of heavy electrical loads. They can be latched-ON by a single pulse of positive
current applied to their Gate terminal and will remain ON indefinitely until the Anode to
Cathode current falls below their minimum latching level.

Static Characteristics of a Thyristor

Thyristors are semiconductor devices that can operate only in the switching mode.

Thyristor are current operated devices, a small Gate current controls a larger Anode
current.

Conducts current only when forward biased and triggering current applied to the Gate.

The thyristor acts like a rectifying diode once it is triggered ON.

Blocks current flow when reverse biased, no matter if Gate current is applied.

Once triggered ON, will be latched ON conducting even when a gate current is no

longer applied providing Anode current is above latching current.

Thyristors are high speed switches that can be used to replace electromechanical relays in many
circuits as they have no moving parts, no contact arcing or suffer from corrosion or dirt. But in
addition to simply switching large currents ON and OFF, thyristors can be made to control
the mean value of an AC load current without dissipating large amounts of power. A good
example of thyristor power control is in the control of electric lighting, heaters and motor speed.
In the next tutorial we will look at some basic Thyristor Circuits and applications using both
AC and DC supplies

2.

Thyristor Circuit
The Thyristor Switch
In the previous tutorial we looked at the basic construction and operation of the Silicon Controlled
Rectifier more commonly known as a Thyristor. This time we will look at how we can use the
thyristor switching circuits to control larger loads such as lamps, motors, or heaters etc.
We said previously that in order to get the Thyristor to turn-ON we need to inject a small trigger pulse of
current (not a continuous current) into the Gate, (G) terminal when the thyristor is in its forward direction,
that is the Anode, (A) is positive with respect to the Cathode, (K), for regenerative latching to occur.

Typical Thyristor
Generally, this trigger pulse need only be of a few micro-seconds in duration but the longer the Gate pulse
is applied the faster the internal avalanche breakdown occurs and the faster the turn-ON time of the
thyristor, but the maximum Gate current must not be exceeded. Once triggered and fully conducting, the
voltage drop across the thyristor, Anode to Cathode, is reasonably constant at about 1.0V for all values of
Anode current up to its rated value.
But remember though that once a Thyristor starts to conduct it continues to conduct even with no Gate
signal, until the Anode current decreases below the devices holding current, (IH) and below this value it
automatically turns-OFF. Then unlike bipolar transistors and FETs, thyristors cannot be used for
amplification.
Thyristors are semiconductor devices that are specifically designed for use in high-power switching
applications. Thyristors can operate only in the switching mode, where they act like either an open or
closed switch and once triggered it will remain conducting. Therefore in DC circuits and some highly
inductive AC circuits the current has to be artificially reduced by a separate switch or turn off circuit.

DC Thyristor Circuit
When connected to a direct current DC supply, the thyristor can be used as a DC switch to control larger
DC currents and loads. When using the Thyristor as a switch it behaves like an electronic latch because
once activated it remains in the ON state until manually reset. Consider the DC thyristor circuit below.

DC Thyristor Switching Circuit

This simple on-off thyristor firing circuit uses the thyristor as a switch to control a lamp, but it could also
be used as an on-off control circuit for a motor, heater or some other such DC load. The thyristor is
forward biased and is triggered into conduction by briefly closing the normally-open ON push
button, S1 which connects the Gate terminal to the DC supply via the Gate resistor, RGthus allowing
current to flow into the Gate. If the value of RG is set too high with respect to the supply voltage, the
thyristor may not trigger.
Once the circuit has been turned-ON, it self latches and stays ON even when the push button is
released providing the load current is more than the thyristors latching current. Additional operations of
push button, S1 will have no effect on the circuits state as once latched the Gate looses all control. The
thyristor is now turned fully ON (conducting) allowing full load circuit current to flow through the device in
the forward direction and back to the battery supply.
One of the main advantages of using a thyristor as a switch in a DC circuit is that it has a very high
current gain. The thyristor is a current operated device because a small Gate current can control a much
larger Anode current.
The Gate-cathode resistor RGK is generally included to reduce the Gates sensitivity and increase its dv/dt
capability thus preventing false triggering of the device.
As the thyristor has self latched into the ON state, the circuit can only be reset by interrupting the power
supply and reducing the Anode current to below the thyristors minimum holding current (IH) value.
Opening the normally-closed OFF push button, S2 breaks the circuit, reducing the circuit current flowing
through the Thyristor to zero, thus forcing it to turn OFF until the application again of another Gate
signal.
However, one of the disadvantages of this DC thyristor circuit design is that the mechanical normallyclosed OFF switch S2 needs to be big enough to handle the circuit power flowing through both the
thyristor and the lamp when the contacts are opened. If this is the case we could just replace the thyristor
with a large mechanical switch. One way to overcome this problem and reduce the need for a larger more
robust OFF switch is to connect the switch in parallel with the thyristor as shown.

Alternative DC Thyristor Circuit

Here the thyristor switch receives the required terminal voltage and Gate pulse signal as before but the
larger normally-closed switch of the previous circuit has be replaced by a smaller normally-open switch in
parallel with the thyristor. Activation of switch S2 momentarily applies a short circuit between the thyristors
Anode and Cathode stopping the device from conducting by reducing the holding current to below its
minimum value.

AC Thyristor Circuit
When connected to an alternating current AC supply, the thyristor behaves differently from the previous
DC connected circuit. This is because AC power reverses polarity periodically and therefore any thyristor
used in an AC circuit will automatically be reverse-biased causing it to turn-OFF during one-half of each
cycle. Consider the AC thyristor circuit below.

AC Thyristor Circuit

The above thyristor firing circuit is similar in design to the DC SCR circuit except for the omission of an
additional OFF switch and the inclusion of diode D1 which prevents reverse bias being applied to the
Gate. During the positive half-cycle of the sinusoidal waveform, the device is forward biased but with
switch S1 open, zero gate current is applied to the thyristor and it remains OFF. On the negative halfcycle, the device is reverse biased and will remain OFF regardless of the condition of switch S1.

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If switch S1 is closed, at the beginning of each positive half-cycle the thyristor is fully OFF but shortly
after there will be sufficient positive trigger voltage and therefore current present at the Gate to turn the
thyristor and the lamp ON.
The thyristor is now latched-ON for the duration of the positive half-cycle and will automatically turn
OFF again when the positive half-cycle ends and the Anode current falls below the holding current
value.
During the next negative half-cycle the device is fully OFF anyway until the following positive half-cycle
when the process repeats itself and the thyristor conducts again as long as the switch is closed.
Then in this condition the lamp will receive only half of the available power from the AC source as the
thyristor acts like a rectifying diode, and conducts current only during the positive half-cycles when it is
forward biased. The thyristor continues to supply half power to the lamp until the switch is opened.
If it were possible to rapidly turn switch S1 ON and OFF, so that the thyristor received its Gate signal at the
peak (90o) point of each positive half-cycle, the device would only conduct for one half of the positive
half-cycle. In other words, conduction would only take place during one-half of one-half of a sine wave
and this condition would cause the lamp to receive one-fourth or a quarter of the total power available
from the AC source.
By accurately varying the timing relationship between the Gate pulse and the positive half-cycle,
theThyristor could be made to supply any percentage of power desired to the load, between 0% and
50%. Obviously, using this circuit configuration it cannot supply more than 50% power to the lamp,
because it cannot conduct during the negative half-cycles when it is reverse biased. Consider the circuit
below.

Half Wave Phase Control

Phase control is the most common form of thyristor AC power control and a basic AC phase-control circuit
can be constructed as shown above. Here the thyristors Gate voltage is derived from the RC charging
circuit via the trigger diode, D1.
During the positive half-cycle when the thyristor is forward biased, capacitor, C charges up via
resistor R1 following the AC supply voltage. The Gate is activated only when the voltage at point Ahas
risen enough to cause the trigger diode D1, to conduct and the capacitor discharges into the Gate of the
thyristor turning it ON. The time duration in the positive half of the cycle at which conduction starts is
controlled by RC time constant set by the variable resistor, R1.
Increasing the value of R1 has the effect of delaying the triggering voltage and current supplied to the
thyristors Gate which in turn causes a lag in the devices conduction time. As a result, the fraction of the
half-cycle over which the device conducts can be controlled between 0 and 180 o, which means that the
average power dissipated by the lamp can be adjusted. However, the thyristor is a unidirectional device
so only a maximum of 50% power can be supplied during each positive half-cycle.
There are a variety of ways to achieve 100% full-wave AC control using thyristors. One way is to include
a single thyristor within a diode bridge rectifier circuit which converts AC to a unidirectional current
through the thyristor while the more common method is to use two thyristors connected in inverse parallel.
A more practical approach is to use a single Triac as this device can be triggered in both directions,
therefore making them suitable for AC switching applications.

3.

Triac Tutorial
Triac Tutorial and Basic Principles
In the previous tutorial we looked at the construction and operation of the Silicon Controlled Rectifier more
commonly known as a Thyristor, which can be used as a solid state switch to control lamps, motors, or

heaters etc. However, one of the problems of using a thyristor for controlling such circuits is that like a diode,
the thyristor is a unidirectional device, meaning that it passes current in one direction only,
from Anode to Cathode.

For DC switching circuits this one-way switching characteristic may be acceptable as once
triggered all the DC power is delivered straight to the load. But in Sinusoidal AC Switching
Circuitsthis unidirectional switching may be a problem as it only conducts during one half of the
cycle (like a half-wave rectifier) when the Anode is positive irrespective of whatever the Gate
signal is doing. Then for AC operation only half the power is delivered to the load by a thyristor.
In order to obtain full-wave power control we could connect a single thyristor inside a full-wave
bridge rectifier which triggers on each positive half-wave, or to connect two thyristors together
in inverse parallel (back-to-back) as shown below but this increases both the complexity and
number of components used in the switching circuit.

Thyristor Configurations

There is however, another type of semiconductor device called a Triode AC Switch

or Triac for short which is also a member of the thyristor family that be used as a solid state
power switching device but more importantly it is a bidirectional device. In other words,
a Triac can be triggered into conduction by both positive and negative voltages applied to its
Anode and with both positive and negative trigger pulses applied to its Gate terminal making it a
two-quadrant switching Gate controlled device.
A Triac behaves just like two conventional thyristors connected together in inverse parallel
(back-to-back) with respect to each other and because of this arrangement the two thyristors
share a common Gate terminal all within a single three-terminal package.
Since a triac conducts in both directions of a sinusoidal waveform, the concept of an Anode
terminal and a Cathode terminal used to identify the main power terminals of a thyristor are
replaced with identifications of: MT , for Main Terminal 1 and MT for Main Terminal 2 with the
Gate terminal G referenced the same.
1

In most AC switching applications, the triac gate terminal is associated with the MT terminal,
similar to the gate-cathode relationship of the thyristor or the base-emitter relationship of the
transistor. The construction, P-N doping and schematic symbol used to represent a Triac is given
below.
1

Triac Symbol and Construction

We now know that a triac is a 4-layer, PNPN in the positive direction and a NPNP in the
negative direction, three-terminal bidirectional device that blocks current in its OFF state
acting like an open-circuit switch, but unlike a conventional thyristor, the triac can conduct
current in either direction when triggered by a single gate pulse. Then a triac has four possible
triggering modes of operation as follows.

+ Mode = MT2 current positive (+ve), Gate current positive (+ve)

Mode = MT2 current positive (+ve), Gate current negative (-ve)

+ Mode = MT2 current negative (-ve), Gate current positive (+ve)

Mode = MT2 current negative (-ve), Gate current negative (-ve)

And these four modes in which a triac can be operated are shown using the triacs I-V
characteristics curves.

Triac I-V Characteristics Curves

In Quadrant , the triac is usually triggered into conduction by a positive gate current, labelled
above as mode +. But it can also be triggered by a negative gate current, mode . Similarly, in
Quadrant , triggering with a negative gate current, is also common, mode along with
mode +. Modes and + are, however, less sensitive configurations requiring a greater
gate current to cause triggering than the more common triac triggering modes of + and .
G

Also, just like silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs), triacs also require a minimum holding
current I to maintain conduction at the waveforms cross over point. Then even though the two
thyristors are combined into one single triac device, they still exhibit individual electrical
characteristics such as different breakdown voltages, holding currents and trigger voltage levels
exactly the same as we would expect from a single SCR device.
H

Triac Applications
The Triac is most commonly used semiconductor device for switching and power control of AC
systems as the triac can be switched ON by either a positive or negative Gate pulse, regardless
of the polarity of the AC supply at that time. This makes the triac ideal to control a lamp or AC
motor load with a very basic triac switching circuit given below.

Triac Switching Circuit

The circuit above shows a simple DC triggered triac power switching circuit. With
switch SW1 open, no current flows into the Gate of the triac and the lamp is therefore OFF.
When SW1 is closed, Gate current is applied to the triac from the battery supply V via
resistor R and the triac is driven into full conduction acting like a closed switch and full power is
drawn by the lamp from the sinusoidal supply.
G

As the battery supplies a positive Gate current to the triac whenever switch SW1 is closed, the
triac is therefore continually gated in modes + and + regardless of the polarity of
terminal MT .
2

Of course, the problem with this simple triac switching circuit is that we would require an
additional positive or negative Gate supply to trigger the triac into conduction. But we can also
trigger the triac using the actual AC supply voltage itself as the gate triggering voltage. Consider
the circuit below.

Triac Switching Circuit

The circuit shows a triac used as a simple static AC power switch providing an ON-OFF
function similar in operation to the previous DC circuit. When switch SW1 is open, the triac acts
as an open switch and the lamp passes zero current. When SW1 is closed the triac is gated ON

via current limiting resistor R and self-latches shortly after the start of each half-cycle, thus
switching full power to the lamp load.
As the supply is sinusoidal AC, the triac automatically unlatches at the end of each AC half-cycle
as the instantaneous supply voltage and thus the load current briefly falls to zero but re-latches
again using the opposite thyristor half on the next half cycle as long as the switch remains closed.
This type of switching control is generally called full-wave control due to the fact that both
halves of the sine wave are being controlled.
As the triac is effectively two back-to-back connected SCRs, we can take this triac switching
circuit further by modifying how the gate is triggered as shown below.

Modified Triac Switching Circuit

As above, if switch SW1 is open at position A, there is no gate current and the lamp is OFF. If
the switch is moved to position B gate current flows at every half cycle the same as before and
full power is drawn by the lamp as the triac operates in modes + and .
However this time when the switch is connected to position C, the diode will prevent the
triggering of the gate when MT is negative as the diode is reverse biased. Thus the triac only
conducts on the positive half-cycles operating in mode I+ only and the lamp will light at half
power. Then depending upon the position of the switch the load is Off, at Half Power or Fully
ON.
2

Triac Phase Control

Another common type of triac switching circuit uses phase control to vary the amount of voltage,
and therefore power applied to a load, in this case a motor, for both the positive and negative
halves of the input waveform. This type of AC motor speed control gives a fully variable and
linear control because the voltage can be adjusted from zero to the full applied voltage as shown.

Triac Phase Control

This basic phase triggering circuit uses the triac in series with the motor across an AC sinusoidal
supply. The variable resistor, VR1 is used to control the amount of phase shift on the gate of the
triac which in turn controls the amount of voltage applied to the motor by turning it ON at
different times during the AC cycle.

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The triacs triggering voltage is derived from the VR1 C1combination via the Diac (The diac is a
bidirectional semiconductor device that helps provide a sharp trigger current pulse to fully turnON the triac).
At the start of each cycle, C1 charges up via the variable resistor, VR1. This continues until the
voltage across C1 is sufficient to trigger the diac into conduction which in turn allows
capacitor, C1 to discharge into the gate of the triac turning it ON.
Once the triac is triggered into conduction and saturates, it effectively shorts out the gate
triggering phase control circuit connected in parallel across it and the triac takes control for the
remainder of the half-cycle.
As we have seen above, the triac turns-OFF automatically at the end of the half-cycle and
the VR1 C1 triggering process starts again on the next half cycle.
However, because the triac requires differing amounts of gate current in each switching mode of
operation, for example + and , a triac is therefore asymmetrical meaning that it may not
trigger at the exact same point for each positive and negative half cycle.

This simple triac speed control circuit is suitable for not only AC motor speed control but for
lamp dimmers and electrical heater control and in fact is very similar to a triac light dimmer used
in many homes. However, a commercial triac dimmer should not be used as a motor speed
controller as generally triac light dimmers are intended to be used with resistive loads only such
as incandescent lamps.
Then we can end this Triac Tutorial by summarising its main points as follows:

A Triac is another 4-layer, 3-terminal thyristor device similar to the SCR.

The Triac can be triggered into conduction in either direction.

There are four possible triggering modes for a Triac, of which 2 are preferred.

Electrical AC power control using a Triac is extremely effective when used properly to control
resistive type loads such as incandescent lamps, heaters or small universal motors commonly
found in portable power tools and small appliances.
But please remember that these devices can be used and attached directly to the mains AC power
source so circuit testing should be done when the power control device is disconnected from the
mains power supply. Please remember safety first!.

4.

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor
The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor also called an IGBT for short, is something of a cross between a
conventional Bipolar Junction Transistor, (BJT) and a Field Effect Transistor, (MOSFET) making it ideal as a
semiconductor switching device.

The IGBT transistor takes the best parts of these two types of transistors, the high input
impedance and high switching speeds of a MOSFET with the low saturation voltage of a bipolar
transistor, and combines them together to produce another type of transistor switching device
that is capable of handling large collector-emitter currents with virtually zero gate current drive.

Typical IGBT
The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor, (IGBT) uses the insulated gate (hence the first part of its
name) technology of the MOSFET with the output performance characteristics of a conventional
bipolar transistor, (hence the second part of its name). The result of this hybrid combination is

that the IGBT Transistor has the output switching and conduction characteristics of a bipolar
transistor but is voltage-controlled like a MOSFET.
IGBTs are mainly used in power electronics applications, such as inverters, converters and power
supplies, were the demands of the solid state switching device are not fully met by power
bipolars and power MOSFETs. High-current and high-voltage bipolars are available, but their
switching speeds are slow, while power MOSFETs may have high switching speeds, but highvoltage and high-current devices are expensive and hard to achieve.
The advantage gained by the insulated gate bipolar transistor device over a BJT or MOSFET is
that it offers greater power gain than the bipolar type together with the higher voltage operation
and lower input losses of the MOSFET. In effect it is an FET integrated with a bipolar transistor
in a form of Darlington configuration as shown.

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor

We can see that the insulated gate bipolar transistor is a three terminal, transconductance device
that combines an insulated gate N-channel MOSFET input with a PNP bipolar transistor output
connected in a type of Darlington configuration. As a result the terminals are labelled
as: Collector,Emitter and Gate. Two of its terminals (C-E) are associated with a conductance
path and the third terminal (G) associated with its control.
The amount of amplification achieved by the insulated gate bipolar transistor is a ratio between
its output signal and its input signal. For a conventional bipolar junction transistor, (BJT) the
amount of gain is approximately equal to the ratio of the output current to the input current,
called Beta.
For a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor or MOSFET, there is no input current as
the gate is isolated from the main current carrying channel. Therefore, an FETs gain is equal to
the ratio of output current change to input voltage change, making it a transconductance device
and this is also true of the IGBT. Then we can treat the IGBT as a power BJT whose base current
is provided by a MOSFET.

The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor can be used in small signal amplifier circuits in much
the same way as the BJT or MOSFET type transistors. But as the IGBT combines the low
conduction loss of a BJT with the high switching speed of a power MOSFET an optimal solid
state switch exists which is ideal for use in power electronics applications.
Also, the IGBT has a much lower on-state resistance, R than an equivalent MOSFET. This
means that the I R drop across the bipolar output structure for a given switching current is much
lower. The forward blocking operation of the IGBT transistor is identical to a power MOSFET.
ON

When used as static controlled switch, the insulated gate bipolar transistor has voltage and
current ratings similar to that of the bipolar transistor. However, the presence of an isolated gate
in an IGBT makes it a lot simpler to drive than the BJT as much less drive power is needed.
An insulated gate bipolar transistor is simply turned ON or OFF by activating and
deactivating its Gate terminal. A constant positive voltage input signal across the Gate and the
Emitter will keep the device in its ON state, while removal of the input signal will cause it to
turn OFF in much the same way as a bipolar transistor or MOSFET.

IGBT Characteristics

Because the IGBT is a voltage-controlled device, it only requires a small voltage on the Gate to
maintain conduction through the device unlike BJTs which require that the Base current is
continuously supplied in a sufficient enough quantity to maintain saturation.

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Also the IGBT is a unidirectional device, meaning it can only switch current in the forward
direction, that is from Collector to Emitter unlike MOSFETs which have bi-directional current
switching capabilities (controlled in the forward direction and uncontrolled in the reverse
direction).
The principal of operation and Gate drive circuits for the insulated gate bipolar transistor are
very similar to that of the N-channel power MOSFET. The basic difference is that the resistance
offered by the main conducting channel when current flows through the device in its ON state
is very much smaller in the IGBT. Because of this, the current ratings are much higher when
compared with an equivalent power MOSFET.
The main advantages of using the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistorover other types of
transistor devices are its high voltage capability, low ON-resistance, ease of drive, relatively fast
switching speeds and combined with zero gate drive current makes it a good choice for moderate
speed, high voltage applications such as in pulse-width modulated (PWM), variable speed
control, switch-mode power supplies or solar powered DC-AC inverter and frequency converter
applications operating in the hundreds of kilohertz range.
A general comparison between BJTs, MOSFETs and IGBTs is given in the following table.

IGBT Comparison Table

Device
Characteristic

Power
Bipolar

Power
MOSFET

IGBT

Voltage Rating

High <1kV

High <1kV

Very High >1kV

Current Rating

High <500A

Low <200A

High >500A

Input Drive

Current
20-200 h

Voltage
V 3-10V

Voltage
V 4-8V

FE

GS

GE

Input Impedance

Low

High

High

Output Impedance

Low

Medium

Low

Switching Speed

Slow (uS)

Fast (nS)

Medium

Cost

Low

Medium

High

We have seen that the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor is semiconductor switching device
that has the output characteristics of a bipolar junction transistor, BJT, but is controlled like a
metal oxide field effect transistor, MOSFET.
One of the main advantages of the IGBT transistor is the simplicity by which it can be driven ON
or OFF or in its linear active region as a power amplifier. With its lower on-state conduction

losses and its ability to switch high voltages without damage makes this transistor ideal for
driving inductive loads such as coil windings, electromagnets and DC motors.
5.

Diac Tutorial
The Diac
The DIode AC switch, or Diac for short, is another solid state, three-layer, two-junction semiconductor device
but unlike the transistor the Diac has no base connection making it a two terminal device, labelled A 1 and A2.
Diacs have no control or amplification but act much like a bidirectional switching diode as they can conduct
current from either polarity of a suitable AC voltage supply.

In our tutorial about SCRs and Triacs, we saw that in ON-OFF switching applications, these
devices could be triggered by simple circuits producing steady state gate currents as shown.

When switch, S1 is open no gate current flows and the lamp is OFF. When switch S1 is closed,
gate current I flows and the SCR conducts on the positive half cycles only as it is operating in
quadrant .
G

We remember also that once gated ON, the SCR will only switch OFF again when its supply
voltage falls to a values such that its Anode current, I is less than the value of its holding
current, I .
A

If we wish to control the mean value of the lamp current, rather than just switch it ON or
OFF, we could apply a short pulse of gate current at a pre-set trigger point to allow conduction
of the SCR to occur over part of the half-cycle only. Then the mean value of the lamp current
would be varied by changing the delay time, T between the start of the cycle and the trigger
point. This method is known commonly as phase control.
But to achieve phase control, two things are needed. One is a variable phase shift circuit (usually
an RC passive circuit), and two, some form of trigger circuit or device that can produce the
required gate pulse when the delayed waveform reaches a certain level. One such solid state
semiconductor device that is designed to produce these gate pulses is the Diac.

The diac is constructed like a transistor but has no base connection allowing it to be connected
into a circuit in either polarity. Diacs are primarily used as trigger devices in phase-triggering and
variable power control applications because a diac helps provide a sharper and more instant
trigger pulse (as opposed to a steadily rising ramp voltage) which is used to turn ON the main
switching device.
The diac symbol and the voltage-current characteristics curves of the diac are given below.

Diac Symbol and I-V Characteristics

We can see from the above diac I-V characteristics curves that the diac blocks the flow of current
in both directions until the applied voltage is greater than V , at which point breakdown of the
device occurs and the diac conducts heavily in a similar way to the zener diode passing a sudden
pulse of voltage. This V point is called the Diacs breakdown voltage or breakover voltage.
BR

BR

In an ordinary zener diode the voltage across it would remain constant as the current increased.
However, in the diac the transistor action causes the voltage to reduce as the current increases.
Once in the conducting state, the resistance of the diac falls to a very low value allowing a
relatively large value of current to flow. For most commonly available diacs their breakdown
voltage typically ranges from about 25 to 35 volts.
This action gives the diac the characteristic of a negative resistance as shown above. As the diac
is a symmetrical device, it therefore has the same characteristic for both positive and negative
voltages and it is this negative resistance action that makes the Diac suitable as a triggering
device for SCRs or triacs.

Diac Applications
As stated above, the diac is commonly used as a triggering device for other semiconductor
switching devices, mainly SCRs and triacs. Triacs are widely used in applications such as lamp

dimmers and motor speed controllers and as such the diac is used in conjunction with the triac to
provide full-wave control of the AC supply as shown.

Diac AC Phase Control

As the AC supply voltage increases at the beginning of the cycle, capacitor, C is charged through
the series combination of the fixed resistor, R1 and the potentiometer, VR1 and the voltage across
its plates increases. When the charging voltage reaches the breakover voltage of the diac (about
30 V), the diac breaks down and the capacitor discharges through the diac, producing a sudden
pulse of current, which fires the triac into conduction. The phase angle at which the triac is
triggered can be varied using VR1, which controls the charging rate of the capacitor.
Once the triac has been fired into conduction, it is maintained in its ON state by the load
current flowing through it, while the voltage across the resistorcapacitor combination is limited
by the ON voltage of the triac and is maintained until the end of the present half-cycle of the
AC supply.
At the end of the half cycle the supply voltage falls to zero, reducing the current through the triac
below its holding current, I turning it OFF and the diac stops conduction. The supply voltage
then enters its next half-cycle, the capacitor voltage again begins to rise (this time in the opposite
direction) and the cycle of firing the triac repeats over again.
H

Triac Conduction Waveform

Then we have seen that the Diac is a very useful device which can be used to trigger triacs and
because of its negative resistance characteristics this allows it to switch ON rapidly once a

certain applied voltage level is reached. However, this means that whenever we want to use a
triac for AC power control we will need a separate diac as well. Fortunately for us, some bright
spark somewhere replaced the individual diac and triac with a single switching device called
a Quadrac.

The Quadrac
The Quadrac is basically a diac and triac fabricated together within a single package and as such
are also known as internally triggered triacs. This all in one bi-directional device is gate
controlled using either polarity of the main terminal voltage which means it can be used in fullwave phase-control applications such as heater controls, lamp dimmers, and AC motor speed
control, etc.

Like the triac, quadracs are a three-terminal semiconductor switching device labelled MT2 for
main terminal one (usually the anode), MT1 for main terminal two (usually the cathode) and G for
the gate terminal.
The quadrac is available in a variety of package types depending upon their voltage and current
switching requirements with the TO-220 package being the most common as it is designed to be
an exact replacement for most triac devices.

Diac Tutorial Summary

In this diac tutorial we have seen that the diac is a two-terminal voltage blocking device that can
conduct in either direction. Diacs posses negative resistance characteristics which allows them to
switch ON rapidly once a certain applied voltage level is reached.
Since the diac is a bidirectional device, it makes it useful for the triggering and firing of triacs
and SCRs in phase control and general AC circuits such as light dimmers and motor speed
controls.
Quadracs are simply triacs with an internally connected diac. As with triacs, quadracs are
bidirectional AC switches which are gate controlled for either polarity of main terminal voltage.

6.

Unijunction Transistor
The PN Unijunction Transistor

The Unijunction Transistor or UJT for short, is another solid state three terminal device that can be used in
gate pulse, timing circuits and trigger generator applications to switch and control either thyristors and triacs
for AC power control type applications. Like diodes, unijunction transistors are constructed from separate Ptype and N-type semiconductor materials forming a single (hence its name Uni-Junction) PN-junction within
the main conducting N-type channel of the device.

Although the Unijunction Transistor has the name of a transistor, its switching characteristics are
very different from those of a conventional bipolar or field effect transistor as it can not be used
to amplify a signal but instead is used as a ON-OFF switching transistor. UJTs have
unidirectional conductivity and negative impedance characteristics acting more like a variable
voltage divider during breakdown.
Like N-channel FETs, the UJT consists of a single solid piece of N-type semiconductor material
forming the main current carrying channel with its two outer connections marked as Base 2 ( B )
and Base 1 ( B ). The third connection, confusingly marked as the Emitter ( E ) is located along
the channel. The emitter terminal is represented by an arrow pointing from the P-type emitter to
the N-type base.
2

The Emitter rectifying p-n junction of the Unijunction Transistor is formed by fusing the P-type
material into the N-type silicon channel. However, P-channel UJTs with an N-type Emitter
terminal are also available but these are little used.
The Emitter junction is positioned along the channel so that it is closer to terminal B than B . An
arrow is used in the UJT symbol which points towards the base indicating that the Emitter
terminal is positive and the silicon bar is negative material. Below shows the symbol,
construction, and equivalent circuit of the UJT.
2

Unijunction Transistor Symbol and Construction

Notice that the symbol for the unijunction transistor looks very similar to that of the junction
field effect transistor or JFET, except that it has a bent arrow representing the Emitter( E ) input.
While similar in respect of their ohmic channels, JFETs and UJTs operate very differently and
should not be confused.
So how does it work? We can see from the equivalent circuit above, that the N-type channel
basically consists of two resistors R and R in series with an equivalent (ideal)
diode, Drepresenting the p-n junction connected to their center point. This Emitter p-n junction is
fixed in position along the ohmic channel during manufacture and can therefore not be changed.
B2

B1

Resistance R is given between the Emitter, E and terminal B , while resistance R is given
between the Emitter, E and terminal B .
B1

B2

As the physical position of the p-n junction is closer to terminal B than B the resistive value
of R will be less than R .
2

B2

B1

The total resistance of the silicon bar (its Ohmic resistance) will be dependent upon the
semiconductors actual doping level as well as the physical dimensions of the N-type silicon
channel but can be represented by R . If measured with an ohmmeter, this static resistance would
typically measure somewhere between about 4k and 10ks for most common UJTs such as
the 2N1671, 2N2646 or the 2N2647.
BB

These two series resistances produce a voltage divider network between the two base terminals
of the unijunction transistor and since this channel stretches from B to B , when a voltage is
applied across the device, the potential at any point along the channel will be in proportion to its
position between terminals B and B . The level of the voltage gradient therefore depends upon
the amount of supply voltage.
2

When used in a circuit, terminal B is connected to ground and the Emitter serves as the input to
the device. Suppose a voltage V is applied across the UJT between B and B so that B is biased
positive relative to B . With zero Emitter input applied, the voltage developed across R (the
lower resistance) of the resistive voltage divider can be calculated as:
1

BB

B1

Unijunction Transistor RB1 Voltage

For a unijunction transistor, the resistive ratio of R to R shown above is called the intrinsic
stand-off ratio and is given the Greek symbol: (eta). Typical standard values of range from
0.5 to 0.8 for most common UJTs.
B1

BB

If a small positive input voltage which is less than the voltage developed across
resistance, R ( V ) is now applied to the Emitter input terminal, the diode p-n junction is
reverse biased, thus offering a very high impedance and the device does not conduct. The UJT is
switched OFF and zero current flows.
B1

BB

However, when the Emitter input voltage is increased and becomes greater
than V (orV + 0.7V, where 0.7V equals the p-n junction diode volt drop) the p-n junction
becomes forward biased and the unijunction transistor begins to conduct. The result is that
Emitter current, I now flows from the Emitter into the Base region.
RB1

BB

The effect of the additional Emitter current flowing into the Base reduces the resistive portion of
the channel between the Emitter junction and the B terminal. This reduction in the value
of R resistance to a very low value means that the Emitter junction becomes even more forward
biased resulting in a larger current flow. The effect of this results in a negative resistance at the
Emitter terminal.
1

B1

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Likewise, if the input voltage applied between the Emitter and B terminal decreases to a value
below breakdown, the resistive value ofR increases to a high value. Then the Unijunction
Transistor can be thought of as a voltage breakdown device.
1

B1

So we can see that the resistance presented by R is variable and is dependant on the value of
Emitter current, I . Then forward biasing the Emitter junction with respect to B causes more
current to flow which reduces the resistance between the Emitter, E and B .
B1

In other words, the flow of current into the UJTs Emitter causes the resistive value of R to
decrease and the voltage drop across it, V must also decrease, allowing more current to flow
producing a negative resistance condition.
B1

RB1

Unijunction Transistor Applications

Now that we know how a unijunction transistor works, what can they be used for. The most
common application of a unijunction transistor is as a triggering device forSCRs and Triacs but
other UJT applications include sawtoothed generators, simple oscillators, phase control, and
timing circuits. The simplest of all UJT circuits is the Relaxation Oscillator producing nonsinusoidal waveforms.
In a basic and typical UJT relaxation oscillator circuit, the Emitter terminal of the unijunction
transistor is connected to the junction of a series connected resistor and capacitor, RC circuit as
shown below.

Unijunction Transistor Relaxation Oscillator

When a voltage (Vs) is firstly applied, the unijunction transistor is OFF and the capacitor C1 is
fully discharged but begins to charge up exponentially through resistor R3. As the Emitter of the
UJT is connected to the capacitor, when the charging voltage Vc across the capacitor becomes
greater than the diode volt drop value, the p-n junction behaves as a normal diode and becomes
forward biased triggering the UJT into conduction. The unijunction transistor is ON. At this
point the Emitter to B1 impedance collapses as the Emitter goes into a low impedance saturated
state with the flow of Emitter current through R1 taking place.
As the ohmic value of resistor R1 is very low, the capacitor discharges rapidly through the UJT
and a fast rising voltage pulse appears across R1. Also, because the capacitor discharges more
quickly through the UJT than it does charging up through resistor R3, the discharging time is a lot
less than the charging time as the capacitor discharges through the low resistance UJT.
When the voltage across the capacitor decreases below the holding point of the p-n junction
( V ), the UJT turns OFF and no current flows into the Emitter junction so once again the
capacitor charges up through resistor R3 and this charging and discharging process
between V and V is constantly repeated while there is a supply voltage, Vs applied.
OFF

ON

OFF

UJT Oscillator Waveforms

Then we can see that the unijunction oscillator continually switches ON and OFF without
any feedback. The frequency of operation of the oscillator is directly affected by the value of the
charging resistance R3, in series with the capacitor C1 and the value of . The output pulse shape
generated from the Base1 (B1) terminal is that of a sawtooth waveform and to regulate the time
period, you only have to change the ohmic value of resistance, R3 since it sets the RC time
constant for charging the capacitor.
The time period, T of the sawtoothed waveform will be given as the charging time plus the
discharging time of the capacitor. As the discharge time, is generally very short in comparison
to the larger RC charging time, the time period of oscillation is more or less equivalent to T .
The frequency of oscillation is therefore given by = 1/T.
1

UJT Oscillator Example No1

The data sheet for a 2N2646 Unijunction Transistor gives the intrinsic stand-off ratio as 0.65. If
a 100nF capacitor is used to generate the timing pulses, calculate the timing resistor required to
produce an oscillation frequency of 100Hz.
1. The timing period is given as:

2. The value of the timing resistor, R is calculated as:

3

Then the value of charging resistor required in this simple example is calculated as 95.3ks to the
nearest preferred value. However, there are certain conditions required for the UJT relaxation
oscillator to operate correctly as the resistive value of R3 can be too large or too small.
For example, if the value of R3 was too large, (Megohms) the capacitor may not charge up
sufficiently to trigger the Unijunctions Emitter into conduction but must also be large enough to
ensure that the UJT switches OFF once the capacitor has discharged to below the lower trigger
voltage.
Likewise if the value of R3 was too small, (a few hundred Ohms) once triggered the current
flowing into the Emitter terminal may be sufficiently large to drive the device into its saturation
region preventing it from turning OFF completely. Either way the unijunction oscillator circuit
would fail to oscillate.

UJT Speed Control Circuit

One typical application of the unijunction transistor circuit above is to generate a series of pulses
to fire and control a thyristor. By using the UJT as a phase control triggering circuit in
conjunction with an SCR or Triac, we can adjust the speed of a universal AC or DC motor as
shown.

Unijunction Transistor Speed Control

Using the circuit above, we can control the speed of a universal series motor (or whichever type
of load we want, heaters, lamps, etc) by regulating the current flowing through the SCR. To
control the motors speed, simply change the frequency of the sawtooth pulse, which is achieved
by varying the value of the potentiometer.

Unijunction Transistor Summary

We have seen that a Unijunction Transistor or UJT for short, is an electronic semiconductor
device that has only one p-n junction within a N-type (or P-type) lightly doped ohmic channel.
The UJT has three terminals one labelled Emitter (E) and two Bases (B1 and B2).
Two ohmic contacts B1 and B2 are attached at each ends of the semiconductor channel with the
resistance between B1 and B2, when the emitter is open circuited being called the interbase
resistance, R . If measured with an ohmmeter, this static resistance would typically measure
somewhere between about 4k and 10ks for most common UJTs.
BB

The ratio of R to R is called the intrinsic stand-off ratio, and is given the Greek symbol: (eta).
Typical standard values of range from 0.5 to 0.8 for most common UJTs.
B1

BB

The unijunction transistor can be used in a variety of circuits and applications ranging from
trigger devices for thyristors and triacs to sawtooth generators for timing and phase control
circuits.The negative resistance characteristic of the UJT makes it very useful as an oscillator.
When connected as a relaxation oscillator, it can oscillate independently without a tank circuit or
complicated RC feedback network and is capable of generating a train of pulses of varying
duration simply by varying the values of a single capacitor, (C) or resistor, (R).
Commonly available unijunction transistors include the 2N1671, 2N2646, 2N2647, etc, with the
2N2646 being the most popular UJT for use in pulse and sawtooth generators and time delay
circuits. Other types of unijunction transistor devices available are called Programmable UJTs,
which can have their switching parameters set by external resistors. The most common
Programmable Unijunction Transistors are the 2N6027 and the 2N6028.