Thyristor

A Thyristor is basically an on-off switch to control the output power of an

electrical circuit by switching on and off the load circuit in intervals of time.
In this post, we will try to understand what is it, How it works, its Voltage
Ampere (VI) characteristics, modes of operation, applications, advantages
and disadvantages.
Introduction to Thyristor
A Thyristor is a unidirectional semiconductor solid state device with four
layers of alternating P and N type material. It consist of three electrodes i.e.
Anode, Cathode and a Gate. Anode is the positive terminal and Cathode is
the negative terminal.

The Gate controls the flow of current between anode and cathode. It is used
in electronic devices and equipment to control the electric power or current.
It acts as a rectifier and can only transmits current in one direction.

The first Thyristor was produced in the year 1956. The most common type of
Thyristor is silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR).

Fig.1 – Symbol of Thyristor

How Thyristor Works
A Thyristor acts like a diode. It has two layers of semiconductors namely p-
type and n-type sandwiched together to form a junction. The anode is
connected to the outer p-layer, cathode to the outer n-layer and gate to the
internal p-layer. It has 3 junctions namely J1, J2, J3 as shown in the Figure
2 below.
When the anode is at positive potential with respect to cathode, no voltage
is applied to the gate. The junctions J1, J3 is forward biased and J2 is
reverse biased. So no conduction takes place here.
 Fig. 2 – Layer Diagram of Thyristor
Now, when the positive potential is increased beyond the breakdown
voltage, breakdown of junction J2 takes place and it starts conducting. Once
the breakdown has occurred, it continues to conduct irrespective of the gate
voltage, until the potential at the anode is removed or current through the
device is made less than the holding current.
Now when a positive potential is applied at the gate terminal with respect to
cathode, the breakdown of junction J2 takes place. To switch on the
Thyristor quickly, an appropriate potential value has to be selected.

The gate acts as a controlling electrode. When a small voltage known as

gate pulse is applied to its gate , the device is triggered into conduction
state .This continues until the voltage across the device is reversed or
removed.

The gate trigger current varies inversely with the gate voltage and a
minimum gate charge is required to trigger it. Thus the switching of
Thyristors can be controlled through its gate pulse.
Two Transistor Analogy of Thyristor
The collector current from the NPN transistor is fed directly to the base of
PNP transistor, while the collector current of PNP transistor is fed to the base
of NPN. These interconnected transistors rely on each other for conduction.
So for one of the transistors to conduct, a base current is required. When
the Thyristor’s anode terminal is negative with respect to cathode, the NP
junction becomes forward biased and the PN junction becomes reverse
biased.

Fig. 3 – Two transistor Analogy of Thyristor

Here, the flow of reverse current is blocked until a breakdown voltage is
applied. After breakdown voltage, it starts to conduct without the application
of gate signal. This is one of the negative characteristics of Thyristors as it
triggers into conduction by a reverse break over voltage.

When the anode terminal is made positive with respect to cathode, the outer
junctions are forward biased and the centre NP junction is reverse biased
and blocks the forward current. So to trigger it into conduction, a positive
current is applied to the base of transistors.
The two transistors are connected in a regenerative loop and this force the
transistor to conduct to saturation. Thus, it can be said that a Thyristors
block current in both the direction of an AC supply in its OFF state and can
be turned ON by the application of positive current to the base of transistor.

Voltage Ampere (VI) Characteristics of Thyristor

Thyristors can either be forward biased or reverse biased. We will see how it
works in both states.

Thyristors in Forward Biased State

When anode is made positive, the PN junctions at the ends are forward
biased and center junction (NP) becomes reverse biased. It will stay in
blocked (OFF) mode (also known as Forward Blocking Stage) till the time it
is triggered by Gate current pulse or the applied voltage reaches the forward
breakover voltage.
Triggering by Gate Current Pulse – When it is triggered by the gate current pulse,
it starts conducting and will act as a close switch. The Thyristors remains in
the ON-state, i.e. it remains in the latched state. Here the gate loses its
control to turn off the device.
Triggering by Forward Breakover Voltage – When a forward voltage is applied, a
leakage current starts to flow through the blocking (J2) in the middle
junction of Thyristors. When voltage exceeds the forward break over voltage
or critical limit, then J2 breaks down and it reaches to the ON state.
When the Gate current (Ig) is increased, it reduces the blocking area and so
the forward break over voltage is reduced. It will turn ON when a minimum
current called latching current is maintained.

When the gate current Ig=0 and anode current falls below a certain value
called holding current during the ON state, it again reaches to its forward
blocking state.
 Fig. 4 – Voltage Ampere (VI) Characteristics of Thyristor
Thyristors in Reverse Biased State
If the anode is negative with respect to cathode, i.e., with the application of
reverse voltage, both PN junctions at the end i.e. J1 and J3 become reverse
biased and the centre junction J2 becomes forward biased. Only a small
leakage current flows through it. This is the reverse voltage blocking mode
or OFF state of Thyristor.

When the reverse voltage is increased further, then at a certain voltage,

avalanche breakdown of J1 and J2 occurs and it starts conducting in the
reverse direction. The maximum reverse voltage at which a thyristor starts
conducting is known as Reverse Breakdown Voltage.

Summary
 Thyristor blocks voltage in both forward and reverse direction and thus
a symmetric blocking is formed.
 A Thyristor turns ON by the application of positive gate current and
turns OFF when the anode voltage drops to zero.
 A small current from gate to cathode can trigger the Thyristor by
changing it from open circuit to short circuit.

Modes of Operation of Thyristor

A Thyristor has three operating modes. They are: –
 Forward Blocking
 Reverse Blocking
 Forward Conducting

Forward Blocking
In this state or mode, the forward current conduction is blocked .The upper
diode and lower diode are forward biased and the junction in the center is
reverse biased. Thus the Thyristor does not turn on as the gate is not fired
and no current flows through it.

Reverse Blocking
In this mode, the connection of anode and cathode is reversed and still no
current flows through it. Thyristors can conduct current only in one direction
and it blocks in the reverse direction and so the flow of current is blocked.

Forward Conducting
When current is applied to the gate, the Thyristor is triggered and it will start
conducting. This stays on until the forward current drops below the threshold
value and that can be achieved by switching off the circuit.