Types of Thyristors and Their Applications

TYPES OF THYRISTORS AND THEIR
APPLICATIONS
TYPES OF THYRISTORS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS
Introduction:
 Thyristor is a small device which can control large amounts

of voltage and power. Thyristors are used as current reversal
to turn off the device. Actually, it takes direct current so it is
very difficult to apply to the device. Lets learn Types Of
Thyristors And Their Applications in details.
What is a Thyristor?
 A thyristor is a four layer solid-state semiconductor device

with P and N type material.
 Whenever a gate receives a triggering current.
 It starts’ conducting until the voltage across the thyistor

device is under forward bias.
 So it acts as a bistable switch under this condition.
 To control the large amount of current of the two leads.

What is a Thyristor?
 We have to design a three lead thyristor by
combining the small amount of current to that
current.
 This process is known as control lead.
 If the potential difference between the two

leads is under breakdown voltage.
 Then a two lead thyristor is used to switch on

the device.
Thyristor Circuit Symbol
 Thyistor circuit symbol is as given below. It has three

terminals Anode, cathode and gate.
Different States in a Thyristor

 There are three states in a thyristor
 Reverse blocking mode– In this mode of operation, the diode will

block the voltage which is applied.
 Forward blocking mode– In this mode, the voltage applied in a

direction makes a diode to conduct. But conduction will not happen
here because the thyristor has not triggered.
 Forward conducting mode– The thyristor has triggered and current

will flow through the device until the forward current reaches below
the threshold value which is known as “Holding current”.
Thyristor Layer
Diagram
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.
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.
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 (Ig =0) 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.
Types of Thyristors
Based on the turning on and off capabilities and the physical

structure, Thyristor are classified as:
Silicon Controlled Thyristors (SCR)

Emitter turn off Thyristors (ETO)
Fast Switching Thyristors (SCR)
Light Activated Silicon Controlled Rectifiers (LASCR)
Gate Turn Off Thyristors (GTO)
Reverse Conducting Thyristors (RCT)
FET Controlled Thyristors (FET-CTH)
MOS Turn Off Thyristors (MTO)
Bidirectional Phase Controlled Thyristors (BCT)
Applications of Thyristor
Thyristor is used in various applications such as:

Mainly used in variable speed motor drives.
Used in controlling high power electrical application.
Used mainly in AC motors, lights, welding machines etc.
Used in fault current limiter and circuit breaker.
Fast switching speed and low conduction is possible in ETO
thyristor.
Used as light dimmers in television, movie theatres.
Used in photography for flashes.
Can be used in burglar alarms.
Used in electric fan speed control.
Used in car ignition switches.
Advantages of Thyristor
•Low cost.
•Can be protected with the help of fuse.
•Can handle large voltage/ current.
•Able to control AC power.
•Very easy to control.
•Easy to turn on.
•GTO or Gate Turnoff Thyristor has high efficiency.
•Takes less time to operate.
•Thyristor switches can operate with large frequency.
•Requires less space when compared to mechanical switches.
Advantages …
Can be used for robust operations.

Maintenance cost of Thyristor is very less.
Very easy to use for sophisticated controlling.
Power handling capacity is very good.
Can be used as an oscillator in digital circuits.
Can be connected in parallel and in series to provide
electronic control at high power levels.
Thyristors conduct current only in one direction.
It can be used as a protection device, like a fuse in a power
line.
Disadvantages of Thyristor
The disadvantages of Thyristor includes:

Cannot be used for higher frequencies.
In AC circuit, Thyristor needs to be turned on each cycle.
SCR takes time to turn on and off. This causes delay or
damage in the load.
It can stop the motor when connected, but cannot hold it
stationary.
The response rate of Thyristor is very low.
Not much use in DC circuits, as the Thyristor cannot be.
Disadvantages…
cutoff just by removing the gate drive.

Low Efficiency.
Latching and Holding current is more in GTO Thyristor.
Reverse blocking capability of voltage is less than forward
blocking capability.
Reliability of TRIAC thyristor is less than SCR.
TRIACs have lower dv/dt rating when compared to SCR
- END -

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TYPES OF THYRISTORS AND THEIR

 Thyristor is a small device which can control large amounts

 A thyristor is a four layer solid-state semiconductor device

 Whenever a gate receives a triggering current.

 It starts’ conducting until the voltage across the thyistor

 So it acts as a bistable switch under this condition.

 To control the large amount of current of the two leads.

 This process is known as control lead.

 If the potential difference between the two

 Then a two lead thyristor is used to switch on

 Thyistor circuit symbol is as given below. It has three

Different States in a Thyristor

 Reverse blocking mode– In this mode of operation, the diode will

 Forward blocking mode– In this mode, the voltage applied in a

 Forward conducting mode– The thyristor has triggered and current

Voltage Ampere (VI) Characteristics of Thyristor

Thyristors can either be forward biased or reverse biased. We

Thyristors in Forward Biased State

When anode is made positive, the PN junctions at the ends

Triggering by Gate Current Pulse – When it is triggered by

Triggering by Forward Breakover Voltage – When a

When the Gate current (Ig) is increased, it reduces the

Thyristors in Reverse Biased State

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

Modes of Operation of Thyristor

A Thyristor has three operating modes. They are:

In this state or mode, the forward

In this mode, the connection of anode

When current is applied to the gate, the

Based on the turning on and off capabilities and the physical

Silicon Controlled Thyristors (SCR)

Thyristor is used in various applications such as:

Can be used for robust operations.

The disadvantages of Thyristor includes:

cutoff just by removing the gate drive.

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