INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS AND PLC

MODULE 1

POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES AND THYRISTOR FAMILY

Power electronic circuit requires devices that can handle large voltages
and heavy currents. The devices like diodes, transistors, FETs used in low power
applications will not satisfy the needs of power electronic circuits because they
can handle only small currents.

Power semiconductor devices

Features:

 Can handle large voltages and heavy currents.

 Power rating may range from few watts to several hundred mega watts.

 Can act as switches. :- When fully ON – handles large current and negligible
voltage drop across it. When fully OFF - handles negligible current with full
voltage across it.

 During ON and OFF periods: - power loss is low and efficiency is high.

THYRISTORS

Thyristor denotes a family of semiconductor devices used for power control

in AC and DC systems.

Eg: SCR, DIAC, TRIAC, SCS, SUS, LASCR

The oldest and commonly used member of thyristor family is SCR. The word
Thyristor is derived by the combination of words Thyratron (similar
characteristics) and Transistor (similar construction)

Characteristics:-

 It constitutes three or more junctions.

 It has two stable states:- ON and OFF

TYPES OF THYRISTORS

Unidirectional: - The thyristors which conducts in forward direction only are

unidirectional thyristors.

Eg:-SCR, SCS, SUS

Bidirectional: - The thyristors which can conduct in forward as well as in

reverse direction are called bidirectional thyristors.

Eg: - DIAC, TRIAC

DIAC

Diac is a two terminal bidirectional device. It consists of two four layer

diodes connected in anti parallel as shown in the equivalent circuit. The four layer
diodes are P1-N1-P2-N2 and P2-N1-P1-N3. The diac has two main terminals MT1
and MT2. Diac can be turned on only when the applied voltage across its main
terminals reaches the break over voltage. When MT2 is positive with respect to
MT1, the diac passes current through the diode P1-N1-P2-N2 from MT2 to MT1. If
MT2 is negative with respect to MT1, the diac passes current through the diode
P2-N1-P1-N3 from MT to MT2.

Working and VI characteristics

The VI characteristic of Diac gives the relationship between diac current and the
voltage applied across its main terminals. The characteristics in the first and third
quadrants are identical. When MT2 is positive with respect to MT1, the junctions
J1 and J3 are forward biased whereas junctions J2and J4 are reverse biased.
Initially a small leakage current flows through the diode P1-N1-P2-N2. When the
applied voltage exceeds the break over voltage, the reverse biased junction J2
breaks due to avalanche effect and the diac passes current through the diode
P1-N1-P2-N2 from MT2 to MT1.

When MT2 is negative with respect to MT1, junctions J2 and J4 are forward
biased and junctions J1 and J3 are reverse biased. Initially a small leakage current
flows through the diode P2-N1-P1-N3.When the applied voltage exceeds the
break over voltage, the reverse biased junction J1 breaks due to avalanche effect
and the diac passes current through the diode P2-N1-P1-N3 from MT1 to MT2.

Application

DIAC is used as a triggering device for TRIAC in phase controlled circuits

such as light dimming, heat control, motor speed control etc.

SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier)

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM SYMBOL

SCR is a four layer three junction p-n-p-n switching device. It has three
terminals:-Anode, cathode and Gate. The terminal connected to outer p region is
called anode, the terminal connected to outer n region is called cathode and that
connected to inner p region is called gate. It is a unidirectional device. SCR is so
called because the construction material is Silicon and its operation as a rectifier
can be controlled.
Working
When anode is +ve with respect to cathode, junctions J1 and J3 are
forward biased and J2 is reverse biased. Therefore an only small leakage current
flow through the device and the thyristor is in OFF state. When forward voltage
increases, at break over voltage VBO avalanche multiplication occurs at the inner
junction and SCR becomes turned on. Under this condition, the resistance of the
thyristor is very low and forward voltage drop is also very low (1-2V). The forward
current is very high and is limited by external resistor.

Latching current (IL):-Minimum anode current required to maintain the SCR in

ON state after the thyristor has been turned on and removes the gate signal.

Holding current (IH):- Minimum anode current below which the SCR stops
conducting and returns to its OFF state.

IL>IH (two or three times)

The thyristor can be switch from off state to on state by increasing the
forward voltage beyond the forward break over voltage VBO. But such turn ON can
be destructive. In practice the forward voltage is maintained below VBO, the
thyristor is turned on by applying a gate current. The larger the value of gate
current, the lower is the break over voltage. Once the thyristor turns on by gate
signal, the device continues to conduct even if the gate signal is removed. When
anode current falls below the holding current, the device turns off.
VI characteristics of SCR

Reverse Blocking mode:- When cathode is +ve with respect to anode , outer
junctions J1,J3 are reverse biased and J2 is forward biased. Only a small leakage
current flows. SCR in reverse blocking mode acts as an open switch.(At reverse
breakdown voltage, current increases rapidly and leads to thyristor damage as jn
temperature increases)

Forward Blocking mode: - When anode is +ve with respect to cathode J1 and
J3 are forward biased but J2 is reverse biased; only leakage current flows. When
forward voltage is less than VBO SCR offers high impedance and act as open
switch.

Forward Conduction mode: - A thyristor is brought from forward blocking

mode to forward conduction mode by exceeding the break over voltage or by
applying a gate pulse between gate and cathode. Thyristor in this mode acts as a
closed switch.
TWO TRANSISTOR MODEL (TWO TRANSISTOR ANALOGY) OF SCR

Two transistor model of SCR is obtained by bisecting the two middle

layers along the dotted line into two separate halves which acts as an
NPN and PNP transistors. The collector of NPN transistor Q2 provides
the base drive for PNP transistor Q1 whose collector current and gate
current drive the base of NPN transistor.

When the gate terminal is grounded, the base currents

of both transistors are very small and are in OFF state.

When the gate is made +ve, an i/p current IB2 flows

between base and emitter of NPN transistor Q2 and by usual transistor
action a large collector current IC2 flows . But this collector current
IC2 is the base current of Q1 which is again amplified by transistor
action of Q1 and a large collector current IC1 flows to the base of
transistor Q2. Therefore a +ve feed back exists between the transistors
and both transistors go in to saturation. Therefore even if the original
gate current Ig is removed, the thyristor continues to conduct until its
anode voltage is removed or its anode current falls below the holding
current value.

TRIGGERING METHODS OF SCR

When a thyristor is switched in to ON state, it is said to be fired or

triggered. Some of the methods that can be used to trigger a thyristor
are
 Forward voltage triggering
 Gate triggering
 dv/dt triggering
 Temperature triggering
 Light triggering

Forward voltage triggering

When anode to cathode forward voltage is increased with

gate circuit open, reverse biased junction J2 will break due to avalanche
breakdown at the break over voltage. At this voltage thyristor changes
from OFF state to ON state.

Gate triggering

Application of a positive voltage to the gate terminal of the

thyristor with respect to the cathode can trigger the SCR. Higher the
gate current, lower is the break over voltage. Gate triggering can be
done using dc voltage, pulses or ac voltage.
dv/dt triggering

With forward voltage across the anode and cathode of the

thyristor, space charges exist in the depletion region near reverse
biased junction J2 and therefore junction J2 behaves like a capacitance.
If forward bias is suddenly applied, a charging current through the
junction capacitance may turn on the SCR. If rate of rise of forward
voltage is high, the charging current would be more.

Temperature triggering

Thyristor can be triggered by rising the junction temperature

only when anode to cathode voltage is close to the break over voltage.
Under this condition, increase in junction temperature to a certain
value will lead to collapse of the reverse biased junction. The thyristor
thus triggers. This type of triggering may cause thermal run away and is
generally avoided.

Light triggering

In this method light particles are made to strike the reverse

biased junction. This causes an increase in the number of electron-hole
pairs and triggers the thyristor. This method of triggering is used in
Light activated SCR (LASCR). LASCR may be triggered with a light source
or with a gate signal or a combination of both. Higher the gate bias,
lower the light intensity required.
 Gate Triggering Circuits
Resistance firing circuit

Resistance triggering circuits suffer from a limited range of firing angle

control (0-90°). In the figure R2 is the variable resistance and R is the
stabilizing resistance. Function of R1 is to limit the gate current to a safe
value as R2 is varied. Diode D allows the flow of current during +ve half
cycle only. This trigger circuit consists of resistors only. So Vg is in phase
with source voltage Vs.
 The potentiometer setting R2 determines the gate voltage
amplitude. When R2 is large, (fig: a) current i is small and the voltage
across R ie, Vg=iR is also small. As Vgp < Vgt, SCR will not turn on.
Therefore load voltage Vo=0, io=0 and supply voltage Vs appears as VT
across SCR.

In fig (b) R2 is adjusted such that Vgp=Vgt. This gives the value of
firing angle as 90°.

In fig(c), R2 is adjusted such that Vgp>Vgt. As soon as Vg becomes

equal to Vgt for the first time, SCR is turned on. So firing angle is always
less than 90°.

RC HALF WAVE TRIGGERING CIRCUIT

 Here firing angle can be controlled from 0° to 180° using variable
resistor R. In the negative half cycle, capacitor C charges through D2
with lower plate +ve to the peak supply voltage –Vm. After wt=-90°, the
source voltage Vs decreases from –Vm to zero. During this period,
capacitor voltage may fall from –Vm to –oa. When the supply voltage
become +ve, capacitor C begins to charge through variable resistor R.
When the capacitor voltage equals gate trigger voltage Vgt, SCR is fired.
Diode D1 is used to protect SCR gate from negative voltage.

If R is high, the firing angle is high and therefore average

output voltage is low. If R is less, firing angle is low and therefore
average output voltage is high.

RC FULL WAVE TRIGGERING CIRCUIT

In this circuit, diodes D1 to D4 form a full wave diode bridge. Here

the initial voltage from which the capacitor C charges is almost zero.
When capacitor charges to a voltage equal to Vgt, SCR triggers and
rectified voltage, Vd appears across the load as Vo. If R is large, the
firing angle is more and the average output voltage is low. If R is low,
the firing angle is less and the output voltage is more.
UJT TRIGGERING CIRCUIT

When the supply voltage is switched ON, capacitor C1 charges through

resistor R3 with time constant R3C1. As the capacitor voltage increases
and when it exceeds the peak point voltage of UJT, current begins to
flow into the emitter and triggers UJT. This current reduces the channel
resistance between emitter and base 1. Hence capacitor discharges
rapidly through the low resistance R5 with a time constant C(R5+RB1).
The capacitor discharges up to valley point voltage. This discharge
produces a pulse across the base resistance. This pulse becomes the
gate current pulse for the SCR. Hence the SCR fires. Here SCR anode is
connected to AC.

COMMUTATION OF SCR
Commutation is defined as the process of turning off of a
thyristor. The thyristor turn off process requires,
1. Its anode current falls below the holding current.
 2. A reverse voltage is applied to thyristor for a sufficient time
to enable it to recover the blocking state.

There are two types of commutation.

1. Natural commutation
2. Forced commutation

NATURAL COMMUTATION

When a thyristor is used in AC circuits the natural

commutation takes place. As the current passes through its natural
zero, the current through the SCR also reaches zero. Therefore the
device goes to off state. This commutation is automatic and is natural.
FORCED COMMUTATION

In DC applications, there cannot be any zero crossing due to

unidirectional characteristics of DC. So forced commutation is needed
there. The external circuit used for forced commutation is called
commutation circuit and the components used in commutation circuit
are called commutating components.

The important commutation techniques are,

1. Class A commutation (Load commutation)
2. Class B commutation (Parallel resonant turn off)
3. Class C commutation (Complementary commutation)
4. Class D commutation (Auxiliary commutation)
5. Class E commutation (External pulse commutation)
6. Class F commutation (AC line commutation)

Class F commutation

This type of commutation is also known as line commutation.

This can occur only when the source is AC.
When an SCR circuit is energized from AC source, current has to pass
through its natural zero at the end of every positive half cycle. Then AC
source applies a reverse bias across SCR automatically as a result SCR is
turned off. This is called natural commutation because no external
circuit is employed to turn off the thyristor. This method of
commutation is applied to phase controlled converters, AC voltage
controllers, step down cyclo converters etc.

Class A commutation
 The commutating components L and C are connected to load RL as in
figure so that the overall circuit becomes under damped with R2 < 4L/C.
When a fixed DC voltage is applied to an under damped circuit, an
oscillatory current will be generated.

When the SCR is turned ON by a gate pulse, an oscillatory current i

flows in the circuit and charges up the capacitor C. Capacitor is charged
up to the supply voltage V, as the oscillatory current reaches its peak
value. Beyond wt = π/2, as the oscillatory current decreases from the
peak value, a back emf is created in the inductor and because of that
the capacitor charges from the supply voltage V to a higher voltage 2V.
When the capacitor is completely charged up to 2V, a differentiated
voltage of (2V-V) = V across the capacitor reflects at the cathode of the
SCR and turns it off. Series inverters function on this principle.

Class B commutation
 In this circuit the commutating components L and C are
connected across the SCR.

Initially, the capacitor C remains charged to the dc voltage V with

its upper plate +ve. When the SCR is triggered, load current iR flows.
Due to triggering of T, an oscillatory current flows through the loop
formed by the capacitor C, SCR T and inductor L(the overall SCR current
iT will be the algebraic sum of load current iR and oscillatory current i C)
and the capacitor recharges in the opposite direction. Thus when
oscillatory current iC reverses its direction and tends to exceed the load
current iR, the SCR Current become zero and it gets turned off. At the
instant of commutation, the remaining voltage of the capacitor (v’) is
additive to the supply voltage V. The load current iR flowing through
the branch C, L and RL continues to decrease and soon becomes zero
when capacitor voltage becomes equal to supply voltage V with its
upper plate +ve.

Class C commutation
 In this circuit the triggering of one thyristor turns off the other.
Initially the capacitor is uncharged. When thyristor T1 is turned on by
applying a gate pulse, load current flows from battery to load R1
through thyristor T1, along with a capacitor charging current from
battery through load2(R2), capacitor C and thyristor T1. This current
charges capacitor C to battery voltage Vs with polarity as shown in
figure.

To turn off T1, trigger pulse is applied to complementary thyristor

T2. The capacitor voltage now appears as reverse bias across T1 and
turns it off. Now load current flows from battery to load 2(R2) through
T2. In addition a charging current flows from battery through load1
(R1), capacitor C and T2. This charging current charges capacitor to
supply voltage in the reverse polarity. When T1 is turned ON again,
voltage across C reverse biases thyristor T2 and turns it off and the
process repeats.
Class D commutation

Initially main thyristor T1 and auxiliary thyristor TA are off and

capacitor is assume charged to voltage Vs with upper plate +ve. When
T1 is turned on load current begins to flow. At the same time another
oscillatory circuit consisting of C, T1, L and D is formed and capacitor
voltage changes from +Vs to –Vs with lower plate +ve.

When auxiliary thyristor TA is turned on, capacitor voltage Vc

applies a reverse voltage across main thyristor T1, and SCR T1 is turned
off. The load current is now carried by capacitor and auxiliary thyristor.
Capacitor get charged from –Vs to +Vs. When VC=Vs, Ic=0 and thyristor
TA is turned off.
Class E commutation

In this type of commutation, an external pulse of current obtained from

external source turns off the conducting thyristor. When SCR is
triggered, current will flow in to the load. To turn off the SCR, base
drive is applied to the transistor Q. This will connect auxiliary supply V1
across SCR to turn it off.

POWER MOSFET
The power MOSFET is a high power version of the low power
Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor. A single power
MOSFET is a parallel combination of thousands of individual MOSFET
cells. It has three terminals called Drain, Source and Gate. The Drain
and Source are the power terminals and Gate is the control terminal.

The N layer (combination of N+ and N- layer) on the top

constitutes the Drain. N-layer gives high voltage capability. Adjacent to
the N- zone is a large P island. Inside the P Island are again N+ islands.
The source metal deposition covers a part of the N+ islands and also the
middle part of the P Island between the N+ islands. Silicon dioxide is an
insulation between the Silicon surface and the gate.

If the Drain terminal D is made +ve with respect to source S,

without gate voltage, no current can flow from the drain to the source
because the junction between the N- drain region and the P island is
reverse biased. Only a small leakage current flows. This is the OFF state.

A +ve voltage applied to the gate with respect to the source

creates an electric field which pulls electrons from the N+ zone in to the
P zone immediately near the gate. In this way an N channel is created
linking the source N+ region and the drain N- region. This channel now
provides the path for flow of current from the drain to the source.

There is a threshold value for the gate source voltage VGS, below
which the MOSFET will be completely off. Above this threshold value,
the channel cross sectional area will increase with increasing gate
source voltage.
MOSFET CHARACTERISTIC: - In the circuit diagram, gate voltage is
applied between the gate terminal and source terminal. The gate-
source voltage is represented as VGS. The drain-source voltage is
represented as VDS.
 The transfer characteristic is plotted between VGS and the drain
current ID. Only when VGS reaches a value greater than VGST, the drain
current will be present. VGST will be around 2-3V. Increase in gate
voltage beyond VGST increases the drain current.

The output characteristics are drawn between drain current ID and

drain to source voltage VDS at different gate source voltage VGS. For low
values of VDS, the graph is linear. This part of the curve is the ohmic
region. If VDS is increased, output characteristic is relatively flat
indicating that the drain current is nearly constant. This is the active
region. When VDS increased exceeds the rated value, avalanche
breakdown occurs and the device is in breakdown region.

INSULATED GATE BIPOLAR TRANSISTOR (IGBT)

The IGBT is a voltage controlled switch. IGBT has been developed

by combining the best qualities of both BJT and power MOSFET. The
IGBT posses high input impedence like a power MOSFET and has low on
stage power loss as in BJT.
The outer P+ layer forms the collector of the IGBT. The adjacent N
region consist of N+ layer and an N- layer. Adjacent to the N region is a
relatively large P island. Inside the P island are again N+ islands.The
collector and emitter are the power terminals of IGBT. The switching
control voltage is applied across the gate and the emitter.

A positive voltage is applied to the collector with respect to the

emitter. When +ve voltage applied to the gate emitter terminal is
greater than the threshold voltage, an N channel is created in the IGBT
which connects the N+ emitter region to the middle N region. The top P+
zone, the middle N region and the lower P island constitute a PNP
transistor. When channel is created, the current flows through the top
P+ zone, the middle N region and the channel to the emitter
terminal.This current serves as the base current in the transistor
resulting in large scale injection of holes across the top PN junction.
Now there are two current flow paths to the emitter terminal. One is
through the middle N region and the channel (electron flow). The other
is across the collector junction of the PNP transistor and through the
lower P region (hole flow).

IGBT CHARACTERISTICS
 The circuit of IGBT with proper terminal voltages is shown in
figure.

Output characteristics:-The output characteristics are obtainedby

plotting the collector current Ic with respect to collector emitter
voltage VCE for different values of VGE. The shape of curve is similar to
the characteristic curve of BJT, but the control is only by the gate
emitter voltage. This is because of the fact that the IGBT is a voltage
operated device.

Transfer characteristics:- The transfer characteristic is drawn

between the collector current Ic and gate emitter voltage VGE. When
VGE is less than threshold voltage VGET, the IGBT is in off state.
 TRIAC (TRIODE THAT WORK ON AC)

A
TRIAC is a bidirectional thyristor with three terminals. It is used for the
control of power in AC circuits.When in operation , a triac is equivalent
to two SCRs connected in antiparallel. Its three terminals are MT1, MT2
and Gate. The Gate is near to terminal MT1. Gate G is connected to N3
as well as P2. Similarly MT1 is connected to P2 and N2., terminal MT2
to P1 and N4. There are four modes of triac operation, depending on
the polarity of voltage across its main terminals and gate terminal.

Mode 1:- MT2 +ve, MT1 –ve, Gate +ve

When MT2 is positive with respect to MT1, Junction P1N1, P2N2 are
biased but junction N1P2 is reversed biased. When gate terminal is +ve
with respect to MT1, gate current flows mainly through P2N2 junction
like an ordinary SCR. When gate current has injected sufficient charge
in to P2 layer, reverse biased junction N1P2 breaks down just as in a
normal SCR. As a result triac starts conducting through P1N1P2N2
layers. In this condition, triac operates in the first quadrant. The device
is more sensitive in this mode and is the recommented method of
triggering in first quadrant.

Mode 2:- MT2 +ve, MT1 –ve, Gate –ve

In this mode , current flows through the switch P1N1P2N2 from MT2
to MT1. This mode is less efficient than mode 1.

Mode 3:- MT1 +ve, MT2 –ve, Gate +ve

 In this mode , the current flows through the switch P2N1P1N4 from
MT1 to MT2. This is an inefficient mode and must be avoided.

Mode 4:- MT1 +ve,MT2 –ve, Gate –ve

In this mode the current flows through the switch P2N1P1N4 from MT1
to MT2. This mode is the recommented method of triggering in third
quadrant.

VI characteristics of TRIAC
It gives the relationship between triac current and the voltage applied
across its main terminals MT2 and MT1. The Vi characteristics in the
first and third quadrant are identical to the forward characteristics of
SCR. The triac is off until the applied voltage of either polarity exceeds
the breakover voltage VBo.
 When applied voltage exceeds breakover voltage, triac turns ON
and the voltage drop across the triac decreases to a low value and
current flowing through it increases to a high value. When the value of
gate current is increased, the triac turns on at lower breakover voltage
and the current after turn on is limited by the external load.