Power Electronics

Prepared by

Dr. Masoud Hussein Elmahi

1.Overview of power electronics
2. Thyristors.
3 .Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR). Dc uni
4 . Silicon Controlled Switch (SCS). Dc uni
5 . Diac and Triac, ac bi
6-Shockley diode
7 -Programmable Unijunction Transistor (PUT)
8 - Phototransistor
9 - Photo resistor
10 - photo diode
11- light-activated SCR (LSCR)
12- Optical Couplers.
13 -system applications.
Thyrister
The most important member of the
Thyristor family is the silicon controlled
rectifier (SCR). SCR is a four layer (P-N-
P-N), three junction semiconductor
device with three terminals, namely, the
anode, the cathode and the gate. It is a
unilateral device and conduction takes
place from anode to cathode under proper
bias conditions (forward bias).
The complete list of Thyristor family
members include Diac (bidirectional
diode Thyristor), Triac (bidirectional
triode Thyristor), SCR (silicon controlled
rectifier), Shockley diode, SCS (silicon
controlled switch), SBS (silicon bilateral
switch), SUS (silicon unilateral switch)
also known as com­plementary SCR or
CSCR, LASCR (light activated SCR), LAS
(light activated switch) and LASCS (light
activated SCS).
Advantages of Thyristors
Better Efficiency: Thyristors possess better efficiency than transistors,
thus it is used in various application of electronics.
Low cost of Fabrication: The cost of fabrication of thyristors is low and
thus it is economical to use in various electronics circuits for switching
operation.
Ability to be controlled: This is the robust characteristics of the
thyristor as because of the gate terminal the thyristor can be controlled.
High Reliability: The thyristor is the highly reliable device, and thus is
used as a significant part in HVDC transmission.
High Voltage and Current Ratings: The thyristor consists of four
layers of semiconductor and thus the voltage and current ratings are higher
in comparison to the transistor.
Large Power Handling Capacity: The power handling capacity of the
thyristor is much greater than the other semiconductor device.
Good Trigger Sensitivity: The gate control terminal of thyristor
provides the efficient controlling signal, thus it possesses good trigger
sensitivity.
Applications of Thyristors
Rectification Purpose: The thyristors are used for rectification of AC
signal. Thus, when the controlled signal is given to rectifier it converts AC
into DC.
Relay Control: Thyristors are used in relay control.
Phase Control: The phase controller used thyristors for providing phase
correction in the circuit.
HVDC transmission: They are also used in high voltage DC
transmission.
Control of temperature, level and Position: Due to its robust
controlling, it can be used for controlling the temperature, level, position
and illumination.
DC and AC Motors: Thyristors are used in AC and DC motors as the
speed controller.
Transmission Lines: To improve the power factor in transmission lines,
thyristors can be used.
Cycloconverter: Thyristors play a crucial role in cycloconverters for
converting AC of one frequency into AC of some other frequency.
Characteristics of Thyristors
Silicon Control Switch (SCS)
SCS
Structure of SCS
Symbol of SCS
Equivalent circuit of SCS
Application
Operation
Others
What is Silicon Controlled Switch
(SCS)?
It is four-layer, 3 junction, two gate
PNPN device with end p-terminal
forming the anode, and n-terminal
forming the cathode, a cathode gate at the
p layer next to the cathode and an anode
gate at the n-layer next to the anode.
the SCS to be formed of two
transistor Q1 and Q2 placed back-to-
back The transistor Q1 is of npn
type.
the base current IB of npn transistor Q2 gets multiplied
by the current gain to constitute the collector current
of Q2 and this current form the base current of
transistor Q1. This current after multiplication by the
current gain of transistor Q1 constitutes the base
current of transistor Q2. If this base current
exceeds the initial base current IB i.e. if then both
the transistors Q1 and Q2 are driven to saturation and
the device operates in the ON state. The quantity
decides the ON condition of the device. Hence, any
factor with influences either or will also influenced
the operation of the device. Reduction in either or
reduced the product and in case reduces below
unity, SCS gets switched off
A silicon-controlled switch,
or SCS, is essentially an SCR
with an extra gate terminal.
Typically, the load current through an SCS is carried
by the anode gate and cathode terminals, with
the cathode gate and anode terminals sufficing as
control leads.
An SCS is turned on by applying a positive voltage
between the cathode gate and cathode terminals. It
may be turned off (forced commutation) by applying a
negative voltage between
the anode and cathode terminals, or simply by
shorting those two terminals together.
The anode terminal must be kept positive with respect
to the cathode in order for the SCS to latch
Characteristic of SCS
Similar to SCR
As anode is positive with respect
to cathode SCS is in forward bias
Cathode gate current will decrease
forward triggering voltage
Working of SCS
-ve gate pulse to anode gate will
turn SCS on
+ve gate pulse to anode gate will
turn SCS off
Dis advantages
Less current
Less voltage
Less power
Application
Oscillators
Voltage sensors
Pulse generator
Computer circuits
Traic
The Triac is a 3-terminal
semiconductor device and may be
considered equivalent to two SCRs
connected in ant parallel
A Triac is defined as a three terminal AC
switch which is different from the other
silicon controlled rectifiers in the sense
that it can conduct in both the directions
that is whether the applied gate signal is
positive or negative, it will conduct. Thus,
this device can be used for AC systems as a
switch
Diac
 Diac

Diacs and Triacs are bidirectional

devices. The Diac is a two-terminal, three
layer device and is commonly used for
triggering Triacs
A DIAC is a diode that conducts electrical
current only after its breakover voltage
(VBO) has been reached. DIAC stands for
“Diode for Alternating Current”. A DIAC is
a device which has two electrodes, and it is
a member of the thyristor family. DIACs are
used in the triggering of thyristors.
DIACs have no gate electrode,
unlike some other thyristors that
they are commonly used to trigger,
such as a TRIAC.
The advantage of a DIAC is that it can be
turned on or off simply by reducing the
voltage level below its
avalanche breakdown voltage. DIACs are
also known as a transistor without a base.
It should also be noted that a DIAC can be
either turned on or off for both polarities
of voltage (i.e. positive or negative
voltage). They also still works when
avalanche breakdown occurs
Application of DIAC
The main application of a DIAC is its use
in a TRIAC triggering circuit. The DIAC is
connected to the gate terminal of the
TRIAC. When the voltage across the gate
decreases
Some other applications of a DIAC
include:
It can be used in the lamp dimmer
circuit
It is used in a heat control circuit
It is used in the speed control of a
universal motor
A DIAC can be used with a TRIAC in a
series combination for triggering. The gate
of TRIAC is connected with a terminal of
the DIAC. When the applied voltage across
the DIAC increases above the avalanche
breakdown voltage, only then it can
conduct
Construction of DIAC
It is a device which consists of four layers
and two terminals. The construction is
almost the same as that of the transistor.
But there are certain points which deviate
from the construction from the transistor
The differentiating to transistor
points are-
There is no base terminal in the DIAC
The three regions have almost the same
level of doping
It gives symmetrical switching
characteristics for either polarity of voltages
Light Activated LED
The purpose of the transistor is to
provide switching. It conducts the
current across the collector-emitter
path when voltage is applied at the
base. If there is no voltage the
transistor will switch to OFF state and
turns ON when voltage is applied.
The photoresistor is used for the
purpose of sensing the light. When the
light falling on the photoresistor has
the maximum intensity the resistance
will be minimum and it will let the
current pass through the circuit and in
dark the resistance will be maximized
therefore LED will be OFF .
Working
The operating voltage of this circuit is 6
volts, you can use four 1.5 volts batteries of
any size to make this circuit work. When
any type of light such as bulb, lamp,
sunlight falls on the photoresistor its
resistance will be minimized and it will let
the current pass through it and fed into the
base of the transistor 2N2222. The
transistor will be switched ON and LED will
light up
The variable resistor of 50K is used to adjust
the amount of light of LED according to
you. The 1K resistor is used to protect the
photoresistor from connecting directly to
the supply when resistance is minimized.
Another resistor of 330 ohms is used as a
current limiter for the LED
Applications and Uses
Security Purposes
Toys
Electronic Projects
Lamps
Phototransistor
Definition:
The phototransistor is a three-layer
semiconductor device which has a light-
sensitive base region. The base senses the
light and converts it into the current which
flows between the collector and the
emitter region
Photo Transistor
Photodiode
Photodiode Vs Phototransistor
The photodiode and phototransistor both
convert the light energy into the electrical
energy. But the phototransistor is mostly
preferred over the photodiode because of
their following advantages.
The current gain in the phototransistor
is more than the photodiode even if the
same amount of light strike on it.
The sensitivity of the phototransistor is
higher than the photodiode.
The photodiode can be converted into
the phototransistor by removing their
emitter terminals
Difference Between Photodiode &
Phototransistor
One of the major difference between the
photodiode and the phototransistor is that
the photodiode uses PN-junction diode which
converts the light energy into an
electric current, whereas the phototransistor
uses the ordinary transistor (NPN transistor)
for the conversion of light into current
A photodiode is a semiconductor p-n
junction device that converts light into an
electrical current. The current is generated
when photons are absorbed in the
photodiode. Photodiodes may contain
optical filters, built-in lenses, and may have
large or small surface areas
Programmable Unijunction
Transistor (PUT)
the UJT or uni junction transistor is
a semiconductor device that has only one
junction. The UJT has three terminals
designated  B1, B2 and E. The base
material for a UJT is a lightly doped N-
Type Silicon
These end terminals are called B1 and B2. the
resistance between B1 and B2 is very high
(typically 5 to 10 KΩ). A heavily doped P-type
region is conrstucted on one side of the bar
close to the B2 region. This heavily doped P
region is called emitter and it is designated as
E
Resistance between E & B1 is higher
than the resistance between E & B2
because E is constructed close to B2
UJT parameters
RBBO : It is the resistance between the
terminals B1 and B2. In simple words, it is the
resistance of the N-Type bar when measured
lengthwise. If RB1 is the resistance of the bar
from E to B1 and RB2 is the resistance of the
bar from E to B2, then RBBO can be expressed
as  RBBO= RB1 +RB2. The typical range of
RBBO is from 4KΩ to 10KΩ.
Intrinsic standoff ratio (η) :
It is the ratio of RB1 to the sum of RB1
and RB2. It can be expressed as:
 η = RB1/(RB1+RB2)
 or η = RB1/RBBO.
The typical range of intrinsic standoff
ratio is from 0.4 to 0.8.
Applications of UJT
Relaxation oscillators.
Switching Thyristors like SCR, TRIAC
etc.
Magnetic flux sensors.
Voltage or current limiting circuit.
Bistable oscillators.
Voltage or current regulators.
B2 terminal of the UJT is made positive
with respect to B1 terminal using the
voltage source Vbb. Emitter terminal E of
the UJT is forward biased using the
voltage source Ve. Current starts flowing
into the emitter only when the bias voltage
Ve has exceeded the forward drop of the
internal diode (Vd) plus the voltage drop
across RB1 (Vrb1). This condition can be
expressed using the following equation.
Ve = Vd + Vrb1
Considering the intrinsic stand off ratio
 η= RB1/(RB1+RB2), the equation
becomes
Ve = Vd+ηVbb
A typical silicon diode has a forward
voltage drop of 0.7V. When this factor is
considered, the equation can be re
written as
Ve = 0.7V + ηVbb
This minimum value of the emitter
voltage Ve for which the emitter current
starts to flow is called the firing voltage of
UJT
As the Ve is increased the emitter current
Ie  is also  increased and the junction
behaves like a typical P-N junction. But
the Ve can be only increased up to a
particular point called Vp (peak voltage).
UJT relaxation oscillator
UJT parameters
The typical range of RBBO is from 4KΩ to
10KΩ. Intrinsic standoff ratio (η) : It is the
ratio of RB1 to the sum of RB1 and RB2. It can
be expressed as η = RB1/(RB1+RB2)
or η = RB1/RBBO.
The typical range of intrinsic standoff ratio is
from 0.4 to 0.8
Unijunction Transistor (UJT) • As
the physical position of the p-n
junction is closer to terminal B 2
than B 1 the resistive value of RB 2
will be less than RB 1. • These two
series resistances produce a voltage
divider network between the two
base terminals of the Unijunction
transistor
the programmable unijunction
transistor is similar to the
silicon controlled rectifier. It consists of
four layers, two p-type layers and two n-
type layers in equal proportion
Applications
It is used to trigger thyristors.
It is also used as a
relaxation oscillator.
Light Activated SCR (LASCR)
Light Activated SCR
Definition: LASCR or light activated
SCR is a semiconductor device which
turns ON when it is exposed to light. The
constituent element of SCR is silicon, and
it works like a rectifier, and thus, it is
termed as Silicon Controlled Rectifier.
The LASCR is a type of thyristor which is
triggered by photons present in the light
rays
A light activated silicon controlled rectifier
(LASCR) is a silicon controlled rectifier
(Thyristor) that conducts when the gate is
exposed to light. The gate still operates as a
normal gate in a SCR, but is in many cases
left disconnected. LASCR is a
unidirectional device that conducts current
in only direction
Applications of the Light Activated SCR
Low Power Applications: The Light
activated SCR are generally used for the
application which requires low power to operate.
This is because power generated by SCR is low in
magnitude.
Motor Control: The Light Activated SCR
finds applications in the working of Motor
Control.
Computer Applications: The components
used in the computer system also require LASCR
for meeting power requirements.
It is a three terminal device, consists
of cathode, anode and gate terminal.
The gate terminal is used when the
electrical triggering is supplied to the
LASCR. The advantage of using
triggering of the thyristor by light is
prevention from electrical noise
disturbances. Thus, LASCR is considered
to be one of the best devices
Shockley diode
Shockley diode
Introduction to Shockley Diode
The Shockley diode or PNPN diode is a four
layer (P-N-P-N), two terminals (namely
anode and cathode) semiconductor
switching device. It is also called as four
layer diode. It functions like a normal diode
without any trigger inputs, in reverse biased
condition, no current flows through it and
in forward biased condition current flows
through it when the voltage across it is more
than the break over voltage of it
These diodes have only two
states, either ON or OFF that’s
why these are classified as a
thyristors.
where
I is the diode current,
IS is the reverse bias saturation current (or
scale current),
VD is the voltage across the diode,
VT is the thermal voltage kT/q (
Boltzmann constant times temperature
divided by electron charge), and
n is the ideality factor, also known as the
quality factor or sometimes emission
coefficient
 The thermal voltage VT is approximately
25.8563 mV at 300 K (27 °C; 80 °F). At
an arbitrary temperature, it is a known
constant defined by:
VT= KT/Q
where k is the Boltzmann constant, T is the
absolute temperature of the p–n junction, and q
is the magnitude of charge of an electron (the
elementary charge
Bolts man constant K
=1.380649×10  J⋅K .
−23 −1
Shockley Diode as Relaxation
Oscillator: In this, the capacitor
charges through a resistor and when the
voltage across the capacitor is more than
the break-over voltage, the diode turns
on and acts as a short circuit
Shockley Diode as Trigger Switch: It is
used to ON the SCR or triggers the SCR. In
the below circuit, the RC network is fed to DC
supply and capacitor starts charging. When
the voltage across the capacitor becomes
equivalent to the break over voltage of
Shockley diode the capacitor starts
discharging. Then, the diode switches to ON
state and turns on the SCR by providing gate
current to SCR
Thus, SCR is turned on, and the alarm
starts. When the voltage supply is ceased
then also the SCR remains in the latch
that is in conducting stage for some time.
Thus, the Shockley diode is only used for
turning it On
And then the capacitor discharges
through the Shockley diode, and
thus the cycle repeats itselfBut
the capacitor does not discharge
completely
As Trigger Switch
Most common applications of Shockley
diode are switching circuits , to turn ON the
SCR. In the below circuit SCR is triggered
by the shockley diode. The Resistive and
capacitor RC network is fed with a DC
supply which drives the shockley diode.
When the VDC is applied, shockley
is forward biased and also capacitor
starts charging through the
resistance. When the charging
voltage of the capacitor reaches to
the break over voltage of the diode,
diode starts conducting and the
capacitor starts discharging through
the diode.
This conduction of shockley
diode drives the SCR into turn
ON state, then the buzzer
gives an alarm. Once the SCR
is turned ON it will remain in
the latching or ON state until
the power is removed.
As Relaxation Oscillator
The below figure shows the
relaxation oscillator circuit using
a shockley diode. In this the
diode is connected across the
capacitor power with a power
supply battery
When the battery voltage is applied to
the circuit, the capacitor charges
through a resistance R. When the
applied voltage or voltage across the
capacitor is more than the break over
voltage of shockley diode, it becomes
turned ON and acts as a Switch
Working of Schottky Diode
The most important physical
parameter of this Schottky diode is
their fast switching rate and less
forward voltage drop. It is a metal –
semiconductor junction that does
not have the capacity to store
charges at their junction. The reason
behind this is due to absence of
depletion layer.
When voltage is given to the diode,
the current flows in the forward
direction. When this current flows
through the diode, there will be a
minimum voltage loss across the
terminals of the diode. This loss of
voltage is called as Voltage drop
in a PN junction device, when
positive type (p-type) and negative
type (n-type) are joined together
they form a PN junction. However,
in a Schottky diode, materials like
aluminum or platinum are used
instead of P type semiconductors.
Schottky diode is a device, which
comes under the type of a metal –
semiconductor junction diode. Barrier
diode and low voltage diodes are the
other names for Schottky diode
Specialties of Schottky Diode
1-Due to the absence of the current flow from
metal to N-type semiconductor, it acts as a
unipolar device. Whereas, a PN junction
diode is a bipolar device.
2-The metal does not have any holes, it does
not store any charge. Due to this reason,
Schottky diode has the advantage to quickly
switch with relatively low noise.
3-It has a low barrier potential compared to
PN diode.
Operation of Schottky Diode
Unbiased Schottky Diode
The free electrons present inside the n – type
semiconductor will move from n – type
semiconductor to a metal during the
combination between metal and n – type
semiconductor. This results in production of
equilibrium state. When free electrons moves
across the junction, it provides an extra
electron to the atoms present in the atom.
atoms present in the metal junction
receive an extra electron. The atoms
at the negative side junction lose
electrons and become positive ions.
On the metal junction, atoms will
gain extra electrons and tries to
become negative ions
this will result in production of positive ions
at negative side and negative ions on the
positive side at the metal junction.
Depletion region will be formed when these
positive and negative ions comes together.
In unbiased Schottky diode, only less
number of electrons will flow from
semiconductor to metal. Other electron flow
is stopped due to the built in voltage
Forward Biased Schottky Diode
When positive terminal of the battery is
connected to metal and negative
terminal is connected to n-type
conductor, it is called as Forward biased
Schottky diode
When a voltage greater than 0.2 volts are
applied, free electrons cannot move
through the junction barrier. Due to this
current will flow through diode. When
voltage value increases, depletion region
becomes thin and disappears
Reverse Biased Schottky Diode
if the negative terminal of the battery is
coupled to metal and positive terminal is
connected to n-type conductor, it is called as
Reverse biased Schottky diode. At the same
time, if a reverse bias voltage is applied, the
width of depletion region increases
Applications of Schottky Diode
1-Used in diode rectifier
2-for voltage clamping applications, to
prevent transistor saturation.
3-fast switching. as the performance of
digital computers is determined by
switching speed of diodes, Schottky diode
is an important component for digital
computers
The Shockley diode is a four-layer
semiconductor diode,. It is a PNPN
diode, with alternating layers of P-
type and N-type material. It is
equivalent to a thyristor with a
disconnected gate
Shockley diodes are
used mainly for
switching
applications
Introduction to Shockley Diode
The Shockley diode or PNPN diode is a four
layer (P-N-P-N), two terminals (namely anode
and cathode) semiconductor switching device.
It is also called as four layer diode. It functions
like a normal diode without any trigger inputs,
in reverse biased condition, no current flows
through it and in forward biased condition
current flows through it when the voltage
across it is more than the break over voltage of
it
These diodes have only two states,
either ON or OFF that’s why these
are classified as a thyristors.
As Trigger Switch
Most common applications of
Shockley diode are switching
circuits , to turn ON the SCR. In the
below circuit SCR is triggered by
the shockley diode. The Resistive
and capacitor RC network is fed
with a DC supply which drives the
shockley diode
Silicon Control Rectifier SCR
How an SCR functions as a switch ?

SCR operates either in on-state or in

off-state and no other state in between,
that is SCR behaves like a mechanical
switch. As such it is called electronic
switch.
A silicon controlled rectifier or
semiconductor controlled rectifier is a
four-layer solid-state current-
controlling device. p–n–p–n .
SCRs are unidirectional devices (i.e. can
conduct current only in one direction) as
opposed to TRIACs, which are bidirectional
(i.e. charge carriers can flow through them in
either direction). SCRs can be triggered
normally only by a positive current going into
the gate as opposed to TRIACs, which can be
triggered normally by either a positive or a
negative current applied to its gate electrode.
Mode of operation:
There are three modes of operation for
an SCR depending upon the biasing
given to it:
1-Forward blocking mode (off state)
2-Forward conduction mode (on state)
3-Reverse blocking mode (off state)
Forward blocking mode
In this mode of operation, the anode (+) is
given a positive voltage while the cathode (−) is
given a negative voltage, keeping the gate at
zero (0) potential i.e. disconnected. In this case
junction J1and J3 are forward-biased, while J2
is reverse-biased, allowing only a small leakage
current from the anode to the cathode. When
the applied voltage reaches the breakover value
for J2, then J2 undergoes avalanche
breakdown. At this breakover voltage J2 starts
conducting, but below breakover voltage J2
offers very high resistance to the current and
the SCR is said to be in the off state
Forward conduction mode
An SCR can be brought from blocking mode
to conduction mode in two ways: Either by
increasing the voltage between anode and
cathode beyond the breakover voltage, or by
applying a positive pulse at the gate. Once the
SCR starts conducting, no more gate voltage is
required to maintain it in the ON state. The
minimum current necessary to maintain the
SCR in the ON state on removal of the gate
voltage is called the latching current
Reverse blocking mode
When a negative voltage is applied to the
anode and a positive voltage to the
cathode, the SCR is in reverse blocking
mode, making J1 and J3 reverse biased
and J2 forward biased. The device
behaves as two reverse-biased diodes
connected in series. A small leakage
current flows.
There are two ways to turn it off:
1-Reduce the current through it below a
minimum value called the holding current, or
2-With the gate turned off, short-circuit the
anode and cathode momentarily with a push-
button switch or transistor across the
junction
A simple SCR circuit with a resistive load
A simple SCR circuit can be
illustrated using an AC voltage source
connected to a SCR with a resistive
load. Without an applied current
pulse to the gate of the SCR, the SCR
is left in its forward blocking state
This makes the start of conduction of the
SCR controllable. The delay angle α, which is
the instant the gate current pulse is applied
with respect to the instant of natural
conduction (ωt = 0), controls the start of
conduction. Once the SCR conducts, the SCR
does not turn off until the current through
the SCR, is, becomes negative. is stays zero
until another gate current pulse is applied
and SCR once again begins conducting
Applications
1- SCRs are mainly used in devices where the
control of high power,
power regulators and motor control
2-rectification of high-power AC in
high-voltage dc power transmission
3-is used as switch in various devices
4- They are also used in the control of welding
machines
How an SCR functions as a switch ?
We have seen that SCR operates either in on-
state or in off-state and no other state in
between, that is SCR behaves like a mechanical
switch. As such it is called electronic switch.
An SCR has following advantages over a
mechanical switch or electro-mechanical
relay:

 Noiseless operation owing to absence of moving

parts.
 Very high switching speed (say 109 operations per
second).
 High efficiency.
 Low maintenance.
 Small size and trouble free service for long period.
 Large control current range (say from 30 A to 100
A) with small gate current of few ma.
 Long life as no wear and tear is involved
Modes of operation
This device is generally used in switching
applications. In the normal "off" state, the device
restricts current to the leakage current. When the gate-
to-cathode voltage exceeds a certain threshold, the
device turns "on" and conducts current. The device
will remain in the "on" state even after gate current is
removed so long as current through the device
remains above the holding current. Once current falls
below the holding current for an appropriate period of
time, the device will switch "off". If the gate is pulsed
and the current through the device is below the
latching current, the device will remain in the "off"
state
However, SCR suffers from the
following drawbacks:

 Cut-off current is not exactly zero.

 There is some voltage drop across
SCR when in on-state; hence there is
some wastage of power.
 It is more costly and need more care
in handling
Applications:

used in such circuits as lighting

dimmers, motor speed controls etc. They are
also widely used as fast acting protection
devices in DC power supplies. The switching
speed of Thyristors is very fast and they are
able to switch from fully off to fully on,
typically in 1µs.
Once triggered, the device
continues to conduct until the
current drops below a certain
threshold, called the
holding current
TRIAC
Triac
TRIAC, from Triode for Alternating
Current, is a genericized tradename for
an electronic component that can
conduct current in either direction
when it is triggered (turned on), and is
formally called a bidirectional triode
Thyristor or bilateral triode
The bidirectionality makes TRIACs very
convenient switches for AC circuits, also
allowing them to control very large power
flows with milli ampere-scale gate currents. In
addition, applying a trigger pulse at a
controlled phase angle in an AC cycle allows
one to control the percentage of current that
flows through the TRIAC to the load (
phase control), which is commonly used, for
example, in controlling the speed of low-power
induction motors, in dimming lamps and in
controlling AC heating resistors
TRIACs belong to the Thyristor family and are closely
related to Silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCR).
However, unlike SCRs, which are unidirectional
devices (i.e. can conduct current only in one
direction), TRIACs are bidirectional and so current
can flow through them in either direction. Another
difference from SCRs is that TRIACs can be triggered
by either a positive or a negative current applied to its
gate electrode, whereas SCRs can be triggered only by
currents going into the gate. In order to create a
triggering current, a positive or negative voltage has
to be applied to the gate with respect to the MT1
terminal (otherwise known as A1).
(Unijunction Transistor)
UJT
UJT (unijunction transistor), unlike a
bipolar transistor has only one junction,
and like other conventional transistors, it
processes the transistor action and
operates like a switch. The characteristics
of UJT are similar to those of a SUS. Its
construction is, however, different and it
does not belong to Thyristor family
Optical coupler is a semiconductor
device, which is designed to transfer
electrical signals by using light
waves in order to provide coupling
with electrical isolation 
A fiber optic coupler is a device that
can distribute the optical signal from
one fiber among two or more fibers,
or combine the optical signal from
two or more fibers into a single fiber
Refereed to directional coupler
in wave guide
S-matrix
Coupling factor
Attenuation
Directivity