Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR)

The silicon controlled rectifier is a semiconductor device, which is used for changing
the alternating current into direct current and during this time it also controlled the power
feeding to the load side. Essentially, it is schockety diode but if we use it as a schockety diode
then its uses are limited. Therefore the silicon control rectifier is a progression form of
schockely diode by adding a gate in schockety diode.It was developed in 1957 by power
electronics engineers. Some peoples say the thyristor and silicon controls are synonymous but
some peoples say the silicon controlled is proper subset, of the set of thyristors. Asper the Bill
Gutzwillert the term silicon controlled is earlier and the term thyristor is later but if we
compared the silicon controlled with triac which is also a thyristor then it would be cleared, that
the silicon controlled is unidirectional device and triac is bidirectional device. The physical,
equivalent schematic and schematic symbol diagram is shown is figure 1
Figure 1 The Physical, Equivalent and Schematic diagram of silicon control rectifier

Construction of Silicon Controlled Rectifier

The silicon controlled rectifier consists of three PN junctions which are labeled by J1, J2, J3 and
four semiconductor material layers, which are joined in the form of NPNP and PNPN. In PNPN
type structure the anode terminal is connected at p-type material layer and cathode terminal is
connected at N-type material layer. Similarly, the gate terminal of the silicon controlled rectifier
is connected at P-type material layer which is nearest to the cathode type material layer. The
semiconductor material layers are formed by the diffusion of lightly doped semiconductor
material into highly doped semiconductor material. The whole construction and junction
diagram is shown in figure 2.

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Figure 2 The Construction and Junction Diagram of Silicon Control Rectifier
Working of Silicon Controlled Rectifier
The silicon controlled rectifier works in three mode of operations
1. Forward Blocking Mode
2. Reverse Blocking Mode
3. Forward Conduction Mode

Forward Blocking Mode:In this mode of operation, the anode terminal of silicon control
rectifier is connected to positive terminal of the power supply and cathode terminal is connected
at the negative terminal of the power supply. While the zero voltage is an applied at gate
terminal. In this condition the junction J1, J2 would be forward biased and junction J3 would be
reverse biased then there would be a small current flow from anode to cathode that is called
leakage current. Due to this leakage current the voltages across anode and cathode increased
until the breakdown the occurred between anode and cathode. The voltage at which the
breakdown is occurred is called breakdown voltage and this mode is called forward blocking
mode.

Reverse Blocking Mode: In this mode of operation the anode terminal is connected to the
negative terminal of the power supply and cathode terminal is connected to positive terminal to
the power supply. In this mode of operation, the current also can’t flows from anode to cathode
and block the voltage this silicon control rectifier. Normally the forward blocking voltages and
reverse blocking voltages are almost same.

Forward Conduction Mode: In this mode of operation the anode terminal is connected at
positive terminal of power supply, cathode terminal is connected at negative terminal of power
supply and positive pulse voltages are applied at gate terminal. When these positive voltages are
applied at gate terminal then the silicon control rectifier is forward biased and current flows
from anode to cathode. This mode is called forward conduction mode. Once it is forward biased
then there is no need of any voltages at gate terminal. It would be in on state until it would be
turned off. Two ways are applied for turned off this silicon control rectifier either the gate
current is reduced by the holding current or anode and cathode are shorted through any
transistor or push button.
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Types of Silicon Controlled Rectifier
There are four main types of silicon controlled rectifier,
1 Reverse Conducing Thyristor or SCR (RCT)
2 Gate Assisted Turn off Thyristor or SCR (GATT)
3 Gate Turn off Thyristor or SCR (GTO)
4 Asymmetric Thyristor or SCR
Reverse Conducting SCR (RCT):Normally, the thyristor conducts in forward direction but
this type of thyristor conducts in reverse direction because this have an integrated diode for this
conduction but in reverse direction there is no any facility of control the current or power. When
it is conducting in reverse direction then this device and integrated diode do not conduct
simultaneously therefore there is no so much heat produced so the both device and integrated
diode can be cooled at same time. This type of silicon control rectifiers is often used in
frequency changers and switching inverters.
Gate Assisted Turn Off SCR (GATT): This type of thyristor is used in that places where the
fast turn off process is required because sometimes the negative voltage is applied at gate
terminal for reducing the anode to cathode voltage. This negative voltage drains the minority
carriers in N-type region and ensured gate to cathode junction do not forward biased. The
structure of this type is almost same only differ the cathode strip is sometimes used for
increasing the gate control of this type.
Gate Turn off SCR (GTO):This type of thyristor is sometimes referred to as gate turn off
switch and this type usually count the pure thyristor type device. For turn off this type only
negative voltage is applied at gate terminal and no need to turn off the anode to cathode
voltages.
Asymmetric Thyristor or SCR:This type of thyristor is used in that places where the circuit
does not see any reverse voltages and do not required any rectifier capability. Therefore, in this
type of thyristors the junction J2 is so much thinner than the others two and resulted the N-type
region provides very low Von voltage which improves the turn on and turn off time of thyristor.

Applications of Silicon Controlled Rectifier

The silicon controlled rectifier is used in different applications some which are listed below.
 AC Power Control: The Silicon Controlled rectifier is unidirectional device when it is
connected to the ac supply then it would be turn on in positive half cycle of ac supply
and delivered the power to the load. In negative half cycle of ac supply it would be turn
off and do not provide any power to load therefore it can be used as ac power control in
power control switches such as fan dimmers, power regulators and motor control etc.
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  Controlled Bridge Rectifiers: The silicon controlled rectifier is used in ac to dc
converters for the rectification of the ac power in dc power such as half wave and full
wave rectifiers. These rectifiers power can also be controlled by giving the trigging
signal at the gate of SCR
 DC Power Transmission: The silicon controlled rectifier is used dc power transmission
line for converting the high-power ac in to high power dc.
 Power Electronic Devices:The silicon controlled rectifier is used in power electronics
devices for controlling the power of switching load.
 The silicon controlled rectifier is also used in different trigging timing and ICs circuits.

Introduction
The Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) is the most important and mostly used member of
the thyristor family. SCR can be used for different applications like rectification, regulation
of power and inversion, etc. Like a diode, SCR is a unidirectional device that allows the
current in one direction and opposes in another direction.

SCR is a three terminal device; anode, cathode and gate as shown in figure. SCR has built in
feature to turn ON or OFF and its switching is controlled by biasing conditions and gate
input terminal.

This results in varying the average power delivered at the load , by varying the ON periods
of the SCR. It can handle several thousands of voltages and currents. SCR symbol and its
terminals are shown in figure.

Construction of Silicon Controlled Rectifier

The SCR is a four layer and three terminal device. The four layers made of P and N layers,
are arranged alternately such that they form three junctions J1, J2 and J3. These junctions
are either alloyed or diffused based on the type of construction.

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The outer layers (P and N-layers) are heavily doped whereas middle P and N-layers are
lightly doped. The gate terminal is taken at the middle P-layer, anode is from outer P- layer
and cathode is from N- layer terminals. The SCR is made of silicon because compared to
germanium leakage current in silicon is very small.

To manufacture the SCR, three types of constructions are used, namely the planar type,
Mesa type and Press pack type. For low power SCRs, planar construction is used where all
the junctions in an SCR are diffused. In mesa type construction, junction J2 is formed by
diffusion method and thereby outer layers are alloyed to it.

This construction is mainly used for high power Silicon Controlled Rectifiers. To provide
high mechanical strength, the SCR is braced with plates made up of either molybdenum or
tungsten. And one of these plates is soldered to a copper stud which is further threaded to
connect the heat sink.

Working or Modes of Operation of SCR

Depending on the biasing given to the SCR, the operation of SCR is divided into three
modes. They are

1.  Forward blocking Mode

2.  Forward Conduction Mode and
3.  Reverse Blocking Mode

Forward Blocking Mode

In this mode of operation, the Silicon Controlled Rectifier is connected such that the anode
terminal is made positive with respect to cathode while the gate terminal kept open. In this
state junctions J1 and J3 are forward biased and the junction J2 reverse biased.

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Due to this, a small leakage current flows through the SCR. Until the voltage applied across
the SCR is more than the break over voltage of it, SCR offers a very high resistance to the
current flow. Therefore, the SCR acts as a open switch in this mode by blocking forward
current flowing through the SCR as shown in the VI characteristics curve of the SCR.

Forward Conduction Mode

In this mode, SCR or thyristor comes into the conduction mode from blocking mode. It can
be done in two ways as either by applying positive pulse to gate terminal or by increasing
the forward voltage (or voltage across the anode and cathode) beyond the break over voltage
of the SCR.

Once any one of these methods is applied, the avalanche breakdown occurs at junction J2.
Therefore the SCR turns into conduction mode and acts as a closed switch thereby current
starts flowing through it.

Note that in the VI characteristic figure, if the gate current value is high, the minimum will
be the time to come in conduction mode as Ig3 > Ig2 > Ig1. In this mode, maximum current
flows through the SCR and its value depends on the load resistance or impedance.

It is also noted that if gate current is increasing, the voltage required to turn ON the SCR is
less if gate biasing is preferred. The current at which the SCR turns into conduction mode
from blocking mode is called as latching current (IL).

And also when the forward current reaches to level at which the SCR returns to blocking
state is called as holding current (IH). At this holding current level, depletion region starts to
develop around junction J2. Hence the holding current is slightly less than the latching
current.

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Reverse Blocking Mode

In this mode of operation, cathode is made positive with respect to anode. Then the junctions
J1 and J3 are reverse biased and J2 is forward biased. This reverse voltage drives the SCR
into reverse blocking region results to flow a small leakage current through it and acts as an
open switch as shown in figure.

So, the device offers a high impedance in this mode until the voltage applied is less than the
reverse breakdown voltage VBR of the SCR. If the reverse applied voltage is increased
beyond the VBR, then avalanche breakdown occurs at junctions J1 and J3 which results to
increase reverse current flow through the SCR.

This reverse current causes more losses in the SCR and even to increase the heat of it. So
there will be a considerable damage to the SCR when the reverse voltage applied more than
VBR.

Two Transistor Analogy of SCR

The two transistor analogy or two transistor model of SCR expresses the easiest way to
understand the working of SCR by visualizing it as a combination of two transistors as
shown in figure. The collector of each transistor is connected to the base of the other
transistor.

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Assume that load resistance is connected between the anode and cathode terminals and a
small voltage is applied at the gate and cathode terminals. When there is no gate voltage, the
transistor 2 is in cut-off mode due to zero base current. Therefore, no current flows through
the collector and hence the base of transistor T1. Hence, both transistors are open circuited
and thereby no current flows through the load.

When a particular voltage is applied between the gate and cathode, a small base current
flows through the base of the transistor 2 and thereby collector current will increase. And
hence the base current at the transistor T1 drives the transistor into saturation mode and thus
load current will flow from anode to cathode.

From the above figure the base current of transistor T2 becomes the collector current of
transistor T1 and vice-versa.

Hence

Ib2 = Ic1 and Ic2 = Ib1

Also current through the cathode terminal, Ik = Ig + Ia ……(1)
For a transistor,
Ib1 = Ie1 – Ic1 ……(2)
and Ic1 = α1Ie1 + Ico1……(3)
Where Ico1 is the leakage current.
Substituting equation 3 in equation 2 we get
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Ib1 = Ie1 (1 – α1) – Ico1 …….(4)
From the figure anode current is the emitter current of transistor T1,
Ia = Ie1
Then Ib1 = Ia (1 – α1) – Ico1
And also for transistor T2
Ic2 = α2Ie2 + Ico2
But Ik = Ie2
Therefore Ic2 = α2Ik + Ico2
Ic2 = α2 (Ig + Ia) + Ico2 …..(5)
But Ib1 = Ic2 …..(6)
Substituting the equations 4 and 5 in equation 6 we get
Ia (1 – α1) – Ico1 = α2 (Ig + Ia) + Ico2
Ia = [α2 Ig + Ico1 + Ico2] / [1- (α1 + α2)]
By assuming the leakage currents are negligible in both transistors we get
Ia = [α2 Ig] / [1- (α1 + α2)]
where α1 and α2 are the respective gains of the two transistors.

SCR Turn ON Methods

From the above equation, if (α1 + α2) is equal to one then Ia becomes infinite. That means
anode current suddenly rises to a high value and latches into conduction mode from non-
conductive state. This is called regenerative action of SCR. So for triggering of SCR the gate
current value (α1 + α2) must approach to unity. From the obtained equation the conditions to
turn the SCR into turn ON are

1. The leakage current through the SCR will increase when the temperature of the device is
very high. This turns the SCR into conduction.

2. When the current flowing through the device is extremely small then α1 and α2 are very
small. The conditions for break over voltage are the larger values of electron multiplication
factor Mn and hole multiplication factor Mp near the junction J2. Therefore the by
increasing the voltage across the device to break over voltage VBO causes the junction J2
breakdown and thereby the SCR is turned ON.

3. And also by increasing α1 and α2 break over condition is achieved. The current gains of
the transistors depend on the value of Ig so by increasing Ig, SCR can be turned ON.

SCR Turn OFF Methods

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An SCR cannot be turned OFF through the gate terminal like turning ON process. To turn
OFF the SCR, anode current must be reduced to a level below the holding current level of
the SCR. The process of turning OFF the SCR is called as commutation. Two major types of
commutating the SCR are,

1.  Natural Commutation and

2.  Forced Commutation

Forced commutation is again classified into several types such as

 Class A Commutation
 Class B Commutation
 Class C Commutation
 Class D Commutation
 Class E Commutation

DC Motor Control Using SCR

Consider the below figure in which SCRs are used to control the speed of the DC motor. As
we that DC motor consists of a field and armature windings. By controlling the voltage
applied to the armature, the speed of the DC motor is controlled.

The AC mains supply is connected to transformer primary and to the secondary winding ,
two SCRs are connected in parallel as shown in figure. The output from these SCRs drives
the DC motor. The field winding is connected through the diodes which gives uncontrollable
DC power to the field winding.

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During the positive half cycle of the input, SCR1 is forward biased and when the triggering
pulse is given to the gate, SCR1 starts conducting. So the load current flows to the DC motor
through SCR1. During the negative half cycle of the input, SCR 2 is forward biased and
SCR 1 is reverse biased and hence SCR1 is turned OFF.

When the gate triggering is given to SCR2 , it starts conducting. By varying the trigger input
to the respective SCRs the average output to the DC motor is varied and hence its speed is
controlled.

AC Motor Control Using SCR

An AC induction motor speed is controlled by varying the stator voltage applied to it. The
below figure shows the connection of SCR for varying the voltage applied to the stator of
induction motor.

Each phase consists of two anti-parallel SCRs, one for positive peak and another for
negative peak. Therefore, total six SCR configurations are used for producing the variable
power.

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The input three phase AC supply is given to the three phase induction motor via these set of
thyristors. When these SCRs are triggered with delayed pulses, the average voltage applied
to the induction motor is get varied and hence the speed.

Advantages of Silicon Controlled Rectifier

1.  As compared with electromechanical or mechanical switch, SCR has no moving
parts. Hence, with a high efficiency it can deliver noiseless operation.
2. The switching speed is very high as it can perform 1 nano operations per second.
3. These can be operated at high voltage and current ratings with a small gate current.
4. More suitable for AC operations because at every zero position of the AC cycle the
SCR will automatically switch OFF.
5.  Small in size, hence easy to mount and trouble free service.

Summary
1.  The Silicon Controlled Rectifier behaves like a switch with two states that is either
non-conducting or conducting.
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2.  There are three modes in which SCR operates. Those are forward blocking, forward
conduction mode and reverse blocking mode.
3.  There are mainly two ways to turn ON the SCR that means either by increasing the
voltage across the SCR beyond the break over voltage of the SCR or by applying a
small voltage to the gate. The typical value of the gate is 1.5 V, 30 mA . If the gate
current is increased the SCR will turn ON at much reduced supply voltage.
4.  The SCR cannot be turned OFF through the gate so to open the SCR, applied voltage
must reduced to zero.
5.  Silicon Controlled Rectifier can be used for both AC and DC switching applications.

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