SCR Protection

WHY PROTECTION OF SCR NEEDED?
 SCR is a very delicate semiconductor device. So we have to use it in its

specified ratings to get desired output.
 SCR may face different types of threats during its operation due to over
voltages, over currents etc.
 There are different types of thyristor protection schemes available for

satisfactory operation in market.
 Under Power Electronics Protection of a device is an important aspect for

its reliable and efficient operation.
TYPE OF PROTECTION FOR SCR
 Overvoltage protection.
 Overcurrent protection.
 High di/dt protection.
 High dv/dt protection.
 And some circuit like snubber circuit ,crowbar circuit etc. are also
used for SCR protection.
OVERVOLTAGE PROTECTION
 A thyristor may be subjected to internal or external over-voltages.

 Internal Over-Voltages : After commutation of a thyristor reverse
recovery current decays abruptly with high di/dt which causes a high
reverse voltage [as, V = L(di/dt) so if di/dt is high then V will be large] that
can exceed the rated break-over voltage and the device may be damaged.
 External Over-Voltages : These are caused due to various reasons in the
supply line like lightning, surge conditions (abnormal voltage spike) etc.
External over voltage may cause different types of problem in thyristor
operation like increase in leakage current, permanent breakdown of
junctions, unwanted turn-on of devices etc. So, we have to suppress the
over-voltages.
Protective Measure :
 The effect of over-voltages can be minimized by using non-linear

resistors called voltage clamping devices like selenium thyrector
diode, metal oxide like metal oxide varistor.
 At the time of normal operation it offers high impedance and acts as it

is not present in the circuit. But when the voltage exceeds the rated
voltage then it serves as a low impedance path to protect SCR.
Voltage Clamping Device:
 It is a non-linear resistor called as VARISTOR (VARIable resiSTOR)

connected across the SCR.
 The resistance of varistor will decrease with increase in voltage.
 During normal operation, varistor has high Resistance and draws only
small leakage current.
 When high voltage appears, it operates in low resistance region and the
surge energy is dissipated across the resistance by producing a virtual
short-circuit across the SCR.
a. Volt-amp and volt-resistance characteristics of voltage clamping device
b. Action of current limiting fuse in a circuit
SCR Over Voltage Protection
OVERCURRENT PROTECTION
 In an SCR due to over-current, the junction temperature exceeds the rated
value and the device gets damaged.
 Over-current is interrupted by conventional fuses and circuit breakers.
 The fault current must be interrupted before the SCR gets damaged and
only the faulty branches of the network should be isolated.
 Circuit breaker has long tripping time. So it is used for protecting SCR
against continuous over loads (or) against surge currents of long
duration.ast acting current limiting fuse is used to protect SCR against
large surge currents of very short duration.
Fig: Over current protection
Crowbar circuit:
 SCR has high surge current ability. SCR is used in electronic crowbar
circuit for overcurrent protection of power converter.
 In this protection, an additional SCR is connected across the supply

which is known as ‘Crowbar SCR’.
 Current sensing resistor detects the value of converter current. If it

exceeds preset value, then gate trigger circuits turn ON the crowbar
SCR.
 So the input terminals are short-circuit by SCR and thus it bypass the
converter over current.
 After some time the main fuse interrupts the fault current.
HIGH di/dt PROTECTION
 When a thyristor is forward biased and is turned on by a gate pulse,

conduction of anode current begins in the immediate neighbourhood
of the gate-cathode junction.
 Thereafter, the current spreads across the whole area of junction.
 The thyristor design permits the spread of conduction to the whole

junction area as rapidly as possible.
 However, if the rate of rise of anode current, i.e. di/dt, is large as

compared to the spread velocity of carriers, local hot spots will be
formed near the gate connection on account of high current density.
 applying a gate current nearer to (but never greater)This localized
heating may destroy the thyristor. Therefore, the rate of rise of anode
current at the time of turn-on must be kept below the specified limiting
value.
 The value of di/dt can be maintained below acceptable limit by using a

small inductor, called di/dt inductor, in series with the anode circuit.
Typical di/dt limit values of SCRs are 20-500 A/µ sec.
 Local spot heating can also be avoided by ensuring that the conduction
spreads to the whole area as rapidly as possible.
 This can be achieved by than the maximum specified gate current.

 A thyristor requires a minimum time to spread the current
conduction uniformly throughout the junctions
 Otherwise, a localized “hot-spot” heating may occur due to high

current density.
High dv/dt protection
 Protection against high rate of change of voltage i.e. dV/dt also needed
for satisfactory operation of SCR.
Effect of High Voltage Rise Rate
 Protection against high rate of voltage rise is necessary because if SCR

is not in conduction mode and is forward biased mode then high dV/dt
may trigger the SCR, and SCR will not be able to serve it
purpose.
Protection Method
 As we all know capacitor is a good charge storing option and provide

less resistance for high frequency voltage so a capacitor may be
connected in parallel to the SCR to protect it from high rate of change
of voltage i.e. dV/dt.
 These were the methods of protection of SCR against high di/dt and
high dV/dt.
 Typical values of dv/dt are 20 – 500 V/µsec. False turn-on of a

thyristor by large dv/dt can be prevented by using a snubber circuit in
parallel with the device.
SCR protection:
Optocoupler
 An optocoupler (or an optoelectronic coupler) is basically an interface

between two circuits which operate at (usually) different voltage levels.
 The key advantage of an optocoupler is the electrical isolation between the
input and output circuits.
 With an optocoupler, the only contact between the input and the output is a
beam of light. Because of this it is possible to have an insulation resistance
between the two circuits in the thousands of megohms.
 Isolation like this is useful in high voltage applications where the potentials
of two circuits may differ by several thousand volts.
When to Use
There are many situations where signals and data need to be transferred from
one subsystem to another within a piece of electronics equipment, or from one
piece of equipment to another, without making a direct electrical connection.
Often this is because the source and destination are at very different voltage
levels, like a microprocessor which is operating from 5V DC but being used to
control a triac which is switching 240V AC.
In such situations the link between the two must be an isolated one, to protect
the microprocessor from overvoltage damage.
19
Other Devices
Mechanical Relays can also provide isolation, but even small relays tend to
be fairly bulky compared with ICs.
Because relays are electro-mechanical, they are not as reliable and are
only capable of relatively low speed operation.
Where small size, higher speed and greater reliability are important, a
much better alternative is to use an opto-coupler.
These use a beam of light to transmit the signals or data across an electrical
barrier, and achieve excellent isolation.
20
Parameters
The most important parameter for optocouplers is their isolation.
The second most important parameter is transfer efficiency, measured as the

current transfer ratio or CTR.
CTR is simply the ratio between a current change in the output transistor and the
current change in the input LED which produced it.
Typical values for CTR range from 10% to 50% for devices with an output
phototransistor and up to 2000% or so for those with a Darlington transistor pair
in the output.
21
Parameters
• Optocoupler’s bandwidth - determines the highest signal frequency that can
be transferred through it
• Typical opto-couplers with a single output phototransistor may have a
bandwidth of 200 - 300kHz, while those with a Darlington pair are usually
about 10 times lower, at around 20 – 30 kHz.
Darlington Pair
22
The other main type of optocoupler is the type having an output Diac or
bilateral switch, and intended for use in driving a Triac or SCR.
Examples of these are the MOC3020 and MOC3021. Here the output side of
the opto-coupler is designed to be connected directly into the triggering circuit
of the Triac where it’s operating from and floating at full 120/240 VAC
23
Vcc
• A simple circuit with an opto-isolator.

• When switch S1 is open, LED D1 is off, so Q1 is off and no current
flows through R2, so Vout = Vcc.
• When switch S1 is closed, LED D1 lights.
• Phototransistor Q1 is now triggered, so current flows through R2
• Vout is then pulled down to low state.
• This circuit, thus, acts as a NOT gate.
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SCR Protection

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What are the different types of protection used for SCRs?

What are the different types of protection used for SCRs?

What is overvoltage protection and how does it work?

What is overvoltage protection and how does it work?

WHY PROTECTION OF SCR NEEDED?

 SCR is a very delicate semiconductor device. So we have to use it in its

 There are different types of thyristor protection schemes available for

 Under Power Electronics Protection of a device is an important aspect for

 A thyristor may be subjected to internal or external over-voltages.

 The effect of over-voltages can be minimized by using non-linear

 At the time of normal operation it offers high impedance and acts as it

 It is a non-linear resistor called as VARISTOR (VARIable resiSTOR)

 The resistance of varistor will decrease with increase in voltage.

 Over-current is interrupted by conventional fuses and circuit breakers.

 In this protection, an additional SCR is connected across the supply

 Current sensing resistor detects the value of converter current. If it

 When a thyristor is forward biased and is turned on by a gate pulse,

 Thereafter, the current spreads across the whole area of junction.

 The thyristor design permits the spread of conduction to the whole

 However, if the rate of rise of anode current, i.e. di/dt, is large as

 The value of di/dt can be maintained below acceptable limit by using a

 This can be achieved by than the maximum specified gate current.

 Otherwise, a localized “hot-spot” heating may occur due to high

Effect of High Voltage Rise Rate

 Protection against high rate of voltage rise is necessary because if SCR

 As we all know capacitor is a good charge storing option and provide

 Typical values of dv/dt are 20 – 500 V/µsec. False turn-on of a

 An optocoupler (or an optoelectronic coupler) is basically an interface

The most important parameter for optocouplers is their isolation.

The second most important parameter is transfer efficiency, measured as the

• A simple circuit with an opto-isolator.

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