SCR Triggering Methods

Triggering (Turn on) Methods of Thyristor:

Triggering:-

The turning on Process of the SCR is known as Triggering. In other words, turning the SCR from
Forward-Blocking state to Forward-Conduction state is known as Triggering.The various
methods of SCR triggering are discussed here.

The various SCR triggering methods are

 Forward Voltage Triggering

 Thermal or Temperature Triggering
 Radiation or Light triggering
 dv/dt Triggering
 Gate Triggering

(a) Forward Voltage Triggering:-

 In this mode, an additional forward voltage is applied between anode and cathode.
 When the anode terminal is positive with respect to cathode(VAK) , Junction J1 and J3 is forward
biased and junction J2 is reverse biased.
 No current flows due to depletion region in J2 is reverse biased (except leakage current).
 As VAK is further increased, at a voltage VBO (Forward Break Over Voltage) the junction J2
undergoes avalanche breakdown and so a current flows and the device tends to turn ON(even
when gate is open)

(b) Thermal (or) Temperature Triggering:-

 The width of depletion layer of SCR decreases with increase in junction temperature.
 Therefore in SCR when VAR is very near its breakdown voltage, the device is triggered by
increasing the junction temperature.
 By increasing the junction temperature the reverse biased junction collapses thus the device
starts to conduct.

(c) Radiation Triggering (or) Light Triggering:-

 For light triggered SCRs a special terminal niche is made inside the inner P layer instead of gate
terminal.
 When light is allowed to strike this terminal, free charge carriers are generated.
 When intensity of light becomes more than a normal value, the thyristor starts conducting.
 This type of SCRs are called as LASCR

(d) dv/dt Triggering:-

 When the device is forward biased, J1 and J3 are forward biased, J2 is reverse biased.
 Junction J2 behaves as a capacitor, due to the charges existing across the junction.
 If voltage across the device is V, the charge by Q and capacitance by C then,

ic = dQ/dt

Q = CV

ic = d(CV) / dt

= C. dV/dt + V. dC/dt

as dC/dt = 0

ic = C.dV/dt

 Therefore when the rate of change of voltage across the device becomes large, the device may
turn ON, even if the voltage across the device is small.

(e) Gate Triggering:-

 This is most widely used SCR triggering method.

 Applying a positive voltage between gate and cathode can Turn ON a forward biased thyristor.
 When a positive voltage is applied at the gate terminal, charge carriers are injected in the inner
P-layer, thereby reducing the depletion layer thickness.
 As the applied voltage increases, the carrier injection increases, therefore the voltage at which
forward break-over occurs decreases.
 Three types of signals are used for gate triggering.
VI characteristics of the diode

1. DC gate triggering:-

 A DC voltage of proper polarity is applied between gate and cathode ( Gate terminal is positive
with respect to Cathode).
 When applied voltage is sufficient to produce the required gate Current, the device starts
conducting.
 One drawback of this scheme is that both power and control circuits are DC and there is no
isolation between the two.
 Another disadvantages is that a continuous DC signal has to be applied. So gate power loss is
high.

2. AC Gate Triggering:-

 Here AC source is used for gate signals.

 This scheme provides proper isolation between power and control circuit.
 Drawback of this scheme is that a separate transformer is required to step down ac supply.
 There are two methods of AC voltage triggering namely (i) R Triggering (ii) RC triggering
(i) Resistance triggering:

The following circuit shows the resistance triggering.

 In this method, the variable resistance R is used to control the gate current.
 Depending upon the value of R, when the magnitude of the gate current reaches the sufficient
value(latching current of the device) the SCR starts to conduct.
 The diode D is called as blocking diode. It prevents the gate cathode junction from getting
damaged in the negative half cycle.
 By considering that the gate circuit is purely resistive, the gate current is in phase with the
applied voltage.
 By using this method we can achieve maximum firing angle up to 90°.

(ii) RC Triggering

The following circuit shows the resistance-capacitance triggering.

 By using this method we can achieve firing angle more than 90°.

 In the positive half cycle, the capacitor is charged through the variable resistance R up to the
peak value of the applied voltage.
 The variable resistor R controls the charging time of the capacitor.
 Depends upon the voltage across the capacitor, when sufficient amount of gate current will flow
in the circuit, the SCR starts to conduct.
  In the negative half cycle, the capacitor C is charged up to the negative peak value through the
diode D2.
 Diode D1 is used to prevent the reverse break down of the gate cathode junction in the negative
half cycle.

3. Pulse Gate Triggering:-

 In this method the gate drive consists of a single pulse appearing periodically (or) a sequence of
high frequency pulses.
 This is known as carrier frequency gating.
 A pulse transformer is used for isolation.
 The main advantage is that there is no need of applying continuous signals, so the gate losses
are reduced.

Advantages of pulse train triggering:

 Low gate dissipation at higher gate current.

 Small gate isolating pulse transformer
 Low dissipation in reverse biased condition is possible.So simple trigger circuits are possible in
some cases
 When the first trigger pulse fails to trigger the SCR, the following pulses can succeed in latching
SCR. This important while
 Triggering inductive circuits and circuits having back emf’s.

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Thyristor Commutation
Techniques in Power Electronics
 ELECTRICAL
16 COMMENTS

Most of the converter equipment and switch-mode power supplies use power electronics
components like thyristors, MOSFET and other power semiconductor devices for high frequency
switching operations at high-power ratings. Consider the thyristors that we use very frequently
as bistable switches in several applications. These thyristors use switches needed to be
switched on and off. For switching on the thyristors, there are some thyristor turn on methods
called as thyristor triggering methods. Similarly, for switching off thyristors, there are methods
called as thyristors commutation techniques. Before discussing about thyristor commutation
techniques, we must know something about the thyristors basics such as thyristor, thyristor
operation, different types of thyristors and thyristor turn on methods.

Thyristor

Two to four lead semiconductor devices consisting of four layers of alternating N and P-type
materials are called as thyristors. These are generally used as bi-stable switches which will
conduct only when the gate terminal of thyristor is triggered. Thryistor is also called as silicon
controlled rectifier or SCR.

Thyristor

Thyristor Commutation Techniques

As we have studied above, a thyristor can be turned on by triggering gate terminal with low
voltage short duration pulse. But after turning on, it will conduct continuous until the thyristor is
reverse biased or the load current falls to zero. This continuous conduction of thyristors causes
problems in some applications. The process used for turning off a thyristor is called as
commutation. By the commutation process, the thyristor operating mode is changed from
forward conducting mode to forward blocking mode. So, the thyristor commutation methods or
thyristor commutation techniques are used to turn off.
The commutation techniques of thyristors are classified into two types:

 Natural Commutation
 Forced Commutation

Natural Commutation

Generally, if we consider AC supply, the current will flow through the zero crossing line while
going from positive peak to negative peak. Thus, a reverse voltage will appear across the
device simultaneously, which will turn off the thyristor immediately. This process is called as
natural commutation as thyristor is turned off naturally without using any external components or
circuit or supply for commutation purpose.

Natural Commutation

Natural commutation can be observed in AC voltage controllers, phase controlled rectifiers and
cycloconverters.

Forced Commutation

The thyristor can be turned off by reverse biasing the SCR or by using active or passive
components. Thyristor current can be reduced to a value below the value of holding current.
Since, the thyristor is turned off forcibly it is termed as a forced commutation process. The basic
electronics and electrical components such as inductance and capacitance are used as
commutating elements for commutation purpose.
Forced commutation can be observed while using DC supply; hence it is also called as DC
commutation. The external circuit used for forced commutation process is called as
commutation circuit and the elements used in this circuit are called as commutating elements.

Classification of Forced Commutation Methods

The forced commutation can be classified into different methods as follows:

 Class A: Self commutated by a resonating load

 Class B: Self commutated by an LC circuit
 Class C: Cor L-C switched by another load carrying SCR
 Class D: C or L-C switched by an auxiliary SCR
 Class E: An external pulse source for commutation
 Class F: AC line commutation

Class A: Self Commutated by a Resonating Load

Class A is one of frequently used thyristor commutation techniques. If thyristor is triggered or

turned on, then anode current will flow by charging capacitor C with dot as positive. The second
order under-damped circuit is formed by the inductor or AC resistor, capacitor and resistor. If the
current builds up through SCR and completes the half cycle, then the inductor current will flow
through the SCR in the reverse direction which will turn off thyristor.

Class A-Commutation
After the thyristor commutation or turning off the thyristor, the capacitor will start discharging
from its peak value through the resistor is an exponential manner. The thyristor will be in
reverse bias condition until the capacitor voltage returns to the supply voltage level.

Class B: Self Commutated by an L-C Circuit

The major difference between the class A and class B thyristor commutation techniques is that
the LC is connected in series with thyristor in class A, whereas in parallel with thyristor in class
B. Before triggering on the SCR, the capacitor is charged up (dot indicates positive). If the SCR
is triggered or given triggering pulse, then the resulting current has two components. The
constant load current flowing through the R-L load is ensured by the large reactance connected
in series with the load which is clamped with freewheeling diode. If sinusoidal current flows
through the resonant L-C circuit, then the capacitor C is charged up with dot as negative at the
end of the half cycle.

Class B-Commutation

The total current flowing through the SCR becomes zero with the reverse current flowing
through the SCR opposing the load current for a small a small fraction of the negative swing. If
the resonant circuit current or reverse current becomes just greater than the load current, then
the SCR will be turned OFF.
Class C: C or L-C Switched by another Load Carrying SCR

In the above thyristor commutation techniques we observed only one SCR but in these class C
commutation techniques of thyristor there will be two SCRs. One SCR is considered as main
thyristor and the other as auxiliary thyristor. In this classification both may act as main SCRs
carrying load current and they can be designed with four SCRs with load across the capacitor
by using a current source for supplying an integral converter.

Class C-Commutation

If the thyristor T2 is triggered, then the capacitor will be charged up. If the thyristor T1 is
triggered, then the capacitor will discharge and this discharge current of C will oppose the flow
of load current in T2 as the capacitor is switched across T2 via T1.

Class D: L-C or C Switched by an Auxiliary SCR

The class C and class D thyristor commutation techniques can be differentiated with the load
current in class D: only one of the SCR’s will carry the load current while the other acts as an
auxiliary thyristor whereas in class C both SCRs will carry load current. The auxiliary thyristor
consists of resistor in its anode which is having resistance of approximately ten times the load
resistance.
 Class D-Commutation

By triggering the Ta (auxiliary thyristor) the capacitor is charged up to supply voltage and then
the Ta will turn OFF. The extra voltage if any, due to substantial inductance in the input lines will
be discharged through the diode-inductor-load circuit.

If the Tm (main thyristor) is triggered, then the current will flow in two paths: commutating
current will flow through the C-Tm-L-D path and load current will flow through the load. If the
charge on the capacitor is reversed and held at that level using the diode and if Ta is re-
triggered, then the voltage across the capacitor will appear across the Tm via Ta. Thus, the
main thyristor Tm will be turned off.

Class E: External Pulse Source for Commutation

For the class E thyristor commutation techniques, a transformer which can not saturate (as it is
having a sufficient iron and air gap) and capable to carry the load current with small voltage
drop compared with the supply voltage. If the thyristor T is triggered, then the current will flow
through the load and pulse transformer.

Class E-Commutation
An external pulse generator is used to generate a positive pulse which is supplied to the
cathode of the thyristor through pulse transformer. The capacitor C is charged to around 1v and
it is considered to have zero impedance for the turn off pulse duration. The voltage across the
thyristor is reversed by the pulse from the electrical transformer which supplies the reverse
recovery current, and for the required turn off time it holds the negative voltage.

Class F: AC Line Commutated

In class F thyristor commutation techniques, an alternating voltage is used for supply and,
during the positive half cycle of this supply, load current will flow. If the load is highly inductive,
then the current will remain until the energy stored in the inductive load is dissipated. During the
negative half cycle as the load current becomes zero, then thyristor will turn off. If voltage exists
for a period of rated turn off time of the device, then the negative polarity of the voltage across
the outgoing thyristor will turn it off.

Class F-Commutation

Here, the duration of the half cycle must be greater than the turn off time of thyristor. This
commutation process is similar to the concept of three phase converter. Let us consider,
primarily T1 and T11 are conducting with the triggering angle of the converter, which is equal to
60 degrees, and is operating in continuous conduction mode with highly inductive load.

If the thyristors T2 and T22 are triggered, then instantaneously the current through the incoming
devices will not rise to the load current level. If the current through the incoming thyristors
reaches the load current level, then the commutation process of outgoing thyristors will be
initiated. This reverse biasing voltage of thyristor should be continued until the forward blocking
state is reached.

Thyristor can be simply called as a controlled rectifier. There are different types of thyristors,
which are used for designing power electronics based innovative electrical projects. The process
of turning on thyristor by providing triggering pulses to gate terminal is called as triggering.
Similarly, the process of turning off thyristor is called as commutation. Hope this article give brief
information about different commutation techniques of the thyristor. Further technical assistance
will be provided based on your comments and queries in the comments section below.

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