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Turn ON and Off Characteristics of SCR

The document discusses the turn-on and turn-off characteristics of SCRs (silicon controlled rectifiers). It explains that SCR turn-on time comprises delay time, rise time and spread time as the device transitions from forward blocking to conduction. Turn-off involves reverse recovery time and gate recovery time as excess carriers are removed. SCR turn-off time depends on factors like anode current, di/dt and temperature. Converter-grade SCRs have slower turn-off than inverter-grade types.

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Vedant .Chavan
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10K views17 pages

Turn ON and Off Characteristics of SCR

The document discusses the turn-on and turn-off characteristics of SCRs (silicon controlled rectifiers). It explains that SCR turn-on time comprises delay time, rise time and spread time as the device transitions from forward blocking to conduction. Turn-off involves reverse recovery time and gate recovery time as excess carriers are removed. SCR turn-off time depends on factors like anode current, di/dt and temperature. Converter-grade SCRs have slower turn-off than inverter-grade types.

Uploaded by

Vedant .Chavan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Turn ON and Off

characteristics of SCR
Ref: Rashid, Ned Mohan
Turn-on characteristics of SCR/thyristor
• SCR starts conducting when: forward biased and gate
pulse applied
• SCR changes its state from Forward Blocking Mode to
Forward Conduction Mode.
• There is a transition time from forward off state to
forward on state. This transition time is called SCR or
thyristor turn on time.
• turn on time: time required by the SCR to change its
state from forward blocking mode to forward conduction
mode when a gate pulse is applied
• The total turn on time of SCR comprises of three different time
intervals:
• Delay Time: td
• Rise Time: tr
• Spread Time: ts
Delay time: td
• The instant at which gate current
reaches to 0.9Ig to the instant at
which anode current reaches
0.1Ia. Here Ig and Ia are the final
values of gate and anode current
respectively.
• It is also defined as the time
during which anode voltage falls
from Va to 0.9Va. Here Va is the
initial value of anode to cathode
voltage when SCR was in
forward blocking mode.
Rise Time: tr

• The time taken by the anode current


to rise from 0.1Ia to 0.9Ia. During
this time, the anode to cathode
voltage drops from 0.9Va to 0.1Va.

• Rise time is inversely proportional


to the magnitude of gate current and
its rate of rise. The more the value
of gate current, the lesser will be the
rise time.
Spread Time: ts

• Spread time of SCR or thyristor is time


taken by anode current to reach from
0.9Ia to Ia. 

• The anode current spreads over the


entire cross section of cathode. After the
spread time, the anode current attains a
steady state value and the voltage drop
across the SCR terminals becomes equal
to on stage voltage drop of the order of 1
to 1.5 V.
overview
• SCR is a charge controlled device during turn on.
• A certain amount of charge is injected by the gate current in the gate to
cathode junction to bring the SCR in forward conduction mode from
its forward blocking state.
• The higher the value of gate current, the lesser will be the turn on time.
• Once, SCR is turned on, gate has no control over it.
• The typical value of the turn ON time is in the order of 1 to 4 micro
seconds depends on the gate signal wave shapes and anode circuit
parameters .
Turn-off characteristics of SCR/thyristor
• Switching Characteristics of SCR during Turn Off is the
transition of SCR from forward conduction state to forward
blocking.
• This transition process involves bringing the anode current
below holding current, sweeping of charges from outer p
and n junction and recombination of holes and electrons at
the interior junction.
• Thus it is a dynamic process. This dynamic process of
bringing SCR to off state is called commutation process or
turn off process.
Continue…
• Turn off time (tq) is defined as the time in between the instant when anode
current becomes zero to the instant when SCR regains forward blocking
capability.
• During this time, all the excess carries from outer p and n layers are removed.
• This removal of excess carriers consists of sweeping out of holes from outer
p-layer and electrons from outer n-layers. The carriers in the inner junction
can only be swept away by recombination.
• Thus there are two different methods for sweeping out excess carriers. This
lead to two different times.
• The time in which excess carriers are removed from two outer p and n layer
is called Reverse Recovery Time trr. While the time in which carriers in inner
layer is removed due to recombination is called the Gate Recovery Time, tgr.
Switching off characteristics of SCR
• At instant t1, the anode current becomes zero.
• The anode current will start flowing in
reverse direction with the same slope i.e. di/dt
• This reverse current will help to sweep out
excess holes from outer p-layer and excess
electrons from outer n-layer.
• This reverse current first increases but with
the sweeping out of excess carriers, this
current starts to decrease.
• At time t2, when around 60 percent of carriers
have been swept away from outer layers, the
reverse anode current stars to decrease.
Switching off characteristics of SCR
• The rate of decay of reverse
current fast in the beginning but
becomes gradual thereafter.
• This fast decay of reverse current
cause a reverse voltage across
the SCR terminals and may
therefore damage it.
• An RC element across SCR
terminal helps to protect from
such type of happening
Continue…
• At time t3, when reverse current becomes
almost zero, the excess carriers have been
completely removed and now the SCR can
withstand the reverse voltage.
• The reverse recovery time is, therefore, (t3 –
t1).
• After reverse recovery time trr, the excess
carries are still trapped in the inner junction
J2.
• Therefore, the SCR is not able to block the
forward voltage. Since the excess charge
around junction J2 is not able to flow in the
external circuit
Switching off characteristics of SCR
• Therefore these trapped charges must
decay due to recombination.
• This recombination is only possible if a
reverse voltage is maintained across SCR
for some finite time, though the magnitude
of this reverse voltage is not important.
• This is because; the rate of recombination
only depends on junction temperature. It is
independent of external circuit parameter.
The time for recombination of charge is
called Gate Recovery Time, tgr.
• Here the gate recovery time is (t4 – t3).
Switching off characteristics of SCR
• The SCR turn off time depends on the magnitude of anode
current prior to starting of commutation process, di/dt and
junction temperature.
• An increase in magnitude of these factors, increases the
thyristor turn off time.
• However, turn off time decreases with increase in magnitude
of reverse voltage. This is because; high reverse voltage
quickly sweeps out holes from outer p-layer and electrons from
outer n-layers. Thus turn off time of SCR is not a constant
parameter of thyristor, rather it is depends on the external
circuit parameter.
Continued..
• SCR forms a part of external circuit. The turn off time
provided to the SCR or thyristor by the practical circuit is
called Circuit Turn off Time, tc. It is defined as the time
between the instant anode current becomes zero to the instant
reverse voltage across SCR terminals becomes zero.
• Circuit turn off time tc must be greater than thyristor turn off
time tq for reliable commutation.
Overview
• The SCRs which have slow turn OFF time as in between 50 to
100 microseconds are called as converter grade SCRs.
• These are used in phase controlled rectifiers, cyclo-converters, AC
voltage regulators, etc.
• The SCRs which have fast turn OFF time as in between 3 to
50 microseconds are inverter grade SCRs.

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