Silicon controlled rectifier refers to a four layer semiconductor that is used to control power. Besides, the main circuit of the device is the rectifier, and the gate signal controls it. The SCR has three PN junctions, acts as a switch and can manage to handle high voltage that we might expect. The three terminals include the anode (P-layer), the cathode (N-layer) and the gate (P-layer near the cathode) (Poole, n.d).. The current will not flow in this device when you try to ground both the gate and cathode and then apply a positive voltage to the anode. The SCR will conduct power when it is forward biased. It means that you should keep the cathode at the negative terminal and the anode at positive. Moreover, the signal applied to the gate will control the SCR from a high resistance to a low resistance.

The SCR will turn on after you have applied a positive clock pulse at the gate. Once the SCR is turned on, the device will remain on even if you remove the gate signal. However, you should understand that the minimum current should be maintained in the main circuit. When you apply a forward bias voltage to the SCR, junction J1 and J3 become forward bias while J2 becomes reverse bias (Thyristor or Silicon Controlled Rectifier Tutorial, 2013). When you apply a gate signal, junction two will become forward bias and the SCR begins to conduct power. On the same note, the SCR typically turns on and off very quickly. The SCR offers infinity resistance when it is in the off state and a very low resistance when it is in the on state. You can only turn off the SCR device when you reduce the anode-cathode current to less than the holding current. The following are images of the Silicon controlled rectifier.

Diagram 1.

Diagram 2

Diagram 3

(Poole n.d).

(Thyristor or Silicon Controlled Rectifier Tutorial, 2013)

References

Poole, I. (n.d). What is an SCR Silicon Controlled Rectifier or Thyristor. Retrieved March 15, 2016, from http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/data/semicond/thyristor/thyristor.php

Thyristor or Silicon Controlled Rectifier Tutorial. (2013). Retrieved March 15, 2016, from http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/thyristor.html

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