Electrical Engineering › Section Q · Thyristors, operational amplifiers, and power conversion › Topic Q.2
The SCR, the TRIAC, and optothyristors
Give a Shockley diode a third terminal and a tiny gate pulse can decide exactly when it fires. That one change turns a curiosity into the workhorse of dimmers, heater controls, motor drives and controlled rectifiers.
In this topic
- A Shockley diode with a gate
- Triggering, holding and turning off
- Meter checks and a test circuit
- SCRs in dc circuits
- Phase control on ac
- Worked example: a half-wave heater control
- Worked example: a resistive gate trigger
- Beyond the peak, and bridges
- The TRIAC
- Optothyristors
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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