Electrical Engineering › Section Q · Thyristors, operational amplifiers, and power conversion › Topic Q.1
Hysteresis, gas discharge tubes, the Shockley diode, and the DIAC
Thyristors are semiconductor switches that stay on once fired and stay off once stopped. This topic builds the idea from glowing gas to the four-layer Shockley diode and its two-way cousin, the DIAC, which triggers the power switches of the next topic.
In this topic
- Switches that remember
- Positive feedback makes a latch
- Gas that strikes and extinguishes
- Worked example: a neon relaxation oscillator
- The thyratron, ancestor of the thyristor
- The Shockley diode: four layers, two transistors
- Breakover, latching and dropout
- Worked example: a Shockley diode on a variable supply
- False firing from fast voltage rise
- The DIAC on alternating current
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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