Joson, Jelle Ann B.

4BS-ECE

ECE 412L
Friday 7-10AM

Experiment No. 5

UJT Triggering of SCR

DISCUSSION:
Explain the working operation of UJT triggering circuit waveforms.
The Unijunction transistor is different among other semiconductor devices
because when it is triggered, the current in the emitter increases regeneratively
until it reaches the limit of the emitter power supply. It is forward biased through
first to second base. When the voltage in the emitter is about 1V above the voltage
at the emitter, current will begin to flow from the emitter into the base region.
It is also most known to that has a negative resistance that is why it can work
as an oscillator. Since the base region is very lightly doped, the additional current
causes conductivity modulation which reduces the resistance of the base between
the emitter junction and the B2 terminal. This reduction in resistance means that
the emitter junction is more forward biased, and so even more current is injected. In
general, the effect is a negative resistance at the emitter terminal.

Why UJT triggering circuit is superior when compared to R & RC triggering circuit?
Generally, if you need accurate timing for the whole day, or a week or even a
longer range of time, the timing of the UJT is more reliable because the R and RC
circuits are more susceptible to thermal drift than a UJT in terms of making precise
timing circuits. Its switching time is as swift as quite a few nano seconds. UJT
reduces power dissipation and maintains a constant firing angle. But for most short
timing RC is also good.

What is the use of pulse transformer?

Pulse transformer is a transformer which can handle voltage and current in the
form of pulses. Unlike any other transformers, it does not have step-up or stepdown. It is optimized for transmitting rectangular electrical pulse such as pulse with
fast rise and fall timer with constant amplitude. It is designed for transmission of
voltage pulses between its windings and into the load.

Joson, Jelle Ann B.

4BS-ECE

ECE 412L
Friday 7-10AM

Pulse transformers can be used for signal transmission, low-power control

circuits, as well as the main components in high-power switched-mode power
supplies. It is commonly used on radar, television and computers.
Explain the design part of UJT.
Unijunction transistor consists of an n-type
silicon bar with an electrical connection on each end.
The leads to these connections are called base leads
base-one B1 and base two B2.Part way along the bar
between the two bases, nearer to B2 than B1,a pn
junction is formed between a p-type emitter and the
bar. The lead to this junction is called the emitter lead
E.

We
can
notice
that emitter is shown closer to B2 than B1.
Since the device has one pn junction and three
leads, it is commonly called a unijunction transistor.
With only one pn-junction, the device is really a form
of diode. Because the two base terminals are taken
from one section of the diode, this device is also
called double-based diode.
The emitter is heavily doped having many holes. The
n region, however, is lightly doped. For this reason,
the resistance between the base terminals is very
high (5 to 10 k) when emitter lead is open.

The schematic diagram symbol for a unijunction transistor represents the

emitter lead with an arrow, showing the direction of conventional current flow when
the emitter-base junction is conducting a current. A complementary UJT would use a
p-type base and an n-type emitter, and operates the same as the n-type base
device but with all voltage polarities reversed.

The structure of a UJT is similar to that of an N-channel JFET, but p-type (gate)
material surrounds the N-type (channel) material in a JFET, and the gate surface is

Joson, Jelle Ann B.

4BS-ECE

ECE 412L
Friday 7-10AM

larger than the emitter junction of UJT. A UJT is operated with emitter junction
forward- biased while the JFET is normally operated with the gate junction reversebiased. It is a current controlled negative resistance device.

Write the equivalent circuit of UJT and show that V peak = Vemitter = V + VBB
N-type channel essentially comprises of two
resistors RB2 and RB1 in series with an equivalent
diode, D representing the p-n junction connected
to their center point. This Emitter pn junction is
fixed in position along the ohmic channel during
manufacture and can therefore not be changed.
Resistance RB1 is given between the
Emitter, E and terminal B1, while resistance RB2 is
given between the Emitter, E and terminal B 2. As
the physical position of the p-n junction is closer
to terminal B2 than B1 the resistive value of R B2
will be less than RB1.

The total resistance of the silicon bar will be dependent upon the
semiconductors actual doping level as well as the physical dimensions of the N-type
silicon channel but can be represented by RBB.
1. With no voltage applied to the UJT, the inter-base resistance is given by: RBB
= RB1 + RB2. The value of RBB generally lies between 4 k and 10 k.
2. If a voltage VBB is applied between the bases with emitter open, the voltage
will divide up across RB1 and RB2. Voltage across RB1, V1 = {RB1/[RB1 +
RB2]}*VBB is zero.
3. If now a progressively rising positive voltage is applied to the emitter, the
diode will become forward biased when input voltage exceeds VBB by
VD,the forward voltage drop across the silicon diode:
a. VP = VBB + VD;
where VP = peak point voltage
VD = forward voltage drop across silicon diode (j 0.7 V)
Why do we require turn-on circuits for thyristors?

Joson, Jelle Ann B.

4BS-ECE

ECE 412L
Friday 7-10AM

It is necessary to turn-on thyristors they specially designed as circuit

switching device. It is optimized to handle high-power applications. And since it is
high-power, without thyristors, potential damage can occur to certain devices such
as TRIACs, UJTs, etc. Ass for that reason, thyristors are made to serve as regulator or
protector because it has a characteristic of internal resistance. Therefore, it can
block excessive current trying to pass through it. So, when the limit has reached,
the thyristor will be damaged first right before the device itself.

Why do we require turn-off circuits for thyristors?

We require turn-off circuits for thyristor because as a switching device, it is
actually its main purpose for turning the trigger on and off. Anytime it is needed to
stop the operation of the circuit, we can easily shut it down.
But there is an exception for this condition. SCR is different among other
semiconductor devices because once it is triggered, the gate terminal is
disregarded. Whatever we do, it will not stop conducting unless, of course we do the
methods to make it stop. And these methods encompasses of the following: remove
the power supply, divert it to short circuit and forced commutation.

Comment on Forced and Natural Commutation Techniques.

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.
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.

Joson, Jelle Ann B.

4BS-ECE

ECE 412L
Friday 7-10AM

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.

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

Class
Class
Class
Class

A: Self commutated by a resonating load

B: Self commutated by an LC circuit
C: Cor L-C switched by another load carrying SCR
D: C or L-C switched by an auxiliary SCR

Joson, Jelle Ann B.

4BS-ECE

Class E: An external pulse source for commutation

Class F: AC line commutation

ECE 412L
Friday 7-10AM

Joson, Jelle Ann B.

4BS-ECE

ECE 412L
Friday 7-10AM

OBSERVATION AND CONCLUSION:

This activity mainly aims to demonstrate the characteristics, waveforms and

operation of a Unijunction transistor. We have simulated the experiment through the
use of Multisim since it would be easier and faster and we can get more accurate
results rather than actually performing it.

We

R=

started

computing

the

resistance

using

the

formula

T
2.303 C log 10

1
1

and we have obtained 180.37 ohms. From that value, we

allocated 50 kilo ohms as the growth of the resistance for us to clearly monitor the
changes that will transpire.

After that we proceeded to the simulation process. UJT produces saw tooth
waveforms. We acquired moderately distorted waveform. Although we did several
adjustments, the distortion can still be remarked.

Expected Output

Actual Output

All data we have gathered were placed in the table given. We have obtained
the values Vn, Vm, and Vdc from the simulation while the rest of the data in the table
was encoded by computing the , , Idc, Pdc and Voth using the formula given in the
manual.

Joson, Jelle Ann B.

4BS-ECE

ECE 412L
Friday 7-10AM

As we observe the waveforms in contrast to the values gathered, as the

resistance decreases, the waveform becomes finer; the signal becomes better. But
when we increased the resistance, the signal becomes noisier. That means, the
resistance directly affects the transmission of a signal. Also, we have only filled the
0-90 degrees part of the table because the firing range did not surpassed the said
range.

The three important characteristics of UJT noted are the following: (1) PeakPoint Emitter Current Ip. It is the emitter current at the peak point. It represents the
minimum current that is required to trigger the device (UJT). It is inversely
proportional to the inter-base voltage VBB. (2)Valley Point Voltage VV is the emitter
voltage at the valley point. The valley voltage increases together with the increase
in inter-base voltage VBB. (3)Valley Point Current IV is the emitter current at the
valley point. It increases with the increase in inter-base voltage V BB.

UJT has a very stable triggering voltage (VP); a fixed fraction of applied inter
base voltage VBB, requires only very low value of triggering current, has a high pulse
current capability, negative resistance characteristic and as many say, has a very
low cost. Therefore, these are the reasons why UJT is widely used as a switching
semiconductor device.