Switching Characteristics during Turn-off Thyristor turn-off means that it has changed from on to off state and is capable

of blocking the forward voltage. This dynamic process of the SCR from conduction state to forward blocking state is called commutation process or turn-off process. Once the thyristor is on, gate loses control. The SCR can be turned off by reducing the anode current below holding current . If forward voltage is applied to the SCR at the moment its anode current falls to zero, the device will not be able to block this forward voltage as the carriers (holes and electrons) in the four layers are still favourable for conduction. The device will therefore go into conduction immediately even though gate signal is not applied. In order to obviate such an occurrence, it is essential that the thyristor is reverse biased for a finite period after the anode current has reached zero. The turn-off time tq of a thyristor is defined as the time between the instant anode current becomes zero and the instant SCR regains forward blocking capability. During time tq ,all the excess carriers from the four layers of SCR must be removed. This removal of excess carriers consists of sweeping out of holes from outer p-layer and electrons from outer n-layer. The carriers around junction J2 can be removed only by recombination. The turn-off time is divided into two intervals ; reverse recovery time trr and the gate recovery time tg r ; i.e. tq = trr + tgr.

Fig. 4.8. Thyristor voltage and current waveforms during turn-on and turn-off processes.. The thyristor characteristics during turn-on and turn-off processes are shown in one Fig. 4.8 so as to gain insight into these processes. At instant t l,anode current becomes zero. After t l anode current builds up in the reverse direction with the same di/dt slope as before t l The reason for the reversal of anode current after t l is due to the presence of carriers stored in the four layers. The reverse recovery current removes excess carriers from the end junctions J1 and J3 between the instants t land t 3. In other words, reverse recovery current flows due to the sweeping out of holes from top p-layer and electrons from bottom n-layer. At instant t 2, when about 60% of the stored charges are removed from the outer two layers, carrier density across J1 and J3 begins to decrease and with this reverse recovery current also starts decaying. The reverse current decay is fast in the beginning but gradual thereafter. The fast decay of recovery current causes a reverse voltage across the device due to the circuit inductance. This reverse voltage surge appears across the thyristor terminals and may therefore damage it. In practice, this is avoided by using protective RC elements across SCR. At instant t3 , when reverse recovery current has fallen to nearly zero value, end junctions J1 and J3 recover and SCR is able to block the reverse voltage. For a thyristor, reverse recovery phenomenon between t1 and t3 is similar to that of a rectifier diode. At the end of reverse recovery period (t3 -the middle junction J2still has trapped charges, therefore, the thyristor is not able to block the forward voltage at t3 The trapped charges around J2, i.e. in the inner two layers, cannot flow to the external circuit, therefore, these trapped charges must decay only by recombination. This recombination is possible if a reverse voltage is maintained across SCR, though the magnitude of this voltage is not important. The rate of recombination of charges is independent of the external circuit parameters. The time for the recombination of charges between t3 and t4 is called gate recovery time tgr At instant t 4, junction J2 recovers and the forward voltage can be reapplied between anode and cathode. The thyristor turn-off time tq is in the range of 3 to 100 sec. The turn-off time is influenced by the magnitude of forward current, di/dt at the time of commutation and junction temperature. An increase in the magnitude of these factors increases the thyristor turn-off time. If the value of forward current before commutation is high, trapped charges around junction J2 are more. The time required for their recombination is more and therefore turn-off time is increased. But turn-off time decreases with an increase in the magnitude of reverse voltage, particularly in the range of 0 to 50 V. This is because high reverse voltage sucks out the carriers out of the junctions Jl , J3 and the adjacent transition regions at a faster rate. It is evident from above that turn-off time tq is not a constant parameter of a thyristor. The thyristor turn-off time tq is applicable to an individual SCR. In actual practice, thyristor (or thyristors) form a part of the power circuit. The turn-off time provided to the 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 and the

instant reverse voltage due to practical circuit reaches zero, see Fig. 4.8. Time tc must be greater than tq for reliable turn-off, otherwise the device may turn-on at an undesired instant, a process called commutation failure. Thyristors with slow turn-off time (50 100 (usee) are called converter grade SCRs and those with fast turn-off time (3 50 sec) are called inverter-grade SCRs. Converter-grade SCRs are cheaper and are used where slow turn-off is possible as in phase-controlled rectifiers, ac voltage controllers, cycloconverters etc. Inverter-grade SCRs are costlier and are used in inverters, choppers and force-commutated converters. Share and Enjoy: