Introduction to Power Electronics

• One of the definitions of power Electronics says that power electronics deals with control of power. If we
consider the lights and fans in the class room, they are switched on in the day time and off in the evening and
night times. Here the control of power is achieved using a mechanical switch. For a single fan in the classroom
the speed needs to be controlled depending on the climatic conditions. Basically, a switch and a series resistance
will perform this task.

• If we consider household appliances, we go for power control there too. A washing machine, refrigerator, wet
grinder, mixer, air conditioner etc., all need different power levels for different processes. Different speed levels
in the air conditioner, domestic fan, washing machine etc., are achieved using belt or gear systems. However,
power control is achieved using a mechanical switch.

• Consider a transportation system where the speed increases linearly, reaches a constant value, moves with that
constant value for some time, and then stops by breaking. The speed - time curve and the torque - time curve
demands a particular order and it is evident that a single switch may not be able to achieve the required power
control. A passenger lift is another typical operation wherein the power controlled is sophisticated.

• Now consider several electronic gadgets, toys, mobiles, laptops etc., where the circuit requirement is +12 V DC,
+5V DC in addition to -12 V DC and -5 V DC. Indeed, the mobile operates at 3.6v. Thus, the existing AC on the
grid should be converted into DC for these applications. Further, there is a battery inside these gadgets which
need to be charged at appropriate times. It is worth mentioning that regulated voltage levels are mandatory in
these devices for satisfactory operation. In other words, voltage regulation at the output side is the demand.
1
• Now consider illumination engineering branch, where light energy is produced from electrical energy. In the
earlier days, incandescent lamps were employed along with fluorescent tubes. Off late, compact fluorescent
lamp has come to stay and at present, light emitting diode, or LED lamps are finding wide application. LED lamps
requires AC to DC power conversion for its operation. High Voltage DC (HVDC) transmission is another area
where AC to DC conversion is required in first stage and DC to AC conversion at later stage. Thus, AC to DC first
and DC to AC conversion later are the requirements here.
• Now consider a power factor correction system where a capacitor is switched ON to an inductive load at
appropriate intervals. A switch will do the purpose but need to operate at a high frequency. Inductance,
Capacitance and the battery voltage can be suitably incorporated and integrated with electrical power
transmission system and this area is called Flexible AC Transmission system or FACTS.
• Renewable power generation is an area where power renewable sources can be tapped. Photovoltaic (PV)
systems and wind power systems are most popular renewable power sources. A PV system produces DC power
which need to be regulated and converted to AC for applications. Wind power is available in AC form but its
frequency changes with respect to speed of wind. Hence AC to DC conversion in first stage and DC to AC
conversion in later stage are required in these applications.
• In electrical welding when the electrode touches the metal, the voltage goes to zero but current has to be
maintained constant for effective welding. Thus, control of power with low voltage and controlled current are
the requirements in this area.
• Uninterrupted power supply (UPS) is an equipment where AC to DC power conversion takes place first and then
DC to AC conversion.
2
 Types of conversion:
• AC to DC
• AC to AC
• DC to DC
• DC to AC
All the power conversion systems can be accomplished using a
single or multiple switches. This is a very primitive concept
and above concepts are illustrated below.
AC to DC conversion:
Consider the circuit in fig.1a, where an AC source 𝑉𝑠 is
connected to a load through a switch. Assume that the supply
voltage is sinusoidal in nature 𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉𝑚 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜔𝑡 and that the
switch is closed during the positive half cycles of the supply
voltage and opened during the negative half cycles.
Accordingly, the supply voltage together with the output
voltage is sketched in fig.2b.
The waveforms clearly suggest that input is AC and output is DC FIG 1 : AC to DC conversion. (a) Power Circuit .
(b) Waveforms
entirely due to the operation of the switch.
3
AC to AC conversion:

Assume that the switch in fig.1a is closed from 𝜔𝑡1 to π during the positive half
cycle and again closed at 𝜔𝑡2 to 2π in the negative half cycle. The relevant
waveforms are given in fig.2 which shows that input is AC and the output is also AC
but with reduced rms value.

DC to DC conversion:

Consider a DC power supply 𝑉𝑑𝑐 is connected to a load through a switch. Assume

that the switch is closed for a duration of 𝑇𝑜𝑛 and kept OFF for a 𝑇𝑂𝐹𝐹 interval.
The output voltage waveform as given in fig 3b. It is evident that input is fixed DC FIG 2 : AC to AC conversion . Waveforms
while the output voltage is of variable average value.

Fig 3: DC to DC conversion . (a) Power Circuit. (b) output voltage waveform. 4

DC to AC conversion:

Consider a DC voltage 𝑉𝑑𝑐 connected to a load through 4 switches labelled as 𝑆1 , 𝑆2 , 𝑆3 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆4. When
switches 𝑆1 and 𝑆3 are closed simultaneously for a period of T/2 , the output voltage 𝑉𝑜 = + 𝑉𝑑𝑐 and when the
switches 𝑆2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆4 are closed together for an another T/2 duration , the output voltage 𝑉𝑜 = −𝑉𝑑𝑐 .The power
circuit for DC to AC conversion is given in fig. 4a and the output voltage waveform is displayed in fig. 4b. it is
apparent that the output voltage waveform is AC with a frequency of f = 1/T.

Fig 4: DC to AC power conversion.(a) Power Circuit. (b) output voltage waveform

It is worth noting that the above concepts are very preliminary in nature and intended exclusively for a ease
of explanation.
5
 Electromagnetic Switch:
• Consider an electromechanical switch depicted in figure 5. Where a coil with ends 𝐶1 and 𝐶2and a moving system or a
plunger is associated. when the coil is supplied from a DC supply through 𝐶1 and 𝐶2, it becomes an electromagnet and
pulls the plunger. thereby, closing the contacts A and B .
• when the DC supply is switched OFF for the coil, the plunger moves to it’s original position, opening the contacts
between A and B .The time involved with an electromagnetic switch is of few seconds, which is not suitable to operate
with supply frequency or in the case of high frequency conversion.
Static Switches:

• Static switch is one in which there is no moving part and it operates

at high frequency. They are made up of semiconductor materials.
Sometimes, these switches are termed as semiconductor switches
or power electronic switches in general.
• There are numerous semiconductor switches with a variety of
characteristics. Most of switches are of controlled type but power
diode is an uncontrolled switch. Fig 5: Electromechanical Switch
• Some semiconductor switches need continuous control signal for
conduction while other need only latching.

6
• Some switches give control to conduction in one direction
while there are a few switches which provide controlled
conduction in both direction.
• Some switches give controlled conduction in one direction but
conduct in opposite direction continuously. Various
characteristics of semiconductor switches will be discussed
later.
Figure 6. (a)
Switching loss in a semiconductor switch:
• Consider an ideal switch connected between a source
voltage VDC and load resistor R as indicated in figure 6.
The variation of the device voltage of VD and current
through it ID are plotted in 6.(b).
• As expected, when the switch is in off position, the
voltage drop across it is VDC and current through device is
zero. When switch is turned on, the device carries a
finite current of VDC/R and voltage across it is 0. From
figure 6.(b), it is evident that whether the switch is in on
Figure 6.(b)
or off position, the product of VD and ID is zero, indicating
there is no power loss across device.
7
• In a semiconductor switch, there is a small but finite
voltage drop across it when it conducts. Also, there is
leakage current in the device when it is in off position.
• In other words, the product of VD and ID is finite quantity
indicating that there is power loss in semiconductor
switch whether it is in on or off position.
• However, the leakage current is very small and power
loss of switch during off state can be neglected. The on
state power loss of semiconductor can be classified into
steady state loss and transient power loss which are Figure 6.(c)
discussed.
Steady state power loss
• This refers to the power loss when the device is either in ON state or OFF state. For the power circuit in figure
6.(a), the plot of ID and VD for a semiconductor switch are plotted in figure 6.(c), where, it is assumed that the
leakage current is practically zero.

• This figure shows that during the ON time of the switch, a finite power loss equal to product of VD and ID takes
place causing heating effect of within the device. The relationship between voltage across the
semiconductor device and current through it is called static characteristics of device and varies from one device
to another.
8
 Dynamic Switching characteristics

Dynamic switching characteristics refers to the transient variation of device voltage vd and current id during the ON
and OFF periods.

• Consider figure 6(d) where the device is intended to be turned OFF at t= t1.
However, the current in the device increases to vdc/R slowly but not
abruptly. The device voltage vdc falls to a low value taking a finite interval.
• Thus, the device is completely turned ON at t= t2 and the delay time t2- t1
is called the turn ON time of the device. During this transient period, the
product of vd and id is not small, but of considerable value indicated as Ps.
• The product of device voltage and current during the transient delay is
called switching loss shown as Ps in figure. Further, at t= t3, the device was
to be turned OFF, but it takes a time of t= t4 to stop conduction.
• The difference of time t4 - t3 is called turn OFF time of device. During the
turn OFF time and turn ON time, there is a finite power loss in the device Figure. 6(d)
which is indicated in figure 6(d).
• The power loss during turning ON and turning OFF is collectively called
switching loss and in this case is equal to
9
• The switching loss causes intense heating of device and efficient heat transfer method must be adopted for
satisfactory operation of device. Heat sinks are generally employed for this purpose.

Power Diodes

A p-n junction diode is employed in analog circuits and digital electronics. It conducts in forward- bias condition and
blocks in the opposite direction. The symbol and static characteristics are given in figure 7.

• A power diode is also a p-n junction diode with

large current carrying capacity and voltage
blocking ability.
• The cross - sectional area of the power diode
decides the current rating, and the resistivity
and the thickness of the diode determine the
voltage blocking capability.
• Power diodes can carry few amperes to
thousands of amperes and can block volts to a Figure. 7
few kilo volts.
10
• In a power diode, the turning ON process is almost instantaneous, but turn OFF
process has got a finite delay. When a power diode conducts, the conduction is
due to holes in p-type and electrons in n-type.
• When the device is reverse biased, the minority carriers on either side are
pushed in opposite directions and a few of them vanish due to recombination.
Thus, there is a reverse current in device for a very short duration and this 8(a)

causes finite turn OFF time.

• The transient process during turn OFF can

be illustrated with the help of circuit in
figure 8(a).
• Here the supply voltage is vs is sinusoidal
and is connected to a resistive load through
a diode. During ωt= 0 to π, the device is
forward biased and it conducts.

8(b) 8(c)

11
• At ωt= π, the device is expected to be turned OFF, but the minority carriers in both sides cross the opposite
direction causing a negative current through the device.
• The reverse current in the device due to minority carriers increases first and then falls to zero, when the device
regains voltage blocking capability. The duration for which reverse current flows is called reverse recovery time and
decides the turn OFF time of the device.

Simple applications of power diode

• There are numerous applications for

a power diode in a power electronics
system.
• A few simple of power diode and
related concepts are explained in this
section.
• Consider a diode connected between Figure 9: Single phase half wave uncontrolled rectifier (a) power circuit
an AC source of 𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉𝑚 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 and a (b) waveforms
load resistance 𝑅𝐿 given in figure
9(a).
12
• Consider a diode connected between an AC source of 𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉𝑚 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 and a load resistance 𝑅𝐿 given in figure 9(a). In
the figure, instantaneous value of source current is indicated as 𝑖𝑠 and output current as 𝑖𝑜 .
• From the figure 𝑖𝑠 = 𝑖𝑜 . The diode conducts for the positive half cycles of the supply voltage and blocks the voltage in
the negative half cycles. Thus the output voltage 𝑉𝑜 is rectified version which is indicated in figure 9(b).
• Figure 9(b) also shows the supply voltage 𝑉𝑠 . From the figure it is evident that 𝑉𝑜 = 𝑉𝑚 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 0 ≤ 𝜔𝑡 < 𝜋 and 𝑉𝑜
= 0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝜋 ≤ 𝜔𝑡 < 2𝜋. Since it is a resistive load, the load current i and is resemble the output voltage vo . In other
words, This circuit is named single
phase half wave uncontrolled rectifier.

• Figure 9(b) shows that the supply voltage is sinusoidal while the supply current is non-sinusoidal. The supply current
𝑎𝑜
can be expanded as given below 𝑖𝑠 𝜔𝑡 = + σ∞
𝑚=1(𝐴𝑚 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝑚𝜔𝑡 + 𝐵𝑚 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝜔𝑡).
2

• In the above expression 𝐵1 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜔𝑡 is called the fundamental component and all other components put together is
called harmonics.
• The fundamental component performs effective power transfer while the harmonics produce heat in the entire
system.
• Thus the fundamental component need to be improved and the harmonics are to be minimized in any power
electronics system. A simple derivation is given below for the power factor. In a power electronics system, we use the
term input power factor. 13
 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑉𝐴

Let 𝐼𝑜𝑅𝑀𝑆 be the RMS value of load current and 𝐼𝑠𝑅𝑀𝑆 is the RMS value of the source current. In this circuit
𝐼𝑠𝑅𝑀𝑆 = 𝐼𝑜𝑅𝑀𝑆 .

2 1 𝜋 𝑉𝑚2
𝐼𝑜𝑅𝑀𝑆 𝑅𝐿 2 𝐼𝑜𝑅𝑀𝑆 = න 2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 2 𝑑𝜔𝑡
𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = 2𝜋 0 𝑅𝐿
𝑉𝑚
. 𝐼𝑠𝑅𝑀𝑆 𝜋
2 2 𝑉𝑚2
𝐼𝑜𝑅𝑀𝑆 = න (1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠2𝜔𝑡) 𝑑𝜔𝑡
4𝜋𝑅𝐿2 0
𝐼𝑜𝑅𝑀𝑆 𝑅𝐿
=
𝑉𝑚 𝑉𝑚 𝑉𝑚
𝐼𝑜𝑅𝑀𝑆 = (𝜋 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜋) =
2 2 𝜋𝑅𝐿 2𝑅𝐿

𝑉𝑚 𝐼𝑜𝑅𝑀𝑆 𝑅𝐿
𝑖𝑜 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 0 ≤ 𝜔𝑡 < 𝜋 𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑅𝐿 𝑉𝑚
2
1
∴ 𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
2
14
• Now consider that the load has a final inductance 𝐿1 which is connected
to the AC source through the diode. This is given in figure 10 (a).
• The differential equation describing the output voltage and current is
given by following equation.

𝑑𝑖𝑜
𝐿 + 𝑅𝐿 𝑖𝑜 = 𝑉𝑚 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 0 ≤ 𝜔𝑡 < 𝛽
𝑑𝑡
Figure 10 (a)
𝑑𝑖𝑜
𝐿 + 𝑅𝐿 𝑖𝑜 = 0 𝛽 ≤ 𝜔𝑡 < 𝜋
𝑑𝑡
Diode with R-L load:

• The circuit of R-L load supplied from an AC

source of Vs = VmSin(ωt). The relevant wave
forms are plotted in Fig 10(b).
• Here the diode starts conducting at ωt = 0
and being R-L load the output current
continues beyond ωt = π and falls to zero at
ωt = β. Fig 10(b). Diode with R-L load (a) Circuit diagram

• The output voltage Vo is Vs from ωt = π to β. (b) waveforms

15
The transient analysis of the circuit and the differential equation which is driving the circuit variables is given below.

The solution can be obtained separately by the transient function and the steady state component

Transient component: Steady state component:

The value of 𝛽 can be computed using iterative methods.

16
 Battery charging application with a diode circuit:

A simple application of diode circuit of battery charging is given in Fig 11(a) where the battery is represented as a DC
Source possessing a value of Eb at the time of consideration, rb indicates the internal resistance of the battery and
Vs = VmSin(ωt).

The relevant waveforms are sketched in Fig

11(b). Referring to Fig 10(b) we have,
• At ωt = 𝜂, 𝑉𝑚·𝑆𝑖𝑛(𝜔𝑡) = Eb, Sin (𝜂) = 𝐸𝑏/𝑉𝑚
⇒ 𝜂 = 𝑆𝑖𝑛−1(𝐸𝑏/𝑉𝑚)
• At ωt = 𝜂, the diode starts conducting and it
stops conducting at ωt = 𝜋 - 𝜂 . The current io
is given by the following equations.
Fig 11. Battery charging circuit with diode (a) Circuit Diagram (b) Waveforms

𝒊𝒐·𝒓𝒃 + 𝑬𝒃 = 𝑽𝒎𝑺𝒊𝒏(𝝎𝒕) : 𝜼≤𝝎𝒕<𝝅−𝜼

𝒊𝒐 = (𝑽𝒎𝑺𝒊𝒏(𝝎𝒕)− 𝑬𝒃)/𝒓𝒃 : 𝜼≤𝝎𝒕<𝝅−𝜼

17
 Fig 13.

• Fig.13 shows that the collector current takes a delay The major drawbacks of a power transistor as a switch are
time of Td and a rise time Tr to reach at least 90% of listed below:
the collector current the Ton of the device Td+Tr , 1-2 • The ratio of output current to control current (Ic/Ib) is
µsec. around 20, demanding a few amperes of base current as a
• When a negative base current is applied, collector control signal. This is undesirable.
current takes some time to come to zero value and • If the base current is not sufficient the device may operate
the specifications of the switch OFF process are in an active region causing a large Vce in other words the
saturation time ‘ts’ and fall time ‘tf ’ such that, device is not a perfect switch under this condition. Where
its reverse voltage blocking capacity is limited.
Ton = td + ts ; 1-2 µsec
Toff = ts + tf ; 5-8 µsec 18
Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR):

• SCR was the first PE switch developed to handle very large voltages and
currents. This device and currents. This device opened up a new era of power
conversion & control and this field is later recognised as power electronics.

• SCR, sometimes referred as thyristor has 4 layers and 3 junctions. The PNPN
structure with 3 junctions J1, J2 & J3 is given in fig. 14 The top P layer is
connected to the external world through a metallic contact and is called
Anode. Fig.14 PNPN structure of SCR

• The bottom N layer connected through the metallic contact is called cathode
K.

• The middle P layer is connected to the external world and is named as gate G.

• The operation of the device is in 3 states and is explained below. These states
are reverse blocking state, forward blocking state & forward conducting state
or ON state.

19
Reverse blocking state
• In this state the anode is connected to the negative of the battery. The
gate is open circuited (or) gate terminal has no significance in this
mode.
• The circuit for the reverse blocking state is given in fig.15

Fig.15 shows that under reverse blocking state the junctions J1 and J3 are
reverse biased and J2 is forward biased, Hence the device doesn’t
conduct, except for small leakage current and the device in the OFF state.
Fig.15 SCR in reverse blocking state
Forward blocking state
• In this case the anode is connected to the positive of a source and the cathode to its negative.
• The effect of gate current will be discussed later and till then we assume Ig=0.
• It is clear that junctions J1 and J3 are forward biased while J2 is reverse biased. Only leakage current flows through
the device which we must neglect hence the device is in the OFF state.
• However if the forward voltage across the device is increasing beyond a limit junction J2 starts conducting and the
device I int the ON state.
• It is important to state, that turning ON of the device using this method is NOT desirable.

20
Forward conducting state (ON state)

When device is in ON state junction J2 is in the reverse biased condition in the reverse biased condition.

• In diagram, when the device is subjected to large reverse

voltage named as reverse breakdown voltage, the junction
J1 and J3 breaks due to avalanche breakdown and the
device gets damaged.
• Hence care must be taken to see that the reverse voltage
across SCR is always lower than its rated value of VBR.

• In the forward blocking state, only junction J2 is reverse

biased and when the forward voltage crosses beyond
forward breakover voltage, VBo junction J2 starts conducting
and the device is in ON state.
• During ON state the device element is limited by the value
of load resistance. Fig 18. VI characteristics of SCR.
• The transition from forward blocking to ON state is a
transient process and hence indicated as a dotted line.
21
• If the gate is now supplied with Ig equal to Ig3 the device starts conducting at an earlier value of forward voltage
and if the gate current is still increased to Ig2 the transition from forward blocking state the forward
conductivity state take place at an earlier voltage.
• In other words if the gate is supplied with sufficient gate current of magnitude Ig1 the device turns ON at a very
low value of forward voltage.

• The turning ON process of SCR can be explained with the help of two transistors model. Hence the p-n-p-n
structure is cut into transistors as given in Fig 19.

Fig 19: Two transistor model of SCR

22
• Fig 19 shows that the SCR structure can be assumed to consist of two transistors labelled as T1 and T2. When the
device is in forward blocking state and Ig=0 the two transistors are in OFF state.
• When a small value of gate current is injected into the gate, it acts as the base current IC2 equal to beta times IB2.
The increased value of IC2 serves as the base current of transistor T1 . Transistor T1 also amplifies its base current to
IC2 which is base current for T2.
• This regenerative process picked up momentum and with no time the 4 layer of device flooded with charge
carriers and device goes to ON state.
• Once the device is completely ON the two transistor model is no more valid. The two transistor model suggest us
that a short pulse of gate current of required amplitude is sufficient to turn ON device and if gate current is made
zero thereafter and device continues to conduct.
• Thus SCR, current controlled device by making gate current zero after turning ON process doesn't have any
influence on conductivity state of device.

Fig 20 shows that SCR requires a minimum value of current to

be ON state and is called latching current IL.

Fig 20: IH and IL of SCR

23
 • Care must be taken to see that during turn ON process the value of load impedance must be so selected that the
device current is always more than IL.
• When the device is in conducting stage , it requires a minimum value of current to remain in the ON state and is
called holding current IH. It may be noted that IH is slightly lower than IL.

The turning OFF process of any power semiconductor switch is called commutation in power electronics area. The
SCR can be commutated by making the device current below IH.

The symbol of SCR is given in figure 21, where the gate terminal is shown closer to the cathode to
replicate the construction.

Switching Characteristics :

• The switching characteristics consist of turn ON and turn OFF dynamics. When the gate
current is injected, it takes some time for the device current to increase. Fig 21 Symbol of SCR

• This is given in figure 22 where, turn ON time is the sum of delay time (𝑡𝐷 ) and rise time
(𝑡𝑅 ).

24
• Typical value of turn ON time is in the range of 2 to 4 𝜇𝑠. Therefore,
the gate current should be a pulse of sufficient amplitude but with a
duration more than 2 to 4 𝜇𝑠.
• For reliable turn ON, the ON period of the gate pulse is made 2 to 3
times the turn ON time of the SCR.

• Turning OFF the SCR is called commutation and there are numerous
methods for the same.
Figure 22: SCR turn ON characteristics
• On straightforward method is to apply reverse voltage across the
conducting SCR such that all the charge carriers in the four layers are
swept away instantaneously.
• The device current falls to 0, but a reverse current of very low
amplitude now flows through the device due to the minority charge
carriers.
• This reverse current also falls to 0 due to recombination and the
device is now capable of forward blocking voltage. This transient
process is drawn in figure 23, which resembles that of a power diode.

Figure 23: SCR turn OFF process

25
Based on the value of turn OFF period, SCRs are categorized into two types:

• Converter grade SCRs

These SCRs operate with the live frequency of 50 or 60 hertz and are called power converter SCRs. Their
turn OFF is in the range of 50 to 100 𝜇𝑠 .

• Inverter grade SCRs

These SCRs have low turn OFF time in the order of 5 to 50 𝜇𝑠 and are employed in high frequency switching.

Gate drive circuit for SCR

• The SCRs in a power electronic circuit are gated

in a particular sequence as demanded by the
circuit operation and is generally provided by a
control circuit.

• The gating pulse from the control circuit needs

to be amplified to the required level.

Fig 24 Gate driving circuit

26
• The SCR operated at a high voltage across anode and cathode whereas the control circuit operates at a
minimum voltage of around +5 volts.

• The low power gate circuit must be electrically isolated from the SCR circuit Figure 24 shows a typical gate
drive circuit for SCR. Figure 24 shows a typical gate drive circuit for SCR.

• In figure 24, the control circuit produces a pulse and it is amplified by the transistor 𝐼𝑔. The amplified
collector current of this transistor flows through the primary of the pulse transformer, which is then
transferred to the secondary side.
• The pulse of current now passes from the secondary of the transformer to the gate of SCR and returns via
cathode. The resistance 𝑅𝑏𝑔 limits the base current of 𝑇𝑔.
𝐿 𝑑ⅈ
• When the pulse of current goes to 0, 𝑇𝑔 is switched OFF and in the absence of 𝐷𝑔 a large might appear
𝑑𝑡
across collector and emitter of 𝑇𝑔 damaging it.
• Therefore, the presence of 𝐷𝑔1gives a free path for the primary winding current of the pulse transformer
to decay, thereby protecting 𝑇𝑔. Diode 𝐷𝑔2 propagates the negative gate current and further 𝑅𝑔1 limits
the gate current.
• The resistance 𝑅𝑔2 provides sufficient forward voltage drop between gate and cathode for reliable turning
ON.

27
Protection circuits for SCR:
𝑑𝑣
Protection
𝑑𝑡

• When SCR is in the forward blocking state, the junction J2 is reverse biased and possesses a finite capacitance
𝐶𝑗2 .
𝑑𝑣
• Whenever there is a across SCR, this junction capacitance will provide a charging current given by 𝑖𝑗2
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑣
= 𝐶𝑗2 .
𝑑𝑡

• If this current is sufficient, the device will turn ON unwantedly, which must be avoided. To prevent the
𝑑𝑣
occurrence of across SCR, the immediate solution is to connect a capacitance 𝐶𝑠𝑛 across it. When a
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑣
occurs, this capacitance acts a short circuit, protecting SCR.
𝑑𝑡

• However, then the charged capacitance will discharge the SCR once the SCR is tuned ON. If this discharging
current is very large, the SCR will be damaged, and hence to protect the SCR from this, a resistance 𝑅𝑠𝑛 is also
connected in series with the capacitance.
𝑑𝑣
• However, 𝑅𝑠𝑛 must be shorted for occurrence and hence a diode 𝐷𝑠𝑛 is connected parallelly to 𝑅𝑠𝑛 . The
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑣
complete circuit to protect the SCR from is given in figure 25 and this protection circuit is called slubber circuit.
𝑑𝑡

28
• SCRs are also connected in parallel to cope up with the load current demand.
• Consider that the 3 SCRs T1,T2 & T3 connected in parallel as shown in figure.27(a).
• When all the SCRs are in conducting state there could be a little difference in the forward conducting
characteristics such that the dynamic resistance which is the ratio of voltage drop across SCR to the current
flowing of each SCR can be slightly different causing unequal current distribution.
• If the difference in current sharing is too large then the SCR carrying highest current will be overheated tending
it to carry more current.
• This stimulating process eventually damages SCR followed by other SCRs in parallel. In order to avoid this and to
ensure common heat dissipation, a common heat sink is used and the SCRs are moulded in symmetric fashion
as given in figure 27(b).

29
Gate turn off thyristor (GTO):

• This Structure of GTO is very much similar to that of SCR and is given in figure
28. The middle end layer is divided into n+ and n- layers and the cathode is
another n+ layer.

• The major difference is that the gate metallization area is very close the
cathode region indeed, the gate and the cathode layers fabricated so as to
make an influence of the gate current.

• The Device can be turned on with very little gate current in the case of SCR but
if a larger negative gate current is injected then the carriers are wiped out
from the device due to interdispersed structure of gate and cathode.

• Though the device can be turned off with negative gate current. The major
drawback is that the quantum of negative Gate current is around 20-25% of
the device current.Fig.26(b) shows the symbol of GTO.

30
TRIAC:

• TRIAC is a low power semiconductor switch performing gate controlled conduction in both directions.
• A TRIAC in operation is equivalent to two SCRs connected in anti parallel configuration. The structure and symbol
of a TRIAC are given in figure 29.

• The device conducts through both polarities of source voltage with positive gate current as well as
negative gate current.

31
Two typical cases are considered in the following case study.
Case 1:
MT2 is positive, MT1 is negative and Ig is positive
The relevant structure corresponding to the given polarities is given here.

• For the polarities given junctions J1 & J3 become forward biased and J2 becomes reverse
biased and the device is in OFF state.
• If a positive gate current is injected the holes in the P2 layer weaken the depletion layer
across J2 and the device starts conducting.
• It may be remembered that this operation corresponds to gate triggering of SCR in the
forward blocking state.
Case 2:
MT2 is negative, MT1 is positive and Jg is negative
• The relevant structure corresponding to the given polarities is given here in Figure 31
indicates the Junctions J1 & J3 are forward biased and J2 is reverse biased.
• When a negative gate current is injected, the P2 layer is flooded with charge carriers and
if gate current is of larger amplitude few electrons from M3 P2 junction diffuses into N1
layer breaking J2 turning it ON.
• It is worth mentioning that the device can be turned OFF only when the current goes to zero.
32
Power MOSFET:

The power MOSFET is a popular power semiconductor switch. It has a low resistance and a high resistance layers. It is a
3 terminal device which are named as Drain, Source and Gate. The construction and the symbol are given in figure 32.

• When D is positive w.r.t. S and Vgs is 0, there is no channel for

conduction in the device and it is in the OFF state.

• If Vgs is positive due to the electrostatic action a virtual channel is

created between N- and N+ layers making it ON. Thus it is a Voltage
controlled device. which can be turned OFF by making Vgs<0.

• When S is positive w.r.t. D the structure offers a forward biased PN

junction.

• Thus power MOSFET offers controlled conduction in one direction Figure 32

and uncontrolled conduction in the other direction. The device
operated at high frequencies but forward voltage drop becomes
very significant at high frequencies.

33
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor ( IGBT ) :

• The demerits of a Power MOSFET such as a high forward voltage

drop and in presence of a diode in the structure are avoided in an
IGBT.
• It is a combination of a Power MOSFET and a Power Transistor.
• The structure along with the symbol is given in figure 33.

• The highly doped p+ layer at the top of the device increases

conductivity and reduces the forward voltage drop.
• Further, there is a presence of diode in the structure. The terminals
are named as Collector ( C ), Emitter ( E ), and Gate ( G ).
• The device starts conducting in the same way as that of a Power Figure 33

MOSFET and blocks the voltage in a similar manner.

• Usually the IGBT is the ideal device for Switching.

34
AC to DC power conversion and control:
• In these type of power conversions and control the input is normally set as AC supply with 50/60 Hz frequency
and the output is unidirectional.
• The process of AC to DC power conversion is generally termed as rectification and the power convertor required
for the process is traditionally called rectifier.
• There are numerous rectifier configuration mostly employing power diode and SCR’s. when diodes are employed
alone then it is called as uncontrolled rectifier or Diode rectifier.
• Few commonly seen Diode rectifier with different types of loads are discussed in the following sections.

Half-wave uncontrolled AC/DC convertors

35
The Full uncontrolled AC/DC convertors or Diode rectifiers have
two configurations:
1. The mid-point configuration: - where a canter tapped
transformer with 2 diodes are employed. (Fig a)
2. Bridge configuration: - here there are 4 diodes, D1 and D3
conduct during positive half cycle and D2 and D4 conduct
during negative half cycle. (Fig b)
Fig.(a) Midpoint type circuit diagram.

• Typical waveforms are sketched in Fig.c.

Fig.(b) Bridge type circuit diagram.

(c)

36
CONTROLLED AC/DC CONVERSIONS:

When the magnitude of output voltage made to be controlled SCR are employed. Half wave control circuits employing a
single SCR are discussed in the following section with different types of loads.

• A half wave-controlled circuit with resistive load is

given in Fig a. It is assumed that the SCR is
supplied a pulse of positive gate current during
the positive half cycle of the supply when the SCR
is in the forward blocking state.
• In Fig b, it is shown that the gate current is
generated at a delay of Alpha degrees measured
from the zero crossing of the supply voltage.
• The angle Alpha is called the firing angle and it is generated by an external control signal. The amplitude of gate
current Ig should be high enough to turn ON SCR and the duration of gate pulse should be 2-3 times the turn
ON time of SCR. Thus, at WT=α, SCR is turned ON and generally this is referred as SCR is triggered or SCR is
gated.

• At WT= 𝜋, Vo goes to zero and hence Io also goes to zero. Since SCR current is lesser than the holding current
SCR turns OFF or we say SCR is commuted at WT= 𝜋. Since SCR is turned OFF due to the presence of natural
zero voltage in the supply this commutation process is called Natural commutation.
37
The following equation help us to compute the Input power factor of the circuit.

1 𝜋 𝑉𝑚∗𝑠ⅈ𝑛𝑠ⅈ𝑛 𝑊𝑇 2
Iorms= ‫( ׬‬
2𝜋 𝛼 𝑅
)
∗
𝑉𝑚 𝑉𝑚 𝜋 1−𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑠 2𝑊𝑇
= ‫( ׬‬
2𝜋∗𝑅∗𝑅 𝛼 2
)
𝑉𝑚∗𝑉𝑚 𝑠2𝑊𝑇 𝜋
= (𝑊𝑇 − )𝛼
4𝜋∗𝑅∗𝑅 2
𝑉𝑚 𝑠2𝛼 1/2
Iorms = ((𝜋 − 𝛼) − ) A
2 𝜋∗𝑅 2

𝑅∗ 𝐼𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠 2 𝐼𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠∗𝑅
Input power factor = =
𝐼𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠∗𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑉𝑚/ 2
1 𝑠2𝛼 1/2
= ((𝜋 − 𝛼) − )
2𝜋 2

• It is important to mention that input p.f. is a function of SCR firing angle, α

and has nothing to do with the value of load resistance.
• Consider a single phase half wave controlled converter feeding an inductive
load. Assume that SCR is fired at angle ,α.The current in the circuit starts
rising and since it is RL load the current falls to 0 at angle β,where β>π.
• The circuit diagram and relevant waveforms are given in fig.

38
Fig. shows that part of output voltage is negative due to the lagging current. The average value of output voltage is
derived as given below.

𝛽
Vo(av)=1/2π‫ =)𝑡𝑤(𝑑 𝑡𝑤𝑛𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑉 𝛼׬‬Vm/2π(cos

For a resistive load β=π and the average output is given by :

Vo(av)=Vm/2π(cosα+1)

Consider another case where the half wave controlled

converter is used to charge a battery. At the time of
consideration, where Eb is the battery voltage. The power
circuit and waveforms are given in fig.

39
 From fig it is evident that ,
At wt=η ,
Vm sin(η)=Eb,
η=arcsin(Eb/Vm)

• Till wt=η, SCR is not in forward blocking state and it cannot be gated. Therefore the value of SCR firing angle,α should
be more than or equal to η. At wt=α the SCR is turned ON and the current starts flowing.
• At wt=π-η, Vs once again becomes Eb and the current falls to 0.The output voltage, Vo is Vm sinwt between α and π-η
and Eb otherwise. An expression for ripple power factor is derived below.

40
Simple R and RC firing circuits:
For low power applications it is possible to construct R and RC firing circuits which are explained below.
R Firing circuit:
A circuit of R firing is given in fig. It consists of 3 resistances and a simple diode.

Looking at the circuit, we can see that Vs drops across R1, R2, diode, and between gate and cathode
terminal VGK. The current flowing through the circuit is Ig. Let GK(min) and IG(min) represent the minimum
VGK and minimum gate current required to turn on the SCR. Accordingly, the device is turned on when
,where VD represents the diode voltage.

41
When VGK is VGK(min), the device is turned on. At the instance of turning on, the value of the angle 𝞪is decided y R2.
The role of resistors R3 is to limit the drop across gate and cathode. Fig. (b) tells us that the range of 𝞪 is constrained
to 0≤𝞪≤90°

R-C Firing Circuit:

The function of the RC firing circuit is similar to the R firing circuit were R2 is replaced with a capacitance C
between gate and cathode. The circuit is given in fig.(a). When SCR is in forward blocking state, the capacitor
charges from the variable resistor R from VS.

42
• The rate of charging or the build-up of capacitor voltage depends on the value of R. For low values of R, VC
becomes VGK(min), allowing the capacitor to discharge through the gate and cathode.

• Thus the capacitor discharge current acts as gate current and the device is turned on. Once the device is
turned on, the RC circuit is shorted and there is no capacitor charging process.

• If a larger R is used, the capacitor charges slowly and VC becomes VGK(min) at a later time and the SCR is
triggered very late in the positive half cycle.

• This is illustrated in fig. (b) and the waveforms suggest that by varying R, 𝞪 can be varied from 0 to 180°.

Referring to the circuit, we can write VS = IGR+VC. For the SCR to turn on,

VS>=IG(min)R+VC or VS>=IG(min)R+VD+VGK(min)

Equations (i) and (ii) can help us compute the value of R and C.

43
Bridge type Fully controlled converters:

They can be classified into two

(i) Semi - converter

(ii)Full Converter Bridge type semi converters:

• The circuit diagram of a single-phase bridge-type semi converter

is given in fig. (a). This circuit consists of two SCRs, T1 and T2 and fig. (a)
two power diodes, D1 and D2.

• During the positive half cycle of VS, SCR T1 is in forward blocking

state and can be gated. Similarly, SCR T2 can be triggered during
the negative half cycle of supply voltage VS.

• The D1 and D2 conduct depending on the supply voltage. In

other words, when T1 is gated, the current complete the path
VS - T1 - RO - D2 - VS during the positive half cycle.

• Similarly, during the negative half cycle, T2 is triggered, the

closed path for the current is VS - T2 - RO - D1 - VS. Typical
voltage and current waveforms are shown in fig. (b).
fig. (b) 44
The output current,

• Since the supply voltage, vs goes to the natural zero at ωt=π, so

does the output current i0.
• Hence thyristor T1 and diode D2 turns OFF by natural
commutation at ωt=π. At ωt=π+α, SCR T3 is gated and at ωt=2π,
i0 goes to zero once again and hence SCR T2 and diode D1 are fig. (a)
turned OFF by natural commutation.

The average value of output voltage is derived below.

• Now consider that the load is inductive in nature. It is worth

mentioning that the sequence of triggering of both SCRs T1 and
T2 remain the same and is independent of the nature of the load
such as R, RL, series or parallel combinations.

• For better understanding, the circuit diagram is reproduced in fig

(a). The relevant waveforms are given in fig (b). fig. (b)
45
In this circuit, T1 is gated at ωt=α and T1 and D2 conduct making v0=Vmsin ωt . Since it is an inductive load, the
output current i0 can be obtained by solving the following equation.

• Where β is more than π . The waveform of io together with output voltage vo are sketched in fig (b). At ωt=π,
the output current io is of finite amplitude and T1 continues to conduct.

• However, just after ωt=π, diode D1 is forward biased and D2 is getting reverse biased. Hence, the load current
io finds a new path.

• It is seen that the source current is disconnected from the load and the load current gets “short circuited”
through T1 D1 .
• This is called free-wheeling of load current and its immediate effect is to make vo=0. But with finite load
current io thus from β to π , output voltage is 0 and the energy stored in the magnetic field of inductance L₀
circulates the load current i₀.
Accordingly, the complete set of equations for load current i₀ are given below.

46
• A similar operation takes place during the negative half cycle of
the supply voltage where T₂ D₁ conduct and from π+α to 2π and
the free-wheeling of load current from 2π onwards till the
current becomes zero.

• The free-wheeling is carried out through T₂ and D₂ when v₀=0.

An expression for average output voltage is derived and is given
below. fig. (c)

In the above explanation, it is assumed that the ration L/R is

small and therefore the current goes to zero at ωt=β. This is
called the discontinuous mode of operation.

• On the other hand, if the ratio L/R is large, then the current
becomes continuous during steady state operations.
• The build up of the current from transient to steady state is
plotted in figure (c) where the load current i₀ becomes
continuous and this is called continuous mode of operation.
• For clarity the steady state waveforms are given in figure (d).
fig. (d) 47
A closer examination of supply voltage and current waveforms in fig.(d) shows that the product of vs and is is
always positive clearly indicating an enhanced power factor or similar to a case of resistive load, even though the
load is inductive.

• At ωt=π+α ,T2 is gated. Now, a voltage of Vm sin(π+α)=-Vm sin α appears across T1.This large reverse voltage
wipes out all the charge carriers in the four layers of SCR T1,T2 is instantaneously turned OFF and T2 starts
conducting.
• This turning OFF process of SCR by making use of the line voltage is called Line commutation. At ωt=2π+α, SCR
T2 is also turned OFF in a similar process with reverse voltage of Vm sin α.
• It is important to observe that in a single phase semi converter, the instantaneous value of output voltage is
always positive.

Generation of firing pulse with respect to the zero crossing of supply voltage is called synchronization.
Synchronized firing pulses are generated in R and RC firing circuits.

48
 UJT Firing Circuit:
A Uni Junction Transistor or UJT can be used as a firing circuit to trigger two SCR’s, say T1 and T2 in the single phase
semi converter. The circuit diagram is given in figure (a) and the respective waveforms in figure (b).

• In the figure (a), vs1 is the stepped down

version of supply voltage vs. It is rectified
using a diode rectifier so that va is the
rectified version of vs1.

• The Zener diode chops the voltage at Vz. The

instantaneous value vz is shown in figure (b).

• For a given value ‘R’, the capacitor charges and when the fig. (a)
capacitor voltage vc becomes equal to ηVz+Vd, the capacitor
discharges through the emitter of UJT and discharged pulse
current appears in the primary of pulse transformer.

• There are two secondaries of pulse transformer which are

used for gating T1 and T2.

fig. (b)
49
In the above expression, ‘η’ is intrinsic standoff ratio of UJT and is around 0.63 and Vd is the diode drop which is equal
to 0.5V. The required waveforms are sketched in figure (b) where, a series of pulses appear as ig. With respect to
figure (b),

Thus by changing the value of ‘R’. firing angle ‘α’ can be adjusted.

• We have seen that freewheeling of load is inherent in a

single phase semi-converter.

• However, for reliable freewheeling of load current and

to ensure that instantaneous value of output voltage is
always positive or zero, a power diode is connected
across the output terminals as in Fig and this diode is
generally denoted as FD.

50
 Single-Phase Semi-Converter with DC Motor load:

• One of the major applications of SCR based AC-DC converter

is speed control of a separately excited DC motor. The circuit
diagram of a single phase semi-converter feeding a DC
motor is given in Fig (a).
• In this circuit, by changing SCR firing angle ‘α’, different
values of armature voltage can be applied and hence motor
runs in a variable speed mode.
• As mentioned earlier, the instantaneous value of armature fig. (a)
voltage Va is either positive or zero and can never be
negative.

• There are two modes of operation for the load. In the first
case, the load on the shaft is less and hence lesser damage
for armature current value. Further, during this light load
conditions, the speed is higher.

• During a larger load , under these conditions, for a given SCR

firing angle, the armature current is discontinuous and
respective waveforms of Va and ia are given in the Fig (b).
51
fig. (b)
• In the given figure, at ωt=α, T1 is gated and the armature current builds up from the source through T1 and D2.

• At ωt=π, armature current free wheels through FD and there by turning OFF T1 and D2 from ωt=π to β, FD conducts
and Va =0 at ωt=β, ia falls to zero and FD turns OFF.

• The armature voltage Va is now the break back emf Eb. For the negative half cycle of the supply voltage, a similar
sequence takes place with T2 and D1 as the conducting devices.

• This figure shows a large amplitude of Eb, so does ωr. This is an indication of light load condition demanding lesser
average value of armature current. This leads to discontinuous mode of operation.

• The waveforms of the motor variables are sketched

in Fig (c). where, the load torque is heavy leading to
lower values of speed ωr and back emf Eb.
• The armature current is continuous and it is carried
to T1D2 from α to π and FD from π to π+α during the
positive half cycle. A similar operation takes place in
the negative half cycle of supply voltage also.

Fig (c)

52
• The operation of a DC Motor load can be easily analysed using
the VI diagram where the average value of armature current is
plotted along horizontal axis and the average value of armature
voltage is taken along vertical axis.

• The diagram has 4 quadrants and when both Va and Ia are

positive, this corresponds to motoring mode and is represented
in 1st quadrant.

Fig (a)
• In the case of a single phase semi-converter, driving a separately
excited DC Motor, the average value of Va and Ia are always
positive and the drive works in the 1st quadrant of VI diagram
which is given in Fig (a).

For different types of loads such as R and RL or Motor loads

with continuous or discontinuous currents, the average value of
output voltage of a single phase semi converter is given by

Accordingly the variation of Vo(avg) against SCR firing angle is

plotted in Fig (b).
Fig (b)
53
 SINGLE PHASE FULL CONVERTER

• A single-phase Full converter is given in figure (a) with a

resistive load. There are four SCRs labelled as T1, T2, T3 and
T4.

• SCRs T1 and T3 are gated at wt=α and V0 = Vm sin wt. The load
current i0 is and hence has the same shape as V0 .
Fig (a)
• At wt = π, V0 goes to zero and so does i0. Hence at wt = π, the
devices T1 and T3 are turned off by ‘natural commutation’. At wt
= π +α, SCRs T2 and T4 are gated and similar operation takes
place.

• The waveforms are given in figure 2.14 b). The average value of
output voltage is given by

Fig (b)

54
• Assume that the load is inductive in nature and based on the L/R
ratio, there are two modes of operation namely discontinuous mode
of operation and continuous mode of operation.

• The Full converter with RL load is given in figure (a).

Case 1: Discontinuous mode of operation

Fig (a)
• In this case, L/R ratio of the load is small, and the current is
discontinuous. At wt=π, Vs goes to zero but being and inductive load,
load current io lags and falls to zero at wt= β.
• No device conducts from β to π +α. At wt=π+α, T2 and T4 conducts in
the negative half cycle and a similar operation takes place. The
relevant waveforms are given in figure (b).
• The expression for average output voltage is derived below.
Fig (b)

55
Case 2: Continuous mode of operation

Consider a case where the L/R ratio is very large leading to continuous
mode of operation; the waveforms are given in figure (c).

Fig (c)
• Here T1 and T3 conduct from α to π +α and at wt=π+α, T2 and T4 are turned off.

• When T3 is turned off, the voltage across the conducting thyristor T1 is Vm sin (π+α) == - Vm sin α and this
negative line voltage turns off T1 instantaneously. This process is called ‘Line commutation’.

• Similarly, T4 is gated at wt= π+α, T3 is also turned off by line commutation. During the negative half cycle of
the supply voltage, T2 and T4 conduct and a similar operation takes place. The average value of
output voltage is derived below.

56
Consider the load is a separately excited DC motor for the Full converter and this figure is given in figure (a).

• Here the operation is similar to the previous notes and there are two cases namely light load condition when
the current is discontinuous and heavy load condition when the current is continuous.
• The motor terminal voltage and current waveforms are depicted in figure(b).

Fig (a)
Fig (b)

Under heavy load condition, the magnitude of Eb is low and

hence the current is continuous. The waveforms are given in
figure(c).

Fig (c) 57
• It is interesting to observe that when α increases beyond 𝝅/2, the
average value of motor terminal voltage becomes negative leading
to regenerative braking.

• However, this process demands interchanging of motor terminals so

that the polarity of Va matches with that of Eb. This is given in
figure (d).

• This figure illustrates that, motor terminal voltage is always Fig (d) Motoring mode and regenerative braking mode
positive with motoring and regenerative modes. In regenerative
braking mode, since armature terminals are interchanged,
armature current is reversed.

• Thus, regenerative braking corresponds to second quadrant

operation in V-I diagram as given in figure (e).

• Thus, a single-phase Full converter with reversing switch is

capable of motoring mode as well as regenerative braking
mode.

Fig (e) 58
 AC-DC Converters
This chapter discusses different circuit topologies and operational characteristics of
various a.c. to d.c. power converters which are commonly labeled as rectifiers. These
converters are intensively employed for variable speed operation of d.c. motors, high
voltage d.c. (HVDC) transmission, battery charging and front-end feeders to inverter
circuits.
• A.C. to D.C. converters are classified into two types based on the input a.c. such as
single-phase and three-phase converters. Further, depending upon the circuit
configurations, they are divided into semi-converters and full-converters.
• In the case of single-phase converters, the input is the existing alternating supply at
fixed frequency and the output is d.c. voltage. The nature of instantaneous variation of
output voltage depends on the load characteristics as well as type of converter.
 1. SINGLE PHASE SEMI-CONVERTER
The power circuit of a single phase semi-converter is shown in Fig.1. Here, there
are two SCRs marked as T1and T2 and two diodes D1 and D2.

The thyristors alone need to be triggered and the diodes conduct depending upon
polarity of the input supply voltage. The supply voltage is shown in Fig. 2 (a).

From the power circuit, it is evident that the thyristor T1 and diode D2 are forward
biased during the positive half cycle of the supply voltage; similarly, thyristor T2
and D1 are forward biased during the negative half cycle of the supply. The firing
angle, is measured from the zero crossing of the supply voltage and hence T1 is
triggered at 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛼 and T2 is triggered at 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝜋 + 𝛼 . The firing pulses are
indicated in Fig.2 (b). It should be mentioned that width of the firing pulse should
be more than the SCR turn-ON time. Thus at 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛼 , thyristor T1 is turned ON
and the current starts from the source and passes through T1-load-D2-back to the
supply and the load voltage is the supply voltage now. Similarly, at 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝜋 + 𝛼,
T2 is turned ON and the load current passes from the source through T2-load-D1.
The nature of load current depends on the characteristic of load. Three typical
loads are considered now and are discussed below.
 Case 1: Purely Resistive load

At 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛼 , T1 and D2 start conducting and load

voltage and current are indicated in Fig. 2 (c). With a
purely resistive load, the load current is and
therefore has identical shape as that of output voltage.

At 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝜋 , goes to zero and hence also goes to zero

value. Thyristor T1 and diode D2 are turned OFF by
natural commutation and the load is disconnected from
the supply leading to zero output voltage.

At 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝜋 + 𝛼 , T2 is triggered and T2 and D1 are

conducting now making output voltage once again
positive.

Fig.2. Waveforms of semi converter with R load.

(a) Supply voltage waveform.(b) Triggering pulses (c) Output waveforms
At 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 2𝜋 , load voltage and current become zero, turning OFF T2 and D1. An
expression for the average value of output voltage is derived below:


sin(  s t )d  s t 
1
Vo av   

V m

Vo  av  
Vm
 cos s t 


Vo av  
Vm
1  cos   (1)

 Case 2: R-L load

Consider the operation of the semi-converter with series

resistance-inductance load now. Here, the major
difference of operation when compared to a purely
resistance type load is that of variation of load current. At
𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛼 , when T1 is triggered, current starts increasing
through the load. Since it is a lagging load, at 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝜋 ,
while the voltage goes to zero, the load current is yet to
become zero. At this instant, D1 is more conducive for
conduction than D2; hence D2 turns OFF and T1 and D1
carry the load current.
Fig.3. Waveforms of semi converter with R-L load (continuous conduction).
(a) Supply voltage waveform.(b) Triggering pulses.
Continuous conduction mode:
At ω s t = α, when T1 is triggered, the current starts increasing
through the load. Because it is a lagging load, at ω s t = π, while the
voltage goes to zero, the load current is not yet zero. At this instant,
D1 is more conducive for conduction than D2; thus D2 turns OFF
and T1 and D1 carry the load current. This causes the output
terminals to be short-circuited, resulting in zero output voltage.
Thus, load current circulates through T1-D1-load. This is termed as
freewheeling of load current. If the load inductance to resistance
ratio is sufficiently large, then the output current is continuous;
otherwise, current will be discontinuous. The relevant waveforms
for continuous mode are plotted in Fig. 3(c). At ω s t = π+α, T2 is
triggered, a voltage amplitude of Vmsin(π+α) = −V m sinα is
impressed across T1, and T1 is turned OFF by line commutation.
Now T2 and D1 conduct, making the output voltage and current
positive. At ωst = 2π, load current freewheels through T2-D2 Fig. 3. Waveforms of semi converter with R-L load (continuous conduction).
(a) Supply voltage waveform.(b) Triggering pulses.(c) Output waveform
Discontinuous conduction mode:

As mentioned earlier, if the ratio of load inductance to

resistance is low, the load current is discontinuous. Typical
waveforms are given in Fig. 4(c). Here, freewheeling of load
current takes place through T1-D1 from ωst = π to β . At ωst = β,
T1 and D1 are turned OFF by natural commutation. A similar
operation takes place during the negative half-cycle of the
supply voltage when T2 is turned ON at ωst = π+α. At ωst = 2π,
load current freewheels through T2 and D2, making the output
voltage zero. During the freewheeling operation, energy stored
in the load inductance is dissipated to the load resistance rather
than returning to the source.

Fig. 4 Waveforms of semi-converter with R-L load (discontinuous conduction). (a) Supply
voltage waveform. (b) Triggering pulses. (c) Output waveforms for R-L load.
This means less reactive power is drawn from the
source and the freewheeling process thus enhances
input power factor. It may be noted that the
freewheeling of load current—which is inherent in a
semiconductor—is taking place through two devices in
series (T1-D1 and then T2-D2). To cause freewheeling
through a single device and also to ensure reliable
freewheeling, a single diode marked as FD (often called
a freewheeling diode) is connected at the output of the
semi-converter as shown in Fig. 4. Thus, because
freewheeling is inherent with a single phase semi-
converter, the output voltage can never be negative.
Fig. 4
The expression for the average output voltage is the
same as the one derived for a purely resistive load,
given by Equation (1).
Case 3: R-L-Back Emf Load:

A dc motor load can be thought of R-L-Eb in nature. Here,

the load current becomes continuous or otherwise
depending upon the value of α and load torque. For a given
α, when the motor is running under light load conditions,
the average value of current required is low. Furthermore,
due to increased speed, back emf is large. The supply
voltage together with back emf is plotted in Fig. 5(a). The
angle η in this figure is given as

where, Vm is the maximum value of the input supply voltage

and Eb is the motor back emf. This indicates that, under light
load conditions, α should be ≥η for the SCRs to be turned
ON. Typical load voltage and current are shown in Fig. 5(c).

Waveforms of semi-converter with R-L-Eb load (discontinuous conduction). (a) Supply

voltage waveform. (b) Triggering pulses. (c) Output waveforms for R-L-Eb load.
With discontinuous mode, conduction starts at ωst = α, and ends
at β. The average value of output voltage for discontinuous mode
of operation is given as

Fig. 5 Waveforms of semi-converter with R-L-Eb load (discontinuous conduction). (a)

Supply voltage waveform. (b) Triggering pulses. (c) Output waveforms for R-L-Eb load.
If the motor is operating under heavy load conditions, the average load
current has to be higher, and back emf is low under these conditions. This
will result in continuous conduction of load current such that β becomes
π+α; typical characteristics are plotted in Fig. 6(c). At ωst = α, thyristor T1
is turned ON. With T1 ON, the load is connected to the source through T1
and D2. The transient nature of current i0 can be found by applying KVL.

Fig. 6 Waveforms of semi-converter with R-L-Eb load (continuous conduction). (a)

Supply voltage waveform. (b) Triggering pulses. (c) Output waveforms for R-L-Eb load.
 (2)

Continuous Mode:
Substituting K1 in equation (2)

(3)
 (4)

Substituting these conditions in (3), we get

Substituting Equation (3) in Equation (4), the value of Iπ can be determined.
Discontinuous Mode
 Single phase full Converter

The power circuit of a single-phase full converter is

shown in Figure. Here, there are four SCRs marked
as T1, T2, T3, and T4. The thyristors are triggered in
sequence in such a way that, at any given time, any
two thyristors—one from the top and the other
from bottom—will be conducting. From the power
circuit, it is evident that thyristors T1 and T3 will be
conducting during the positive half-cycle of the
supply voltage; similarly, thyristors T2 and T4 will be
conducting during the negative half-cycle of the
supply voltage.
The firing angle α is measured from the zero crossing of the
supply voltage; hence T1 and T3 are triggered at ωst = α, and
T2 and T4 are triggered at ωst = π+α. The supply voltage and
firing pulses are shown in Fig. (a) and (b), respectively. Thus,
at ωst = α, thyristors T1 and T3 are turned ON and the
current starts from the source and passes through T1-load-T3
back to the supply, and the load voltage is now the supply
voltage. Similarly, at ωst = π+α, T2 and T4 are turned ON and
the load current flows from the source through T2-load-T4.
The nature of the load current depends on the
characteristics of the load.
 Case 1: Purely Resistive load

At ωst = α, T1 and T3 start conducting and the load voltage

and current are as indicated in Fig. (c). With a purely resistive
𝑣0
load, the load current i0 is , and it therefore has a shape
𝑅
similar to that of the output voltage. At ωst = π, 𝑣0 goes to
zero and hence i0 also goes to zero value. Thyristors T1 and T3
are turned OFF by natural commutation, and the load is
disconnected from the supply leading to zero output voltage.
At ωst = π+α, T2 and T4 are triggered, making the output
voltage once again positive. At ωst = 2π, load voltage and
current become zero, thereby turning OFF T2 and T4 by
natural commutation.

Waveforms of full converter with R load.

(a) Supply voltage waveform.(b) Triggering pulses (c) Output waveforms
An expression for the average value of output voltage is derived below.

(1)
 Case 2: Pure inductive load

Consider that the load is a purely inductive one. Presume

SCRs T1 and T3 are triggered at 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛼 and T2 and T4
are triggered at 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝜋 + 𝛼 . The load current is
governed by the following equation:

where K1 is the constant of integration.

Waveforms of full converter with L load

(a) Supply voltage waveform
In the above equation, the first limit of integration is α and the
last limit of integration is 𝜔𝑠 𝑡, which is the angle at which either
SCRs T2 and T4 are triggered (i.e., 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = π+α in the case of
continuous load current) or the load current goes to zero (in
the case of discontinuous load current), whichever is less.
Hence,

Waveforms of full converter with L load

At 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛼 , i0 = 0 and hence K1 = 0. Hence,

It is interesting to investigate the effect of α on the continuity of load current.

(b) – (d).
Case 2: R-L Load:
The major difference of operation compared to a purely
resistance type load is the variation of the load current and the
output voltage. The load current may be either continuous or
discontinuous depending on the value of the ratio of load
inductance to resistance and the firing angle α. Considering a
discontinuous mode of operation, at 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛼 , when T1 and T3
are triggered, current starts increasing through the load. At
𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛼 , the output voltage goes to zero value, but because it
is a lagging power factor load, the load current has not yet
become zero. This is indicated in Fig. (c). Hence, T1 and T3
continue to conduct until the load current becomes zero at
𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛽 . At this instant, T1 and T3 are turned OFF by natural
commutation. During the negative half-cycle of the supply
voltage, T2 and T4 are triggered at 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝜋 + 𝛼 and a similar
operation takes place. Waveforms of full-converter with R-L load (discontinuous conduction). (a) Supply
voltage waveform. (b) Triggering pulses. (c) Output waveforms for R-L load.
 The average output voltage is computed below:

For reduced values of α and increased inductance to resistance

ratios, the load current is continuous as shown in Fig. (c). Here
T1 and T3 are turned ON at 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛼 and carry the load current.
𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝜋 + 𝛼 , when T2 is triggered, the supply voltage appears
across T1 and reverse-biases it. T1 is turned OFF
instantaneously, and the load current is transferred to T2. Here,
T1 is turned OFF with the use of the line voltage, and such a
turning OFF process is called line commutation. Similarly, when
T4 is triggered, T3 is also turned OFF by line commutation and
the load current is transferred to T4. Waveforms of a full converter with R-L load (continuous conduction). (a) Supply
voltage waveform. (b) Triggering pulses. (c) Output waveforms for R-L load.
The expression for average output voltage is derived below:
Case 3: R-L-Eb load
With a dc motor load, depending upon the magnitude of
the load torque and α, the load current will be either
continuous or discontinuous. When the motor is running
under light load conditions, the average value of current
required is low and, due to increased speed, back emf is
large. Then motor current is discontinuous as shown in
Figure. The angle η indicates that, under light load
conditions, α should be greater than η for the SCRs to be
turned ON. The expressions for average output voltage is
derived below:

Waveforms of a full converter with R-L-Eb load (discontinuous conduction). (a) Supply voltage
waveform. (b) Triggering pulses. (c) Output waveforms for R-L-Eb load.
When the motor is operating under heavy load conditions,
the average load current has to be higher while the back
emf is low under these conditions. This will result in
continuous conduction of the load current. The typical
characteristics are plotted in Figure. For this case, the
expressions for average output voltage are the same as the
above equation. At 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛼 , thyristors T1 and T3 are
turned ON. With T1 ON, the load is connected to the
source through T1 and T3. The transient current i0 can be
found by applying KVL.

Waveforms of a full converter with R-L-Eb load (continuous conduction). (a) Supply voltage
waveform. (b) Triggering pulses. (c) Output waveforms for R-L-Eb load
(1)
Continuous Mode:
In this mode, T1 and T3 will conduct. At 𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛼 , current i0 = Imin. Substituting these conditions in Equation
(1), we have,

Substituting K1 in (1)
From the above equations, we obtain the minimum current in the circuit at steady state
using the circuit parameters. In the discontinuous mode, however, this current is zero.
 Discontinuous Mode
From Equation (1), current is given as,

K1 can be derived from circuit initial boundary conditions, i.e., at

𝜔𝑠 𝑡 = 𝛼, i0 = 0 . If we substitute this condition in the above
equation, we get

This is plotted in Figure

 Three phase semi converter
The power circuit of a three-phase semi-converter is shown in
Fig.1 There are three SCRs labeled as T1, T2, T3 and three power
diodes named as D1, D2 and D3. Here, SCRs alone need to be
triggered, and the diodes will conduct in a sequence depending
upon which one is the most forward-biased. Fig. 2 shows the
relationship between the phase voltages and line voltages.

Thus VRY is leading VR by 30°. Similarly, VYB and VBR can also be
located with respect to VY and VB, respectively.
The phase voltages are shown in Fig. 3(a), and here each
division corresponds to 30°. Thyristors T1, T2, and T3 are
to be triggered in accordance with the relative
magnitudes of phase voltages VR, VY, and VB. Thus, the
firing angle α is measured with respect to crossing
points of phase voltages. Hence, the reference point for
triggering thyristor T1 is the crossing point of phase
voltages VB and VR, and is indicated as α(T1 ). Similarly,
the starting points of firing for T2 and T3 are indicated in
Fig. 3(b) as α(T2 ) and α(T3 ), respectively. Further, it is
decided to trigger the thyristors continuously until their
respective phase voltages become negative. The firing
pulses thus designed for a typical value of α = 30° are
shown in Fig. 3(b).
Turning the SCRs OFF takes place in a fixed pattern; when T2 is
triggered, line voltage VYR reverse-biases T1 and T1 is
instantaneously turned OFF by line commutation. Similarly,
turning T3 ON commutates T2, and once T1 is gated, T3 turns OFF.
The cathodes of the diodes are connected to the phase voltages
so that, whenever a phase voltage becomes more negative than
the remaining two phases, the diode connected to that particular
phase will be conducting. Thus, the domain of each diode
conduction is also well defined and is indicated in the Fig. 3(a). At
any time, any one thyristor and one diode will be conducting in
the semi-converter circuit, thus the output voltage comprises
portions of line voltages. All the line voltages are now sketched
with respect to phase voltages; furthermore, the negative
portions of line voltages are redrawn as positive because the
converter rectifies ac to dc. Thus, Fig. 3(c) shows portions of line
voltages that will appear at the output. Three-phase semi-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 30°
To sketch the output voltage, consider the SCR firing angle to be
30° and start from the triggering pulse of T1. It starts at α (T1 ) =
30°. From Fig. 3 (a), at this instant diode D2 is more forward-
biased and hence current starts from R-phase, passes through T1-
LOAD-D2 and back to Y-phase; thus the output voltage is VRY.
After 30°, B-phase becomes more negative, and D2 is thus turned
OFF while D3 conducts together with T1. Thus the output voltage
is now VRB. When thyristor T2 is triggered, T1 is turned OFF by
line commutation. Thus, T2 and D3 are in series with the load,
thereby making the output voltage equal to VYB. When R-phase
becomes more negative than B-phase, D3 is turned OFF and D1
starts conducting. The output voltage is now VYR. Thus, looking
at the firing pulses shown in Fig. 3(b), and considering the
domain of conduction of each diode shown in Fig. 3(a), the
conduction path at each discrete interval can be identified and
the output voltage can be plotted.
For α < 60°
For 0 ≤ α < 60° , the output voltage contains two line voltages which repeat periodically; further, the output voltage is
continuous for all type of loads such as R, R-L and R-L-Eb. Also the output voltage ripples are three times that of the
supply frequency.

Three-phase semi-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 15°.

V0(av)
Three-phase semi-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 60°.
For α ≥ 60°
For any SCR firing angle larger than or equal to 60°, the
output voltage contains only oneline voltage, which
repeats in sequence. For α = 60°, the output voltage is
only continuous. For further examination, consider the
waveforms plotted for α = 90°. Considering the domains of
conduction of thyristors and diodes as indicated in Fig.
3(a); there is a region where T1 and D1 conduct together,
thus short-circuiting the output terminals and leading to
zero output voltage. Thus for α > 60°, inherent
freewheeling of the load current exists in a semi-converter.
Similarly, freewheeling is existing when there are instants
at which T2 and D2 conduct together as well as instants at
which T3 and D3 conduct together. If the load is purely
resistive, then the load current will have shape similar to
that of the load voltage. If the load is R-L, the load current
can be either continuous or discontinuous; in either case,
the output voltage will remain the same. If the three-
phase semi-converter is driving a dc motor load (which can
be treated as R-L-Eb load) with α > 60°, the output voltage
will be the same as that of R and R-L type, provided the
current is continuous.
Three-phase semi-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 75°.
Three-phase semi-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 90°.
Three-phase semi-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 105°.
 Three phase full converter
The power circuit of a three-phase full converter is shown in
Fig.1. There are six SCRs, labeled as T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, and T6. The
phase voltages are shown in Fig. 2 with each division
corresponding to 30°. Thyristors T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, and T6 are to
be triggered in accordance with the relative magnitudes of
phase voltages VR, VY, and VB. Thus, the firing angle α is
measured with respect to crossing points of phase voltages.
Hence, the reference point for triggering thyristor T1 is the
crossing point of phase voltages VB and VR and is indicated as
α(T1 ). Similarly, the starting points of firing for T2, T3, T4, T5,
and T6 are also indicated in the Fig. 2 as α(T2 ), α(T3 ), α(T4),
α(T5), and α(T6) respectively. Furthermore, the thyristors are
triggered continuously until their respective phase voltages
become zero.
The phase voltages and the firing pulses thus designed for a typical value of α = 30° are shown in Fig. (a) and (b).
At any given time, any two thyristors—one from the top and the other
from the bottom— will be conducting in the full converter circuit, and
hence the output voltage comprises portions of line voltages. It should
be noted that commutation of conducting SCRs takes place in a
sequential manner; T1 is turned OFF when T3 is triggered, and T3 is
commutated when T5 starts conducting, and T5 is switched OFF with the
firing of T1. Thyristors T2, T4, and T6 are also commutated in a similar
order. The sketching of the output voltage of the converter has to be
done in a systematic manner. Consider that the converter firing angle is
30°. Thus, at α = 30°, the load current starts from R-phase, passes
through T1-load-T6 and back to Y-phase; thus the output voltage is VRY.
When thyristor T2 is triggered at α(T2 ), T6 is turned OFF by line
commutation. The current now starts from R-phase takes the path
through T1-load-T2-back to B-phase; thus the output voltage is VRB. From
Fig. (c), it is evident that, at any instant, the load current is carried by any
pair of thyristors consisting of one from the upper limb and the other
from the lower limb. The output voltage has portions of the line voltages,
and it repeats in sequence.
Three-phase full-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 30°
To sketch the output voltage, consider the SCR firing angle to be
30° and start from the triggering pulse of T1. It starts at α (T1 ) =
30°. From Fig. 3 (a), at this instant diode D2 is more forward-
biased and hence current starts from R-phase, passes through T1-
LOAD-D2 and back to Y-phase; thus the output voltage is VRY.
After 30°, B-phase becomes more negative, and D2 is thus turned
OFF while D3 conducts together with T1. Thus the output voltage
is now VRB. When thyristor T2 is triggered, T1 is turned OFF by
line commutation. Thus, T2 and D3 are in series with the load,
thereby making the output voltage equal to VYB. When R-phase
becomes more negative than B-phase, D3 is turned OFF and D1
starts conducting. The output voltage is now VYR. Thus, looking
at the firing pulses shown in Fig. 3(b), and considering the
domain of conduction of each diode shown in Fig. 3(a), the
conduction path at each discrete interval can be identified and
the output voltage can be plotted.
For α < 60° Three-phase full-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 0°
For α < 60° For 0 ≤ α < 60° , the output voltage contains two line voltages repeatedly; in addition, the
output voltage is continuous, leading to continuous load current for all type of loads, such as R and R-L.
Three-phase full-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 15°.
Three-phase full-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 45°.
Three-phase full-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 60°.
Three-phase semi-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 75°.
Three-phase full-converter waveforms for R-load with α = 90°.
For α ≥ 60°
For SCR firing angles larger than or equal to 60°, the output voltage contains only one line voltage, which repeats in
a sequence. For α = 60°, the output voltage is only continuous. For α > 60°, the nature of the output voltage
waveform depends largely on the nature of the load, such as R, R-L, or R-L-Eb. Each case is examined below.
R Load

When a three-phase full bridge converter is feeding a purely resistive load, then for α > 60°, the output voltage and
current will have identical waveforms. Thus, when the output voltage becomes zero, the current also reaches zero
value. The conducting thyristors are turned off at this instant due to natural commutation, making the output
voltage and current both discontinuous. The value of average output voltage for resistance type load is derived
below:

Taking α(T1 ) as the reference point,

Three-phase full-converter waveforms for R-L load with α = 75° and current continuity
Three-phase full-converter waveforms for R-L load with α = 75° and current discontinuity
Three-phase full-converter waveforms for R-L load with α = 90° and current discontinuity
 R-L Load
With this type of load, the output current can be either continuous or discontinuous. Here, load current continues
to exist even after output voltage goes to zero value, and the input voltage waveform therefore contains negative
portions also. Three such cases for α = 75° and 90° are given.
For α > π /3 and with a continuous load current, the average output voltage of the converter is derived below: