Category: Power Electronics

Unlike electro-mechanical relays (EMR) which use coils, magnetic fields, springs and mechanical contacts to operate and switch a supply, the solid state relay, or SSR,

We would like to think that the AC or DC power supplies we use to power our circuits are both clean and well-regulated supplies. However,

We saw in the previous tutorial that the process of converting an AC input supply into a fixed DC supply is called Rectification with the most popular

Rectification converts an oscillating sinusoidal AC voltage source into a constant current DC voltage supply by means of diodes, thyristors, transistors, or converters. This rectifying

Linear voltage regulators are generally much more efficient and easier to use than equivalent voltage regulator circuits made from discrete components such a zener diode

The Unijunction Transistor or UJT for short, is another solid state three terminal device that can be used in gate pulse, timing circuits and trigger generator applications to switch

The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor also called an IGBT for short, is something of a cross between a conventional Bipolar Junction Transistor, (BJT) and a Field Effect Transistor, (MOSFET) making it

The DIode AC switch, or Diac for short, is another solid state, three-layer, two-junction semiconductor device but unlike the transistor the Diac has no base connection making it a two terminal device,

Being a solid state device, thyristors can be used to control lamps, motors, or heaters etc. However, one of the problems of using a thyristor

In the previous tutorial we looked at the basic construction and operation of the Silicon Controlled Rectifier more commonly known as a Thyristor. This time

It is a multi-layer semiconductor device, hence the “silicon” part of its name. It requires a gate signal to turn it “ON”, the “controlled” part