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Quadrac
{{no footnotes, date=September 2013 A QUADRAC is a special type of ''thyristor'' which combines a DIAC and a TRIAC in a single package. The DIAC is the triggering device for the TRIAC. Thyristors are four-layer (PNPN) semiconductor devices that act as switches, rectifiers or voltage regulators in a variety of applications. When triggered, thyristors turn on and become low-resistance current paths. They remain so even after the trigger is removed, and until the current is reduced to a certain level (or until they are triggered off). Diacs are bi-directional diodes that switch AC voltages and trigger triacs or silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs). Except for a small leakage current, diacs do not conduct until the breakover voltage is reached. Triacs are three-terminal, silicon devices that function as two SCRs configured in an inverse, parallel arrangement. They provide load current during both halves of the AC supply voltage. By combining the functions of diacs and triacs, QUADRAC ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thyristor
A thyristor () is a solid-state semiconductor device with four layers of alternating P- and N-type materials used for high-power applications. It acts exclusively as a bistable switch (or a latch), conducting when the gate receives a current trigger, and continuing to conduct until the voltage across the device is reversed biased, or until the voltage is removed (by some other means). There are two designs, differing in what triggers the conducting state. In a three-lead thyristor, a small current on its Gate lead controls the larger current of the Anode to Cathode path. In a two-lead thyristor, conduction begins when the potential difference between the Anode and Cathode themselves is sufficiently large (breakdown voltage). Some sources define silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) and thyristor as synonymous. Other sources define thyristors as more complex devices that incorporate at least four layers of alternating N-type and P-type substrate. The first thyristor devices were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TRIAC
A TRIAC (triode for alternating current; also bidirectional triode thyristor or bilateral triode thyristor) is a three terminal electronic component that conducts current in either direction when triggered. The term TRIAC is a genericised trademark. TRIACs are a subset of thyristors (analogous to a relay in that a small voltage and current can control a much larger voltage and current) and are related to silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs). TRIACs differ from SCRs in that they allow current flow in both directions, whereas an SCR can only conduct current in a single direction. Most TRIACs can be triggered by applying either a positive or negative voltage to the gate (an SCR requires a positive voltage). Once triggered, SCRs and TRIACs continue to conduct, even if the gate current ceases, until the main current drops below a certain level called the holding current. Gate turn-off thyristors (GTOs) are similar to TRIACs but provide more control by turning off when the gate sig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silicon-controlled Rectifier
A silicon controlled rectifier or semiconductor controlled rectifier is a four-layer solid-state current-controlling device. The name "silicon controlled rectifier" is General Electric's trade name for a type of thyristor. The principle of four-layer p–n–p–n switching was developed by Moll, Tanenbaum, Goldey, and Holonyak of Bell Laboratories in 1956. The practical demonstration of silicon controlled switching and detailed theoretical behavior of a device in agreement with the experimental results was presented by Dr Ian M. Mackintosh of Bell Laboratories in January 1958. The SCR was developed by a team of power engineers led by Gordon Hall and commercialized by Frank W. "Bill" Gutzwiller in 1957. Some sources define silicon-controlled rectifiers and thyristors as synonymous while other sources define silicon-controlled rectifiers as a proper subset of the set of thyristors; the latter being devices with at least four layers of alternating n- and p-type material. Accor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Junction Temperature
Junction temperature, short for transistor junction temperature, is the highest operating temperature of the actual semiconductor in an electronic device. In operation, it is higher than case temperature and the temperature of the part's exterior. The difference is equal to the amount of heat transferred from the junction to case multiplied by the junction-to-case thermal resistance. Microscopic effects Various physical properties of semiconductor materials are temperature dependent. These include the diffusion rate of dopant elements, carrier mobilities and the thermal production of charge carriers. At the low end, sensor diode noise can be reduced by cryogenic cooling. On the high end, the resulting increase in local power dissipation can lead to thermal runaway that may cause transient or permanent device failure. Maximum junction temperature calculation Maximum junction temperature (sometimes abbreviated TJMax) is specified in a part's datasheet and is used when calculating t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Root Mean Square
In mathematics and its applications, the root mean square of a set of numbers x_i (abbreviated as RMS, or rms and denoted in formulas as either x_\mathrm or \mathrm_x) is defined as the square root of the mean square (the arithmetic mean of the squares) of the set. The RMS is also known as the quadratic mean (denoted M_2) and is a particular case of the generalized mean. The RMS of a continuously varying function (denoted f_\mathrm) can be defined in terms of an integral of the squares of the instantaneous values during a cycle. For alternating electric current, RMS is equal to the value of the constant direct current that would produce the same power dissipation in a resistive load. In estimation theory, the root-mean-square deviation of an estimator is a measure of the imperfection of the fit of the estimator to the data. Definition The RMS value of a set of values (or a continuous-time waveform) is the square root of the arithmetic mean of the squares of the values, or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reverse Voltage
The breakdown voltage of an insulator is the minimum voltage that causes a portion of an insulator to experience electrical breakdown and become electrically conductive. For diodes, the breakdown voltage is the minimum reverse voltage that makes the diode conduct appreciably in reverse. Some devices (such as TRIACs) also have a ''forward breakdown voltage''. Electrical breakdown Materials are often classified as conductors or insulators based on their resistivity. A conductor is a substance which contains many mobile charged particles called charge carriers which are free to move about inside the material. An electric field is created across a piece of the material by applying a voltage difference between electrical contacts on different sides of the material. The force of the field causes the charge carriers within the material to move, creating an electric current from the positive contact to the negative contact. For example, in metals one or more of the negatively charge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zener Effect
In electronics, the Zener effect (employed most notably in the appropriately named Zener diode) is a type of electrical breakdown, discovered by Clarence Melvin Zener. It occurs in a reverse biased p-n diode when the electric field enables tunneling of electrons from the valence to the conduction band of a semiconductor, leading to numerous free minority carriers which suddenly increase the reverse current. Mechanism Under a high reverse-bias voltage, the p-n junction's depletion region widens which leads to a high-strength electric field across the junction."Zener and Avalanche Breakdown/Diodes" School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University Sufficiently strong electric fields enable tunneling of electrons across the depletion region of a |
Leakage Current
In electronics, leakage is the gradual transfer of electrical energy across a boundary normally viewed as insulating, such as the spontaneous discharge of a charged capacitor, magnetic coupling of a transformer with other components, or flow of current across a transistor in the "off" state or a reverse-polarized diode. In capacitors Gradual loss of energy from a charged capacitor is primarily caused by electronic devices attached to the capacitors, such as transistors or diodes, which conduct a small amount of current even when they are turned off. Even though this off current is an order of magnitude less than the current through the device when it is on, the current still slowly discharges the capacitor. Another contributor to leakage from a capacitor is from the undesired imperfection of some dielectric materials used in capacitors, also known as ''dielectric leakage''. It is a result of the dielectric material not being a perfect insulator and having some non-zero conductivit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alternating Current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in which electric power is delivered to businesses and residences, and it is the form of electrical energy that consumers typically use when they plug kitchen appliances, televisions, fans and electric lamps into a wall socket. A common source of DC power is a battery cell in a flashlight. The abbreviations ''AC'' and ''DC'' are often used to mean simply ''alternating'' and ''direct'', as when they modify '' current'' or '' voltage''. The usual waveform of alternating current in most electric power circuits is a sine wave, whose positive half-period corresponds with positive direction of the current and vice versa. In certain applications, like guitar amplifiers, different waveforms are used, such as triangular waves or square waves. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voltage
Voltage, also known as electric pressure, electric tension, or (electric) potential difference, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a static electric field, it corresponds to the work needed per unit of charge to move a test charge between the two points. In the International System of Units, the derived unit for voltage is named '' volt''. The voltage between points can be caused by the build-up of electric charge (e.g., a capacitor), and from an electromotive force (e.g., electromagnetic induction in generator, inductors, and transformers). On a macroscopic scale, a potential difference can be caused by electrochemical processes (e.g., cells and batteries), the pressure-induced piezoelectric effect, and the thermoelectric effect. A voltmeter can be used to measure the voltage between two points in a system. Often a common reference potential such as the ground of the system is used as one of the points. A voltage can represent either a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diode
A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that conducts current primarily in one direction (asymmetric conductance); it has low (ideally zero) resistance in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other. A diode vacuum tube or thermionic diode is a vacuum tube with two electrodes, a heated cathode and a plate, in which electrons can flow in only one direction, from cathode to plate. A semiconductor diode, the most commonly used type today, is a crystalline piece of semiconductor material with a p–n junction connected to two electrical terminals. Semiconductor diodes were the first semiconductor electronic devices. The discovery of asymmetric electrical conduction across the contact between a crystalline mineral and a metal was made by German physicist Ferdinand Braun in 1874. Today, most diodes are made of silicon, but other semiconducting materials such as gallium arsenide and germanium are also used. Among many uses, diodes are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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