The document discusses the Gate Turn-Off thyristor (GTO), including its construction, operation, switching mechanisms, modes of operation, and characteristics. A GTO is a type of thyristor that can be turned on and off through its gate terminal, allowing it to be fully controlled. It has advantages over conventional thyristors like lower turn-off times and higher voltage blocking capabilities, but requires higher gate currents and cannot handle high reverse voltages.
The document discusses the Gate Turn-Off thyristor (GTO), including its construction, operation, switching mechanisms, modes of operation, and characteristics. A GTO is a type of thyristor that can be turned on and off through its gate terminal, allowing it to be fully controlled. It has advantages over conventional thyristors like lower turn-off times and higher voltage blocking capabilities, but requires higher gate currents and cannot handle high reverse voltages.
The document discusses the Gate Turn-Off thyristor (GTO), including its construction, operation, switching mechanisms, modes of operation, and characteristics. A GTO is a type of thyristor that can be turned on and off through its gate terminal, allowing it to be fully controlled. It has advantages over conventional thyristors like lower turn-off times and higher voltage blocking capabilities, but requires higher gate currents and cannot handle high reverse voltages.
The document discusses the Gate Turn-Off thyristor (GTO), including its construction, operation, switching mechanisms, modes of operation, and characteristics. A GTO is a type of thyristor that can be turned on and off through its gate terminal, allowing it to be fully controlled. It has advantages over conventional thyristors like lower turn-off times and higher voltage blocking capabilities, but requires higher gate currents and cannot handle high reverse voltages.
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1/ 17
GTO
BY P. VIWETHA WHAT IS GTO?
• GTO or Gate Turn-Off thyristor is a type of thyristor
• It has three terminals Gate, Anode and Cathode • It can be turned ON and turned OFF by gate terminal • GTO has many similarities with a normal thyristor • It is a fully controlled unidirectional switching device SYMBOL TYPES OF GTO CONSTRUCTION OPERATION OF GTO
• Turn on mechanism (positive current applied to gate
terminal) • Turn off mechanism (negative current applied to gate terminal) SWITCHING OF GTO
• Increasing forward voltage above break over voltage
• Applying positive gate current TURN ON MECHANISM
• FIRST METHOD • When forward voltage is applied to gto, the junction j1 and j becomes forward biased while the junction j3 becomes reverse biased • If the forward is increased above the forward break over voltage, an avalanche will occur and the j2 will become forward biased allowing the current flow • This type of switching is destructive and should be avoided • APPLYING POSITIVE GATE PULSE • The positive current is applied to gate terminal • The gate injects holes into the P gate region • which makes j3 forward bias • Then the current flows from anode to cathode TURN OFF MECHANISM
• The gate terminal is applied with negative current or negative
voltage with respect to the cathode • It makes the junction j3 reverse biased and the conduction is stopped • but the anode current is still flowing through the gate terminal which is called “tail current” • It reduces exponentially • Once the current goes to zero, the device completely turn-off • The turn-off current required for GTO is dependent on the anode voltage and current MODES OF OPERATION
• anode-to-cathode voltage is positive but there is
no gate current • The device does not conduct and blocks the forward current • unless the anode voltage increase over the break over voltage or the gate current is applied • This mode is called forward blocking mode Forward Conduction Mode
• When the positive current is applied to gate
terminal, the GTO will triggered into conduction • The current flows from anode to cathode • This mode is called as forward conduction mode Reverse Blocking Mode
• When the anode voltage is made negative with
respect to the cathode, it blocks the current flow • it does not allow current is reverse direction • But if the reverse voltage exceeds the reverse break over voltage, it will start conduction • This mode is called reverse blocking mode VI CHARACTERISTICS ADVANTAGES
• It has a low turn-off time with efficient switching.
• It has better switching characteristics than a conventional thyristor. • It has higher voltage blocking capabilities. • It has high over current capabilities • It can handle current surges DISADVANTAGES
• The gate current required to trigger a GTO is
higher than conventional thyristor • It cannot handle high reverse voltages
