A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction.
An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily forming an electronic switch. It was developed to combine high efficiency with fast switching. It consists of four alternating layers (NPNP) that are controlled by a metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) gate structure.
A thyristor is a solid-state semiconductor device which can be thought of as being a highly robust and switchable diode, allowing the passage of current in one direction but not the other, often under control of a gate electrode, that is used in high power applications like inverters and radar generators. It usually consists of four layers of alternating P- and N-type materials. It acts as a bistable switch. 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. The thyristor continues conducting until the voltage across the device is reverse-biased or the voltage is removed, or through the control gate signal on newer types.
A power inverter, inverter, or invertor is a power electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The resulting AC frequency obtained depends on the particular device employed. Inverters do the opposite of rectifiers which were originally large electromechanical devices converting AC to DC.
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.
A TRIAC is a three-terminal electronic component that conducts current in either direction when triggered. The term TRIAC is a genericised trademark.
The DIAC is a diode that conducts electrical current only after its breakover voltage, VBO, has been reached momentarily. Three, four, and five layer structures may be used. Behavior is similar to the voltage breakdown of a triac without a gate terminal.
A voltage regulator is a system designed to automatically maintain a constant voltage. It may use a simple feed-forward design or may include negative feedback. It may use an electromechanical mechanism, or electronic components. Depending on the design, it may be used to regulate one or more AC or DC voltages.
Zero-crossing control is an approach for electrical control circuits that starts operation with the AC load voltage at close to 0 volts in the AC cycle. This is in relation to solid-state relays, such as TRIACs and silicon controlled rectifiers. The purpose of the circuit is to start the TRIAC conducting very near the time point when the load voltage is crossing zero, so that the output voltage begins as a complete sine-wave half-cycle. In other words, if the controlling input signal is applied at any point during the AC output wave other than very close to the zero-voltage point of that wave, the output of the switching device will "wait" to switch on until the output AC wave reaches its next zero point. This is useful when sudden turn-on in the middle of a sine-wave half-cycle could cause undesirable effects like high-frequency spikes, for which the circuit or the environment is not expected to handle gracefully.
A power semiconductor device is a semiconductor device used as a switch or rectifier in power electronics. Such a device is also called a power device or, when used in an integrated circuit, a power IC.
Power electronics is the application of electronics to the control and conversion of electric power.
A snubber is a device used to suppress a phenomenon such as voltage transients in electrical systems, pressure transients in fluid systems or excess force or rapid movement in mechanical systems.
An electronic component is any basic discrete electronic device or physical entity part of an electronic system used to affect electrons or their associated fields. Electronic components are mostly industrial products, available in a singular form and are not to be confused with electrical elements, which are conceptual abstractions representing idealized electronic components and elements. A datasheet for an electronic component is a technical document that provides detailed information about the component's specifications, characteristics, and performance. Discrete circuits are made of individual electronic components that only perform one function each as packaged, which are known as discrete components, although strictly the term discrete component refers to such a component with semiconductor material such as individual transistors.
Phase-fired control (PFC), also called phase cutting or phase-angle control, is a method for power limiting, applied to AC voltages. It works by modulating a thyristor, SCR, triac, thyratron, or other such gated diode-like devices into and out of conduction at a predetermined phase angle of the applied waveform.
A buck converter or step-down converter is a DC-to-DC converter which decreases voltage, while increasing current, from its input (supply) to its output (load). It is a class of switched-mode power supply. Switching converters provide much greater power efficiency as DC-to-DC converters than linear regulators, which are simpler circuits that dissipate power as heat, but do not step up output current. The efficiency of buck converters can be very high, often over 90%, making them useful for tasks such as converting a computer's main supply voltage, which is usually 12 V, down to lower voltages needed by USB, DRAM and the CPU, which are usually 5, 3.3 or 1.8 V.
An H-bridge is an electronic circuit that switches the polarity of a voltage applied to a load. These circuits are often used in robotics and other applications to allow DC motors to run forwards or backwards. The name is derived from its common schematic diagram representation, with four switching elements configured as the branches of a letter "H" and the load connected as the cross-bar.
In electronics, an electronic switch is a switch controlled by an active electronic component or device. Without using moving parts, they are called solid state switches, which distinguishes them from mechanical switches.
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. 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, QUADRACs eliminate the need to buy and assemble discrete parts.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to electronics:
This glossary of power electronics is a list of definitions of terms and concepts related to power electronics in general and power electronic capacitors in particular. For more definitions in electric engineering, see Glossary of electrical and electronics engineering. For terms related to engineering in general, see Glossary of engineering.
