Difference between IGBT and SCR

Before we learn about the difference between IGBT and SCR first let us check out what is full form of IGBT and what is the full form of SCR. We already know that IGBT process is high input impedance like PMOSFET and has low on-state power loss as in a BJT, but in  thyristor (SCRs) are usually chosen so that their break over voltage is so far beyond the greatest voltage expected to be experienced from the power source, so that it can be turned on only by an intentional voltage pulse applied to the gate terminal. 

So here this article gives information about the difference between IGBT and Thyristor  called (SCR)  to know more detail about IGBT and thyristor :

Difference between IGBT and Thyristor


 Meaning : 

 IGBT called an Insulated gate bipolar transistor, While Thyristor also called SCR known as silicon controlled rectifier.

 Definition :

 IGBT : IGBT has been developed by combining the best qualities of both BJT called bipolar junction transistor and PMOSFET called power metal-oxide field-effect transistor. Thus does IGBT process is very high input impedance like PMOSFET and has low on-state power loss as in a BJT. Insulated gate bipolar transistor is totally free from the second breakdown problem present in BJT. All these merits have made it IGBT very popular among in all power electronics engineers. 

 Thyristor: The terms thyristor called SCR denotes a family of semiconductor devices used for power control in dc and ac systems. One of the oldest members of the thyristor family called SCR silicon control rectifier (SCR) is the most widely used for the device. 

 Terminals : 

 IGBT Has three-terminal known as a collector(C), emitter(E), and gate(G) whereas SCR (thyristor) has three terminals known as the gate(G), an anode(A), and the cathode(C).  

 Layers : 

 IGBT is a semiconductor device with four alternating layers called (P-N-P-N) and they are controlled by a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) gate structure whereas SCR (thyristor) is three-terminal four-layer device.

 Junction : 

 IGBT has only one PN junction, while SCR (thyristor) consist of three PN junctions.

Application :

 IGBT are most commonly used medium power application such as dc and ac motor drive, UPS system, power supplies, relays and contactors, where SCR (Thyristor) is most commonly used to a converter, is used to convert an alternating power into alternating power of different frequency and amplitude. Both device IGBT and SCR are used in high power applications and control currents.

IGBT used for always needs a continuous supply of gate voltage whereas Gate of the SCR (thyristor) only needs a pulse to change into conducting mode.

Advantages and disadvantages of power electronic converters

Power electronics system is a subject that mainly focuses on the application of electronic principles into the situation that is rated at power level rather than signal level and also deal with the apparatus and equipment working on the principle of electronics. So now let us talk about the advantages and disadvantages of power electronics converters to know more details about power electronics.

Advantages of power electronic converter :

  • Long life
  • Small size 
  • High efficiency because of loss is low in power semiconductor devices
  • High reliability of power-electronic converter system
  • Can handle large output current
  • Less maintenance due to the absence of any moving part
  • Fast dynamic response of the power electronic system as compared to the electro-mechanical converter systems
  • Fewer weight results in less floor space and therefore lower installation cost
  • Low thermal dissipation
  • Mass production of power semiconductor devices have resulted in a lower cost of the converter equipment
  • Reduce the fluctuation in power fed to grid
  • Reduce acoustical noise from the wide turbine
  • High-quality power to the grid
  • Flexibility in operation

Disadvantages of power electronic converter :

  • Complected design
  • Regeneration of power is difficult in power electronic systems
  • AC to DC and AC converter operate at a low input power factor under certain operating conditions. In order to avoid a law pf, some special measures have to be adopted
  • Power electronic controllers have low overload capacity. As such, Increase the cost of power electronic controller
  • Power electronic converter circuits have a tendency to generate harmonics in the supply system as well as in the load circuit

Advantages and disadvantages of IGBT

The term IGBT full form is Insulated Gate Bipolar Transister. IGBT has been developed by combining the best qualities of both BJT and PMOSFET. Thus IGBT process is high input impedance like PMOSFET and has low on-state power loss as in a BJT. All these merits have made it IGBT very popular among power electronics engineers. This article give the information about some advantages and disadvantages of IGBT to know more details about IGBT.

Advantages of IGBT :
  • Simple drive circuit
  • Low on-resistance
  • High voltage capacity
  • Fast switching speed
  • Easy of drive
  • Low switching loss
  • Low on stage power dissipation
  • Low gate drive requirement
  • High switching speed
  • High input impedance 
  • Voltage control device
  • Smaller snubber circuit requirement
  • It has Superior current conduction capability 
  • It is easy to turn ON and OFF
  • It has excellent forward and reverse blocking capabilities
  • Switching frequency is higher than the BJT
  • Enhanced conduction due to bipolar nature
  • IGBT has a very low on-state voltage drop due to superior on-state current density and conductivity modulation. So the cost can be reduced and a smaller chip size is possible
Disadvantages of IGBT :
  • Latching up problem
  • It can't block high reverse voltage
  • High turn off time
  • Cost is high
  • The speed of the switching is lower to a power MOSFET and higher to a BJT. So the collector current following due to the minority charge carriers root the turnoff speed to be very slow. There is a chance of latch-up due to the internal structure of the PNPN thyristor device

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Difference between IGBT and MOSFET

An IGBT is essentially a MOSFET controlling a bipolar junction power transistor with both transistors are integrated on a single piece of silicon. 

MOSFET find a most important application in high frequency switching application, varying from few watts to few kWs, While IGBT possesses high input impedance like a MOSFET and has low on-state power loss as in a BJT.

With the rise in temperature, the increase in on-state resistance in MOSFET is much pronounced than it is in IGBT devices. So, on-state voltage drop and losses rise rapidly in MOSFET compare to IGBT, with rising in temperature.

So here this article gives information about the difference between IGBT and MOSFET to know more details about it.

Difference between IGBT and MOSFET 


  • IGBT modules are their higher voltage and current handling capability as compared to a comparable price of MOSFET. 
  • Both IGBT and MOSFET are voltage control devices and IGBT has a BJT like conduction characteristics. 
  • Terminals of IGBT are known as an emitter, collector, and gate, whereas MOSFET terminals are gate, source and drain. 
  • IGBT has a better power handling than MOSFET. 
  • IGBT has a lower forward voltage drop as compared to MOSFET.  
  • MOSFET has a long history than IGBT.
  • MOSFET used in a condition of high light-load efficiency, dv/dt on the diode is a limited and wide line and load conditions where IGBT used in full load efficiency, high dv/dt handled by a diode and high power levels around 3 kW.
  • IGBT is extremely tolerant to electrostatic discharge and overloads whereas MOSFET are vulnerable to ESD as the high impedance technology won't allow for voltage dissipation. 
  • MOSFET used in medium to ultra-high-power applications such as SMPS and VFDs and IGBT used in switching and amplifying weak electronic signals in electronic devices. 
  • IGBT has PN junction whereas MOSFET doesn't have that. 

Explore more information:
  1. Difference between IGBT and Thyristor
  2. NMOS vs PMOS

Applications of IGBT

 IGBT is used in order to allow power flow in the ON state and to stop power flow in the OFF state. It is used mostly in medium to high power applications for example induction heating, switched-mode power supply, traction motor control. 

How IGBT used :

There are some applications of IGBT full form is Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor are following below :
  • IGBT is most commonly used in power application such as DC and AC motor drive, UPS system, power supply and drive for solenoid.
  • Though IGBT is somewhat more expensive than BJT full form, yet IGBT are becoming popular because of lower gate drive requirement, lower switching losses and also smaller snubber circuit requirement
  • IGBT used in an unregulated power supply (UPS) system.
  • The IGBT is used combines an isolated gate FET for the control input and bipolar power transistor as a switch in a single device
  • It is also used in inverter
  • IGBT is fitted in the of resonant mode converter circuits. Optimized IGBT is accessible for both low conduction loss and low switching loss
  •  Inductive heating cookers
  • IGBT used in power distribution
  • Electric vehicle motor drives
  • The IGBT used in switched-mode power supplies (SMPS)
  • Solar inverter
  • IGBT used in due-mode or E-auto automobile system
  •  IGBT used in  solar and wind power generation plant

Characteristics of IGBT

The circuit of figure circuit diagram shows the various parameters pertaining in the IGBT characteristics. 

Static I-V or output characteristics of an IGBT (n channel type) show the plot of conduct collector current IC versus collector-emitter voltage VCE for various value of gate emitter voltages VGE1, VGE2 etc. These characteristics are shown in figure static I-V characteristics.


In the forward directions, the shape of the output characteristics is similar to that of BJT. But here the controlling parameter is gate emitter voltage VGE because IGBT is a voltage-controlled device is when the device is of junction J2 to block the forward voltage and in case reverse voltage appears across collector and emitter junction J1 blocks it. In static I-V characteristics, VRM is the maximum reverse breakdown voltage.

The transfer characteristics of an IGBT is a plot of collector current IC vs gate emitter voltage VGE as shown in figure transfer characteristics. This characteristic is identical to that of power MOSFET when VGE is less than the threshold voltage VGET, IGBT is in the offset.

Output Characteristics :


  • These connection are made as shown in the circuit diagram.
  • Now increase the VCE voltage to the maximum position.
  • When slowly increase the voltage across the VGE at certain voltage IGBT is turned on stop varying the voltage at that point.
  • Then reduce the voltage  VCE to the minimum position.
  • Now vary VCE voltage slowly, correspondingly note down the VCE and IC readings and plot the graph.

Transfer characteristic :


  • These connections are made as shown in the circuit diagram.
  • In these characteristics when increase the voltage  VCE voltage to the maximum position.
  • When slowly increase increase the voltage across VGE and note down the voltage VGE and current IC value and plot graph. 

What is power electronics

History of Power electronics  :

The development of the mercury arc rectifier began with the development of power electronics. This article gives a brief description of power electronics historical review and also have power electronics used, advantages as well as disadvantages. It was invented by Peter copper Hewitt in the year 1902 used to convert alternating current into direct current. after in the year of 1993 selenium rectifier were invented.

 After that in the year of 1947, the BJT was invented by Walter H. Brattain and John Bardeen under the direction of William Shockley at bell laboratory. In 1956 the SCR  was introduced by general electric applications. In 1976 Power MOSFET became commercially available and finally the year of 1982 the insulated gate bipolar transistor was introduced. The history of power electronics is so vast so that it is impossible to review it within a few pages.


What is the power electronics?


Power electronics is the application of solid-state electronics to control and conversion of electric power. The first high power electronics started with the development of the mercury arc rectifier. 

 For detailed information 
Read more >>  Power electronics systems   
Read more >> PCBA

Advantages of power electronics

  • Long life
  • Flexibility
  • High reliability
  • High efficiency
  • Less maintenance
  • Less weight
  • High-quality power
  • Small size

Disadvantages of power electronics 

  • Complected design
  • Overload capacity
  • generate harmonics
For detailed information 
Read more >>  Power electronics advantages and disadvantages   

Power electronics applications :

  • SMPS
  • UPS
  • HVDC
  • Static switch
  • Static circuit breaker
For detailed information 
Read more >>  Power electronics applications 

 Power Electronics is the study of electrical energy flow control using electronic circuits. 
  • Power electronics belongs partly to power electronic engineers. Power engineering primarily concerned with generation transmission, distribution, and utilization of electric energy at high efficiency.
  • On the other hand, electronics engineering is the production, transmission, and reception of data and signals of very low power levels of the order of few watts without much regard to efficiency.
  • In addition, power engineering devices are based primarily on electromagnetic principles, while in electronics engineering they are based on physical phenomena in vacuum, gas, and semiconductors.
  • The main focus of Power Electronics is the application of electronic principles to a situation that is rated at the power level rather than at the signal level and also deals with appliances and equipment based on the electronics principle.

Advantages and disadvantages of TDMA

TDMA full form is Time Division Multiple Access uses time instead of frequency. It is used to facilitate channel sharing without interference. Different user shares the same time slot of the complete time available. Each user to allocate a time slot in which the user can access the channel and in each slot, only one user is allowed to transmit or receive. 

TDMA was more used by Europe, Japan, and Asian countries, whereas CDMA is widely used in North and South America. But nowadays both technologies are very popular throughout the world. 


Advantages of TDMA :

  • TDMA can easily adapt to the transmission of data as well as voice communication.
  • It has the ability to carry 64 kbps to 120 Mbps of data rates.
  • No interference from simultaneous transmission.
  • TDMA is the cost-effective technology to convert an analogue system to digital.
  • Share a single carrier frequency with multiple users
  • Mobile assisted handoff possible
  • TDMA provides the user with extended battery life since transmitting the only portion of the time during conversations
  • Flexible bit rate
  • No frequency guard band required
  • No need of a precise narrowband filter
  • TDMA separates users according to time ensures that there will be no interference from the simultaneous transmission. 
  • TDMA allows the operator to do services like fax, voiceband data, SMS as well as applications such as multimedia and video conferencing.  
  • TDMA offers substantial savings in base-station equipment, space, and maintenance, an important factor as cell sizes grow ever smaller. 
  • Dual-band 800/1900 MHz.
  • It is the only technology that offers an efficient utilization of hierarchal cell structures like pico, micro, and macro. 

Disadvantages of TDMA :

  • In TDMA each user has a predefined time slot so that users roaming from one cell to another are not allotted a time slot. Thus, if all the time slots in the next cell are already occupied, a cell might well be disconnected. In the same way, if all the time slots in the cell in which a user happens to be in are already occupied, a user will not receive a dial tone. 
  • It is subjected to multipath distortion. A signal coming from a tower and receive to handset might come from any one of several directions so on the road signal bounced off several different buildings before arriving which can cause interference. 
  • Network and spectrum planning is intensive. 
  • Too few users result in ideal channels rural versus urban environment. 
  • High synchronization overhead.
  • Frequency/slot allocation is to be complex in TDMA. 
  • Equalization was necessary for high data rates. 
  • Demands high peak power on the uplink in transient mode.
  • Signal processing is required for matched filtering and correlation detection.
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What is digital signal

The signal is a physical quantity, which contains some information. The signal is an electrical current or electromagnetic field used to carry data from one place to another. 

The signal can be two types :


 1. Analog signal
  2.Digital signal

What is a digital signal?  


 A digital signal is a signal that is being used to represent data as a sequence of discrete values at any given time and it can take only one of a finite number of values. 

 Digital signals can be sent for long-distance and suffer less interference than an analog signal. 

Digital signals are easily represented by a computer because It described as using binary (  0s and 1s) and therefore, cannot take on any fractional values. Each sample can be with a series of bits that are either in the state of on (1) or off (0).

Difference between Bluetooth and WiFi

We are all familiar with the two technologies known as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Both of them are wireless technologies which make use of radio waves and a free open atmosphere as a communication channel. The main difference between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi is the purpose behind their design. Bluetooth is essentially used to connect short-range devices for sharing data and Wi-Fi provides high-speed internet access. 

Wi-Fi officially launched in the year 1997 was set in the year of 1990 which was head by, victor hayes who is also known as the father of WiFi Bluetooth technology invention has been credited to Ericsson, which in the year of 1994 launched it as a wireless communication alternative to  RS232. 

So now let us check out the difference between Bluetooth and WiFi to know more understanding about Bluetooth and WiFi.

Difference between Bluetooth and WiFi 

  • Bluetooth was initially defined under IEEE 802.15.1 standard but is now taken care of by a special interest group SIG, on the other hand, Wi-Fi is defined under 802.11X where X is a, b, c etc series of protocols and is currently maintained under the same. 
  • Bluetooth updated several versions such as Bluetooth 2.0, 2.1, and Bluetooth 3.0 and the latest Bluetooth 4.0 added technologies such as Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), alternate MAC/PHY, and low energy protocols have been implemented in these updates whereas Wi-Fi updates are quite different such as IEEE 802.11 standard such as IEEE 802.11a, b, c etc. These versions vary in terms of security protocols, radio frequency used for data exchange, maximum speed for data exchange, the bandwidth occupied etc. 
  • Bluetooth works at the frequency range of 2.400 GHz and 2.483 GHz while Wi-Fi works in the range of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. 
  • The latest updates of Bluetooth promise data transfer rates of up to 25 Mbps while the latest Wi-Fi updates can reach up to 250 Mbps of data transfer rates. 
  • Bluetooth-based wireless connection's maximum range is 30m while Wi-Fi, it can extend well up to 100m. In Wi-Fi, the range depends on the version of the Wi-Fi protocol and antennas in the wireless communication system. 
  • In Bluetooth, up to 7 devices can be connected to each other while in Wi-Fi maximum connections depend on a Wi-Fi router which can accommodate several connections at a time. 
  • Bluetooth is fairly simple as there is just a simple key-matching process for connecting two devices while Wi-Fi needs expertise in configuration and security passcode matching process so the Wi-Fi connection process is much more complex than Bluetooth.
  • New versions of Bluetooth were encryption and even now Bluetooth security is limited to key matching whereas Wi-Fi security standards have been raised with the inclusion of new versions. Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) are the two most used security accesses used in Wi-Fi. 
  • Wi-Fi is able to work at longer distances and is loaded with high-quality security protocols making them more power-consuming than Bluetooth. 
  • Wi-Fi is more used in connecting computers to routers or internet gateways also used to connect with each other while Bluetooth is used to connect peripherals to a computer such as keyboards, mice, headsets etc. 
  • Bluetooth used low bandwidth of 800 Kbps while Wi-Fi used a high bandwidth range of around 11 Mbps.
  • Bluetooth is less secure and Wi-Fi security issues already being debated. 
  • The latency of Bluetooth is 200ms and Bit-rate is 2.1 Mbps and Wi-Fi latency is 150 ms and Bit-rate is 600 Mbps. 
  • Bluetooth use modulation technique is GFSK (Gaussian frequency shift keying) and OFDM (Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) and QAM (Quadrature amplitude modulation) used by Wi-Fi. 
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What is digital signal processing

Before we learn about digital signal processing first let is check it out what is form of DSP. In a digital communication system, the word 'Signal' is very commonly used. Therefore we must know its exact meaning.

Signal system must be describe as a function of one or more independent variables.

What is digital signal processing?


Digital signal processing is the process of analyzing and modifying a signal to optimize or improve its efficiency or performance. It involves applying various mathematical and computational algorithms to analog and digital signal to produce a signal that is of higher quality than the original signal.

 Digital signal processing take real-world signal like audio, video, pressure, voice that have been digitized and then mathematically manipulate them. Mathematical processing algorithm can be easily implement using DSP. 

Using digital signal processing; much better accuracy is obtained to refers various techniques. 

In processing digital signal converting analog transmission into digital signal. i.e. The audio signal are processed in real time. This conversion method uses digital conversion software to receive and process the signal. So the output results in a number of different sound effect. This type of processing is present a number of audio devices such a mp3 players, radio sound system. Compare to analog signal digital signal are more versatile, more accurate.

Now a days, digital signal processing used in various application like image processing, Scanners, robotics, military, speech recognition, power line monitors, voice command, television, and music system etc.

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Advantages and disadvantages digital filter

A system that performs the mathematical operation in signal processing on a sampled signal to reduce or enhance certain aspects of that signal is known as a digital filter. Its main objective is to remove the unwanted parts of the signal. This article gives information about the advantages and disadvantages of the digital filter to know more about it. 

Advantages of digital filter : 

  • Digital filter has characteristic like linear phase response.
  • The performance of the digital filter does not vary with environmental parameters.
  • Digital filters used at very low frequencies, for example in a biomedical application so-called as an adaptive filter because the frequency response can be possible to adjust automatically with an implementation of the programmable processor. 
  • The digital filter is highly flexible possible to filter several input sequences without any hardware reapplication. 
  • From unit to unit the performance of the digital filter is repeatable.
  • In the case of the analogue filter maintenance is frequently required but for digital filters is not required.
  • It is used where the use of an analog system is impractical due to its operating level is at low frequency.  
  • The digital filters are portable.
  • In the case of the digital filter; since the filtering is done with the help of a digital computer, both filtered and unfiltered data can be saved for further use.
  • The hardware of digital filters can be reduced similarly, thus the power consumption can be reduced.
  • Digital filter is easily designed, tested and implemented on a general-purpose computer or work-station. 
  • Digital filters do not suffer from drift and dependent on temperature so they are extremely stable with respect to both time and temperature. 

Disadvantages of digital filter :

  • It is expensive.
  • The signal bandwidth of the input signal is limited by ADC and DAC. 
  • The bandwidth of the digital filter is much lower than an analogue filter.
  • Quantization noise is present.
  • The accuracy of the digital filter depends on the word length used to encode them in binary form. 
  • It required more design and development time compared to an analogue filter.

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