Actual Difference Between SCR and IGBT

SCR full form Silicon Controlled Rectifier and IGBT full form Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor. SCR and IGBT both are electronic semiconductor switching devices. There are some important differences between SCR and IGBT are explained below.

Symbolic Difference Between SCR and IGBT

Here, you can see the difference between the symbol of SCR and IGBT.

You can see in the above diagram, the symbol of the SCR is almost the same as the Diode symbol with an extra gate terminal. On the other hand, the symbol of IGBT is almost the same as a Bipolar Junction Transistor(BJT), just the difference is its gate terminal is insulated.

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Constructional Difference Between SCR and IGBT

Here you can see the internal structure of SCR and IGBT.

SCR is a four-layer and three-terminal device whereas IGBT is a four alternating layer three-terminal device.

SCR has three PN junctions whereas IGBT has only one PN Junction.

IGBT has three terminals named as  - Collector(C), Emitter(E), and Gate(G). On the other hand, SCR has three terminals named as - Anode(A), Cathode(C), and Gate(G).

Read Also: Why SCRs, Diodes, Transistors are called Active Device?

Difference between Characteristics of SCR and IGBT

1. IGBT is a voltage control device, which means when a voltage is applied to its gate terminal it will start conducting current, it does not consume any current in its gate terminal. On the other hand, SCR is a current-controlled device, which means it consumes some current through its gate terminal to operate.

2. The gate terminal of the IGBT is isolated, so it gives a very high safety when operating at high voltage, on the other hand, in the SCR the gate terminal is not insulated.

3. IGBT has electronic signal amplifying capability whereas SCR does not have amplifying capability.

4. An extra arrangement or method is required to turn off the SCR. On the other hand, IGBT does not require any special method for turning it off.

5. SCRs are most suitable for fast switching and low-power applications compared to IGBTs whereas IGBTs are mostly used in high-power circuits.

6. SCRs are used in rectifier circuits, inverter circuits, timing circuits, and light-dimming circuits whereas IGBTs are used in High Power Motor Driver Circuits, High Power Inverter circuits.

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