silicon controlled rectifier


silicon controlled rectifier

[′sil·ə·kən kən′trōld ′rek·tə‚fī·ər] (electronics) A semiconductor rectifier that can be controlled; it is a pnpn four-layer semiconductor device that normally acts as an open circuit, but switches rapidly to a conducting state when an appropriate gate signal is applied to the gate terminal. Abbreviated SCR. Also known as reverse-blocking triode thyristor.

silicon controlled rectifier

A four-layer thyristor developed by General Electric in the 1950s. See thyristor.