THYRISTOR

A thyristor acts as a switching device, similar to a transistor, that conducts a current until the voltage across the device is removed or reversed. There are three electrodes that make up a thyristor, including the gate, the cathode, and the anode. The gate acts as a direction control method – when a current flows in through the gate, it the thyristor allows for a larger current to flow from anode to cathode. Thyristors will only conduct the current in a single direction, but depending on how it is triggered can operate in two ways: as a rectifying diode or as an open-circuit switch.