University of San Carlos

Talamban, Cebu City

School of Engineering
Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering

TRIGGERING DEVICES
EXPERIMENT NO. 4

INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS LAB

ECE 425NL

Submitted by:
AMBAYAN, BRENDAN PG
DELGADO, MATT LYNNSON
TAN, ANGELITO JR.

Submitted to:
ENGR. JUDILYN R. ACAS

Experiment Done on: 23/02/2016

Report Submitted on: 02/03/2017

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 Abstract

The experiment focuses on the operation and characteristic curve of the

triggering devices. These triggering devices are Diac and Unijunction Transistor or
UJT. The experiment is divided into two parts: the Diac and the UJT. The Diac is
capable of conducting in a bilateral direction. The expected output of the Diac is
that the positive break over voltage and the positive holding current is equal or
near equal to the negative break over voltage and the negative holding current.
When observing the graphical representation of the characteristic of the Diac, The
diac will be expected to be symmetrical. The UJT is a three terminal device with
one semiconductor junction. The UJT has the unique characteristic called the
intrinsic standoff ratio. The voltage peak is very dependent on the intrinsic
standoff ratio. In the experiment, it is expected to calculate the intrinsic standoff
ratio using the voltage peak and voltage valley. Also in the experiment, a
relaxation is constructed so that frequency range is calculated.

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 Table of Contents

Cover Page

Abstract 1

Table of Contents 2

I. Introduction 3

II. Materials and Equipment 6

III. Experimental Procedure 7

IV. Data & Results 11

V. Analysis (Discussion / Questions) 13

VI. Conclusion 15

References 16

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I. Introduction

A Triggering device is an electronic circuit which is used to control another

electronic circuit. In industrial operations the delivery of a variable and controlled
amount of electrical power is important. The most common of these operations
includes electric lighting, electric motor speed control, electric welding, and
electric heating.

In this experiment, the components used in the triggering circuits were

DIAC and Unijunction Transistor. DIAC stands for diode for alternating current.
The DIAC is a diode that conducts electrical current only after its breakover
voltage, VBO, has been reached momentarily.

Figure 1. DIAC equivalent circuit and schematic symbol

The DIAC is essentially a diode that conducts after a 'break-over' voltage,

designated VBO, is exceeded. When the device exceeds this break-over voltage, it
enters the region of negative dynamic resistance. This results in a decrease in the
voltage drop across the diode with increasing voltage. Accordingly there is a sharp
increase in the level of current that is conducted by the device. The diode remains
in its conduction state until the current through it drops below what is termed the
holding current, which is normally designated by the letters IH. Below the holding
current, the DIAC reverts to its high-resistance (non-conducting) state. Its
behavior is bi-directional and therefore its operation occurs on both halves of an
alternating cycle. This can be observed in the V-I characteristics curve below
(figure 2).

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 Figure 2. DIAC V-I Characteristics

A DIAC operated with a DC voltage across it behaves exactly the same as a

Shockley diode. With AC, however, the behavior is different from what one might
expect. Because alternating current repeatedly reverses direction, DIACs will not
stay latched longer than one-half cycle. If a DIAC becomes latched, it will continue
to conduct current only as long as voltage is available to push enough current in
that direction. When the AC polarity reverses, as it must twice per cycle, the DIAC
will drop out due to insufficient current, necessitating another breakover before it
conducts again. The result is the current waveform in figure 3 below.

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 Figure 3. DIAC waveforms

A unijunction transistor (UJT) is a three-lead electronic semiconductor

device with only one junction that acts exclusively as an electrically controlled
switch. Like diodes, unijunction transistors are constructed from separate P-type
and N-type semiconductor materials forming a single (hence its name Uni-
Junction) PN-junction within the main conducting N-type channel of the device.
Although the Unijunction Transistor has the name of a transistor, its switching
characteristics are very different from those of a conventional bipolar or field
effect transistor as it cannot be used to amplify a signal but instead is used as a
ON-OFF switching transistor. UJTs have unidirectional conductivity and negative
impedance characteristics acting more like a variable voltage divider during
breakdown. Like N-channel FETs, the UJT consists of a single solid piece of N-type
semiconductor material forming the main current carrying channel with its two
outer connections marked as Base 2 ( B2 ) and Base 1 ( B1 ). The third connection,
confusingly marked as the Emitter is located along the channel. The emitter
terminal is represented by an arrow pointing from the P-type emitter to the N-
type base.

The Emitter rectifying p-n junction of the unijunction transistor is formed by

fusing the P-type material into the N-type silicon channel. However, P-channel
UJTs with an N-type Emitter terminal are also available but these are little used.
The Emitter junction is positioned along the channel so that it is closer to terminal
B2 than B1. An arrow is used in the UJT symbol which points towards the base
indicating that the Emitter terminal is positive and the silicon bar is negative
material. Below shows the symbol, construction, and equivalent circuit of the UJT.

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 Figure 4. Unijunction Transistor Symbol and Construction

The device has a unique characteristic that when it is triggered, its emitter
current increases until it is restricted by emitter power supply. It exhibits a
negative resistance characteristic and so it can be employed as an oscillator. UJT
is biased with a positive voltage between the two bases. This causes a potential
drop along the length of the device. When the emitter voltage is driven
approximately one diode voltage above the voltage at the point where the P
diffusion (emitter) is, current will begin to flow from the emitter into the base
region. Because the base region is very lightly doped, the additional current
(actually charges in the base region) causes conductivity modulation which
reduces the resistance of the portion of the base between the emitter junction
and the B2 terminal. This reduction in resistance means that the emitter junction
is more forward biased, and so even more current is injected. Overall, the effect is
a negative resistance at the emitter terminal. This is what makes the UJT useful,
especially in simple oscillator circuits.

II. Materials and Equipment

Oscilloscope
Power Supply
Breadboard
Digital Multimeter
Analog Multimeter
Diac GT-32
UJT 2N2646
Potentiometer 1k and 100k

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 Watt Resistors: 500 , 200 , 50k , 1k , 47k , 3k
Alligator clips and connecting Wires

III. Experimental Procedure

Part I. The DIAC V-I Characteristic Curve

The circuit shown below in Fig.1 was constructed by the students. As shown
below, a dc source was used and it is a variable source that can output a voltage
up to 32 V. The positive and negative regulator control was initially adjusted for a
minimum output voltage setting. The digital voltmeter was used to measure the
input voltage while the analog voltmeter was used to measure the voltage across
the resistor. The current was obtained by using the formula, .

Figure 5. DIAC Circuit Schematic Diagram

Then, the positive regulator control was adjusted to maximum value and
the negative regulator voltage was added by adjusting the negative regulator
control slowly until the DIAC starts to conduct. Once a voltage across the resistor
is detected, the DIAC then conducted since I = Vr/R. The break over voltage of the
DIAC was determined by repeating the process. The voltage was just enough for
the DIAC to trigger to its on state. The data was recorded afterwards.
While the DIAC is in the conduction state, the input voltage was reduced
slowly until the voltage across the resistor will stay at a minimum value not zero.

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The current at this minimum value was referred as the holding current. The values
were recorded as the positive breakover voltage.
This time, the DIAC was reversed in the circuit shown in Fig.5. The reverse
breakover voltage and the reverse holding current was obtained using the same
process used above. The data were recorded. The power supply of the circuit was
turned off. And the circuit in Fig.6 was constructed. An AC 24Vrms was used as
the supply in the circuit. The oscilloscope connections were shown in Fig. 6 and
the oscilloscope settings are shown in table 1.

Oscilloscope Channel 1 Channel 2

Volts per division 2 volts per division 1 volt per division
Time per division 5ms/division
Trigger Mode X-Y
Input switch AC
Probe Multiplier X10 X10
Table 1. Oscilloscope setting

Figure 6. DIAC Circuit with Oscilloscope

The breakover voltage in both positive and negative values was adjusted. It
was represented by the horizontal distance (oscilloscope display) which is the
voltage across the DIAC measured in CH1. The + value was measured from
the origin to the rightmost portion while the value was measured from the
origin to the left most portion.
The holding current for both the positive and negative values were
calculated. It is represented by the vertical distance in the oscilloscope display

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which is the voltage across the resistor as indicated in Ch2. The holding current
was calculated by dividing the resistance value from the voltage across the
resistor. The + was measured from the origin to the upper knee of the curve in
the 1st quadrant. The was measured from the origin to the lower knee of the
curve in the 4th quadrant. The data were recorded below. The display in the
oscilloscope was drawn as the DIAC characteristic.
Part II. Unijunction Transistor
As shown in Fig.3, the UJT circuit was assembled in the breadboard. The
power supply was adjusted to have 10V output and it was used as a supply for the
circuit. The analog voltmeter that was set to 10v range was used to measure the
emitter voltage, Ve.

Figure 7. UJT Circuit Schematic Diagram

After double checking the connections, the DC source was turned on. The
potentiometer was adjusted clockwise CW and counter clockwise CCW while
observing the emitter voltage reading in the DC voltmeter. The peak emitter
voltage value and valley emitter voltage value were acquired. The highest emitter
voltage reading was the emitter peak voltage. The minimum emitter voltage
reading was the emitter valley. The data were recorded.
The voltage across B1 and B2 were measured with the positively polarity at
B2. Vbb voltage was the voltage across B1 and B2 when Ve is at the valley point
and Vf=0.7V. This value was used to compute for the intrinsic standoff ratio of the
UJT. The circuit was switched off and was being rewired to come up with the new
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connections as shown in Fig.4.The oscilloscope was used to verify the values that
were gathered. The oscilloscope settings are shown below in Table 2.

Oscilloscope Channel 1 Channel 2

Volts per division 0.5 volts per division 2 volts per division
Time per division 5ms/division
Trigger Mode Dual
Input switch DC
Probe Multiplier X10 X1
Table 2. Oscilloscope setting

Figure 8. UJT Relaxation Oscillator

The potentiometer was slowly adjusted back and forth while observing the
2 waveforms shown in the oscilloscope screen. The peak and valley emitter
voltages were measured based on the oscilloscope. The frequency range of the
oscillator circuit was being obtained. The data were recorded. Then, the emitter
voltage was positioned on top of the B1 voltage and the output waveform was
drawn.

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IV. Data and Results

Figure 9. DIAC Characteristic Curve in X&Y Mode

+ +
31.83 V 7.6 mA

31.83 V 7.6 mA
Table 3. Breakover Voltage and the Holding Current for DIAC

+
24.4 V 23.2 V
+
8 mA 7.7 mA
Table 4. Breakover Voltage and the Holding Current for DIAC

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 Figure 10. UJT Relaxation Oscillator Waveforms

Figure 11. Zoomed UJT Relaxation Oscillator Waveforms

Results for UJT Characteristics Circuit

Vp= 6.2V Vv= 1.4 V

= =0.687

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 Results for the UJT Relaxation Oscillator

Vp=12.8V Vv=1.80V

Frequency ranges from 31.3 Hz to 84.7Hz

V. Analysis (Discussion / Questions)

The first part of the experiment is observing the characteristic of the diac
based on two methods. The first one is basically using the multi-meter and the
other one is using the oscilloscope. In the first circuit, the positive break over
voltage was measured using the multi-meter. When the DIAC is still conducting,
the voltage input is slowly reduced until the voltage across the resistor will stay at
a minimum value. The voltage across the resistor or Vr was measured. The value
of Vr was then used to calculate the positive holding current. The +VBO is 31.83V
and the +IH is 7.6 mA. The Diac is then in reversed to calculate the negative break
over voltage and the negative holding current. Same procedure is used and the -
VBO is 31.84V and the -IH is 7.3 mA. The circuit is reconstructed. Using the
oscilloscope, the characteristic curve of the diac is observed. The +VBO is 24.4V
while the -VBO is 23.2V. The +IH is 7.7 mA and the -IH is 8 mA. In both methods, the
+VBO and the -VBO has an identical measurement and same thing is said about the
+IH and -IH.
The second part of the experiment is observing the characteristic of the
Unijunction transistor or UJT. While using the multi-meter and slowly rotating the
potentiometer clockwise and counter clockwise, the emitter voltage will increase
and at certain voltage input value, the emitter voltage will drop down to zero.
Using the multi-meter, the measured value of the voltage peak or Vp and the
voltage valley or Vv are 6.2V and 1.4V respectively. Before calculating the intrinsic
standoff ratio or , Vbb and Vp must be measured. Vbb is measured across B1
and B2 when Ve is at the valley point and the Vf=0.7V. Using the values of Vbb, Vf
and Vp, can now be calculated. is equal to 0.678. The circuit is then
reconstructed to a relaxation circuit. Using the oscilloscope and adjusting slowly
the potentiometer back and forth, the frequency will vary and the waveforms will
expand. The value of Vp is 12.8 V and Vv is 1.80 V and the frequency range of the
relaxation circuit is 31.1 Hz to 84.7 Hz.

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 Figure 1: Triac Dimmer Circuit

One application of DIAC is a Triac Lamp Dimmer Circuit. The triac is

controlled by an RC phase shift network. The Triac conduction angle is varied so
that when the triac conducts longer, the brighter the lamp will be. The Diac will
act as an open circuit until the voltage across a capacitor exceeds its break over
voltage.

Figure 1: Heat Control Circuit

Another application of the Diac is the heat control circuit. The circuit is use
to smooth the control of the ac power of a heater. Again the Diac is used as a
switch for the Triac. The Triac conduction angle is used to smooth the control of
the heat output by adjusting a variable resistor. The longer the triac conducts the
larger the output will produce.

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 Replacing a DIAC with two diodes connecting in a back to back arrangement
is not possible because the diac conducts at the break over voltage, in which will
cause a feedback action and the voltage drops to a low level. The two diodes in a
back to back connection however does not have this feedback action and its not
capable of conducting at the break over voltage because the diodes have fix
voltages. One application of a relaxation circuit is the voltage-controlled
oscillators. The relaxation oscillators are capable of generating a sawtooth or
triangular waveform. The capacitor of the VCO is very dependent on the rate of
its charge and discharge.

VI. Conclusion

In this experiment, the DIAC and Unijunction Transistor were used. The
DIAC is a two-way terminal pnpn device that allows conduction without the base
terminal. An important application of the DIAC is when it used as a trigger device.
DIACs are a widely used electronic component. The major application of DIAC is
for use in conjunction with TRIACs to equalise their switching characteristics. By
equalising the switching characteristics of these TRIACs, the level of harmonics
generated when switching AC signals can be reduced. Despite this, for large
applications, two thyristors are generally used. Nevertheless the DIAC/TRIAC
combination is very useful for lower power applications including light dimmers.

From the experiment, triggering circuits using DIAC and UJT were
constructed. The DIAC Characteristic curves were obtained and the relaxation
oscillator waveforms were also obtained and observed. In the overall experiment,
the students were able to design triggering circuits. They were able to know the
characteristics and operations of triggering circuits based on the experiment.
From what they have done, they were able to verify the basic operation of DIAC
and Unijunction Transistor. The V-I characteristics curves of the DIAC were
obtained. They had examined the operation of the UJT Relaxation Oscillator
Circuit. The students can infer that the knowledge about these circuits is really
important not only to the electronic hobbyists but also to others that have works
related to them. The ideas about these circuts is really important especially in
dealing with practical applications and real life situations.

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References:

https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/semiconductors/chpt-
7/the-diac/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIAC
http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/data/semicond/diac/diac.php
http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/unijunction-transistor.html
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/semiconductors/chpt-
7/unijunction-transistor-ujt/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triggering_device

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