Thyristor (silicon-controlled rectifier)
Tiristor (rectificador controlado de silicio)
- Date
- 1956-1957 · confidence medium
- Place
- Syracuse, New York, United States
- Credited to
- Gordon Hall and Frank Gutzwiller (General Electric), building on Bell Labs work
- Field
- Matter & energy
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A four-layer silicon device that conducts when pulsed at its gate and stops when the current is cut. It controls large powers without moving parts and launched power electronics.
William Shockley proposed the scheme in 1950 and Bell Labs (Moll, Tanenbaum) demonstrated it in 1956. GE made it commercial in 1957.
What it led to
- variable-speed drives and dimmers
- modern HVDC converters (Eel River, 1972)
- electric traction and industrial power supplies