Power Electronics Handbook

Chapter 9

Phase-controlled rectification and

inversion

9.1 Introduction

Controlled rectifier circuits had been in use long before power

semiconductors were invented, the control element being the mercury arc

rectifier. Although these are still found for very high-power applications,

they have almost entirely been replaced by the semiconductor switch,

primarily the thyristor.

Phase-controlled rectification and inversion was introduced in Chapter

6, and although the principle is fairly simple there are a bewildering

number of different combinations which exist in practice, some of these

being described in this chapter. All these circuits can