Advantages and disadvantages of SCR (silicon controlled rectifier)

Advantages:

There are some advantages of silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) which are given below.

• The silicon controlled rectifier is easy to turn ON.
• The Triggering circuit for silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) is simple.
• It is simple to control.
• It is able to control AC power.
• It cost is low.
• The silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) can handle large voltage, current and power.
• It can be protected with the help of fuse.

Disadvantages:

There are some disadvantages of silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) which are given below.

• In AC circuit, it needs to be turned on each cycle.
• It cannot be used at higher frequencies.
• The silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) is unidirectional devices, so it can control power only in DC power during positive half cycle of AC supply. Thus only DC power is controlled with the help of SCR.
• The gate current cannot be negative.