Alternistors are specifically designed for applications which are required to switch highly inductive loads. To accomplish this, a special chip has been designed which effectively offers the same performance as two thyristors (SCRs) wired inverse parallel (back to back); hence the alternistor has better turn-off behavior than a standard triac.
The triac may be gate triggered from a blocking to conduction state for either polarity of applied voltage and is designed for AC switching and phase control applications such as speed and temperature modulation controls, lighting controls, and static switching relays. The triggering signal is normally applied between the gate and MT1.