AC Phase Control - TRIACs

I've made an AC Dimmer circuit using a TRIAC to experiment with AC Phase Control.
It uses an Arduino to control the TRIAC gate firing.

The situation here is: 120 vac, 60Hz.
This is an application of what's known as "random fire" (or random-firing) technique for full phase control. The term random is kind of misleading. Dimming cannot be effected by triggering the gate indiscriminately; triggering (firing) must be done synchronized with the line frequency. The line frequency is detected by finding the zero-cross, the point where the line voltage is at or near zero, which occurs with each alternation (half-cycle).
The resistor on U1's input (between AC Line and U1 pin_1) is 18.6 kΩ.  I used 3 6.2 kΩ (1W) resistors in series.  [The value wasn't specified on the schematic, prompting my doing so here.]
The Arduino gets zero-crossing pulses from U1's output at D2, one of its hardware interrupt pins.
The delay angle is selectable via two DIP switches. The default is 1 msec and the DIPs are binary weighted [i.e. delay time = 1msec + 1, 2, or 3 msec more.] With that, the conduction angle can be set to approximately 158, 135, 112, or 90 degrees.
Obviously, more resolution could be had with more switches, that's academic enough, but my objective was not some high degree of (or seemingly continuous) variability. This is a research project and these few well-defined options are sufficient.

The zero-cross signal is awaited, its occurrence initiates the Interrupt whereupon the DIPs are read and thereby the delay time determined, then shortly the Gate signal pulses after the appropriate delay time and the process repeats.
As there's a snubber across the TRIAC and a snubber for the gate, too, I do intend to try it all out with a fan. That's my plan. But I confess that I'm squishy on it right now - preferring to bask in the glow of my present success before plunging into a power factor situation.
Before that, though, I want to take some pictures of the TRIAC output on the scope.

//     ***  Triac_03  ***
//
//  It's Working!  17 NOV 2012
//  gateEnable output lags
//  Triac_cue [zc] by 1-4 msec
//  via DIPSW1,2
//

byte gateEnable = 3;     // alias output
byte DIPSW1 = 4;         // alias input
byte DIPSW2 = 5;         // alias input
byte GatePulseTime = 1;  // at or near Alt start
int timesel;
volatile boolean zeroCrossed = false;  // flag

void setup()
{
  pinMode(DIPSW1, INPUT);
  pinMode(DIPSW2, INPUT);
  pinMode(gateEnable, OUTPUT);
  attachInterrupt(0,Triac_cue,RISING); // Ext_Int on D2
}

void loop ()
{
  if (zeroCrossed == true)
  {triacTrigger();}
}
// ----- The Interrupt -----
void Triac_cue ()
{zeroCrossed = true;  } //

void triacTrigger ()
{
  DIPread();
  delay (GatePulseTime);
  digitalWrite(gateEnable, HIGH);  
  delay (1);
  digitalWrite(gateEnable, LOW);
  zeroCrossed = false;  // flag reset
}

void DIPread ()
{
  GatePulseTime = 1;
  timesel = digitalRead(DIPSW1);
  if (timesel == HIGH)
  {GatePulseTime = GatePulseTime + 1;}
  timesel = digitalRead(DIPSW2);
  if (timesel == HIGH)
  {GatePulseTime = GatePulseTime + 2;}
}

I have been using "TRIAC", my preference. Should I use Triac when it's the first word of a sentence and triac otherwise? A textbook of mine, "Industrial Solid-State Electronics", uses the latter.

26 NOV 2012  The results with a 40W lamp are really good, but managing a string of LED holiday lights leaves much to be desired.  At 90deg, they were practically off.  I'm speculating, but I think that the LEDs, being a low-current affair, can't make the TRIAC's holding current and end up dropping out prematurely.
26 NOV 2012 (Pt. 2) I ran the LED holiday light string along with a 40W lamp and had much better results.  So, it's the holding current - the LEDlights don't draw enough (not one string, nor two.)
27 NOV 2012  So, here's the last on the LED holiday lights.  It came to me that I didn't need to use a TRIAC at all. Given the low current of these LEDlights, the triac driver (MOC3023) itself is sufficient. The zero-cross reference is still required and the MOC's logic input has to be kept active for the entire time of the conduction angle.

Here's the schematic of the modification.

This is the test "sketch", it's very coarse, just enough to prove the point. If you need gradual, put more work into it.
N.B. It doesn't use the switches, that part of the original circuit is not needed.  It loops through some chosen values, dwelling at each, and repeating the cycle.
[None of the sketches listed or referred to from hereon have need of the DIPswitch circuit.]

byte gateEnable = 3;     // alias output
byte GatePulseTime = 1;  // delay time till start
                         // 1 = brightest
byte PW = 0;             // conduction angle
int index = 0;
volatile boolean zeroCrossed = false;  // Interrupt Note

void setup()
{
  pinMode(gateEnable, OUTPUT);
  attachInterrupt(0,Triac_cue,RISING); // Ext_Int on D2
}

// ***** ***** ***** ***** //
void loop ()
{
  if (zeroCrossed == true)
  {triacTrigger();}
}
// ***** ***** ***** *****

// ----- The Interrupt -----
void Triac_cue ()
{zeroCrossed = true;}   // !!!
// ---- ---- ---- ---- -----
// ---- ---- ---- ---- -----
void triacTrigger ()
{
  fade();
  delay (GatePulseTime);
  digitalWrite(gateEnable, HIGH);   
  delay (PW);
  digitalWrite(gateEnable, LOW);
  zeroCrossed = false;  // Reset
  index ++;
  if (index > 720)
  {index = 0;}
}
// ---- ---- ---- ---- 

void fade ()      // GatePulseTime + PW must total 8 (8msec)
{
  if (index < 120)
  {
    GatePulseTime = 1;
    PW = 7;
  }
  else if ((index >= 120) && (index < 240))
  {
    GatePulseTime = 2;
    PW = 6;
  }    
  else if ((index >= 240) && (index < 360))
  {
    GatePulseTime = 3;
    PW = 5;
  }  
  else if ((index >= 360) && (index < 480))
  {
    GatePulseTime = 4;
    PW = 4;
  }
  else if ((index >= 480) && (index < 600))
  {
    GatePulseTime = 5;
    PW = 3;
  }
  else
  {
    GatePulseTime = 6;
    PW = 2;
  }
}
30NOV2012 Still sidetracked on this holiday LEDlight fading. 
I knocked out a better "sketch", the fading levels go up/down

byte MOC_logic = 3;  // alias output
byte Intensity;      // conduction angle
byte startPosition;  // delay time till start
int index = 0;
volatile boolean zeroCrossed = false;  // Flag

void setup()
{
  pinMode(MOC_logic, OUTPUT);
  attachInterrupt(0,cueStart,RISING); // Ext_Int on D2
}

// ***** ***** ***** ***** //
void loop ()
{
  if (zeroCrossed == true)
  {enableOutput();}
}
// ***** ***** ***** ***** //

// ----- The Interrupt -----
void cueStart ()
{zeroCrossed = true;}   //  !!!
// ---- ---- ---- ---- -----
// ---- ---- ---- ---- -----
void enableOutput ()
{
  fade();
  startPosition = (8 - Intensity); // "delay angle"
  delay (startPosition);
  digitalWrite(MOC_logic, HIGH);   
  delay (Intensity);               // "conduction angle"
  digitalWrite(MOC_logic, LOW);
  zeroCrossed = false;  // Reset
  index ++;
  if (index > 240)
  {index = 0;}
}
// ---- ---- ---- ---- 
void fade ()
{
  // not a lot of difference between
  // Intensity = 6 and Intensity = 7
  if (index < 30)
  {Intensity = 6;}
  else if ((index >= 30) && (index < 60))
  {Intensity = 5;}    
  else if ((index >= 60) && (index < 90))
  {Intensity = 4;}  
  else if ((index >= 90) && (index < 120))
  {Intensity = 3;}
  else if ((index >= 120) && (index < 150))
  {Intensity = 2;}
  // Intensity = 1 is very low
  // fade up   
  else if ((index >= 150) && (index < 180))
  {Intensity = 3;}  
  else if ((index >= 180) && (index < 210))
  {Intensity = 4;}
  else
  {Intensity = 5;}
}

Here's a solid demo, there are scope traces in addition to lights

Here's a scope trace - for good measure (Ha!)

30 NOV 2012 (Pt. 2)  I hooked the TRIAC circuit up again and used it with the immediately previous "sketch" and it works!
I think that this time I really will get out of the 'holiday lights' tweak.
30 NOV 2012 (Pt. 3) Crap! I have to walk that back some.
I had put the scope away, but I decided to bring it back out and have a look.  Despite improved fading over the way it was before, I saw on the scope that it was only conducting on one alternation, asymmetrical.  Then I plugged the 40W lamp in with it and it looked even better than the MOC3023 does.  It's totally textbook with the lamp plugged into it.
So, one "strand" isn't enough to do it with the TRIAC.  My strand takes 20ma.  My TRIAC (BCR8N) spec has both holding and trigger current of 100ma, which means a load of at least 12w. Looks like TRIACs with the lowest holding currents are also of the "sensitive gate" type.  There are many Standard types, 400V, 25ma - search Digikey.
I am using this particular Triac because I bought a few on a whim once.
[Maybe 5 strings would do it to it, but I don't have that many to confirm. A resistor might fix it, but it won't present the PTC characteristic (cold = low ohms, hot = high ohms), which it seems would be beneficial at low voltage, but maybe not essential, there has to be a substantial voltage present for the LED string to light up anyway.]
Still, no kidding, the MOC3023's aren't a bad way really are a good way to go for this application.
Good night.
01 DEC 2012  Here's a demo of a TRIAC output, the classic wave-forms you expect to see (running from the same sketch above)

You see that the TRIAC switches off better than the SBS output of the MOC3023 (it's depicted in the data sheet with a TRIAC-like symbol, instead of the SBS symbol, but it is a light-activated SBS.)
Be that as it may, the circuit the TRIAC is controlling needs to be drawing appreciable current or the TRIAC is unhappy. Maybe I should have demo'd that part, too?
* Here I can add, and do confirm, that the TRIAC output is just as solid by pulsing the Gate, at the beginning of the conduction angle - the method used with the very first "sketch" up at the top (it's labelled "Triac 03".)

I made a lot of assumptions about Triacs, I took a lot for granted, but I now have an appreciation for trigger current and holding current, at least I think I have a lot better handle on that than before.  Hadn't ever designed with them, they were always a "working or not working" proposition.  I certainly had the lamp dimmer going good, then I got sidetracked on the 'holiday LED lights' and got educated almost by accident.

I need to get back to my plan - running the fan. I was reading an app-note from ST and from what I gather, given an inductive load, the Gate should not be pulsed, but held on (given "ELI".)

09 DEC 2012  I still haven't run the fan. But I was making some H11/3023 boards and I used 2K resistors instead of 1K on the 3023 logic/input - and that skrewed it up. I swapped those out with some 470Ω that were on my bench and that brought things right (same as before.) That light-activated SBS is light-dependent for sure, it's like CTR with a photo-transistor output.

22 DEC 2014  Two years later! (Hard to believe.)
I have some VO2223 "power photo-triacs" to try out. I plan to mess around with those this weekend.
I've had the light-string up at work and I developed a new "sketch" - it has two routines for fade up/down (two speeds) and two routines for blinking (fast, slow).
Look for lightstring03 in my Where's The Code? page.

04 JAN 2015  OK, I finally got a VO2223 circuit together. I found out that they need more input current. With a 40w bulb I was only getting 60v when on with 4-5ma input. Running that up to 10ma got me over that hurdle. I need to incorporate this with a zero-cross board of its own.

All constructive Comments are encouraged (and encouraging)!