Module 1

EET306 Power Electronics - Lecture Notes by T.G.
Sanish Kumar, EED, GECT as on 01-07-2022 4
MODULE 1
Introduction to Power Electronics-Scope and applications-power electronics vs signal electronics (1
hr) - Structure and principle of operation of power devices- Power diode, Power MOSFET & IGBT –
switching characteristics - comparison. Basic principles of wideband gap devices SiC, GaN (4 hrs)
SCR- Structure, Static characteristics & Switching (turn-on & turn-off) characteristics - di/dt& dv/dt
protection – Turn-on methods of SCR - Two transistor analogy (5 hr) Gate triggering circuits –
Requirements of isolation and synchronization in gate drive circuits- Opto and pulse transformer
based isolation (1hr)
INTRODUCTION TO POWER ELECTRONICS

Power electronics deals with the use of electronics for the control and conversion of large
amounts of electrical power.
Difference between power electronics & linear electronics:-
Not primarily because of their power handling capacities
BJT is used both in linear electronics and power electronics. In linear electronics, generally BJTs are
used for amplification and it is operated in active region. But, power BJT is used as a switch (ON or
OFF) hence it is operated in saturation region or cut-off region. When BJT is operated in active
region, power dissipation is more (= VCE  IC ). When a BJT is operated in saturation or cut-off region,
power dissipation is less. ON state (during saturation, VCEsat is very low) and OFF state (during cut-
off, IC is very low) losses are minimum.
In linear voltage regulator, line frequency transformer which is heavy & lossy is used. But, in
switched mode regulator, high frequency ferrite core transformer which is light & efficient is used.
For example,
Consider a simple dc-dc converter. A 50V dc is required across a 5Ω resistor. Input voltage is 100V
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(dc load current is 10A).
Vdc=100V
dc-dc
converter
10A
5
Vo =50V
The different ways of getting a reduced dc voltage from a fixed dc voltage are shown below.
Case 1 : A voltage divider is used. The voltage drop across the variable resistor is 50V and the power
dissipated is 500W.
Case 1 : Voltage divider Case 2 : Linear series regulator
10A 10A
+ -
50V
Vo =50V LA& Vo =50V
P loss=500W 5 5
Vdc=100V Vdc=100V BD Vref
LA&BD- Linear Amplifier & base driver

P loss=500W
Case 2 : A linear voltage regulator is used. The transistor is operating in active region. The voltage
drop across the transistor is 50V and the power dissipated in the transistor is 500W.
Case 3
10A
1 Vo
2
Vo =50V Vdc
Vdc=100V 5
t
TON TOFF
EET306 Power Electronics - Lecture Notes by T.G.Sanish Kumar, EED, GECT as on 01-07-2022 5
Case 3 : During period TON, switch is in position 1 and during TOFF, switch is in position 2.
Average voltage, Vo  Vdc  TON TON
 D Vdc where D = duty ratio = .
TON  TOFF TON  TOFF
Here, D = 0.5 since Vo  50  0.5 . Power dissipated by the switch is ideally zero.
Vdc 100
(Note: In case 3, the output voltage Vo consists of some harmonics in addition to the desired dc
component. In order to remove this harmonics, an LC low pass filter is used.)
1
S L
Vdc
2
Vo
C
If the switch, L and C are ideal, the efficiency of the dc-dc converter approaches 100%)
Power Electronic circuits can be classified into
i) Phase controlled rectifier – fixed AC to variable DC (Average value is finite; need not be a
constant)
ii) Inverters – fixed DC to variable AC (variable V or f) (Average value is zero; need not be a
sine wave)
iii) Choppers – Fixed DC to variable DC
iv) Voltage controllers – Fixed ac to variable ac (Variable V; fixed f)
v) Cycloconverters & Matrix converters – Fixed ac to variable ac (variable V or f)
Power Semiconductor devices :
i) Uncontrolled devices – Power diode
ii) Semicontrolled devices (controlled turn-on and uncontrolled turn-off) - Silicon Controlled
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Rectifier (SCR)
iii) Fullycontrolled devices (controlled turn-on and controlled turn-off) – Power BJT, Power
MOSFET, GTO (Gate Turn Off thyristor), IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor),
IGCT (Integrated Gate Commutated Thyristor)
COMPARISON OF POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

Device Rated Rated Rated Rated Forward
voltage current frequency power voltage
Thyristor 6kV 3.5kA 500Hz 100’s MW 1.5-2.5V
(SCR)
BJT 1.2kV 400A 10kHz 1MW 1.5-3V
MOSFET 1kV 50A 1MHz 100kW 3-4V
IGBT 1.2kV 400A 20kHz 100’s kW 3-4V
GTO 4.5kV 3kA 2kHz 10’s MW 3-4V
IDEAL SWITCHES
Properties of ideal switches:
i) When switch is OFF (open); Is = 0 and should be able to withstand any voltage across it
(   Vsw(OFF )   )
ii) When switch is ON, VSW(ON)=0 and it is capable of passing any current through it.
iii) Power dissipated in the switch when ON or OFF is zero (Conduction loss = 0 and blocking loss
= 0)
iv) Switch is turned ON and OFF instantaneously i.e. t ON = tOFF = 0.
v) Switching losses during turn ON and turn OFF are zero.
For a practical switch, there is a small finite voltage drop across the switch during ON; hence
conduction loss is not zero. During OFF, there will be leakage current through it; hence blocking loss
is not zero. Also, it takes finite time to switch from one state to another. Hence switching loss is not
zero.
SAFE OPERATING AREA
The amount of heat generated in the device is proportional to the power loss, that is, the voltage-
current product. For this product to be constant P=VI and equal to the maximum allowable value, the
current must be inversely proportional to the voltage.
Consider a 1200V, 75A power diode. It doesn’t mean that it can carry 75A when the voltage across it
is 1200V. There is current limit, voltage limit and power limit.
I
SOA
Ilimit
P limit
Vlimit
V
POWER DIODE
Basic structure of a power diode is shown below. It consists of a heavily doped n-type substrate on top
of which is grown a lightly doped n- epitaxial layer of specified thickness. Finally, the pn junction is
formed by diffusing in a heavily doped p-type region that forms the anode of the diode. The cross-
sectional area of the diode will vary according to the amount of total current the device is designed to
carry.
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n- epitaxial layer (lightly doped) (drift region) is not found in ordinary low power diode. It absorbs the
depletion layer of reverse biased p+n- junction. Width of the drift region decides the reverse voltage
capability. This may be quite wide at large reverse voltages. Relatively long lightly doped region
increases the ON state drop which increases the power loss during conduction.
In the forward direction, the characteristics of power diode and ordinary diode are similar excepts that
the current grows linearly with the forward-bias voltage rather than exponentially. The large currents
in a power diode create ohmic drops that mask the exponential i-v characteristic. The voltage drop in
the lightly doped drift region accounts for part of this ohmic resistance.
During reverse bias, only a leakage current flows upto VBD where avalanche breakdown of the
junction occurs; large current flows; large current at large voltage leads to excessive power
dissipation; the device is destroyed.
Diodes may be punch through diode or non-punch through diode.
In non-punch through diode, width of depletion layer at breakdown is less than width of drift region;
depletion layer does not reach n+ substrate
Power diode requires finite time to switch from the blocking state to ON state and vice-versa.
IF
trr
t
Irr
leakage
current
Once a diode is in a forward conduction mode and then its forward current is reduced to zero (due to
application of a reverse voltage), the diode continue to conduct due to minority carriers that remains
stored in the pn-junction. Minority carriers require certain time to recombine with opposite charges
and to get neutralized.
Diode goes to OFF state after trr.
Reverse recovery time trr = time between the instant at which the forward diode current becomes zero
and the instant at which the reverse recovery current decays to 25% of reverse peak value Irr.
Reverse recovery charge, qrr  I rr  trr
2
HEAT SINK :
Due to ON state and switching losses, heat is generated within the device. This heat must be
transferred from the device to a cooling medium to maintain the operating junction temperature within
the specified range. The device is usually mounted on a heat sink (usually aluminium).
SPECIFICATIONS OF POWER DIODE: (R – reverse; R – Repetitive; M – Peak, F – Forward; S –
Surge)
i) Average forward current IF(AV)
ii) Reverse blocking voltage VRRM (Reverse Repetitive Peak Voltage)
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iii) ON state voltage VF
iv) Reverse recovery time trr
v) Surge current rating IFSM
vi) i2t rating
SILICON CONTROLLED RECTIFIER (SCR)
K G
very thin,
thickest,
heavily doped
lightly doped
n+ n+
p+
P1 N1 P2 N2
K
A
p+ n- p+ n+
n-
G
p+
A K
G
A
SCR has 3 modes of operation i) forward blocking mode; 2) forward conduction mode and 3) reverse
blocking mode
a) Forward blocking mode
When anode is positive with respect to cathode, junctions J1 and J3 are forward biased and junction J2
is reverse biased. A very small leakage current flows from anode to cathode.
b) Forward conduction mode
With zero gate current: -
If anode to cathode voltage is increased to sufficiently large value, the reverse biased junction J2
will breakdown and the corresponding voltage is known as forward breakover voltage V BO. Since
other junctions J1 and J3 are already forward biased, there will be free movement of charge carriers
across the three junctions, resulting in a large forward anode current. The SCR will then be in
conducting state (ON state). The ON state voltage is around 1.5V and the anode current is limited by
the load resistance.
Once a thyristor conducts, it behaves like a conducting diode and there is no control over the
device. The device continues to conduct because there is no depletion layer on the junction J2 due to
free movement of carriers.
If the forward anode current is reduced below holding current IH a depletion layer develops
around junction J2 and the thyristor will be in blocking state.
With positive gate current:-
When the thyristor is in forward blocking state and if a positive voltage is applied between gate
and cathode, charges are injected into the inner P layer and the voltage at which the forward breakover
occurs is reduced. The forward voltage at which the device switches to ON state depends upon the
magnitude of gate current. Higher the gate current, lower is the forward breakover voltage.
Once the thyristor is in the on state, the gate cannot be used to turn the device off. The only way
to turn off a thyristor is to force the current through the device to be less than the holding current.
Latching current IL is the minimum anode current required to maintain the thyristor in the ON
state immediately after it has been turned on and the gate signal has been removed.
Holding current is less than latching current.
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c) Reverse blocking mode

When cathode is made positive with respect to anode, the SCR is said to be reverse biased. J 1 and
J3 are reverse biased, whereas J2 is forward biased. SCR behaves as if two reverse biased diodes are
connected in series. A small leakage current flows in the SCR. If this reverse voltage is increased,
then at a critical breakdown level, called reverse breakdown voltage V BD avalanche breakdown occurs
at J1 and J3 and reverse current increases rapidly.
Large current at large voltage VBR leads to increased junction temperature and the device gets
damaged.
Static I-V characteristics are shown above.
Note: Generally, the thyristor is designed so that the forward breakover voltage VBO will be about the
same as the reverse breakdown voltage VBD.
TWO TRANSISTOR ANALOGY

A SCR can be considered as two complementary transistors, one PNP transistor Q1 and another NPN
transistor Q2.
A A
IA
IA
IB1
P Q1
N N IC2 
IG IC1
P
G P
Q2
Q1 N G IG IB2
Q2
IE
IK IE2 =IK
K K
Basic structure
Equivalent circuit
For a transistor, I C   I E  I CBO
For Q1, IC1  1 I A  ICBO1
For Q2, IC 2   2 I K  I CBO 2
I A  I C1  I B1  I C1  I C 2  1 I A  I CBO1   2 I K  I CBO 2
But I K  I A  I G
 2 I G  I CBO1   ICBO 2 …………………….. (1)
IA 
1  (1   2 )
Current gain α varies with emitter current IE as shown in figure.
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α1 increases with IA and α2 increases with IK=IA+IG.
If IG is increased, IA increases (equation 1) and IK (=IA+IG) increases. α1 and α2 increase; 1-( α1+ α2)
decreases; IA is further increased; there is a regenerative or positive feedback effect. If ( α1+ α2)
approaches unity, IA becomes very large, thyristor is turned ON.
TURN-ON METHODS OF THYRISTOR

1) Forward voltage triggering
When anode to cathode forward voltage is increased with gate circuit open and when this voltage
reaches forward breakover voltage (VBO), thyristor starts conducting. The forward current is limited
by the load impedance. This method is rarely used as the large VBO may destroy the device.
Once the thyristor is conducting, J2 loses its reverse blocking capability. Hence, if the anode voltage is
reduced below VBO, SCR will continue conduction of the current. Now, the SCR can be turned off
only by reducing the anode current below holding current.
2) Gate triggering
When the thyristor is in forward blocking state and if a positive voltage is applied between gate and
cathode, charges are injected into the inner P layer and the voltage at which the forward breakover
occurs is reduced. The forward voltage at which the device switches to ON state depends upon the
magnitude of gate current. Higher the gate current, lower is the forward breakover voltage.
3) dv/dt triggering
During forward blocking mode, J1 and J3 are forward biased and J2 is reverse biased. The reverse
biased junction J2 has the characteristics of a capacitor due to charges existing across the junction.
dQ d dV dC j dV
ic   (C jV )  C j V  Cj
dt dt dt dt dt
(rate of change of junction capacitance is neglible as the junction capacitance is almost constant)
dV
ic  C j
dt
If a forward voltage is applied suddenly, a charging current will flow tending to turn ON the device.
If the rate of rise of voltage across the device is large, the device may turn-ON even though the
voltage appearing across the device is small.
SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS
(TURN ON AND TURN OFF CHARACTERISTICS)
TURN ON CHARACTERISTICS
When the gate pulse ig is applied, the anode current IA builds up and the voltage across the
device (VA) falls. But there is a transition time from forward OFF state to forward ON state. This
transition time called turn on time ton is defined as the time during which it changes from forward
blocking state to final ON state. When the device is fully turned ON, the voltage across it is quite
small (typically 1 to 2.5V).
Turn on time ton = delay time td + rise time tr + spread time tp
Delay time td – The delay time td is measured from the instant at which gate current reaches 0.9Ig to
the instant at which anode current reaches 0.1IA. (Ig and IA are final gate and anode currents). Delay
time is also defined as the timeduring which anode voltage falls from VA to 0.9VA.
Rise time tr – Rise time tr is the time taken by the anode current to rise from 0.1IA to 0.9IA. Rise time is
also defined as the time during which the anode voltage falls from 0.9VA to 0.1VA.
Spread time tp – Spread time is the time taken by the anode current to rise from 0.9IA to IA. It is also
defined as the time during which the anode voltage falls from 0.1VA to ON state voltage drop (1 to
2.5V).
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During this time, conduction spreads over the entire cross section of the cathode of SCR.
The device switches on very quickly, the turn-on time ton typically being 1 to 3μS. (Typically,
the width of the gate pulse is in the range 10 to 50μS and its amplitude in the range 20 to 200mA)
TURN OFF CHARACTERISTICS

Once the thyristor is in ON state, the gate has no control on the device. The thyristor will turn
off if the anode current becomes zero (natural commutation), or is forced to become zero (forced
commutation).
However, if a forward voltage is applied immediately after the anode current is reduced to
zero, the thyristor will not block the forward voltage and will start conducting again although it is not
triggered by a gate pulse. It is therefore necessary to keep the device reverse biased for a finite period
before a forward anode voltage can be applied. This period is known as the turn-off time, tq, of the
thyristor.
If the current through the thyristor is required to be switched off at a desired instant, it is
momentarily reverse biased by making the cathode positive with respect to anode (i.e., VAK is
negative).For this forced commutation, a commutation circuit is required. In most commutation
circuits, a precharged capacitor is momentarily connected across the conducting thyristor to reverse
bias it.
At t1, anode current becomes zero. After t1, anode currents builds up in the reverse direction
and reaches a maximum value at t2. At t2 reverse recovery current is maximum (=Irr). At t3, reverse
recovery current removes all excess carriers from junction J 1 and J3. Junction J2 requires a time known
as recombination time trc to recombine the excess carriers.
The turn-off time tq is the sum of reverse recovery time trr and recombination time trc.
At the end of turn-off, a depletion layer develops across junction J2 and the thyristor recovers
its ability to withstand forward voltage.
di/dt protection
When a thyristor is turned on, conduction starts at a place near the gate. This small area of conduction
spreads to the whole area of junction. If the rate of rise of anode current (di/dt) is large as compared to
the spreading velocity of carriers across the cathode junction, local hot spots will be formed near the
gate connection on account of high current density. This causes the junction temperature to rise above
the safe limit and as a consequence, SCR may be damaged permanently. To limit the rate of rise of
anode current, an inductance is connected in series with the device (Note :- Current through an
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inductance cannot change instantaneously).
dv/dt protection
During forward blocking state, junction J2 is reverse biased. Charges across J2 develop a capacitance
Cj. When forward voltage is suddenly applied, a charging current ic  C j dV begins to flow and it may
dt
turn on the SCR even without any gate signal. In order to limit the rate of rise of anode voltage, a
series combination of R and C (RC snubber circuit) is connected in parallel with the SCR. (Note : -
Voltage across a capacitance cannot change instantaneously).
Snubber circuit is connected to protect the thyristor from unncecessary turn on due to high dv/dt. It
also reduces transient overvoltage during reverse recovery period and provides dynamic equalization
in a string of thyristors.
A thyristor with di/dt and dv/dt protection are shown below.
SPECIFICATIONS OF SCR
(R-reverse; R-repetitive; M-peak; S-surge; D-forward blocking with gate open, W-working, F-
Forward; T-trigger)
i) VDWM – Peak working forward blocking voltage (Maximum forward blocking voltage that a
thyristor can withstand during its working)
ii) VDRM – Peak repetitive forward blocking voltage (peak transient voltage that a thyristor can
withstand repeatedly or periodically in its forward blocking mode) (800V for TIC106N)
iii) VDSM – Peak surge (non-repetitive) forward blocking voltage (Peak value of the forward surge
voltage that does not repeat)
iv) VRWM – Peak working reverse voltage (Maximum reverse voltage that a thyristor can
withstand)
v) VRRM – Peak repetitive reverse voltage (Peak reverse transient voltage that may occur
repeatedly in the reverse direction) (800V for TIC106N)
vi) VRSM – Peak surge reverse voltage (Peak value of the reverse surge voltage that does not
repeat)
vii) VT – Peak On state voltage (1.7V for TIC106N)
viii) dv/dt (Maximum rate of rise of anode voltage that will not turn ON the device without any
gate signal) (10V/μS for TIC106N)
ix) IT(AV) – Average ON state current (power loss in a thyristor during ON state depends on
ITAV) (3.2A for TIC106N)
x) IT(RMS) – heating on metallic elements (joints, leads etc) of thyristor depends on IT(RMS). (5A
for TIC106N)
xi) ITSM – Surge ON-state current (30A for TIC106N)
xii) IGT – Gate trigger current (200μA for TIC106N)
xiii) VGT – Gate trigger voltage (1V for TIC106N)
xiv)IH - Holding current (5mA for TIC106N)
xv) I2t rating (choice of fuse or protective equipment for SCR) (4100A2S)
xvi)di/dt rating (Maximum rate of rise of anode current without any harm to the device) –
(200A/μS)
BASIC STRUCTURE AND PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION OF
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POWER DIODE, POWER MOSFET& IGBT
POWER DIODE
I
A
I-V
p+ characteristics
Drift
n- epi region
VBD
+
n substrate V
n- epitaxial layer (lightly doped) (drift region) is not found in ordinary diode. It absorbs the depletion
layer of reverse biased p+n- junction.
During reverse bias only a leakage current flows upto VBD where avalanche breakdown of the junction
occurs; large current flows; large current at large voltage leads to excessive power dissipation; the
device is destroyed.
Non-punch through diode – width of depletion layer at breakdown is less than width of drift region;
depletion layer does not reach n+ substrate
Power diode requires finite time to switch from the blocking state to ON state and vice-versa.
IF
trr
t
Irr
leakage
current
Once a diode is in a forward conduction mode and then its forward current is reduced to zero (due to
application of a reverse voltage), the diode continue to conduct due to minority carriers that remains
stored in the pn-junction. Minority carriers require certain time to recombine with opposite charges
and to get neutralized.
Diode goes to OFF state after trr.
Reverse recovery time trr = time between the instant at which the forward diode current becomes zero
and the instant at which the reverse recovery current decays to 25% of reverse peak value Irr.
t
Reverse recovery charge, qrr  I rr  rr
2
Different types of diodes :
i) General purpose (rectifier) diodes– have relatively high t rr (25μS); used in rectifiers
(frequency upto 1kHz); voltage rating upto 6kV
ii) Fast recovery diodes - low trr (less than 5μS; used in dc-dc converters and inverters; high
frequency switching.
iii) Schottky diodes – metal to semiconductor junction is used instead of semiconductor to
semiconductor junction (aluminium-silicon junction); very low ON state voltage drop;
used for high frequency applications; available 100V, 400A
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iv) Silicon carbide diodes – SiC is used instead of Si or Ge; negligible trr; ultra fast switching
behavior; ultra low power loss; very expensive
POWER MOSFET
MOSFET is a 3 terminal device with source S, drain D and gate G as terminals. The flow of current
from the drain to the source is controlled by the voltage applied between the gate-source terminals.
Thus the MOSFET is a voltage controlled device. In the ON-state, the MOSFET can allow current in
only one direction (from drain to source for n-channel MOSFET and source to drain for p-channel
MOSFET). In the OFF state, they can support only unidirectional voltages in a manner similar to the
power transistor.
p-channel MOSFET n-channel

MOSFET
The structure of a P-channel MOSFET is shown in figure. Two highly doped p+ regions are diffused
into a lightly doped n-type substrate. One of these p+ regions works as Source and the other one as
Drain. A thin layer of an insulating material silicon dioxide (SiO2) is deposited over the surface. The
gate metal, namely Aluminium is deposited over SiO2 layer, for making connection for the gate,
source and drain.
The substrate is connected to the source. If we apply a negative voltage to the gate, an electric field
will be developed perpendicular to the SiO2 surface. The negative charge on the gate will induce
positive charge in the near end of the SiO2 layer and negative charge in the far end of the
SiO2.Finally it will induce positive charge in the n-type substrate. These induced positive charges
(also called induced P-channel), when are minority carriers in the n-type substrate, causes current flow
between source and drain. If the magnitude of negative voltage on the gate increase, the induced
positive charge in the semiconductor increase. The drain current is enhanced (increased) by the
negative gate voltage. Hence such device is called enhancement type MOSFET.
In enhancement type MOSFET, the drain current increases by making the gate voltage VGS more
negative as shown in the drain characteristics. In the active region, the drain current is independent of
the drain-source voltage and depends only on VGS. The MOSFET is said to be in the ohmic region if
VDS is less than VGS-VGST. The MOSFET in the ON state will operate in the ohmic region. The drain
to source resistance of the MOSFET in the ohmic region is denoted by RDS(ON) and is an important
selection parameter for the device. In order to reduce the power dissipation in the ON state, the device
should have a low RDS(ON) .
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In the drain current Vs gate voltage characteristics (transfer characteristics), when V GS=0, the drain
current is negligible. The drain current starts increasing after a minimum value of VGS is exceeded,
this value of VGS is called the threshold voltage VGST. This VGST is of the order of 3-4V in most of
power MOSFETs.
Comparison of BJT and MOSFET
1. BTJs have lower conduction losses in ON state but higher switching losses whereas power
MOSFETs have higher conduction losses and lower switching losses. Thus at higher
frequencies, power MOSFETs are the obvious choice.
2. BJTs are current controlled devices whereas MOSFETs are voltage controlled devices.
3. It is easier to parallel power MOSFETs when compared to BJTs.
4. BJTs suffer from secondary breakdown, but the power MOSFETs do not suffer from
secondary breakdown.
SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS OF POWER MOSFET

The switching characteristics of a power MOSFET are influenced to a large extent by the internal
capacitance of the device and the internal impedance of the gate drive circuit. At turn-on, there is an
initial delay tdn during which input capacitance charges to gate threshold voltage VGST. Here tdn is
called turn-on delay time.
There is further delay tr, called rise time, during which gate voltage rises to VGSP, a voltage sufficient
to drive the MOSFET into on state. During tr, drain current rises from zero to full on current ID. Thus,
the total turn-on time is ton=td + tr. The turn-on time can be reduced by using low-impedance gate
drive source.
As MOSFET is a majority carrier device, turn-off process is initiated soon after removal of gate
voltage at time t1. The turn-off delay time, tdf is the time during which input capacitance discharges
from overdrive gate voltage V1, to VGSP. The fall time, tf is the time during which input capacitance
discharges from VGSP to threshold voltage. During tf drain current falls from ID to zero. So, when VGS
is less or equal to VGST, MOSFET turn-off is complete.
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INSULATED GATE BIPOLAR TRANSISTOR (IGBT)
The IGBT is a combination of the advantageous features of MOSFET (like high drive input
impedance, voltage control, fast switching) and BJTs (like low ON state losses and high OFF state
voltage capability). The IGBT is also a three-terminal devices with emitter E, collector C and gate G
as the terminals.
The flow of current from the collector to the emitter is controlled by the voltage applied between the
gate-emitter terminals. Therefore, like the MOSFET, the IGBT is also a voltage controlled device. In
the ON-state, the IGBT can allow current in only one direction (from collector to the emitter for n-
channel IGBT and from emitter to the collector for p-channel IGBT). Further, they can support
bipolar voltages during the OFF state.
The basic structure of an n-channel IGBT is shown in figure. An n-channel IGBT is fabricated on a p+
substrate. This region constitutes the collector of the IGBT.
When a positive voltage is applied at the collector terminal with respect to emitter, in the absence of a
gate-to-emitter voltage, the device can not conduct because the junction between n- and p layers is
reverse biased. When a positive voltage is applied between gate and emitter, a n- channel is formed
due to induction in upper part of p region. This channel provides a path for minority carriers injected
by p+ substrate in n- region. This current reduces the resistance of n- epitaxial layer thus allows the
IGBT to operate at much higher current density as compared to MOSFET. Unlike a MOSFET, current
is contributed by both types of carriers ie, holes and electrons. Recombination of electrons and holes
considerably increases the turn off time, thus turn off time of IGBT is more than that of MOSFET.
Operating frequency is between that of MOSFET and BJT.
IGBT can support both forward and reverse voltages during the OFF state. If VGE is less than the
threshold voltage VGET, the IGBT is in the OFF state.
SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS OF IGBT

Switching Characteristics of IGBT is basically the graphical representation of behaviour of IGBT
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during its turn-on & turn-off process.
The turn-on time is defined as the time between the instant of forward blocking to forward conduction
mode. Turn-on time (ton) is basically composed of two different times: Delay time (tdn) and Rise time
(tr).
ton = tdn + tr.
The delay time is defined as the time for the collector-emitter voltage (VCE) to fall from VCE to
0.9VCE. This simply means that, the collector-emitter voltage drops to 90% in delay time and hence
the collector current rises from initial leakage current to 0.1IC (10%). Thus, delay time may also be
defined as the time period during which collector current rises from zero (in fact a small leakage
current) to 10% of the final value of collector current IC.
The rise time tr is the time during which collector-emitter voltage falls from 0.9VCE to 0.1 VCE. This
means, during rise time collector-emitter voltage falls to 10% from 90%. Therefore, the collector
current builds up to final value of collector current IC from 10%. After time ton, the collector current
becomes IC and the collector-emitter voltage drops to very small value called conduction drop (VCES).
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Unlike turn-on time, turn-off time comprises of three intervals: delay time, tdf, Initial fall time, tf1 and
final fall time, tf2.
Thus, turn-off time is the sum of above three different time intervals i.e. toff = tdf + tf1 + tf2.
The delay time is the time during which gate voltage falls from VGE to threshold voltage VGET. As
gate voltage falls to VGE during tdf, the collector current falls from IC to 0.9IC. At the end of delay
time, collector-emitter voltage begins to rise.
The first fall time tf1 is defined as the time during which collector current falls from 90% to 20% of its
final value IC. In other words, it is the time during which collector-emitter voltage rises from V CES to
0.1VCE.
The final fall time tf2 is the time during which collector current falls from 20% to 10% of IC or the
time during which collector-emitter voltage rises from 0.1VCE to final value VCE.
Advantages of IGBT are:

Lower gate drive requirements
Low switching losses
Small snubber circuitry requirements
High input impedance
Voltage controlled device
Temperature coefficient of ON state resistance is positive and less than power MOSFET, hence less
on-state voltage-drop and power loss.
Enhanced conduction due to bipolar nature
Better safe operating area
Disadvantages of IGBT are:

Cost
Latching-up problem
High turn off time compared to power MOSFET
WIDE BAND GAP DEVICES
Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN)
Wide band gap devices promise substantial performance improvements over their silicon-based
counterparts. They have the ability to operate at higher temperatures, higher power densities, higher
voltages and higher frequencies. Two very important wide bandgap materials are Gallium Nitride
(GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC).
Silicon is a single chemical substance; in contrast, SiC is a compound of carbon with silicon, and GaN
is a compound of gallium with nitrogen. For this reason, the semiconductors produced using these
compounds are called “Compound Semiconductors.”
The characterization of a material as being wide bandgap pertains to the energy required for an
electron to jump from the top of the valence band to the bottom of the conduction band within the
semiconductor. Materials which require energies typically larger than one or two electron volts (eV)
are referred to as wide bandgap materials. (Si: 1.1 eV, SiC: 3.3 eV, GaN: 3.4 eV).
The high critical field of both GaN and SiC compared to Si is a property which allows these devices
to operate at higher voltages and lower leakage currents. Higher electron mobility and electron
TRACE KTU
saturation velocity of GaN and SiC allow for higher frequency of operation. GaN has higher electron
mobility (specifies the electron speed through the semiconductor material) than SiC and hence it is the
best device for very high frequencies. SiC has higher thermal conductivity (conduct heat more
efficiently) than GaN or Si meaning that SiC devices can theoretically operate at higher power
densities than either GaN or Si.
Commercial Si transistors can block voltage upto 400V, GaN transistors upto 650V and SiC
transistors upto 1200V.
Compared to silicon, current manufacturing techniques of GaN and SiC are more expensive.
GATE TRIGGERING CIRCUITS

1) RESISTANCE FIRING CIRCUIT
vs
LOAD
+ Vo Vm
Rmin t
vg VGT
R
Vs T t
D
vo
t
Rgk vg

α =firing angle; angle at which the SCR starts conducting

Firing angle can be varied by varying R.
IGT = minimum gate current required to switch the SCR from OFF state to ON state
IGFM = peak gate forward current

To limit the gate current below peak gate current IGFM, a limiting resistor Rmin is used.
Vm
Rmin 
IGFM
Stabilizing resistor Rgk is chosen such that the maximum voltage drop across it does not exceed the
maximum forward gate voltage VGFM. This can happen only when R is zero. Under this condition,
Vm
 Rgt  VGFM
Rmin  Rgt
During positive half cycle, diode D is forward biased and the gate trigger circuit draws a small
current. Gate voltage vg will be a half-wave dc pulse. The amplitude of this dc pulse can be controlled
by varying R. When the gate voltage vg reaches the gate trigger voltage VGT, SCR is turned ON.
When SCR is conducting, vg is reduced to almost zero value.
During negative half cycle, diode is reverse biased. Diode prevents the gate-cathode voltage during
reverse bias not to exceed the peak reverse gate voltage.
Firing angle can be varied from 0 to 90°.
2) RC FIRING CIRCUIT
Firing angle can be varied from 0 to 180°.
During negative half cycle, capacitor charges to –Vm through diode D2 with lower plate positive.
Capacitor voltage remains constant (=Vm) until vs=0. During positive half cycle, SCR is in forward
blocking state. Now, capacitor charges through R and when capacitor voltage reaches VGT, SCR is
triggered.
vs
VGT
Vs
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+
LOAD
Vo
-
T
R D2
Vm
vo
vc
t
D1
t
C

During negative half cycle, diode D1 prevents the breakdown of the gate to cathode junction.
Note : For an RC circuit, as R increases, time constant T increases, capacitor voltage reaches VGT
slowly. Firing angle will be large. As R decreases, T decreases, vc reaches VGT fast; firing angle will
be less.
3) UJT FIRING CIRCUIT

Diodes D1 to D4 are used to rectify ac to dc. Resistor R1 lowers Vdc to a suitable value for the zener
diode and UJT. Zener diode is used clip the rectified voltage to a voltage Vz. This voltage Vz is
applied to the charging circuit RC. Current i1 charges capacitor at a rate determined by R. When
capacitor voltage vc reaches the UJT threshold voltage ηVz, the E-B1 junction of UJT breaks down and
the capacitor C discharges through primary of pulse transformer sending a current i 2.
R1
i1
D1 D3 R2
R
E B2
Vdc Vz B1
Vs
Dz
+ Vc to
- C SCR
D2 D4 gates
i2
pulse
transformer
As the current i2 is in the form of pulse, windings of the pulse transformer have pulse voltages at their
secondary terminals. Pulses at the two secondary windings feed the same in-phase pulse to two SCRs
of the full-wave circuit.
vdc
vz
vz
t
vc
 t
TRACE KTU
Rate of rise of capacitor voltage can be controlled by varying R. The firing angle can be controlled up
to about 150°.
COMMUTATION OF SCR
The gate has no control in a SCR after it has been triggered into conduction. The SCR can be brought
back to the blocking mode either by reducing the forward current below the holding current or by
applying a large reverse voltage across it. This can be achieved by external means and the turn-off
process is called commutation.
NATURAL OR LINE COMMUTATION
This method is applied for phase-controlled converters, line commutated inverters, AC voltage
controllers and step down cycloconverters.
The SCR carrying the load current is reverse-biased by the AC source voltage and the device is turned
off when anode current falls below the holding current (nearly zero).
In a half-wave controlled rectifier with R-load, SCR is turned ON at firing angle α by applying a gate
signal. From α to π, SCR conducts. At ωt=π, current becomes zero and SCR is turned OFF. Here, as
the current passes through natural zero, a reverse voltage will simultaneously appear across the
device. This process is called as natural commutation since no external circuit is required for this
purpose.
vs
T Vm
 2
t
Vo
R vo
Vs
Vm
 t
io
Vm /R
t
Requirements of thyristor gate drive circuits:

A gate trigger circuit for thyristors in phase controlled rectifiers should possess the following :
(i) A circuit for the detection of zero crossing of the input voltage
(ii) Generation of trigger pulses of required waveshape
(iii) DC power supply for pulse amplifier
(iv) Gate trigger circuit isolation from the line potential by means of pulse transformers or
optocouplers
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A general block diagram for gate trigger circuit for single-phase controlled rectifier is shown in figure.
The gating circuit consists of synchronizing transformer, diode rectifier, zero crossing detector (ZCD),
firing angle delay block, pulse amplifier, gate-pulse isolation transformer and power circuit for the
converter.
Synchronising transformer steps down the supply voltage suitable for zero crossing detector and for
delivering dc supply VCC to gate trigger circuit.
ZCD converts ac synchronizing input voltage into ramp voltage and synchronizes this ramp voltage
with the zero crossing of the ac supply voltage. In the firing angle delay block, the constant amplitude
ramp voltage is compared with control voltage EC. When rising ramp voltage equals control voltage
EC, a pulse signal of controlled duration is generated. These signals are indicated as vi for thyristors 1
and 2 and vj for thyristors 3 and 4 for the power circuit. If EC is lowered, firing angle is decreased and
if EC is raised firing angle is increased. This shows that firing delay angle is directly proportional to
the control signal voltage.
The pulse output from the firing delay angle block is fed to a pulse amplifier circuit. The amplified
pulses are then used for triggering thyristors 1,2,3 and 4 through gate-pulse isolation transformers.
Necessity of isolation:
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Driver circuits operate at very low power levels. Normally, the signals levels are 3 to 12 volts. The
gate drives are connected to power devices which operate at high power levels. Figure shows this
situation.
Observe that the collector of BJT can have voltages of 200V. But base is connected to trigger circuit
that have voltages of 5V. If BJT is damaged and collector-base gets shorted, then high voltage will get
connected to trigger circuit. This will damage the trigger circuit also. This means, the trigger circuit is
damaged due to device damage. Therefore, there must be some electrical isolation between control
and power circuit. There is one more reason for isolation. Consider that the trigger ciruit is deriving
the two devices as shown in figure below.
Here, T1 is given the drive between a-b and T2 is given the drive between c-d. The trigger circuit must
isolate the two drives. If there is no electric isolation, the points b and d may be shorted due to
common ground of the trigger circuit. Isolation can be obtained with the help of pulse transformers
and optocouplers.
Isolation using pulse transformer : Pulse transformer has one primary and one or more secondary
windings. It is normally used for pulsed mode of triggering. Figure shows the isolation using pulse
transformer.
TRACE KTU
In the above circuit, the triggering circuit is electrically isolated from BJT. Hence, if there is any
damage to BJT, there will be no effect on triggering circuit. Advantages of pulse transformers are i) it
does not need external power for its operation ii) it is very simple to use. Disadvantages of pulse
transformers are i) pulse transformers saturates at low frequencies hence it can be used only for high
frequencies ii) due to magnetic coupling, the signal is distorted.
Isolation using optocouplers : Optocoupler consists of a pair of infrared LED and phototransistor.
When the signal is applied to the infrared LED, it turns on. It’s light falls on phototransistor.
Therefore phototransistor also start conducting. There is no electric connection between LED and
phototransistor. Figure shows a triggering circuit that uses optocoupler.
In this circuit, the triggering pulses are given to the input (LED) of optocoupler. When Vg is positive,
LED turns-on. Its light falls on phototransistor. Hence it turns-on. Therefore, base of T1 is connected
to zero volts through phtotransistor. Due to this, T1 turns-on. Therefore, the voltage VCC is applied to
gate of the MOSFET. Hence MOSFET turns-on. When Vg is zero, the LED turns-off, therefore
phtotransistor also turns-off. Therefore base drive of T1 goes to VCC and it turn-off. When T1 turns-
off, MOSFET gate voltage becomes zero. Therefore MOSFET turns-off. Thus gate drive circuit using
optocoupler works.
Advantages of optoisolators are i) Very good response at low frequencies and ii) Compact and
cheaper optocoupler devices are available. Disadvantages of optocouplers are i) it need external
biasing voltage for its operation and ii) high frequency response is poor.
TRACE KTU

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EET306 Power Electronics - Lecture Notes by T.G.

Sanish Kumar, EED, GECT as on 01-07-2022 4

INTRODUCTION TO POWER ELECTRONICS

LA&BD- Linear Amplifier & base driver

COMPARISON OF POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

SILICON CONTROLLED RECTIFIER (SCR)

c) Reverse blocking mode

TWO TRANSISTOR ANALOGY

TURN-ON METHODS OF THYRISTOR

TURN OFF CHARACTERISTICS

BASIC STRUCTURE AND PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION OF

p-channel MOSFET n-channel

SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS OF POWER MOSFET

SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS OF IGBT

ton = tdn + tr.

Advantages of IGBT are:

Disadvantages of IGBT are:

WIDE BAND GAP DEVICES

Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN)

GATE TRIGGERING CIRCUITS

α =firing angle; angle at which the SCR starts conducting

IGFM = peak gate forward current

3) UJT FIRING CIRCUIT

Requirements of thyristor gate drive circuits:

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