Unit 2 Notes
Unit 2 Notes
2 Turn on and Turn off circuits for power semiconductor devices; BJT base drive requirements and drive circuit,
MOSFET & IGBT gate drive circuits, Isolation of gate/base drives: Pulse transformers, optocouplers Thyristor firing
schemes, Gate drive ICs
As the junction J2 breaks down, current will flow and triggering the SCR to its conducting state. The junctions J1,
J3 are already forward biased, and therefore the breakdown of junction J2 allows the flow of carriers across all
three junctions enabling the load current to flow. As with other forms of triggering the SCR, the device remains in
its conducting condition.
The use of this method of turning the device on is not advised because exceeding the value of VB0 could destroy
the device. Any circuit should be designed to avoid this method of triggering, noting the maximum of any likely
voltage spikes.
2) Gate triggering: First SCR is forward biased. Then a positive gate voltage is applied between gate and cathode.
This form of SCR triggering is the one that is most commonly seen in the different circuits used. It is simple,
reliable, efficient and also easy to implement for most applications - a simple trigger signal can be applied,
with suitable processing if required. This means that other electronic circuits can be used to derive a suitable
trigger signal and this can then be applied to the SCR.
For gate SCR triggering to be used, the SCR must operate below its breakdown voltage, and a suitable safety
margin also allowed to accommodate any transients that may occur. Otherwise forward voltage or breakdown
triggering may occur. To turn-on of an SCR, a positive gate voltage between gate and cathode. This gives rise
to a gate current where charges are injected into the inner p layer of the device. This effectively reduces the
voltage at which forward break-over occurs. It can be gathered that the gate current determines the forward
voltage at which the device switches to its conducting state. Higher the gate current, the lower the forward
break-over voltage.
Here is can be seen that there are two resistors. The first is R1 which is included to limit the gate current to an
acceptable level. This resistor is chosen to provide sufficient current to trigger the SCR while maintaining it within
safe limits for the device. It can easily be calculated using the device ratings and Ohms law. The second resistor, R2 is
the gate cathode resistor. This is sometimes denoted as RGK and it is included to prevent spurious triggering. The
action of the resistor can be seen with respect to the two transistor analogy of the SCR. It shows that a low external
resistance between the gate and cathode bypasses some current around the gate junction. Accordingly a higher anode
current is required to initiate and maintain conduction. It is particularly found that low current high sensitivity SCRs
are triggered at very low current levels and therefore an external gate-cathode resistance is required to prevent
triggering by thermally generated leakage current in the gate region. However the gate cathode resistance bypasses
some of the internal anode current caused by the rapid rate of change of the anode voltage (dv/dt). It also raises the
forward break-over voltage by reducing the efficiency of the NPN transistor region thus requiring a somewhat higher
avalanche multiplication effect to initiate the triggering. The current that bypasses the gate junction also affects the
latching and holding currents. It can therefore be seen that the effects of using the gate cathode bypass resistor
include:
3) dv/dt triggering: This is a turning ON method but it may lead to destruction of SCR and so it must be avoided.
SCR triggering can also occur without any gate current if the rate of rise of anode to cathode voltage exceeds
certain limits for the particular device.
4) Light triggering: First a new recess niche is made in the inner p-layer. When this recess is irradiated, then free
charge carriers (electron and hole) are generated. Now if the intensity is increased above a certain value then it
leads to turn ON of SCR. Such SCR are known as Light activated SCR (LASCR). This form of SCR triggering
or firing is often used with high voltage systems. Here an electrical connection is not required from the firing
mechanism, and an isolated light source can be used.
Where light SCR triggering is to be used, specially manufactured SCRs are available. The light triggering
occurs within the inner P-type later. When this area is irradiated by light, free charge carriers are generated and
just like applying a gate signal, the SCR is triggered. To achieve the maximum light absorption, specialised
SCR structures are used, often having a recess in the inner P-type later to enable maximum access to the light.
To enable the light triggering to take place, light is often directed to the correct point in the thyristor / SCR
using optical fibre. Once the light exceeds a certain intensity, switching occurs. An SCR of this type is often
referred to as a Light-activated SCR or LASCR. These LASCRs have been used in high voltage power
distribution switching centres. The optical switching enables very high levels of isolation to be achieved while
still being able to switch with low level circuitry.
5) Temperature triggering: During forward biased, J2 is reverse biased so a leakage forward current always
associated with SCR. Now as we know the leakage current is temperature dependant, so if we increase the
temperature the leakage current will also increase and heat dissipitation of junction J2occurs. When this heat
reaches a sufficient value J2 will break and conduction starts. This form of SCR triggering may occur under some
circumstances. It may give rise to unexpected responses and therefore its effects should be noted as part of any
design process.
Natural commutation can be observed in AC voltage controllers, phase controlled rectifiers and cyclo converters
Forced Commutation
Another method of turning off is known as "forced commutation". The anode current is “diverted” to another
circuitry. To turn OFF a thyristor, the forward anode current should be brought to zero for sufficient time to allow
the removal of charged carriers. In case of DC circuits the forward current should be forced to zero by means of
some external circuits.
Forced commutation
Class A: Self commutated by a resonating load
Class B: Self commutated by an LC circuit
Class C: C or L-C switched by another load carrying SCR
Class D: C or L-C switched by an auxiliary SCR
Class E: An external pulse source for commutation
Class F: AC line commutation
Class A: Self Commutated by a Resonating Load Class A is one of frequently used thyristor commutation
techniques. If thyristor is triggered or turned on, then anode current will flow by charging capacitor C with dot as
positive. The second order under-damped circuit is formed by the inductor or AC resistor, capacitor and resistor. If
the current builds up through SCR and completes the half cycle, then the inductor current will flow through the
SCR in the reverse direction which will turn off thyristor.
Forced Commutation: Another method of turning off is known as "forced commutation". The anode current is
“diverted” to another circuitry. To turn OFF a thyristor, the forward anode current should be brought to zero for
Department of Electrical Engineering Prepared By: Prof. N. A. Nemade
Power Electronics TY (EE)
sufficient time to allow the removal of charged carriers. In case of DC circuits the forward current should be forced to
zero by means of some external circuits. Thyristor Tm is the main Thyristor through which the flow of power is
controlled .Capacitor C and the four Thyristors ( , , , ) is the commutation circuit . The function of the commutation
circuit is to switch off the main thyristor at the end of each ON period. During ON period of the thyristor, the two
auxiliary thyristors T2 and T4 are triggered so that the capacitor C is charged such as plate a is positive. To switch
OFF, thyristors ( , ) are triggered ON. This results in applying reverse polarity voltage across and hence it will be
switched OFF. Also the capacitor polarity will be reversed; i.e. plate b will now be positive. Thyristor is switched ON
for the next ON period, and now to switch OFF , Thyristors ( , ) are switched ON , and so the cycle is repeated
Thyristor Tm is the main Thyristor through which the flow of power is controlled .Capacitor C and the four
Thyristors (T1 ,T2 , T3, T4) is the commutation circuit . The function of the commutation circuit is to switch off
the main thyristor at the end of each ON period. During ON period of the thyristor, the two auxiliary thyristors T2
and T4 are triggered so that the capacitor C is charged such as plate a is positive. Tm switch OFF, thyristors (T1 ,
T3) are triggered ON. This results in applying reverse polarity voltage across and hence it will be switched OFF.
Also the capacitor polarity will be reversed; i.e. plate b will now be positive. Thyristor Tm is switched ON for the
next ON period, and now to switch OFF Tm , Thyristors ( T2, T4) are switched ON , and so the cycle is repeated .
Types of Thyristors
1. Phase controlled rectifying line frequency voltage and current for ac and dc motor drives .• large voltage (up to
7 kV) and current (up to 5 kA) type1 capability .• low on-state voltage drop (1.5 to 3V).
2. Inverter grade used in inverter and chopper• Quite fast. Can be turned-on using “force commutation”
method.•
3. Light activated Similar to phase controlled, but triggered by pulse of light .• Normally very high power
ratings.•
The main application of power BJT is behave as a static switch in the power electronics circuits.
A Power BJT switching a large current needs a base drive current sufficient to keep the transistor turned ON.
The current gain may be quite low, so the base drive may will be 10% of the load current.
At turn-off there will be a large stored charge in the base. This stored charge must be removed.
To achieve this, a reverse voltage is applied to the base at turn-off to help remove the stored charge by conduction
through the base connection.
In addition to ensure a rapid turn-on, it is desirable to provide an increased base drive for a short time so as to increase
the rate at which the base is charged.
The circuit is driven from a voltage source which switches between 0 and V volts.
The bias current is limited by V and R1+R2, with an initial current surge to charge up the base limited in
magnitude by R1 and duration by C.
At turnoff the charge in the capacitor C drives the base negative and helps the recovery.
Saturation of the device should be avoided to ensure the fast switching.
It means that the base drive must ensure that the collector-to-emitter voltage is kept as low as possible ( to
minimize losses), while not allowing the collector base junction to become forward biased.
We can achieve this by using Baker’s clamp. The following figure shows the BJT base drive circuit with
Baker’s clamp.
The diode D1 will conduct if the collector voltage falls below the base voltage, thus limiting the base current
to that needed to reduce the collector-base voltage to about zero.
The diode D2 provides an offset voltage to allow for the voltage drop across D1.
The diode D3 provides a path for applying a reverse base drive.
Following are the important points about BJT to be remembered when designing the base drive circuit for the
transistor.
BJT is a current controlled device. Its operation is controlled by the base current.
The Power BJT is used as ON/OFF switch in the power converter circuits.
Power BJT operates in saturation and cutoff region when used as a switch. ie, when the device operates in
saturation region it is in ON and when the device operates in cutoff region, it is in OFF state.
Sufficient base current is required to drive BJT in saturation.
Amount of carrier injected in base region determine storage time of BJT.
Storage time determines turn-on and turn-off times of the transistor.
There should be mechanism to control the amount of saturation so as to control storage time.
A remarkable effect can be seen in both the turn-on and turn-off switching waveforms; the gate voltage exhibits a
“step”, remaining at a constant level while the drain voltage rises or falls during switching. The voltage at which the
gate voltage remains during switching is known as the Miller voltage, Vgm. In most applications, this voltage is
around 4 to 6V, depending on the level of current being switched.
This feature can be used to control the switching waveforms from the gate drive.
MOSFET and IGBT turn-on / turn-off.
When turned on under the same conditions, IGBTs and MOSFETs behave in exactly the same way, and have very
similar current rise and voltage fall times.
However, at turn-off, the waveforms of the switched current are different. At the end of the switching event, the IGBT
has a “tail current” which does not exist for the MOSFET.
This tail is caused by minority carriers trapped in the “base” of the bipolar output section of the IGBT causing the
device to remain turned. bipolar transistor, it is not possible to extract these carriers to speed up switching, as there is
no external connection to the base section, and so the device remains turned on until the carriers recombine naturally.
Hence the gate drive circuit has no effect on the tail current level and profile. The tail current does however increase
significantly with temperature.
Since an IGBT has a MOS gate structure, to charge and discharge this gate when switching, it is necessary to make
gate current (drive current) flow. Fig.7-3 shows the gate charge (dynamic input) characteristics. These gate charge
dynamic input characteristics show the electric load necessary to drive the IGBT and are used to calculate values like
average drive voltage and the driving electric power. Fig.7-4 shows the circuit schematic as well as the voltage and
current waveforms. In principle, a drive circuit has a forward bias power supply alternately switching back and forth
using switch S1 and S2. During this switching, the current used to charge and discharge the gate, is the driven current.
In Fig., the area showing the current waveform (the hatched area) is equivalent to the gate charge from Fig..
Department of Electrical Engineering Prepared By: Prof. N. A. Nemade
Power Electronics TY (EE)
In practice, the capacitance of a MOSFET to be driven and its usage conditions must be considered in designing a
drive circuit.
Logic drive There is a growing need for MOSFETs for switching applications (load switches) to provide a conducting
path in a circuit only when it is operated, and thereby reduce the power consumption of electronic devices. At present,
MOSFETs are directly driven by a logic circuit or a microcontroller in many applications. Figure 2.2 shows an
example of a circuit for turning on and off a power relay. Since turn-on and turn-off times may be as slow as a few
seconds for load switches, the MOSFET gate can be driven with a small current.
Considerations for the MOSFET drive circuit 4.1. Considerations for the gate voltage VGS conditions VGS is
important for MOSFET gate drive. The on-state resistance of MOSFETs is low when they operate in the linear region
(i.e., at a voltage lower than pinch-off voltage). Therefore, for switching applications, you can reduce the on-state
resistance by using MOSFETs in the low VDS region.
A MOSFET turns on when its gate voltage VGS exceeds its threshold voltage Vth as shown in Figure 4.2. Therefore,
VGS must be sufficiently higher than Vth. · The higher the VGS, the lower the RDS(ON) value tends to become. ·
The higher the temperature, the higher the RDS(ON) value becomes (Figure 4.3). · In order to reduce loss, it is
important to increase VGS in order to minimize the resistance of the device at the current level at which it is used
(Figure 4.4). Conversely, a high VGS value increases the ratio of drive loss to the total loss for high-frequency
switching. Selecting the optimal MOSFET and gate drive voltage is therefore critical. For many of Toshiba’s power
MOSFETs, it is generally recommended to drive their gates at a VGS of 10 V. Toshiba's product portfolio also
includes power MOSFETs designed for gate drive at a VGS of 4.5 V. Select the power MOSFET that best suits your
system requirements.
The power consumed by the MOSFET gate drive circuit increases in proportion to its frequency.
An Optocoupler, is an electronic components that interconnects two separate electrical circuits by means of a light
sensitive optical interface.
Transformers that they can not only provide a step-down (or step-up) voltage, but they also provide “electrical
isolation” between the higher voltage on the primary side and the lower voltage on the secondary side. n other words,
transformers isolate the primary input voltage from the secondary output voltage using electromagnetic coupling and
this is achieved using the magnetic flux circulating within their laminated iron core.
The basic design of an optocoupler, also known as an Opto-isolator, consists of an LED that produces infra-red light
and a semiconductor photo-sensitive device that is used to detect the emitted infra-red beam. Both the LED and photo-
sensitive device are enclosed in a light-tight body or package with metal legs for the electrical connections as shown.
An optocoupler or opto-isolator consists of a light emitter, the LED and a light sensitive receiver which can be a single
photo-diode, photo-transistor, photo-resistor, photo-SCR, or a photo-TRIAC with the basic operation of an
optocoupler being very simple to understand.
Current from the source signal passes through the input LED which emits an infra-red light whose intensity is
proportional to the electrical signal.
This emitted light falls upon the base of the photo-transistor, causing it to switch-ON and conduct in a similar way to a
normal bipolar transistor.
The base connection of the photo-transistor can be left open (unconnected) for maximum sensitivity to the LEDs
infra-red light energy or connected to ground via a suitable external high value resistor to control the switching
sensitivity making it more stable and resistant to false triggering by external electrical noise or voltage transients.
When the current flowing through the LED is interrupted, the infra-red emitted light is cut-off, causing the photo-
transistor to cease conducting. The photo-transistor can be used to switch current in the output circuit. The spectral
response of the LED and the photo-sensitive device are closely matched being separated by a transparent medium
such as glass, plastic or air. Since there is no direct electrical connection between the input and output of an
optocoupler, electrical isolation up to 10kV is achieved.
Optocouplers are available in four general types, each one having an infra-red LED source but with different photo-
sensitive devices. The four optocouplers are called the: Photo-transistor, Photo-darlington, Photo-SCR and Photo-
triac
The photo-transistor and photo-darlington devices are mainly for use in DC circuits while the photo-SCR and photo-
triac allow AC powered circuits to be controlled. There are many other kinds of source-sensor combinations, such as
LED-photodiode, LED-LASER, lamp-photoresistor pairs, reflective and slotted optocouplers.
Simple home made opto-couplers can be constructed by using individual components. An Led and a photo-transistor
are inserted into a rigid plastic tube or encased in heat-shrinkable tubing as shown. The advantage of this home-made
optocoupler is that tubing can be cut to any length you want and even bent around corners. Obviously, tubing with a
reflective inner would be more efficient than dark black tubing.
Optocoupler Applications
Optocouplers and opto-isolators can be used on their own, or to switch a range of other larger electronic devices such
as transistors and triacs providing the required electrical isolation between a lower voltage control signal, for example
one from an Arduino or micro-controller, and a much higher voltage or mains current output signal.
Common applications for opto-couplers include microprocessor input/output switching, DC and AC power control,
PC communications, signal isolation and power supply regulation which suffer from current ground loops, etc. The
electrical signal being transmitted can be either analogue (linear) or digital (pulses).
In this application, the optocoupler is used to detect the operation of the switch or another type of digital input signal.
This is useful if the switch or signal being detected is within an electrically noisy environment. The output can be used
to operate an external circuit, light or as an input to a PC or microprocessor.
logic circuit of the design (not shown in the figure) generates for timing pulse. Pulse signal Vgs1 and Vgs2 are used
to switch-on MOSFET M1 and M2, while Pulse signal Vgs3 and Vgs4 are used to switch-on MOSFET M3 and M4.
These pulses cannot be directly connected to the gates of transistor M1, M2, M3, and M4 without isolation circuit or
interface circuit between the logic voltage logic pulse and high voltage power MOSFET.
Single phase H-bridge inverter (a) Circuit and (b) gate signals The importance of gating a MOSFET between its gate
and source instead of apply the gate voltage directly between the gate and the ground, where there is a load (RL)
connecting between the source and ground of the circuit. In the circuit, the effective gate-tosource voltage (VGS)
Gate voltage between gate and ground There are basic ways of floating or isolating the control or gate pulse with
respect to ground. They are pulse transformer method and optocoupler isolation method.
Pulse Transformer Method
Pulse transformer has one primary winding transformer and can have one or more secondary windings. Multiple
secondary winding allow simultaneous gating multiple series connected transistors or parallel connected transistor.
Pulse transformer isolated gating drive circuit. The transformer must have low leakage and the rise time and fall time
of the pulse should be small. The duration of pulsing should not be too long to prevent the transformer go into
saturation. (a) (b)
(a) A pulse transformer isolation base drive circuit and (b) pulse signal
An optocoupler isolation circuit The logic signal from logic circuit generator will switch-on the ILED that with
emitter infrared light to switch-on phototransistor Q2. The emitter of Q1 shall be at logic 1 after the phototransistor is
switched-on. This voltage is more than the base-to-emitter voltage (VBE) of BJT transistor Q1. Thus, BJT transistor
Q1 switches on. As the result, the collector of this BJT is at logic 0, which does not have sufficient voltage to switch
on BJT transistor Q3. Since BJT transistor Q3 is switched-off, the VCC voltage shall become the gate voltage (VG) of
n-channel MOSFET that will switch-on the MOSFET because the gate-to-source voltage (VGS) of value VDD is
certainly higher than the threshold voltage (Vt) of the n-channel MOSFET. When logic 0 is applied at the input, the
opposite of what have been described in the above paragraph is true. This will lead to switch-off the n-channel
MOSFET.
necessary to rate blocking to at least the peak value of the AC supply voltage and the trigger voltage producing the
gate current to fire IGF are in phase. When EAC = Em, at the peak of the AC supply voltage, the SCR can still trigger
with the maximum value of resistance between anode and gate.
Used for the phase control application such as converter circuits (half & full controlled).
RC triggering circuit
It includes variable resistor, two diodes,SCR(Silicon Controlled Rectifier), Capacitor, Load resistor.
an R-C-Diode circuit giving full half-cycle control (180 electrical degrees). On the positive half-cycle of SCR anode
voltage the capacitor charges to the trigger point of the SCR in a time determined by the RC time constant and the
rising anode voltage. The top plate of the capacitor charges to the peak of the negative voltage cycle through diode D2
on the negative half-cycle, resetting it for the next charging cycle.
During negative half cycle capacitor charges in reverse direction when the supply voltage increases towards positive
side the capacitor voltage also recharges in opposite direction. When this capacitor voltage reaches threshold
voltage SCR will turn on and capacitor discharges through diode D2 and its voltage become very small positive
voltage. Firing angle can be varied from 0 to 180 degree.
Initially the capacitor charges through R whose voltage is applied to the emitter of UJT. When the capacitor voltage
reaches peak point voltage of UJT. the UJT will switch to on condition. Now the capacitor discharges through the
output resistance. Thus the pulse is generated in the circuit.