Power Electronics (MTE222)

Lecture Week1&2

Power Electronics: 1

Converters & Switches

by:
Dr. Islam Mohamed
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 Power Electronics Circuits

• Convert electric power from one form to another

using semiconductor devices, thereby controlling
or modifying a voltage or current.

Applications: Conversion of

• AC to DC
• DC to AC
• Unregulated DC to regulated DC
• AC to AC of different amplitude and frequency
 (1)AC-DC Converters (Rectifiers)
• Uncontrolled: power diodes are used

• Controlled: controllable devices such as SCR
thyristors are used
 (2) DC-AC Converters (Inverters)

• Output of any desired magnitude and frequency
 (3) DC-DC Converters

• Convert an unregulated DC voltage into a regulated DC 
voltage
 (4) AC-AC Converters

• Convert an unregulated AC voltage into a regulated AC 
voltage

(4a) AC voltage controllers: (e.g. light dimmers)

• Output frequency = input frequency (f )
i
• Output voltage (v ) < input voltage (v )
o i
 (4) AC-AC Converters

(4b) Cycloconverters
• Output has lower magnitude and frequency than input
f < f
o i
• Application: low‐speed large‐power AC motor drives
(15 MW, 0‐20 HZ)
 Power Electronics Switches

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 (1) Diodes
Simplest electronic switch
Yet, uncontrollable;
ON/OFF determined by voltages and currents in the
circuit (vd typically 2 Volts)
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Circuit Symbol i-v Characteristic Idealized i-v Characteristic

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 • Reverse Recovery Time (trr)
 When the diode turns OFF, the current decreases and, for a very short time,
becomes negative before becoming zero.
-when switching from the conducting to the blocking state, a diode has a stored
charge, that must first be discharged before the diode blocks reverse current.

• Fast-recovery diodes are designed to have a

smaller trr (1-2  sec) than standard-recovery diodes
(trr typically 25  sec).
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• Shottky Diodes

have a metal-to-silicon barrier rather than a p-n

junction.
have very low forward voltage drop (typically
0.3-0.6 V).
Do not exhibit reverse recovery transients. 3

turn ON/OFF faster than p-n junction diodes.

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• Power Diode Parameters
1. The average forward current in the diode
2. The RMS value of the diode current
3. Surge forward current
4. I2 t for fusing
5. Peak Inverse (Reverse) blocking voltage (PIV)
6. Reverse recovery time

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 Thyristors

Used in power electronics circuits where control of switch

turn-on instant is required. They include:
1.Silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCR)
2.The Triac
3.Gate Turn-Off (GTO) thyristor
4.Metal-oxide-silicon (MOS)-controlled thyristor (MCT)

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• Silicon-Controlled Rectifiers (SCR)

(b) SCR i-v ideal ch/s

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• SCR Turn-ON/OFF Conditions

SCR Turn-ON Conditions

1. Anode current higher than latching value of device
2. Positive anode-cathode voltage
3. A pulse of current supplied to the gate
4. Width of gate pulse more than the minimum pulse width
specified by the manufacturer.
 SCR Turn-off Conditions
1. Anode current goes below the holding value of device

Vs
iQ 
10
RL
SCR in a Circuit
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 Example 1
The thyristor latching current level of 50.0 mA, fired by a pulse of length 50.0 µs.

Why R is necessary for the thyristor to remain ON when the firing pulse ends,
Find the maximum value of R to ensure firing. Neglect the thyristor voltage drop.

Solution of Example 1

Without R
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at t=50 μs, i = 10 mA. (less than the latching value)

After 50 μs, the thyristor current is below its latching value, and
hence the thyristor fails to remain ON.
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 SCR Parameters

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 Gate Turn-OFF Thyristor (GTO)

used in power electronics circuits where control of both turn-

on and turn-off of a switch is required.
Turn-ON Conditions:
Same as for SCR
Turn-OFF Condition: 15

Negative gate current (typically one-third of load current)

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  The Triac
• Conducts current in either direction
• Equivalent to two anti-parallelSCRs
• Used in common light-dimmer circuits to modify
both the negative and positive half cycles of the
input sine wave.

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  Transistors
Advantage: provide control of both the turn ON and turn OFF
instants.

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 Bipolar Junction Transistor (1975)
A current-controlled switch
Can handle high power at medium switching frequency.
Power BJTs are used to be either fully ON or fully OFF.

(a) BJT (b) BJT characteristics (c) Idealized i-v characteristic 19

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  Power BJT Parameters
1. Type number: The type number of the device is an individual part number given to the device
2.Material: The material used for the device is important as it affects the junction forward bias
and other characteristics. The most common materials used for bipolar transistors are silicon
and germanium.

3. Polarity: The polarity of the device is important. It defines the polarity of the biasing and
operation of the device. The two types are NPN and PNP. NPN is the most common type. It
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has the higher speeds as electrons are the majority carriers and these have a greater mobility
than holes.

4. VCEO: Collector emitter voltage with base open circuit

5. Ic: Nominal collector current

6. Icm: maximum collector current

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  MOSFET (1978)

•A voltage-controlled switch
• Their drive circuit is simpler than that of BJTs.
e
• When turned ON, can be modeled as an ON-resistanc (ranges from 0.1 – few Ohms).
• Body diodes result while constructing MOSFETs.
• Suitable for high-switching frequency and handles less power than BJTs.
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MOSFET Characteristics

(a) MOSFET Characteristics 26

(b) Idealized MOSFET Characteristics
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 Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT)

•An integrated connection of a MOSFET and a BJT

• Same drive circuit as for MOSFET
• Same ON-state characteristics as BJT
• Suitable for switching speeds of up to about 20 kHz
 Comparison: BJTs vs. MOSFETs
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Circuit symbols

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Current/Voltage/switching frequency domains of the main power electronics switches

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