POWER ELECTRONICS

DEVICES/BREAKDOWN DEVICES
Solid state devices whose working depends on
avalanche breakdown.
These devices are semiconductor switches whose bi-
stable action depends on P-N-P-N regenerative
feedback.
They have two or more junctions and can be
switched ON or OFF at an extremely fast rate.
DIAC,TRIAC AND SCR-Already dealt with.
Remaining;
Power MOSFETs IGBT, ,SCS ,GTO, PUJT ,power
transistors and LASCR.
 POWER MOSFETS
 Power MOSFETS have unique features that make them
attractive for switching applications.
 Are voltage driven (unlike bipolar transistors which are
current driven).
 A MOSFET has a gate that has the following features:
i. Is isolated electrically from the source by a layer of silicon
oxide.
ii. Draws only a minute of leakage current (on the order of
Nano amperes). Under steady state ,infact, gate draws
no current.
iii. The gate drive circuit is simple.
iv. Power loss in the gate control circuit is practically
negligible.
The gate-to-source and gate-to-drain
capacitances are charged and discharged
appropriately to obtain the desired switching
speed.
The drive circuit must have sufficiently high
output impedance to supply the required
charging and discharging currents.
A PN junction is formed between the drain and
the source with substrate intervening and a
parasitic body ,diode is present.
 Power MOSFET symbol
 The gate source capacitance 𝐶𝑔𝑠 and gate drain capacitance
𝐶𝑔𝑑 are determined by the capacitance of the gate oxide film.
 The drain source capacitance 𝐶𝑑𝑠 is the junction capacitance
of the parasitic diode.
 Parasitic capacitance in power MOSFETs is a parameter that
limits the usage frequency and switching speed.

These capacitances
affect the switching
performances
 Power MOSFETs are majority carrier devices .
 Exceptionally fast fall and fall times.
 Essentially resistive devices when turned on.
 Power dissipation is 𝐼𝑑 𝑅𝐷𝑆(𝑜𝑛)
 𝑅𝐷𝑆(𝑜𝑛) increases with temperature and so current is automatically
diverted away from the hot spot.
 The drain body junction appears as an antiparallel diode between
source and drain and so does not support voltage in the reverse
direction.
 MOSFET are able to stand extremely rugged switching performance
meaning they are tolerant for overvoltage transients (e.g can
withstand higher levels of recovery 𝑑𝑣Τ𝑑𝑡 and static 𝑑𝑣Τ𝑑𝑡).
INSULATED GATE BIPOLAR TRANSISTOR (IGBT
Features
• IGBT is developed by combining the
best features of both P-MOSFET and BJT.
• Like P-MOSFET ,IGBT has low input
impedance and free from secondary
break down problem.
• Like BJT ,IGBT has low conduction losses
and high current handling capability.
• IGBT has P-MOSFET like input
characteristics and BJT like output
characteristics.
Ratings from 10A to more than 600A,with voltages of 600 to 2500V.
Popular in inverters from about 1-200kW or more.
BJTs
Bipolar junction transistor.
Conducts collector current (in one
direction) when sufficient base current is
applied.
This function applies to dc-dc circuits.
Power BJTs have been replaced by FETs
and IGBTs.
Power transistors
 A three layer NPN or PNP semiconductor where the collector current 𝐼𝐶 is a function of
base current 𝐼𝐵 .
 So a change in the base current give a corresponding amplified change in the
collector current for a given collector emitter voltage 𝑉𝐶𝐸 .

NPN and PNP transistors with current directions NPN and PNP transistors construction
Construction
 A 3 terminal ,4 layer transistor.(layers alternate of P -type and N -type silicon.
 3 junctions ,𝐽1, 𝐽2 & 𝐽3 ,terminals ;anode, cathode and the gate (gate connected to
the inner P.
 Gate-control the firing of SCR.

Figure 4:SCR construction and symbol

 Characteristics for power transistor
 The collector current 𝐼𝐶 varies with the collector to emitter voltage 𝑉𝐶𝐸 for the
specified values of base current 𝐼𝐵 .
Saturation operation of the
transistor
𝑉𝐶𝐸 When both junctions are forward
biased, (base emitter and collector
emitter junctions) the transistor is in
saturation region of operation
whereby :
 The transistor behaves like a switch
E  Collector emitter are shorted.
 Collector emitter currents are
maximum.

NPN Power Transistor Common Emitter Configuration

 Active / Linear Region
As 𝑉𝐶𝐸 is increased, collector current increases.
When 𝑉𝐶𝐸 exceeds 0.7V, base collector junction
becomes reverse biased and the transistor goes into
the active /linear region of its operation.
Once the base collector is reverse biased ,𝐼𝐶 levels off
and remains essentially constant for a given value of
𝐼𝐵 ,due to the widening of the base collector
depletion region as 𝑉𝐶𝐸 continues to increase.
 Break over region

 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑉𝐶𝐸 reaches a sufficiently high voltage, the reverse

biased base collector junction goes into breakdown and the
collector current increases rapidly .
 This collector region is called breakover region.
Cut –off region
 When 𝐼𝐵 = 0, the transistor is said to be in cut off regional
although there is a small collector leakage current
Power applications of BJTs
 Can at like an open or closed switch depending on the base
current.
 MOSFET ,BJT AND IGBT FEATURES
MOSFET BJTs
 Lower switching losses and more  Higher switching losses but lower
conduction losses 1mk conduction losses1mk
 Voltage controlled device 1mk  Current controlled device1mk

 Has positive temperature of coefficient  Has negative temperature coefficient and so

making parallel operation of MOSFET easy( current sharing resistors are necessary
if current increases, it heats up faster, during parallel operation of BJTs 1mk
resistance increases, causing the current to
shift to other devices in parallel. 1mk
 Secondary breakdown does not occur  Since it has negative temperature coefficient,
because it has positive temperature secondary breakdown occurs (with decrease
coefficient. 1mk in resistance ,current increases and in over
the same area ,leading to formation of hot
spots and this leads to their breakdown)
1mk
 Higher voltage ratings have more  Less loss 1mk
conduction loss1mk
 The state of art MOSFETs are available with  Available with ratings up to 1200V, 800A.
ratings up to 500V, 140A. 1mk 1mk
 Silicon Controlled Switch (SCS)
 SCS is a four layer 𝑝𝑛𝑝𝑛 device.
 It has 2 gates, anode gate and the cathode gate.
 An SCS can be turned ON by the application of a negative gate pulse at the anode
gate or a positive pulse at the cathode.
 It can be turned OFF by the application of a positive pulse at the anode gate or a
negative pulse at the cathode gate.

SCS symbol SCS structure

 GTO Thyristor (gate turn-off thyristor)

GTO symbol and structure anode

 A power-switching device that can be turned ON by positive gate signal and turned off by a negative
gate pulse to its gate terminal.
 The reverse gate current is dependent on the anode current to be turned off.
 Turn off is provided by bypassing carriers directly to the gate circuit and so its turn off time is short
thus giving more capability for high frequency operation than thyristors.
 Can substitute transistors in applications above 200kW or more.
 Ratings and speeds are similar to those of SCRs.
 Unlike thyristors GTOs have many narrow cathode elements,heavily interdigitated with the
cathode electrode and therefore the initial turned on area is very large and time required for
plasma spreading is small and so GTO is brought to conduction very rapidly and can withstand
a high turn on di/dt.
 Programmable UJT (PUT)
 It is a 4 layer PNPN device as shown in figure 1 below.
 Its gate is connected to the N region adjacent to the anode A.

-This PN junction controls the

ON and OFF states of the PUT.
P -The G is biased positive with
respect to Cathode (K).
N
P
N

Figure 1: Programmable Unijunction Transistor

 When anode voltage exceeds gate voltage of about 0.7V
,the P-N junction becomes forward biased and the PUT turns
ON.
 When anode voltage falls below the gate voltage, the PUT is
turn OFF.
 The gate bias can be adjusted to any bias level with the help
of an external voltage divider circuit 𝑅2 − 𝑅3 .
 Whenever the anode voltage exceeds this programmable
value, the PUT turns on.
  A plot of anode to cathode voltage 𝑉𝐴𝐾 versus anode current 𝐼𝐴 .

-It possesses negative resistance ie.

a b
c As 𝑉𝐴𝐾 increases beyond
𝐼𝑃 , resistance decreases and so the
𝑉𝐴𝐾 decreases causing more current
to flow.
-Beyond the valley point ,the PUT is in
saturation and 𝑉𝐴𝐾 increases very
little with an increasing 𝐼𝐴 .
-’a’ denotes cutoff region
-’b’ denotes negative resistance
Valley
point
-’c’ denotes saturation region
Figure 2:V/I characteristics of PUT
 UJT Relaxation Oscillator

Since 𝑅2 = 𝑅3 , 𝑉𝐺 = 12Τ2 = 6𝑉.

When the dc voltage is applied ,the PUT
is off but C starts charging towards +12V
through 𝑅1 .

Figure 3: Programmable UJT Relaxation Oscillator

 When 𝑉𝑐 exceeds 𝑉𝐺 (+0.7V), the PUT turns ON and at the same time ,C starts
discharging through the low ON resistance of PUT and 𝑅4.
 Consequently ,a voltage spike is developed across 𝑅4. during the discharge.
 As soon as C discharges ,the PUT turns OFF and the charging cycle starts all over
again as shown.
 LASCR
 Light activated Silicon Controlled Rectifier/(LTT)Light Triggered Thyristor
 Has the same basic structure as SCR except that their reverse biased junction J2 is triggered
by light instead of gate current.
SCR (Two transistor model of SCR)
 One of the prominent members.
 Four layer PNPN device.
 Basically a rectifier with a control element.
 Consist of 2 diodes connected back to back with a gate
connection.
 Control loads by switching current OFF and ON up to a
thousand times in a second.
 Can be switched ON for variable lengths of time ,thereby
delivering selected amount of power
 Biasing

𝐽1 & 𝐽3 −forward biased whereas 𝐽2 is reverse

biased…No current flow (except leakage).

𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑉 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑑.
𝐽1 & 𝐽3 − reverse biased whereas 𝐽2 is forward
biased…No current flow .

Biasing of SCR
 Operation
 No current flow due to reverse biased junction 𝐽2 .
 Increasing anode voltage to a critical value (called forward
break over voltage ,𝑽𝑩𝑶 ), 𝐽2 breaks down and SCR switches
suddenly to a high conducting state.
 When reverse biased ,SCR is blocked by 𝐽1 & 𝐽3 , and increasing
V , a point is reached when reverse breakdown occurs and
this may destroy the SCR.
 Hence SCR is a unidirectional device.
The transistor analogy of SCR
 Split into two 3 layer transistor to represent 𝑄1 (𝑃𝑁𝑃 transistor) and 𝑄2 (NPN transistor)
interconnected together.
1 -Remember 𝐼𝐶 = 𝛽𝐼𝐵
Transistor analogy of SCR
-Collector current of 𝑄 is also the base current of 𝑄 .
1 2
-The base current of 𝑄1 is also the collector current of 𝑄2
-So if supply voltage is provided to break junction J2,then the
current through the device rises ,𝐼𝐸1 begins to increase and
𝐼𝐶1 increases.
-Remember 𝐼𝐶 =α𝐼𝐸
−𝐼𝐶1 =𝐼𝐵21 , 𝐼𝐵2 increases and hence 𝐼𝐶2 increases
𝐼𝐶2 = 𝐼𝐵1 ,hence 𝐼𝐵1 increases.
-Consequently both 𝐼𝐶1 and 𝐼𝐸1 increases.
-So an increase in current produces further increase in the
same current.
-Soon maximum current is reached limited by external
resistances only.
-Finally the two transistors are fully turned ON and the
voltage across the two transistors falls to a very low value.
If 𝐼𝐺 is the gate current and 𝛼1 and 𝑎2 are current gains for
PNP and NPN transistor, then
𝛼2 𝐼𝐺
𝐼𝐴 =
1 − (𝛼1 + 𝛼2 )
Examples of calculations
 A 250 resistor is connected in series with the gate of an SCR as shown below. The
gate current required for firing the SCR is 8mA. Calculate the value of the input
voltage 𝑉𝑖𝑛 required for causing the SCR to breakdown.
 Solution
 The value of 𝑉𝑖𝑛 should be such that to (i) overcome the barrier voltage of 0.7V
and cause 8mA current to flow through the 250 resistor.
 𝑉𝑖𝑛 =𝑉𝐺𝐶 + 𝐼𝐺 𝑅 = 0.7 + 8 × 10−3 × 250 = 2.7𝑉.
 2.The two transistor analogy of an SCR has the following data:
Gain of PNP transistor =0.4
Gain of NPN transistor =0.5
Gate current =50mA
Calculate the anode current of the device.
𝛼1 =0.4 𝛼2 =0.5 𝐼𝐺 =50mA
 𝛼2 𝐼𝐺 0.5×50×10−3
𝐼𝐴 = = = 0.25𝐴/250𝑚𝐴
1−(𝛼1 +𝛼2 ) 1−(0.4+0.5)
Comparison between transistors and thyristors

s/no transistors Thyristors

1 3-layers ,2 junction 4 layer ,2- or more junction devices
devices
2 Fast response Very fast response

3 High efficiency Very high efficiency

4 Highly reliable Very highly reliable

5 Small voltage drop Very small voltage drop
6 Long life Very long life
7 Small to medium power Very small to medium power
ratings ratings
8 Require continuous flow of current
to remain in conducting state.
9 Low power consumption
10 Low control capability
11 Small turn –ON and turn OFF time.
Require only a small pulse for triggering
and thereafter remaining in conduction
state.
Very low power consumption.
High control capability
Very small turn –ON and turn OFF time.
Main application of SCR is as a power control device.
 When SCR is OFF, its current is negligible and when ON, its voltage is negligible.
 It never dissipates any appreciable amount of power even when controlling
substantial amounts of load power.e.g one SCR requires 150mA to control a load
current of 2500A.
 SCRs have been designed to control powers upto 10MW with individual ratings as
high as 2000A, at 1.8kV.
 Other applications of SCR include ;relay controls, regulated power supplies, static
switches ,motor controls ,inverters ,battery chargers, heat controls and phase
control.
Transient Effects in an SCR
 𝑑𝑖 Τ𝑑𝑡
 This effect is produced due to a high initial rate of rise of the anode current when
SCR is just switched ON and results in the formation of a local hot spot near the
gate connection.
 When a triggering pulse is applied to the gate, the holes are injected into the p-
region where they overcrowd together and form an initial conduction zone over a
small part of 𝐽2 before spreading the conduct through out the whole area of
junction.
 If anode current is allowed to rise very rapidly e.g for resistive and capacitive loads
,the high current will be forced to flow through this small conduction zone until the
conduction has spread through the entire junction.
 This may result in local hot spots in the junction which are likely to damage the SCR
permanently
-The maximum allowable anode current 𝑑𝑖Τ𝑑𝑡 can be increased and hence turn on
time of an SCR decreased using specially designed gate connection geometries
resulting into a more rapid distribution of charge through out the gate.

𝑑𝑣Τ𝑑𝑡
 The SCR may sometimes turn ON by itself during sudden changes of the applied
anode potential at a time when there is no gate current applied and the SCR is
supposed to be blocking.
 This false triggering is due to the capacitance possessed by the large area junction
𝐽2 .
 When the rate of rise of the applied anode voltage 𝑑𝑣Τ𝑑𝑡 is very high ,the
capacitive charging current may become high enough to initiate switch on even
in the absence of external gate current.
 False triggering are prevented using a snubber circuit.