IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS) VOL. IA-8, NO.

5, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1972 593

Optimum Snubbers for Power Semiconductors

WILLIAM McMURRAY, SENIOR MEMBER, IEEE

Abstract-It is generally necessary to connect an RC snubber

across a power rectifier or thyristor to absorb the energy associated
with the recovery current of the device and limit the resulting voltage
spike and rate of rise dv/dt. For a given snubber capacitance, it is
shown that there is an optimum damping resistance which minimizes
the peak voltage, but a lower resistance is required to minimize the
average dv/dt to the peak. Design procedures are derived for select-
ing the capacitance and optimum resistance to limit the peak voltage
or dv/dt to specified values. The device recovery current is trapped in Fig. 1. Equivalent circuit of snubber.
circuit inductance, and its energy must be dissipated, while the
snubber produces additional losses as the price of performing its
limiting function. DEVICE CURRENT '\". SNUBBER CURRENT
0 .. _ I
di E

GENERAL EQUATIONS OF RECOVERY VOLTAGE TRANSIENT

FOR ANALYSIS of the recovery voltage transient Er-
717_ _
DEVICE
L~
VOLTAGE e
appearing across a semiconductor-rectifier diode or IR-/IR t,
thyristor device, a power converter can usually be re- 0
t-O
duced to an equivalent circuit of the form shown in Fig.
1. A voltage E, which can be assumed steady throughout Fig. 2. Idealized recovery transient.
the transient, is applied to a series RCL circuit. The volt-
age e across the snubber resistance and capacitance in The peak recovery current I for a given device is a func-
series appears as recovery voltage on the semiconductor tion of temperature, the previous forward current before
device. The initial capacitor voltage is zero, but an initial application of the commutating voltage E, and the rate
current I is present in the circuit. This is the peak reverse di/dt which is equal to E/L. Typical or maximum values
recovery current in the device, which becomes established of recovery current (or the recovered charge, from which
in the inductance L and is forced to transfer to the RC the current can easily be calculated) are included in many
path when the device blocks. Blocking is assumed to occur device specifications as functions of these parameters [1].
in short interval, which is certainly the case for snap-off
a The general Laplace transforms for the current i and
diodes and a reasonable approximation for most other the voltage e are
devices. Time zero of the transient is the instant when the ET
device blocks. The initial value of e is IR. An ideal re- + sI
covery transient is shown in Fig. 2. i(s) = L
I (1)
L LC
Paper TOD-72-21, approved by the Power Semiconductor Com-
mittee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society for presentation
at the 1971 IEEE Industry and General Applications Group Annual
Meeting, Cleveland, Ohio, October 18-21. This work was supported
s(E -RI)-- E

in part by the U.S. Army Mobility Equipment Research and De- (2)
velopment Center (MERDC), Ft. Belvoir, Va., under Contract +L s+LC
DAAK 02-67C-0160 through the General Electric Semiconductor
Products Department, Auburn, N.Y. Manuscript released for pub-
lication February 23, 1972. The general solutions of these equations will now be
The author is with Corporate Research and Development, Gen-
eral Electric Company, Schenectady, N.Y. 12345. presented. The parameters wo and are defined as fol- a
594 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1972

lows. Undamped natural frequency (rad/s): or

1 1 + V'i + 4x2
coo = ~
(3) (16)
4x
Decrement factor: the slope is positive, and the recovery voltage rises to a
R
peak at a time t1 which can be obtained by setting (10)
equal to zero, yielding
2l (4)

For designing the snubber circuit, it is convenient to (E - RI)2a +

express the equations in terms of the following normalized tan cot1 = (17)
parameters. Initial current factor: (E -RI)
co Cc1o

E C (5) (2t- 4t2x + x) \/1 t2 (18)

1 - 3x- 22 + 4¢3x
Damping factor:
R xa
= f(¢,x) (definition of function) (19)
=

2VL/C =o (6)
ti = - tan-' f(¢,x) (20)
co

Note that
tan' f(¢,x)
=LI2 initial energy in inductance (21)
X
2

'CE2 final energy in capacitor (7) coo-Vi ~

where the angle is in the first or second quadrant, depend-

Case I: Underdamped Condition ¢ < 1 ing upon whether the function f(¢,x) is positive or negative,
This is the case of most practical importance, since it respectively.
includes the optimum design of the snubber circuit. The Substituting the value of t, from (21) into (9), the value
angular frequency of the damped oscillations is given by E1 of the peak recovery voltage is obtained
C=V /co2o-a2 = cooV1- 2. (8) El = E + exp (-at,)
The inverse transform of (2) yields i(E RI) 2 2a(E - IR)I J2 (22)
Co02 Ccoo2C2

e = E - (E - RI)(cos ct - asin cot) exp (-at) The normalized peak voltage can be reduced to a function
of r and x, defined as p(D,x)
I
+ sin cot exp (- at). (9)
Cco
P(¢ x) = E - 1+ exp tan-l rf(xI
Differentiating (9)
de = co( a( 2¢x + x2. (23)
dt
=
(E RI) ~2a cos
cot sin
cot) The average rate of rise of voltage to this peak value is

EcoO p(I,x)\/1
(-axt) C ct ct) exp (-at). (10) /dv\ = El P2
exp + (cos - sin
dt av
\dt/ t=
t1 tan-' f(¢,x)
(24)
The initial voltage and slope can be deduced by inspec-
tion of the circuit Fig. 1, or obtained by setting t = 0 in E2 Xp(¢,x) \/1 -2
(25)
(9) and (10). Note that the result is the same for critical Li tan-' f(D,x)
or overdamping:
Case I-A: No Damping - 0 =

e RI = 2¢X (11) The equations for this special case can be obtained
from the general equations for underdamping by setting
-de= (E-RI)2a + (12) R, a, and r equal to zero, while co becomes coo:

(E-RI)IR I e = E(1 - cos cot) + --I-sincoot

Ccoo
(26)
L + C (13)

de _I
= Ecoo(2D 4¢2X + x). (14) (27)
If this initial slope is not positive, then the initial recovery
dt= Ecoo sin coot + Cos
coot
voltage given by (11) is the maximum. However, if /deNJ
dt/
-I = Eco
2. 4.lx + x > 0 (15) Ut = Eo (28)
MCMURRAY: OPTIMUM SNUBBERS FOR POWER SEMICONDUCTORS 595

and The average rate of rise of voltage to this peak value is

tan woti = -
I
= -x (29) /dv E q(r,X)\/¢2 1
(44)
VJav tl o
tanh-1 g(X
(30) E2 xq(&,x)
(45)
V2-1

Eoo
LI tanh-1 g(D,X)
El E+ Case III: Critically Damped Condition ¢ = 1
= IE2 + (IC)2 (31)
For this condition, a = coo, and (46)
*El
p(0 x) =E = 1 + A/1 + X2 (32) E
E = 2x. (47)
(dv\ _E_ 1±A/l+X2 (33) The inverse transform of (2) yields
\dt )v ti ?rr-tan-' x
E2 x(l + -\1 + x2)
e = E - (E - RI)(1 - at) exp (-at)
LI ir-tan-' x (34) + -IRIat exp (-at). (48)
Case II: Overdamped Condition r > 1 Differentiating (48)
For this condition, the parameter co is defined as
de
= E(2 -at) + 2R1(at -3) a exp (-at).
-a) (49)
czVa 2-Co2 = COV\2-1. (35) dt L2 aj
Equations (9) and (10) become, respectively, If condition (15) is satisfied (x < 2/3), the peak voltage
is attained at a time t, which can be found by setting (49)
e = E - (E - RI) (coshcot - asinh cot) exp (-at) equal to zero, yielding
I
3RI
2
+ sinh cot exp (-at) (36) 2E
Cco ati =
RI (50)
de =
(E -RI) (2a cosh cot +
sinh cot) 2E
1 2 -3X
exp (-at) + (cosh cot - sinh cot) exp (- at). (37)
tl =-.
coo 1 - x
(51)
If condition (16) holds, the peak voltage occurs at a time Substituting from (50) into (48), the normalized peak re-
t, obtained by setting (37) equal to zero and solving covery voltage is

(E - RI)2a + C ETh 1r (1o

+ - X) exp paX .
(52)
tanh cot, = (38)
(E-RI) o+ a
+ Ia The average rate of rise of voltage to this peak is
Cco
co
(dv\ El
Ecoo
- 3x
-(2¢ X)\/2
-- =

4*2X + - 1 dt aV tl 2 3X
1 - 3¢x - 2¢2 + 4¢3X
(39)
+ (1- x)-exp (_ 3x)] (53)
= g(¢,x)(definition of function) (40)
tanh- g(9,x) E2 (1-X

ooVr2-i (41) Li 2-3x

1 F-1 + 9(,x)
2log 1-g Ix *1+ (1x) exp (_t X](54)
2 Li - WIx)1
coNoV~2 1
if jg(L,X)I < 1. (42)
SNUBBER CIRCUIT DESIGN FOR M1INIMUM VOLTAGE SPIKE
Substituting t, into (36), the same expression as (22) The normalized peak voltage E,/E computed from (23),
for the peak recovery voltage El is obtained. The normal- (43), or (52) is plotted in Fig. 3 as a function
of the damp-
ized peak voltage as a function of ¢ and x becomes ing factor ~, with the initial current factor x as a param-
E eter. These curves are similar to those obtained by Von
q(, x) =
+ exp
= h1ta1}tanh X Zastrow and Galloway from numerical solution of the
differential equations of the circuit by computer methods
* -/1- 2Px + X2. (43) [1]. For a given value xo of the parameter x, there is a
596 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1972

to a specified value. Thus, if (E1/E)o is the allowable

voltage ratio, the optimum snubber design may be ob-
tained from Fig. 4:

xo = function of (E-) (55)

o= function of (E-) (56)

i-

cc
-i
0
I-
ir
C = L (E) (57)
2-
LI-a
~c
-

uAJ C.)
R = 2 -o
t= 2¢°EXO (58)
-j

z
0 1-s
Fig. 3. Peak voltage as function of damping and initial current.
INITIAL CURRENT FACTOR Xo
Fig. 4. Optimum snubber design parameters for minimum voltage
spike.
particular value to of the parameter v which will minimize
the peak voltage ratio (E1/E)o. Selecting v = Po represents
an optimum snubber design for minimizing the voltage
spike with a given capacitance (assuming the inductance
L and peak recovery current I are predetermined) or for
minimizing the capacitance required to limit the spike
The average dv/dt, normalized with respect to Ecoo, is
also shown on Fig. 4.
N ote that the parameters obtained from Fig. 4 are opti-
mum only if dv/dt is of no consequence, such as may be
the case for diodes and reverse voltages on thyristors.
However, reverse recovery dv/dt limitations are now ap-
pearing in some power device specifications.
SNUBBER CIRCUIT DESIGN FOR MINIMUM dv/dt
If the recovering device has a thyristor connected in-
versely across it, then its reverse recovery dv/dt appears
in the forward direction with respect to that thyristor,
and becomes critically important. For example, many
cycloconverters and reversing dc motor drives use inverse-
parallel pairs of thyristors. In some inverters feedback
rectifiers are connected directly across the thyristors.
Here the reverse recovery of the rectifier occurs just after
commutation of the thyristor, a time when dv/dt is most
critical. If the device itself is a bidirectional thyristor (of
the triode or diode type), its recovery dv/dt must again
be limited.
In discussing dv/dt, the problem of definition arises for
all cases except a linear rise at constant slope. For example,
the initial slope or the maximum instantaneous slope may
be used. Sometimes an exponential rise is assumed for
defining or testing purposes. In the ideal case analyzed in
the previous sections, where the recovery current is as-
sumed to "snap" off, the initial dv/ldt is theoretically in-
finite. Therefore, the dv/dt is here defined as the average
slope to the voltage peak. The circuit designer and device
rating engineer should cooperate in determining that the
actual shape of the transient is consistent with preventing
the thyristor from self-triggering, which is the main pur-
pose of limiting dv/dt.
The normalized average dv/dt computed from (24),
(44), or (53) is plotted in Fig. 5 as a function of the damp-
ing factor ¢, with the initial current factor x as a param-
eter. It is seen that for a given value xo of the parameter x,
there is a particular choice of damping (vo) which will
minimize the average dvldt at some value (dv/dt)o. These
optimum design parameters are shown in Fig. 6, together
with the corresponding peak voltage ratio (E1 E)0, from
which a snubber may be designed to give a specified dv/dt
MCMURRAY: OPTIMUM SNUBBERS FOR POWER SEMICONDUCTORS
INITIAL CURRENT FACTOR X
o6 3
IN u 7o, and (dv/dt)o/Ewo.
m (3).
DAMPING FACTOR C 2) From Fig. 8, read the corresponding value of xo,
Fig. 5. Average dv/dt as function of damping and initial current.
INITIAL CURRENT FACTOR Xo
Fig. 6. Optimum snubber parameters for minimum dv/dt.
using minimum capacitance. Note that minimum dv/dt is
obtained with less damping than required to minimize the
voltage spike.
COMPROMISE DESIGN OF SNUBBER CIRCUIT
In most applications, the peak recovery voltage and
dv/dt across a thyristor are both important, and a damp-
ing factor selected to compromise between minimum
voltage spike and minimum dv/dt is recommended. The
set of parameters for that amount of damping which will
minimize the product of E1 and (dv/dt)av for a given
capacitance (still assuming that the inductance L and peak
597
recovery current I are predetermined by other considera-
tions) are presented in Fig. 7. The product El(dv/dt) was
chosen as a convenient function for a computer minimiza-
tion program. The design procedure is as follows.
1) Select a tolerable peak voltage E1 and calculate
(El/E)o.
2) From Fig. 7, read the corresponding values of xo,
3) Calculate C, R, wo, and (dv/dt)o using (57), (58), and
If the resulting value of dv/dt is larger than permissible,
a larger capacitance is required, and the parameter xo
should be selected on the basis of dv/dt limitation. To
aid this selection, the optimum dv/dt normalized with
respect to the predetermined factor E2/LI is plotted in
Fig. 8. The procedure is as follows.
1) For the allowable (dv/dt)o, calculate (dv/dt)o. LI/E2.
using the "compromise" curve.
3) Enter Fig. 7 with this value xo and read to and
(E1/E)o.
4) Calculate C and R using (57) and (58), and use the
nearest standard values.
This compromise design is recommended for most
practical applications. In rare cases where the limitations
on peak voltage or dv/dt are abnormally stringent, such as
to accentuate the importance of one over the other, then
Figs. 4 or 6 and the corresponding curves on Fig. 8 may
be used. However, note that there is little improvement in
the critical parameter over that given by the compromise
design for the same value of xo.
A plot of a typical recovery transient with a snubber
designed for "compromise" damping is shown in Fig. 9,
for x = 0.6, P = 0.475. The thyristor and capacitor
voltages are shown; the voltage across the resistor (propor-
tional to current) is the difference between the two curves.
The slope of the dashed line in Fig. 9 is the normalized
average dv/dt.
For the ideal case where the recovery current is neg-
ligible, x -- 0 and the asymptotes of the "compromise"
curves yield
= 0.964
El 1. 142
E
(dv/dt)av = 0.564. (59)
Ewo
SNUBBER LOSSES AT TIME OF RECOVERY
First, a general expression for the losses in a series LCR
circuit fed from a dc source will be obtained in terms of the
initial and final state variables. Then the snubber loss
during the recovery transient is obtained as a special case.
Suppose, in the circuit of Fig. 1, that the capacitor
voltage changes from Vl to V2 and the current changes
from h1 to I2 in a time interval from ti to t2. If v is the in-
stantaneous capacitor voltage and i the instantaneous
598 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1972

tICL

O 1 2 3 4
0llt, RADIANS

Fig. 9. Typical recovery v'oltage transient. x-=0.6, 0.475.

current, they are related by

i dt = C dv. (60)
The loss W in resistor R may be determined from the
energy balance requirement:
- increase in energy stored

loss =energy from source - in capacitor

increase in energy stored
INITIAL CURRENT FACTOR XO in inductor
Fig. 7. Optimum snubber parameters for compromnise design. rt2 rt2 'V I2
f:i2Rdt = E idt- Cf vdv - L i di (61)
1 1

100 t ,j 1 /
W = EC(V2-V1) -C(V2
2 2Vi2)
ADDITIONAL LOSS
FACTOR 1/X0 7
0~~~~ -2 -
I12) (62)
MINIMUM /
VOLTAGE SPIKE//
= C(V2 - V1) (E- V + )
COMPROMIISE,
I
10
X~~~~~~~~
-t X _
- -
2
L(122 - h12) . (63)

1.0~1
IDol6l/-/A , This is the desired general expression for loss. For the
snubber circuit, V1 = 0, V2 = E, h = I, I2 = 0
W = I CE2 + 1 LI2 (64)
2 2

0.1 tX ~MINIMUM dv/dt =- -LI2

2
I1+-'I
\x2/ (65)
0? .01/

Note that all of the energy trapped in the inductance

at the time of recovery is inevitably dissipated. The
factor 1/X2, plotted in Fig. 8, represents the per unit addi-
tional loss, which is the penalty paid for limiting dv/dt and
II
/
the voltage spike. Besides the loss at the time of recovery,
INITIAL CURRENT FACTOR XO the snubber will dissipate energy equal to 1/2C (AE)2 any
Fig. 8. Optimum dv/dt factors and additional loss factor. time a step voltage change (AE) occurs in the voltage
waveform across the device. The losses due to the smoothly
varying portions of the waveform, such as a sinusoidal
supply voltage, are generally negligible in comparison
with the step losses.
MCMURRAY: OPTIMUM SNUBBERS FOR POWER SEMICONDUCTORS 599

SNUBBER LoSS AND THYRISTOR DISSIPATION

AT TIME OF TURN ON
In particular, when a thyristor turns on from a voltage
E an energy loss 1/2 CE2 will occur. Because of the finite
voltage fall time of the thyristor, some of this energy will
be dissipated in the thyristor instead of the damping re-
sistor, and the capacitor discharge increases the initial
di/dt in the thyristor. An estimate of the fraction of the Fig. 10. Forward polarized snubber.
snubber discharge loss that is absorbed by the thyristor
can be derived if some simplifying assumption is made re-
garding the thyristor voltage fall characteristic. For ex-
ample, suppose that the thyristor voltage falls exponen- R2
tially with a time constant r and is independent of the
current, then

e-E exp (-) (66)

Note that this exercise is not intended to imply that

any actual thyristor has such a characteristic, but only to Fig. 11.
provide a simple order of magnitude loss estimate if the
observed fall interval can be approximately fit to such a

4t
curve.
The discharge current i of a snubber having a tirne con- Ic
stant r, = RC is given by
EF, [(~~t\f t1 RIt
eyWX asexd b
The th t exp t (67)
The energy W, absorbed by the thyristor is then L
WI = ei dt 21
-- + F (68)
Fig. 12. Unpolarized snubber.
which is, as a fraction of the total loss
the time constant r. If the snubber time constant is much
2 CE2 T, + F6 greater than the thyristor fall time (r, >> r), the ratio of
the two contributions to the thyristor switching loss
This result simply states that the loss is divided between simplifies to
the thyristor and its snubber in proportion to their re-
spective time constants. Wt L/R
If the rise of load current iL in a parallel path through WI F (73)
the same thyristor is limited by an inductance L and driven
by the voltage (E - e), where the thyristor voltage e is the When the snubber discharge results in excessive thy-
same assumed exponential fall (66), then ristor switching loss Wt, a polarized snubber arrangement
(0 should be considered. Where the primary function of the
-e _E1
diLdl=6EE-e ( ( \1
dt L LL
[-I exp
Pk /
_t0) snubber is to limit the forward dv/dt applied to a thyristor
at the time of recovery of an inverse feedback rectifier,
the scheme showti in Fig. 10 is often used. The resilstor R,
L =L[t - T{1 - exp(- D}i (71) is the damping resistance effective during forward dv/dt,
while R2 is a much larger resistance to limit the snubber
The thyristor dissipation produced by this load current discharge current when the thyristor is fired.
rise is When forward voltage is reapplied to a thyristor as a
ramp of relatively low dv/dt, the prime purpose of the
WL = LjLr eiL dt = ---
~~2L (72) snubber is to limit the reverse voltage spike. Here, the
arrangement of Fig. 11 can be used to advantage. Damp-
In practice, the rise of load current will not continue in- ing resistance R, is effective during reverse recovery, while
definitely, but will terminate at some level IL. However, resistance R2 of higher value discharges the snubber ca-
(72) for the switching loss will be approximately true if the pacitor C1 during the period of forward voltage before the
time to reach the current IL is several times greater than thyristor is fired again.
600 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1972

Note that polarized snubbers do not reduce the circuit sient will not be optimum for suppressing another transient
losses, but only prevent the losses from being dissipated occurring at a different time in the cycle and a com-
in the thyristor. For example, a reverse polarized snubber promise must be made. M\ore complex snubber arrange-
prevents positive charge from being put on the snubber ments may also be used, such as the bridge circuit [4].
capacitor during the low-loss ramp dv/ldt, but the blocked The energy of the device recovery current trapped in
reverse charge is dissipated in the discharge resistor. the commutating inductance must be dissipated in the
When a pair of thyristors are connected in inverse snubber, and the charging of the snubber capacitor by a
parallel, as in a cycloconverter, the snubber must be ef- voltage step causes additional losses as the price of its
fective during recovery of either polarity. Therefore, a limiting function. In the typical transient shown in Fig. 9,
polarizing arrangement does not appear to be practical, the additional loss at the time of recovery amounts to
as indicated in Fig. 12. However, it may be possible to re- 2.78 times the energy 1/2 LI2. When the thyristor is sub-
duce the snubber size by employing nonlinear reactors sequently fired, the capacitor energy is dissipated, and a
which are unsaturated and have a high value of inductance considerable fraction of it may be absorbed by the thy-
at the time of recovery when the current is close to zero. ristor if the snubber is not polarized. If the turn-on voltage
Such reactors, shown in Figs. 11 anid 12, also reduce the is the same as the commutating voltage, the discharge
initial di/dt after turn on [2]. Experience has shown that loss is also 2.78 times the trapped recovery energy. Thus
nonlinear reactors cannot be advantageously employed in the need to dissipate recovery energy requires a total addi-
circuit arrangements of the type shown in Fig. 10. tional dissipation of about six times that recovery energy.
For high frequency operation, the need for devices having
CONCLUSIONS a small recovery current and high dv/dt capability as well
A procedure for selecting the optimum capacitance and as high di/dt capability becomes apparent.
damping resistance for a simple snubber used to limit the REFERENCES
recovery transient of power rectifiers or thyristors has [1] E. E. Von Zastrow and J. H. Galloway, "Commutation be-
been presented. In some circuits, the recovery of one device havior of diffused high current rectifier diodes," in Conf. Rec.,
produces steps of voltage not only across itself but across 1964 IEEE Int. Conv. Rec., pt. 4, p. 106-113. (Also available as
GE-SPD Application Note 200.42, June 1965.)
other devices in the circuit as well. These other devices [2] D. A. Paice and P. Wood, "Nonlinear reactors as protective
often have snubbers which contribute to suppression of elements for thyristor circuits," IEEE Trans. Magn., vol. MAG-
3, pp. 228-232, Sept. 1967.
the transient, and the size of the snubber provided for each [3] J. B. Rice and L. E. Nickels, "Commutation dv/dt effects in
device may be reduced. The circuit action during the re- thyristor three-phase bridge converters," IEEE Trans. Ind.
Gen. Appl., vol. IGA-4, pp. 665-672; Nov./Dec 1968.
covery transient can often, but not always, be represented [4] G. Thiele, "Richtlinien fur die Bemessung der Triigerspeicheref-
by an equivalent circuit of the simple form in Fig. 1 [3], fekt-Beschaltung von Thyristoren, " ("Guiding principles for the
design of carrier-storage effect connections for thyristors")
[4]. Sometimes a snubber designed to suppress one tran- Elektrotech. Z. Ausg. A, vol. 90, no. 14, pp. 347-352, 1969.

William McMurray (M'50-SM'60), for a photograph and biography please see page 295 of the
May/June 1972 issue of this TRANSACTIONS.