TYPES OF STATIC SWITCHES

Uncontrolled static switch-Power Diode

A

IA

IAK

Turns On and OFF by itself

depending on the polarity of
voltage
VAK

ntrolled switch:

s ON and OFF by activating and deactivating a control circuit.

Controlled
Elecromechanical
switch

Has moving contacts /

Nonstatic opeartion

Controlled static switch

(Power semiconductor
devices)
2
2
C
C
1
Unilateral

1
Bilateral

Directional properties of static switches

CURRENT DIRECTIONS:
Unidirectional : Diode, SCR, IGBT, BJT, GTO, MCT
Bidirectional: MOSFET, RCT, TRIAC
VOLTAGE CAPABILITY:
Forward voltage blocking
Reverse blocking (Power diode)
Both forward and reverse blocking (SCR)

TYPES OF SWITCHING CONTROLS

Static switches are classified on the basis of switching control as:
A) Continuous switching control:
) In some device the turn on switching is implemented by an input to the
control terminal, this input to be continue to be present, to keep the
switch in ON state.
) If control input stops, the switch turns OFF.
) Both ON and OFF operations implemented by same control circuit
Examples: BJT,IGBT, MOSFET
B) Latching:
) Control input to turn ON and or OFF need a short duration pulse.
) Once ON, it remains ON after removing (stopping) the control signal.
) To turn OFF short duration pulse on its control terminal is given
) Device is latched in required state by a pulse of short duration known as
Latching.
) Exp: SCR, GTO

IDEAL switch
Characteristics:
1. Controllable: able to turn ON or OFF at will. We prefer voltage control
over current control
2. Voltage blocking: blocks large voltages when OFF. Forward AND Reverse.
3. Current conduction: Conduct large currents when ON. Forward AND
Reverse.
4. Fast Speed: Switch from ON to OFF or back quickly (instantly preferred).
5. Negligible losses: conduction losses and switching losses are negligible
6. Power for control source is negligible. Voltage control does this far better
than current control.
7. Negligible deviation from true ON or OFF behaviour
a. Leakage current in the OFF state is negligible b. Forward voltage in the
ON state is negligible
8. Positive temperature coefficient (Resistance rises the temperature rise).
This situation tends to contribute to circuit stability.
9. Large di/dt and dv/dt ratings. Helps speed!

Review of Switching Concepts and Power Semiconductor

Devices

The need for switching in Power Electronic Circuits

Switching Characteristics
The ideal switch
The practical switch
Switching functions and Matrix representation
Types of Switches
Available Semiconductor Switching Devices
Bipolar and Unipolar Devices
Thyristor-Based Devices
Comparison of Switching Devices
Future Trends in Power Devices

Introduction

Unipolar and bipolar type devices:

Bipolar junction transistor (BJT)

Metal Oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET)
Insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)
Thyristor-based devices
Silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCR)
Gate turn-off (GTO) thyristor
Triac
Static Induction transistor and thyristor
MOS-controlled thyristor (MCT)

The emphasis will be on the device terminal i-v switching

characteristics and their current, voltage, and switching
limits.

Power
semiconductor
devices
represent the heart of modern
power electronics, with two major
desirable characteristics guiding
their development:
Switching speed (turn-on and turn-off
times)
Power-handling capabilities (voltageblocking
and
current-carrying
capabilities)

The Need For Switching In Power

Electronic Circuits
The need for semiconductor devices to perform conversion
functions is related to the converter efficiency
A low-efficiency power system means that large amounts of
power are being dissipated in the form of heat, with one or more
of the following implications:
The cost of energy increases due to increased consumption
Additional design complications might be imposed, especially
regarding the design of device heat sinks
Additional components such as heat sinks increase the cost,
size, and weight of the system, resulting in low power density
High power dissipation forces the switch to operate at low
switching frequencies, resulting in limited bandwidth and slow
response, and the size and weight of magnetic components
Component and device reliability is reduced

Example 1

The purpose of this example is to investigate the efficiency of four different

power electronic circuits whose function is to take power from a 24 V dc
sourceanddelivera12Vdcoutputtoa6resistiveload.Inotherwords,the
taskofthesecircuitsistoserveasdctransformerswitharatioof2:1.Thefour
circuits are shown in Fig. 2.1(a), (b), (c), and (d ), representing a voltage
divider circuit, zener regulator, transistor linear regulator, and switching
circuit,respectively.Theobjectiveistocalculatetheefficiencyofthesefour
powerelectroniccircuits.
(a
)

(b
)

(c)

(d
)
Fig 2.1 (a) Voltage divider (b) Zener
regulator (c) Transistor regulator (d)
Switching circuit

(e
)

(f)

Fig 2.1 (e) Zener diode i-v switching characteristics (f) Switching
waveforms for circuits

Solution for Example 1

Voltagedividerdcregulator:
Thefirstcircuitisthesimplest,formingavoltagedividerwithR=R L=6andVo=12
V.Theefficiency,definedastheratiooftheaverageloadpower,PL,totheaverageinput
power,Pin,is
P
L %
Pin
RL

% 50%
RL R

TheefficiencyissimplyVo/Vin%.Astheoutputvoltagebecomessmaller,theefficiency
decreasesproportionally.
Zenerdcregulator:
Sincethedesiredoutputis12V,weselectazenerdiodewithzenerbreakdownVZ=12V
isselected.AssumethezenerdiodehastheivcharacteristicshowninFig.2.1(e).Since
RL=6 ,theloadcurrent,IL,is2A.CalculateRforIZ=0.2A(10%oftheloadcurrent),
resultsinR=5.45.SincetheinputpowerisPin=2.2Ax24V=52.8Wandtheoutput
powerisPout=24W,theefficiencyofthecircuitis:

24W
%
52.8W

=
45.5 %

Transistordcregulator:
ItisclearfromFig.2.1(c)thatforVo=12V,thecollectoremittervoltagemustbe
around12V.Thecontrolcircuitmustprovideabasecurrent,IB,toputthetransistorin
theactivemodewithVCE12V.Sincetheloadcurrentis2A,thecollectorcurrentis
approximately2A(assumesmallIB).Thetotalpowerdissipatedinthetransistorcanbe
approximatedbythefollowingequation:

V I 12 X 2 24 watts

Pdiss VCE I C VBE I B

CE C

Theefficiencyofthecircuitis50%.
Switchingdcregulator:
ConsidertheswitchingcircuitofFig.2.1(d)byassumingtheswitchisidealand
periodicallyturnsonandoff,asshowninFig.2.1(f).Theoutputvoltagewaveformis
alsoshowninFig.2.1(f).Eventhoughtheoutputvoltageisnotconstantorpuredc,its
1 TD
averagevalueisgivenby
V dt V D

V
o ,ave
in
in

T
0

whereDisthedutyratio,theratiooftheontimetotheswitchingperiod,Ts.ForVo,ave=
12V,setD=0.5,i.e.,theswitchhasadutycycleof0.5or50%.Inthiscase,theaverage
outputpoweris48Wandtheaverageinputpowerisalso48W,resultingin100%
efficiency

Switching Characteristics
The Ideal Switch

No limit on the amount of current (known as forward or reverse

current) that the device can carry when in the conduction state (onstate)
No limit on the amount of device voltage (known as forward or
reverse blocking voltage) when the device is in the nonconduction
state (of-state)
Zero-on state voltage drop when in the conduction state
Infinite of-state resistance, i.e., zero leakage when in the nonconduction state
No limit on the operating speed of the device when it changes state
i.e., zero rise and fall times

The Practical Switch

Limited power-handling capabilities, i.e., limited

conduction current when the switch is in the on state, and
limited blocking voltage when the switch is in the ofstate.
Limited switching speed, caused by the finite turn-on and
turn-off times, which limits the maximum operating
frequency of the device
Finite on-state and of-state resistances i.e., the existence
of forward voltage drop in the on state, and reverse
current flow (leakage) in the off-state
Because of characteristics 2 and 3, the practical switch
experiences power losses in the on and of states and
during switching transitions

(a)

Fig 2.3 (a) Practical switch current, voltage, and

waveforms

A useful plot that illustrates how switching takes place from on

to off and vice versa is called a switching trajectory, which is
simply a plot of isw versus vsw as shown here

(b)

Fig 2.3 (b) Switching trajectory

Example 2
Consider a linear approximation of Fig
2.3(a) as shown in Fig 2.4(a) with D = 1
(this assumes that Ts is the on time)
Give a possible circuit implementation using a
power switch whose switching waveforms are
as shown in Fig 2.4(a)
Derive the expressions for the instantaneous
switching and conduction power losses and
sketch them
Determine the total average power dissipated
in the circuit during one switching period
Find the maximum power

(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig 2.4 (a) Linear approximation of typical current and voltage

switching waveforms (b) Circuit implementation (c)
Instantaneous power waveforms

Solution for Example 2:

(a) When the switch is of, the blocking voltage across the switch is VOFF,
which can be represented as a DC voltage source of value VOFF reflected
somehow across the switch during the of-state

(b) The instantaneous current and voltage waveforms

t I ON I OFF I OFF
ON

i sw (t ) I ON
t T
s

I ON I OFF I OFF
t OFF

VOFF VON
t t ON VON
t ON

v sw (t ) VON
V V
ON
OFF
t (Ts t OFF ) VON

t OFF

0 t t ON
t ON t Ts t OFF
Ts t OFF t Ts

0 t t ON
t ON t Ts t OFF
Ts t OFF t Ts

It can be shown that if Ion >>Ioff and Voff >>Von

VOFF I ON
t tON t
2
tON

p(t ) VON I ON
V I
OFF2 ON t (Ts tOFF ) t Ts

tOFF

0 t tON
tON t Ts tOFF
Ts tOFF t Ts

(c) The total average dissipated power:

Pave

Ts

Ts

1
p(t ) dt
Ts

Ts

t ON

VOFF I ON
2
t OFF

Ts t OFF

VOFF I ON
2
t ON

(t t ON )t dt

Ts t OFF

ON

I ON dt

t ON

(t (Ts t OFF ))(t Ts )dt

The evaluation of the above integral gives

Pave

VOFF I ON
Ts

t ON t OFF VON I ON
(Ts t OFF t ON )

6
Ts

(d) The maximum power occurs when,

dp (t )
dt

0
t tmax

Solving for the maximum power, to give;

Pmax

Voff I on
4

Switching Functions and Matrix

Representation
The system below has n inputs and m outputs that can
be either voltages or currents. There are n x m switches

(a)

Examples of power electronic circuits (a) Single-phase

Example 3

Giventhatvs(t)isatriangularwaveform,assumetheswitchisideal
andinitiallyoff.Controlworksinsuchawaythatittogglesevery
timevs(t)crosseszero.UseVp=12V,R=10 andT=1ms.
a) Sketch the waveforms for is and vo
b) Calculate the average and rms values for the output
voltage
c) Calculate the average input power, average output
power, and efficiency
d) Repeat parts (a)-(c) by assuming T = 1 s
e) Repeat parts (a)-(d) by assuming the switch has 1 V
voltage drop was closed

Solution for Example 3

The output voltage and the source current waveform

are shown in Fig. 2.7(b)

Fig 2.7 (b)

(b) The average output voltage;

T

V
1
1 1T
V0 v 0 (t )dt (
V P ) P 3V
T 0
T 22
4

The rms is:

V0,rms

Vp
6

4.9V

The average input power is calculated from,

T

1
Pin is (t )vs (t )dt 2.4W
T 0

The average output power,

T

1
Pout i0 (t )v0 (t )dt 2.4W
T 0

Efficiency:
Pout Pin 100%

Same as above (because the results are independent of T)

The average output voltage can be approximated by the following integration,
1
1
V0 (t ) dt
T 0
T
T

V0, ave

T /4

3T / 4

4V p

t V p 1 dt
t 3V p 1 dt

T
T

T /2

4V p

T /2

1
(V p 2) 2.5V
4

And the rms voltage is

T

1
Vo2 (t ) dt 4.3V
T 0

V0,rms

It can be shown that the average input power is,

T

1
Pin is (t ) vs (t ) dt
T 0
2

1 2V p

1 2.375W

4 R 3

and the average output power,

T

1
Pout io (t ) vo (t ) dt
T 0

1
V p 1 3 1 1.85W
6 RV p

Resulting in efficiency of

Pout
1.85
* 100%
* 100% 77.9%
Pin
2.375

Types of Switches
Table 2.1 Types of Semiconductor Switches, their
Controllability Features, and their Possible Switch
Implementations.

Available Semiconductor Switching

Devices

Bipolar and Unipolar Devices

Power diodes
Bipolar junction transistors
Insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs)
Metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors
(MOSFETs)
Thyristor-Based Devices
Silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs)
Gate turn-off (GTO) thyristors
Triode ac switches (triacs)
Static induction transistors (SITs) and thyristors (SITHs)
MOS-controlled thyristors (MCTs)

Bipolar and Unipolar

Devices

The Power Diode

Power diodes have important features:
Power-handling capabilites
Including forward current carrying and reverse
voltage blocking
Reverse recovery time (trr) at turn-off

(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig 2.8 Symbol and Practical and Ideal i-v characteristic curves

 Reverse recovery current IRR

Delay t1 and t2 is due to the minority carriers in
the depletion region
Delay t2 and t3 is caused by the charge stored
in the bulk of the semi-conductor material
Reverse recovery charge Qrr
Ratio between (t3-t2) and trr is a diode
snappiness

(a)

(b)

Fig 2.9 Typical diode switching characteristics (a)

Switching circuit with S closed at t = to (b) Diode current

Example 2.4
Derive the expression for IRR and
the peak switch current in terms of
the diode reverse recovery time for
Fig. 2.10.

Fig 2.10 Diode switching circuit with parasitic inductor

Solution for Example 2.4:

When the switch is closed at t=t0, the diode voltage remains zero
and its current is given by,
iD = I0-is
and is for t t0 is given by,
i (t )
s

V
in ( t t )
0
L

t tt
0

At t = t1 the diode current becomes zero and is becomes I0. Hence

the interval t1-t0 is given by,
t1 t 0

I o Ls
Vin

Since t3-t20, then t2-t1trr and IRR is given by,

I RR

Vin
t rr
Ls

e peak switch current occurs at t = t2 when iD = -IRR and is given by,

I

s , peak

V
in t
I
0
L rr
s

The Bipolar Junction Transistors

(BJT)
The schematic symbol and i-v characteristics
for the bipolar junction transistors (BJT) are
shown in Fig. 2.11(a), (b), (c)

(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig 2.11 BJT switching characteristics (a) npn transistor

(b) Ideal I-v characteristics (c) Practical I-v characteristics

(a)

Fig 2.13 Switching

characteristics for the BJT
(a) Circuit (b) Switching
waveforms

(b)

ansistor Switching (Dynamic) Characteristic

Transient Model of BJT

The Power MOSFET

Unlike the bipolar junction
transistor, MOSFET belongs to the
unipolar device family. Fig 2.15
shows available devices:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Fig 2.15 MOSFET device symbols

(a) n-channel enhancement-mode (b) p-channel enhancementmode
(c) n-channel depletion-mode (d) p-channel depletion-mode

(a)

(b)

Fig 2.16 (a) n-channel enhancement-mode MOSFET and

(b) its iD vs. vDS characteristics

On-State
Resistance
MOSFETS have on-state resistance, RDS (sw), that cause
power dissipation as:

Pon ,diss I D2 RDS ( on )

Internal Body Diode
The modern power MOSFET has an internal diode called a
body diode connected between the source and the drain

(a)

(b)

Fig 2.18 (a) MOSFET internal body diode (b) Implementation of a

fast body diode

Internal Capacitors

Parasitic capacitances between the devices three terminals

Gate-to-source (Cgs)
Gate-to-drain (Cgd)
Drain-to-source (Cds)
Devices data sheet parameters Ciss, Coss, and Crss
Cgd = Crss
Cgs = Ciss Crss
Cds = Coss Crss
where,
Crss = small-signal reverse transfer capacitance
Ciss = small-signal input capacitance with the drain and source terminals shorted
Coss = small-signal output capacitance with the gate and source terminals shorted

(a)

(b)

Fig 2.19 (a) Equivalent MOSFET representation including junction

capacitances (b) Representation of this physical location

Regions of Operation
For vGS > VTh, the device can be either in the
triode region, called "constant resistance" region,
or in the saturation region, depending on the
value of vDS. For a given vGS, with a small vDS (vDS
< vGS - VTh) the device operates in the triode
region (saturation region in the BJT), and with a
large vDS (vDS > vGS - VTh), the device enters the
saturation region (active region in the BJT).
For vGS < VTh, the device turns off, with the drain
current almost equal to zero. Under both regions
of operation, the gate current is almost zero.
MOSFET is known as a voltage-driven device and,
therefore, requires a simple gate control circuit.

The drain current, iD, can be mathematically

approximated as follows:
2

i D K [2(v GS VTh )v DS v DS ]
i D K (v GS VTh ) 2

Triode Region
Saturation Region

K 12 n C OX

where
n : electron mobility
COX : oxide capacitance per unit area
L : Length of the channel
W : Width of the channel

Fig 2.21 Large-signal equivalent

circuit model

MOSFET output resistance can be expressed as follows:

r0

k (vGS VTh )

Fig 2.22 MOSFET characteristic curve including output resistance

Fig 2.23 Linearized iD vs. vGS curve with operating dc

point (Q)

Fig 2.24 Small-signal equivalent circuit including MOSFET

output resistance

Input Capacitance

MOSFET has two limitations:

High input gate capacitances
Transient/delay due to carrier transport through the drift
region
Using the Miller theorem, the total input capacitance, C in,
between the gate and source
is,
C C (1 g R )C
in

gs

gd

Fig 2.25 (a) Small-signal equivalent circuit including

parasitic capacitances (b) Applying the Miller theorem

Safe Operation Area

The safe operation area (SOA) of a device
provides the current and voltage limits the device
must handle to avoid destructive failure

Fig 2.27 Safe operation area for a MOSFET

Thyristor-Based Devices
The Silicon-Controlled Rectifier
Symbol and i-v characteristics for the SCR

Fig 2.31 SCR switching characteristics. (a) Symbol. (b) i-v

characteristics. (c) Ideal switching characteristics.

The Gate Turn-off Thyristor

(GTO)
The schematic symbol and the practical and
ideal switching i-v characteristics for the gate
turn-off thyristor (GTO) are shown:
(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig 2.36 GTO switching characteristics. (a) Symbol. (b) i-v

characteristics.
(c) Ideal switching characteristics.

The Triode AC Switch (Triac)

Triode ac
Like the GTO, the triode ac (triac) switching device was
introduced immediately after the SCR
The Diac
Is essentially a gateless triac constructed to break down at
low forward and reverse voltages

Fig 2.37 Triac switching characteristics. (a) Equivalent representation

using two SCRs. (b) Symbol. (c) i-v characteristics. (d) Ideal switching
characteristics.

The Insulated Gate Bipolar

Transistor (IGBT)
The simplified two-transistor circuit model, and
the schematic symbol for the insulated gate
bipolar transistors (IGBT) are shown below

(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig 2.30 (a) IGBT equivalent circuit, (b) simplified

equivalent circuit, and (c) symbol

Static Induction Transistors and

Thyristors
Two different types:

Static induction transistor (SIT)

Static induction thyristor (SITH)

(a)

(b)

Fig 2.38 (a) SIT symbol. (b) SITH symbol.

The MOS-Controlled
Thyristor
Simplified equivalent circuit model and the
schematic symbol for a p-type MOS-controlled
thyristor (MCT)

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Fig 2.39 MCT switching characteristics. (a) Equivalent

circuit. (b) p-MCT symbol. (c) Ideal switching
characteristics. (d) n-MCT symbol.

Comparison of Power
Devices

Fig 2.40 Frequency versus power rating ranges for various

power devices.

Snubber Circuits

(a)

To relieve switches from overstress during switching,

switching aid circuits, known as snubber circuits
The objectives of snubber circuits are:
Reducing the switching power losses in the main
power device in the power electronic circuit
Avoiding second breakdowns
Controlling the devices dv/dt or di/dt

(b)

Fig 2.41 Passive snubber

circuits: (a) turn-off and (b) turn-Fig 2.42 iSW versus vSW switching loci