Unit I Power Semiconductor Devices

MH0405 POWER
ELECTRONICS
08/16/16
brsr/A.Y 2015-16 odd/pe/power

semiconductor devices
POWER ELECTRONICS
Power Electronics is defined as the
use of solid state electronics for the
control and conversion of Electric
Power
Some Applications of Power

Electronics
Aerospace
Space shuttle power supplies, Satellite Power

supplies, aircraft power supplies
Commercial Advertising, Heating ,air conditioning , UPS,
Elevators light dimmers ,computers etc..
Industrial Arc and industrial furnaces, blowers and fans,
Pumps and compressors, Industrial lasers, textile mills etc..
Residential Air conditioning ,cooking, lighting, Space
heating, Refrigerators etc..
Telecommunication Battery chargers, power supplies (dc
and UPS)
TransportationBattery chargers, Traction control of
electric vehicles, electric locomotives street cars, trolley buses
etc..
Utility systems HVDC, Excitation systems, VAR
compensation, Static circuit breakers, fans and boiler feed
pumps
Power Electronic system
Types of Power Converters
Diode Rectifiers (AC to DC )

Phase controlled Rectifiers(AC to DC )
Choppers (DC to DC )
Inverters (DC to AC )
AC Voltage controllers&
Cycloconverters
(AC to AC )
Advantages of Power Electronic

Systems
High efficiency due to less losses

Faster response
Smaller size
Higher reliability
Long life and less maintenance
Disadvantages of Power
Electronic Systems
Introduction of Harmonics
Harmonic interference with
communication lines
Classification of Semiconductor
devices
Based on
Turn on and Turn off Characteristics
Uncontrolled Ton & Toff ----(Power Diode)
Controlled Ton & Toff -------(BJT)
Controlled Ton & Uncontrolled Toff ----(SCR)
Gate signal requirements

Continuous -----(BJT)
Pulsed gate ------(SCR)
Voltage & Current capability

Bipolar
Unipolar
TOPICS COVERED IN
UNIT 1 - SEMICONDUCTOR
DEVICES
BASIC STRUCTURE & SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS OF
POWER DIODE
POWER TRANSISTOR
SCR
TRIAC
GTO
RATINGS OF SCR
SERIES PARALLEL OPERATION OF SCR
di/dt & dv/dt PROTECTION
INTRODUCTION OF ICT,SIT,SITH & MCT
MOSFET & IGBT
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CLASSIFICATION OF
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
POWER DIODE
POWER TRANSISTORS
POWER BJT
POWER MOSFET
IGBT
SIT
THYRISTORS
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SCR
TRIAC
GTO
SITH
MCT
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POWER DIODES
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POWER DIODE
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Power Diodes
Power semiconductor diodes are the
power level counter part of the low
power signal diode They are required to
carry up to several KA of current under
forward bias condition and block up to
several KV under reverse biased condition.
Hence some
structural changes are
applied to low power semiconductor
diodes to scale up their power capabilities
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STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF
POWER DIODE AND ITS
SYMBOL
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Power Diode
Function of n- layer is to absorb the depletion
layer of the reverse biased p+n- junction J1.
The breakdown voltage needed in a Power diode
governs the thickness of the n- layer. Greater the
breakdown voltage, more is the n- layer thickness.
The drawback of n- layer is that it adds significant
ohmic resistance to the diode when it is
conducting forward current. This leads to larger
power dissipation in the diode. Hence proper
cooling arrangements are essential for large diode
ratings.
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V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF SIGNAL

DIODE, POWER DIODE AND IDEAL
DIODE
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REVERSE RECOVERY
CHARACTERISTICS
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TYPES OF POWER DIODES

Based on Reverse recovery
Characteristics,Power diodes are
classified as
General purpose diodes
Fast Recovery diodes
Schottky diodes
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General purpose diodes

Have high reverse recovery time of the
order of 25s.
Their current ratings vary from 1A to
several thousand amperes and voltage
ratings are from 50 V to about 5KV.
Applications include Battery charging,
Electric traction, Electroplating, Welding
and Uninterruptible Power Supplies
(UPS)
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Fast Recovery diodes

Have very low reverse recovery time of the order of 5s or
less.
Their current ratings vary from 1A to several thousand
amperes and voltage ratings are from
50 V to about 3KV.
Applications include Choppers, Commutation circuits, SMPS,
Induction heating etc..
For Voltage ratings below 400V,epitaxial process is used for
diode fabrication. They have very fast recovery time as low
as 50ns.
For Voltage ratings above 400V, diffusion technique is used
for diode fabrication. To shorten the reverse recovery time,
Platinum or gold doping is carried out. But this doping may
increase the forward voltage drop in the diode.
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Schottky diodes
These diodes use metal to semiconductor junction for
rectification purpose instead of p-n junction. The metal
is usually Aluminium
This diode has Aluminiumsilicon junction.and semiconductor is silicon.
As compared to p-n junction diode ,a Schottky diode
has (i) low cut-in voltage(ii)higher reverse leakage
current and (iii)higher operating frequency.
Their reverse voltage ratings are limited to about 100V
and forward current ratings vary from 1A to 300A.
Applications include High frequency instrumentation
and switching power supplies.
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POWER TRANSISTORS
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POWER TRANSISTORS
Power Diodes are uncontrolled devices.
Power Transistors possess controlled
characteristics.
A Power Transistor are turned on when a
current signal is given to its base(or
Control) terminal.
The device is on as long as the control
signal is present. When this control
signal is removed, the device is turned
off.
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POWER TRANSISTORS
Power Transistors are of FOUR TYPES
BJT - Bipolar junction Transistor
MOSFET - Metal Oxide
Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor
IGBT - Insulated Gate Bipolar
Transistors and
SIT - Static Induction Transistor
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POWER BJT
Three layer ,Two Junction npn or
pnp type
Bipolar means current flow in the
device is due to the movement of
BOTH holes and Electrons.
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POWER BJT
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STEADY STATE
CHARACTERISTICS OF
POWER BJT
INPUT CHARACTERISTICS
graph between base current IB and base emitter voltage
VBE gives Input Characteristics. As the base-emitter
junction of a transistor is like a diode, I B versus VBE graph
resembles a diode. When Collector-Emitter voltage V CE2 is
more than VCE1,base current decreases for the same V BE.
OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS
graph between collector current Ic and collector emitter
voltage VCE gives Output Characteristics. As the base
current is increased from IB=0 to IB1, IB2 , etc., collector
current also rises.
In the saturation region the device acts like a switch. In the
active region, the device acts like an amplifier.
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STEADY STATE
CHARACTERISTICS OF POWER
BJT
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SWITCHING PERFORMANCE
OF POWER BJT
When the base current is applied, the transistor
does not turn on instantly because of the presence
of internal capacitances.
When input voltage VB is made V2 at to, junction
EB is reverse biased. Transistor is off.
VBE = -V2,
IB=IC=0
and
VCE=VCC
When input voltage VB is made +V2 at t1,

IB rises to IB1,
VBE begins to rise gradually from V2 ,
IC begins to rise from zero and
VCE starts falling from its initial value V CC
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OF POWER BJT
After some time delay td , called delay time,
IC rises to 0.1ICS,
VCE falls from VCC to 0.9 VCC and
VBE reaches VBES =0.7V
This delay time is required to charge the base

emitter capacitance to VBES = 0.7V
delay time is defined as the time during which
the collector current rises from zero to 0.1I CS and
collector emitter voltage falls from VCC to 0.9 VCC
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OF POWER BJT
After delay time td, collector current rises from 0.1ICS
0.9ICS,
to
VCE falls from 0.9 VCC to 0.1 VCC in time tr known as the
rise time.
The rise time depends upon transistor junction

capacitances..
rise time is defined as the time during which the collector
current rises from 0.1ICS to 0.9ICS and collector emitter
voltage falls from 0.9 VCC to 0.1 VCC
Thus the total turn on time ton = td+ tr.
Value of ton depends is of the order of 30 to 300 nano
seconds.The transistor remains in the on or saturated state
so long as the input voltage stays at V1
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OF POWER BJT
For turning off the transistor, V B and IB are reversed.
At time t2, VB is reversed from V1 to V2.At the same time, base
current changes from IB1 to IB2 .Negative base current IB2
removes the excess carriers from the base.
The time ts required to remove these excess carriers is called
storage time and only after ts, base current IB2 begins to
decrease towards zero . Transistor comes out of saturation
only after ts .
Storage time ts is defined as the time during which the
collector current falls from ICS to 0.9ICS and collector emitter
voltage rises from VCES to 0.1 VCC.
Negative input voltage enhances the process of removal of
excess carriers from the base and hence reduces the storage
time as well as the Turn off time.
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OF POWER BJT
After storage time ts, IC begins to fall and VCE starts
building up.
Time tf , called fall time is defined as the time during
which the collector current falls from 0.9I CS to 0.1ICS and
collector emitter voltage rises from 0.1 V CC to 0.9 VCC.
Transistor turn off time is given by the sum of storage
time and fall time.
to = ts+ tf
tn is the conduction period, to is the Off period,
T=1/f is the periodic time
frequency.
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and f is the switching

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SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS CIRCUIT

FOR BJT
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SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS OF
POWER BJT
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SAFE OPERATING AREA FOR

POWER BJT
Safe Operating Area (SOA or SOAR) of a
Power
Transistor
specifies
the
safe
operating limits of a Collector current I C
versus Collector emitter voltage VCE.
For reliable operation of the Transistor,
collector current and Voltage must lie in this
area.
Two types of Safe Operating Areas are
specified by the manufacturers ,FBSOA and
RBSOA
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SAFE OPERATING AREA FOR

POWER BJT
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POWER MOSFET
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POWER MOSFET
THREE TERMINALS DRAIN,SOURCE
AND GATE
VOLTAGE CONTROLLED DEVICE
GATE CIRCUIT IMPEDANCE IS HIGH (OF
THE ORDER OF MEGA OHM).HENCE
GATE CAN BE DRIVEN DIRECTLY FROM
MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUITS.
USED IN LOW POWER HIGH FREQUENCY
CONVERTERS,SMPS AND INVERTERS
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BASIC STRUCTURE OF nCHANNEL POWER MOSFET
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MOSFET TRANSFER
CHARACTERISTICS
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MOSFET OUTPUT
CHARACTERISTICS
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MOSFET SWITCHING
CHARACTERISTICS
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MOSFET
SWITCHING
CHARACTERISTICS
Turn on time ton= tdn + tr
where tdn= turn on delay time(Internal capacitance

charges to gate threshold voltage V GST).
tr = rise time(gate voltage rises to V GSP, a
voltage
sufficient to drive the MOSFET into on state).
The turn on time can be reduced by using low
impedance
gate drive source.
Turn off time toff= tdf + tf
where tdf= turn off delay time(Internal capacitance
discharges from overdrive gate Voltage V 1 to VGSP)
tf = fall time (Internal capacitance
from VGSP to VGST)
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discharges
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POWER MOSFET
Magnitude of VGST for a PMOSFET is of
the order of 2 to 3V.
PMOSFET with a turn off time of 100ns
is available.
Due to its low turn off time PMOSFET
can be operated in a frequency range of
1 to 10 MHz
PMOSFET finds application in SMPS and
Inverters.
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COMPARISON OF BJT AND

MOSFET MOSFET
S.No
BJT
1
BIPOLAR DEVICE
UNIPOLAR DEVICE
LOW INPUT IMPEDANCE(KILO

OHM)
HIGH INPUT IMPEDANCE

(MEGA OHM)
HIGH SWITCHING LOSSES BUT

LOWER CONDUCTION LOSSES
LOWER SWITCHING LOSSES

BUT HIGH ON-RESISTANCE
AND CONDUCTION LOSSES
CURRENT CONTROLLED DEVICE
VOLTAGE CONTROLLED
DEVICE
NEGATIVE TEMPERATURE
COEFFICIENT OF
RESISTANCE.PARALLEL
OPERATION IS
DIFFICULT.CURRENT SHARING
RESISTORS SHOULD BE USED.
POSITIVE TEMPERATURE
COEFFICIENT OF RESISTANCE.
PARALLEL OPERATION IS EASY
6 08/16/16 SECONDARY BREAKDOWN

SECONDARY BREAKDOWN
OCCURS.
DOES NOT OCCUR.
46
INSULATED GATE BIPOLAR

TRANSISTOR
(IGBT)
COMBINES THE BEST QUALITIES OF BOTH BJT

AND MOSFET
HAS HIGH INPUT IMPEDANCE AS MOSFET AND HAS
LOW ON-STATE POWER LOSS AS IN BJT
OTHER NAMES
MOSIGT (METAL OXIDE INSULATED GATE
TRANSISTOR),
COMFET (CONDUCTIVELY-MODULATED FIELD EFFECT
TRANSISTOR),
GEMFET (GAIN MODULATED FIELD EFFECT
TRANSISTOR),
IGT
(INSULATED GATE TRANSISTOR)
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BASIC STRUCTURE OF IGBT
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Symbol of IGBT
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EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT OF
IGBT
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IGBT
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IGBT has a P+ Substrate called Collector
C.This P+ substrate is called as injection
layer because it injects holes into n- layer.
The n- layer is called as drift region.
Thickness of the n- layer determines the
voltage blocking capability of IGBT.
The p layer is called body of IGBT.
The n- layer between p+ and p layer serves
to accommodate the depletion layer of pn
junction J2.
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Working OF IGBT
When collector is made positive with respect to
Emitter, IGBT gets forward biased. With no voltage
between gate and emitter, two junctions between
n- region and p region (i.e junction J2) is reverse
biased and no current flows from collector to
emitter.
When gate is made positive w.r.to emitter by
voltage VG, with gate-emitter voltage more than
the threshold voltage VGET of IGBT, an n channel or
inversion layer is formed in the upper part of the p
region just beneath the gate. This n channel short
circuits the n-region with n+ emitter regions.
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V-I AND TRANSFER

CHARACTERISTICS
OF IGBT
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SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS OF
IGBT
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SWITCHING
CHARACTERISTICS OF IGBT
Turn on time ton= tdn + tr
where tdn= turn on delay time(0 to 0.1IC)
tr = rise time (0.1IC to IC)
Turn off time toff= tdf + tf1+ tf2
where tdf= turn off delay time (IC to 0.9IC)
tf1 = first fall time(0.9IC to 0.2IC)
tf2 = final fall time(0.2IC to 0.1IC)
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APPLICATIONS OF IGBT
DC AND AC MOTOR DRIVES
UPS SYSTEMS,POWER SUPPLIES
DRIVES FOR SOLENOIDS,RELAYS AND
CONTACTORS
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COMPARISON OF IGBT WITH

MOSFET
S.No
MOSFET
IGBT
1.
THREE TERMINALS ARE

GATE,SOURCE AND DRAIN
THREE TERMINALS ARE

GATE,EMITTER AND COLLECTOR
2.
3.
4.
RATINGS AVAILABLE UPTO

500V,140A
RATINGS AVAILABLE UPTO

1200V,500A
5.
OPERATING FREQUENCY IS UPTO I

MHz
OPERATING FREQUENCY IS UPTO

50KHz
6.
WITH RISE IN TEMPERATURE,THE INCREASE IN ON-STATE RESISTANCE

IN MOSFET IS MORE PRONOUNCED THAN IGBT.SO, ON-STATE VOLTAGE
DROP AND LOSSES RISE RAPIDLY IN MOSFET THAN IN IGBT WITH RISE
IN TEMPERATURE.
7.
WITH RISE IN VOLTAGE,THE INCREMENT IN ON-STATE VOLTAGE DROP IS

2015-16 odd/pe/power
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MORE DOMINANT INbrsr/A.Y
MOSFET
THAN IT IS IN IGBT.THIS MEANS IGBTs
CAN BE DESIGNED FOR HIGHER VOLTAGE RATINGS THAN MOSFETs.
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BASIC STRUCTURE OF
STATIC INDUCTION TRANSISTOR(SIT)
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WORKING OF SIT
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WORKING OF SIT
SIT is a normally on device
If VGS =0 and VDS is present ,electrons would
flow from source to n,p+,n-, n+ and reach drain.
drain current flows from D to S.
If VGS = negative, p+n- junctions get reverse
biased. depletion region is formed around p+
electrodes and this reduces the current flow
from its value when VGS =0.
At some higher value of reverse bias voltage
VGS ,the depletion layer would grow to such an
extent as to cut off the channel completely
and load current would be zero.
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STATIC INDUCTION
TRANSISTOR(SIT)
It is a high power, high frequency device.
large drop in SIT makes it unsuitable for general
power electronic applications.
A 1500V,180A SIT has a channel resistance of 0.5
giving 90V conduction drop at 180A.An Equivalent
Thyristor or GTO drop may be around 2V.
Typical TON and TOFF times are very low around 0.35s.
high conduction drop with very low turn-on and turnoff times result in low on-off energy losses. This
makes SIT suitable for high power, high frequency
applications.
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APPLICATIONS OF SIT
AM/FM TRANSMITTERS
INDUCTION HEATERS
HIGH VOLTAGE LOW CURRENT POWER
SUPPLIES
ULTRASONIC GENERATORS
TYPICAL RATINGS AVAILABLE -1200V,300A
WITH TURN ON AND TURN OFF TIMES
AROUND 0.25 TO 0.35 s AND 100KHz
OPERATING FREQUENCY.
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THYRISTORS
SILICON CONTROLLED
RECTIFIER (SCR)
Three terminal, four layers (P-N-P-N)

Can handle high currents and high voltages,
with better switching speed and improved
breakdown voltage .
Name
Thyristor,
is
derived
by
a
combination of the capital letters from
THYRatron and transISTOR.
Has characteristics similar to a thyratron
tube
But from the construction view point
belongs to transistor (pnp or npn device)
family.
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THYRISTORS
TYPICAL RATINGS AVAILABLE ARE
3000A & 10KV WHICH REFERS TO
30MW POWER HANDLING CAPACITY.
SUCH A HIGH POWER THYRISTOR
CAN BE SWITCHED ON BY A LOW
VOLTAGE SUPPLY OF ABOUT 1A and
10W ONLY.
THIS SHOWS THE IMMENSE POWER
AMPLIFICATION CAPABILITY (=3*106)
OF THIS DEVICE
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SCR / Thyristor
Anode and
Cathode terminals
as conventional pn
junction diode
Gate terminal for a
controlling input
signal
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ANODE
GATE

SCR
2N3668
CATHODE
68
SCR/ Thyristor
An SCR (Thyristor) is a controlled
rectifier (diode)
Control the conduction under forward
bias by applying a current into the
Gate terminal
Under reverse bias, looks like
conventional pn junction diode
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BASIC STRUCTURE OF SCR

CONTD
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SCR / Thyristor
Anode
4-layer (pnpn)
device
Anode, Cathode as
for a conventional
pn junction diode
N
Gate
Cathode Gate
brought out for
controlling input
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Cathode
71
ANODE
Equivalent Circuit
ANODE
P
Q1
N
GATE
BJT_PNP_VIRTUAL
Q2
P
GATE
BJT_NPN_VIRTUAL
N
CATHODE
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CATHODE
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V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF
SCR
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SWITCHING
CHARACTERISTICS OF SCR
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SWITCHING
Total turn on time can be divided into
three intervals
(i) delay time td
(ii) rise time tr and
(iii) spread time tp
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SWITCHING
The delay time td is measured from the instant
at which the gate current reaches 0.9Ig to the
instant at which anode current reaches 0.1Ia.
OR as time at which Va falls to 0.9 Va
OR as time at which Ia rises to 0.1 Ia from
forward leakage current
delay time td can be decreased by applying

high gate current and more forward voltage
between anode and cathode.The delay time is
afraction of
microsecond.
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SCR OPERATING MODES

FORWARD BLOCKING MODE: Anode is positive w.r.t
cathode, but the anode voltage is less than the break over
voltage (VBO) .
only leakage current flows, so thyristor is not conducting .
FORWARD CONDUCTING MODE: When anode voltage
becomes greater than VBO, thyristor switches from forward
blocking to forward conduction state, a
large forward
current flows.
If the IG=IG1, thyristor can be turned ON even when anode
voltage is less than VBO.
The current must be more than the latching current (IL).
If the current reduced less than the holding current (IH),
thyristor switches back to forward blocking state.
REVERSE BLOCKING MODE: When cathode is more positive
than anode , small reverse leakage current flows. However if
cathode voltage is increased to reverse breakdown voltage ,
Avalanche breakdown occurs and large current flows.
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Thyristor- Operation
Principle
When anode is at a positive
potential (VAK) w.r.t cathode
with no voltage applied at the gate, junctions J1 & J3 are

forward biased, while junction J2 is reverse biased.
As J2 is reverse biased, no conduction takes place, so
thyristor is in forward blocking state (OFF state).
Now if VAK (forward voltage) is increased w.r.t
cathode, forward leakage current will flow through the
device.
When this forward voltage reaches a value of
breakdown voltage (VBO) of the thyristor, forward
leakage current will reach saturation and reverse
biased junction (J2) will have avalanche breakdown
and thyristor starts conducting (ON state), known as
forward conducting state .
If Cathode is made more positive w.r.t anode, Junction J1
& J3 will be reverse biased and junction J2 will be forward
biased.
A small reverse leakage current flows, this state is known
as reverse blocking state.
As cathode is made more and more positive, stage is
reached when both junctions A & C will be breakdown,
this voltage is referd as reverse breakdown voltage (OFF
2015-16
odd/pe/power
state), and device is in brsr/A.Y
reverse
blocking
state
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TRIGGERING METHODS
THYRISTOR TURNING ON IS ALSO KNOWN AS

TRIGGERING.
WITH ANODE POSITIVE WITH RESPECT TO
CATHODE, A THYRISTOR CAN BE TURNED ON
BY
ANY
ONE
OF
THE
FOLLOWING
TECHNIQUES :
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FORWARD VOLTAGE TRIGGERING

GATE TRIGGERING
DV/DT TRIGGERING
TEMPERATURE TRIGGERING
LIGHT TRIGGERING
79
Forward Voltage Triggering

When breakover voltage (VBO) across a thyristor
is exceeded than the rated maximum voltage of
the device, thyristor turns ON.
At the breakover voltage the value of the
thyristor anode current is called the latching
current (IL) .
Breakover voltage triggering is not normally
used as a triggering method, and most circuit
designs attempt to avoid its occurrence.
When a thyristor is triggered by exceeding VBO,
the fall time of the forward voltage is quite low
(about 1/20th of the time taken when the
thyristor is gate-triggered).
However, a thyristor switches faster with VBO
turn-ON than with gate turn-ON, so permitted
di/dt for breakover
voltage
turn-on is lower.
brsr/A.Y
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dv/dt triggering
With forward voltage across anode & cathode of a
thyristor, two outer junctions (A & C) are forward biased
but the inner junction (J2) is reverse biased.
The reversed biased junction J2 behaves like a capacitor
because of the space-charge present there.
As p-n junction has capacitance, so larger the junction
area the larger the capacitance.
If a voltage ramp is applied across the anode-tocathode, a current will flow in the device to charge the
device capacitance according to the relation:
If the charging current becomes large enough, density of

moving current carriers in the device induces switch-on.
This method of triggering is not desirable because high
charging current (Ic)
may damage the thyristor.
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Temperature Triggering
During forward blocking, most of the applied
voltage appears across reverse biased junction
J2.
This voltage across junction J2 associated with
leakage current may raise the temperature of
this junction.
With increase in temperature, leakage current
through junction J2 further increases.
This cumulative process may turn on the SCR at
some high temperature.
High temperature triggering may cause Thermal
runaway and is generally avoided.
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Light Triggering
In this method light particles (photons) are
made to strike the reverse biased junction,
which causes an increase in the number of
electron hole pairs and triggering of the
thyristor.
For light-triggered SCRs, a slot (niche) is
made in the inner p-layer.
When it is irradiated, free charge carriers are
generated just like when gate signal is
applied b/w gate and cathode.
Pulse light of appropriate wavelength is
guided by optical fibers for irradiation.
If the intensity of this light thrown on the
recess exceeds a certain value, forwardbiased SCR is turned on. Such a thyristor is
known as light-activated SCR (LASCR).
Light-triggered thyristors is mostly used in
high-voltage
direct
current
(HVDC)
transmission systems.
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Thyristor Gate Control Methods

An easy method to switch ON a SCR into
conduction is to apply a proper positive signal
to the gate.
This signal should be applied when the thyristor
is forward biased and should be removed after
the device has been switched ON.
Thyristor turn ON time should be in range of 1-4
micro seconds, while turn-OFF time must be
between 8-50 micro seconds.
Thyristor gate signal can be of three varieties.
D.C Gate signal
A.c Gate Signal
Pulse
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Thyristor Gate Control

Methods
D.C Gate signal: Application of a d.c gate signal causes the flow
of gate current which triggers the SCR.

Disadvantage is that the gate signal has to be continuously
applied, resulting in power loss.
Gate control circuit is also not isolated from the main power
circuit.
A.C Gate Signal: In this method a phase - shifted a.c voltage
derived from the mains supplies the gate signal.
Instant of firing can be controlled by phase angle control of
the gate signal.
Pulse: Here the SCR is triggered by the application of a positive
pulse of correct magnitude.
For Thyristors it is important to switched ON at proper instants
in a certain sequence.
This can be done by train of the high frequency pulses at
proper instants through a logic circuit.
A pulse transformer is used for circuit isolation.
Here, the gate looses are very low because the drive is
discontinuous.
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Thyristor Commutation
Commutation: Process of turning off a conducting
thyristor
Current Commutation
Voltage Commutation
A thyristor can be turned ON by applying a positive
voltage of about a volt or a current of a few tens of
milliamps at the gate-cathode terminals.
But SCR cannot be turned OFF via the gate terminal.
It will turn-off only after the anode current is negated
either naturally or using forced commutation techniques.
These methods of turn-off do not refer to those cases
where the anode current is gradually reduced below
Holding Current level manually or through a slow
process.
Once the SCR is turned ON, it remains ON even after
removal of the gate signal, as long as a minimum
current, the Holding Current (IH), is maintained in the
main or rectifier circuit.
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Thyristor Turn-off Mechanism

In all practical cases, a negative current flows through the device.
This current returns to zero only after the reverse recovery time
(trr) , when the SCR is said to have regained its reverse blocking
capability.
The device can block a forward voltage only after a further tfr, the
forward recovery time has elapsed.
Consequently, the SCR must continue to be reverse-biased for a
minimum of tfr + trr = tq, the rated turn-off time of the device.
The external circuit must therefore reverse bias the SCR for a time
toff > tq.
Subsequently, the reapplied forward biasing voltage must rise at a
dv/dt < dv/dt (reapplied) rated. This dv/dt is less than the static
counterpart.
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Thyristor Commutation
Classification
Commutation can be classified as

Natural commutation
Forced commutation
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88
MOS CONTROLLED
THYRISTOR (MCT)
IT IS BASICALLY A THYRISTOR WITH TWO
MOSFETS BUILT INTO THE GATE STRUCTURE
ONE MOSFET IS USED TO TURN ON THE MCT
AND THE OTHER FOR TURNING OFF OF MCT.
IT IS A HIGH FREQUENCY,HIGH POWER,LOW
CONDUCTION DROP SWITCHING DEVICE.
IN A MCT, THE ANODE IS THE REFERENCE
W.R.TO WHICH ALL THE GATE SIGNALS ARE
APPLIED. IN A SCR,CATHODE IS THE
REFERENCE SIGNAL TO THE GATE SIGNAL.
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89
BASIC STRUCTURE OF
MCT
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90
MCT
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91
MERITS OF MCT
LOW FORWARD CONDUCTION DROP

FAST TURN AND TURN OFF TIMES
LOW SWITCHING LOSSES
HIGH GATE INPUT IMPEDANCE
LOW REVERSE VOLTAGE BLOCKING

CAPABILITY IS THE MAIN
DISADVANTAGE OF MCT
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92
GATE TURN OFF

THYRISTORS (GTO)
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PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
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94
TRIAC
(TRIODE FOR ALTERNATING
CURRENT)
TRIAC is five layer device that is

able to pass current bidirectionally
and therefore behaves as an a.c.
power control device.
The main connections are simply
named main terminal 1 (MT1) and
main terminal 2 (MT2).
The gate designation still applies,
and is still used as it was with the
SCR.
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95
TRIAC (CONTD.)
it not only carries current in either direction, but the

gate trigger pulse can be either polarity regardless of
the polarity of the main applied voltage.
The gate can inject either free electrons or holes into
the body of the triac to trigger conduction either way.
So triac is referred to as a "four-quadrant" device.
Triac is used in an ac environment, so it will always turn
off when the applied voltage reaches zero at the end of
the current half-cycle.
If a turn-on pulse is applied at some controllable point
after the start of each half cycle, we can directly control
what percentage of that half-cycle gets applied to the
load, which is typically connected in series with MT2.
USED for light dimmer controls and motor speed
controls.
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96
TRIAC SYMBOL AND BASIC

STRUCTURE
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97
TRIAC OPERATION
TRIAC can be considered as two thyristors

connected in antiparallel .The single gate
terminal is common to both thyristors.
The main terminals MT1 and MT2 are
connected to both p and n regions of the
device and the current path through the layers
of the device depends upon the polarity of the
applied voltage between the main terminals.
Device polarity is usually described with
reference to MT1, where the term MT2+
denotes that terminal MT2 is positive with
respect to terminal MT1.
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100

Unit I Power Semiconductor Devices

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MH0405 POWER

brsr/A.Y 2015-16 odd/pe/power

Some Applications of Power

Space shuttle power supplies, Satellite Power

Power Electronic system

Types of Power Converters

Diode Rectifiers (AC to DC )

Advantages of Power Electronic

High efficiency due to less losses

Gate signal requirements

Voltage & Current capability

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V-I CHARACTERISTICS OF SIGNAL

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TYPES OF POWER DIODES

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General purpose diodes

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Fast Recovery diodes

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When input voltage VB is made +V2 at t1,

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VCE falls from VCC to 0.9 VCC and

VBE reaches VBES =0.7V

This delay time is required to charge the base

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The rise time depends upon transistor junction

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and f is the switching

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SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS CIRCUIT

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SAFE OPERATING AREA FOR

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SAFE OPERATING AREA FOR

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BASIC STRUCTURE OF nCHANNEL POWER MOSFET

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where tdn= turn on delay time(Internal capacitance

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COMPARISON OF BJT AND

LOW INPUT IMPEDANCE(KILO