Lecture One_2_power Semiconductor Devices

Addis Ababa Science and Technology University
Advanced Power Electronics and Applications: ECEg

6294
Lecture One
Section Two
Power Semiconductor Devices (Switches)
College of Engineering
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
ECEg 6294 Instructor - Dr. Milkias 1

Contents
• Introduction
• High-Power Switching Devices
– Diodes
– Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (SCR)
– Gate Turn-Off (GTO) Thyristor
– Gate-Commutated Thyristor (GCT)
– Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT)
– Other Switching Devices
• Operation of Series-Connected Devices
– Main Causes of Voltage Unbalance
– Voltage Equalization for GCTs
– Voltage Equalization for IGBTs
• Summary

1. Introduction
In this section:
– The characteristics of commonly used high-power
semiconductor devices are introduced
– The static and dynamic voltage equalization techniques for
series connected devices are discussed
• The performance of these devices is compared
• The effort
– Reduce device power losses
– Increase switching frequencies
– Simplify gate drive circuits
• High-power converter
– Higher power rating with improved reliability and reduced cost

Introduction…
Two major types of high-power switching devices for use
in various converters.
– The thyristor- based devices
• Silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR)
• Gate turn-off thyristor (GTO)
• Gate commutated thyristor (GCT)
– Transistor-based devices
• Insulated gate bipolar transistor(IGBT)
• Injection-enhanced gate transistor(IEGT)
– Other devices (have not gained significant importance in
high-power applications)
• Power MOSFET
• Emitter turn-off thyristor (ETO)
• MOS-controlled thyristor (MCT) Why?
• Static induction thyristor (SIT)

2. Semiconductor Devices (Switches)
• At present time, power handling (switching) capability

of power switches are increased and control methods
are advanced.
• According to controllability, power switches are
classified:
✓Diodes–on & off states controlled by power
circuits (Uncontrolled)
✓Thyristors–Latched on by control signal but
turned off by power circuit (Semi-controlled)
✓Controlled switches – turned on & off by control
signal (BJT, MOSFET, GTO, IGBTs…)
2.1. Diodes
• Power diodes – 2 layer devices in which on/off state is controlled
by power circuits.
 See fig.2.1, for its symbol and characteristics
 Diode conduct when Anode (A) (+ve) with respect to Cathode (K)
 Depending on the application, diode types can be:
- General purpose (Line frequency) – blocking voltage and
forward current of several kV and kA ( up to 5kV and 5kA)
- Fast recovery–use of applications, V & I rating up to 3kV & 1kA
- Schottky diodes- used for low forward V drop (0.3V) with V & I
rating up to 400 V & 300 A

2.1. Diodes…
(d) Pn layers
Diode Turn-Off
Fig.2.2 Diode Turn off
• Fast-recovery diodes have a small reverse-recovery time

Construction and Characteristics of Power Diodes
Anode
i
10
P+ 19 -3 microns
N = 10 cm
A
breakdown
v 14 -3 voltage
N- epi N = 10 cm
D dependent
19 -3
N+ substrate N = 10 cm 250
D
microns
Cathode
anode
i
i 1
R on
v BV BD
v
 1V v
cathode

Turn ON behavior of a power Diode
• The rate of rise of the forward current through the diode during Turn ON has
significant effect on the forward voltage drop characteristics.
• A typical turn on transient is shown in fig 2.1 below
It is observed that the forward diode voltage

during turn ON may transiently reach a
significantly higher value Vfr compared to the
steady state voltage drop at the steady current IF.
Vfr (called forward recovery voltage) is given as

a function of the forward di/dt in the
manufacturer’s data sheet.
Typical values lie within the range of 10-30V.
Forward recovery time (tfr) is typically within
10 us.
Fig.2.1: Forward current and voltage
waveforms of a power diode during
Turn On operation. 9
ECEg 6294 Instructor - Dr. Milkias
Turn OFF behavior of a Power Diode
• Figure 2.3 below shows a typical turn off behavior of a power diode
assuming controlled rate of decrease of the forward current.
Salient features of this characteristics are:
• The diode current does not stop at zero, instead it
grows in the negative direction to Irr called “peak
reverse recovery current” which can be comparable to
IF.
• In many power electronic circuits (e.g. choppers,
inverters) this reverse current flows through the main
power switch in addition to the load current. Therefore,
this reverse recovery current has to be accounted for
while selecting the main switch.
• Voltage drop across the diode does not change
appreciably from its steady state value till the diode
current reaches reverse recovery level.
• In power electric circuits (choppers, inverters) this may
create an effective short circuit across the supply,
current being limited only by the stray wiring
inductance.
Fig. 2.3: Reverse Recovery • Also in high frequency switching circuits (e.g, SMPS)
characteristics of a power diode if the time period t4 is comparable to switching cycle
qualitative modification to the circuit behavior is
ECEg 6294 Instructor - Dr. Milkias possible. 10
Cont…
• Towards the end of the reverse recovery period if the reverse current falls too
sharply, (low value of S), stray circuit inductance may cause dangerous over
voltage (Vrr) across the device. It may be required to protect the diode using an
RC snubber. Read on Snubber
• During the period t5 large current and voltage exist simultaneously in the
device. At high switching frequency, this may result in considerable increase
in the total power loss.
Important parameters defining the turn off characteristics are, peak reverse
recovery current (Irr), reverse recovery time (trr), reverse recovery charge
(Qrr) and the snappiness factor S.
• Of these parameters, the snappiness factor S depends mainly on the
construction of the diode (e.g. drift region width, doping level, carrier life time
etc.).
• Other parameters are interrelated and also depend on S.
• Manufacturers usually specify these parameters as functions of diF/dt for
different values of IF.
• Both Irr and Qrr increases with IF and diF/dt while trr increases with IF and
decreases with diF/dt.
11
Example
Solution : I rr
The manufacturer of a selected di
diode gives the rate of fall of the I rr = 2Q RR
dt
diode current di/dt 20 A/µs, and 1 di 2
a reverse recovery time of trr = 5 Q RR = t rr
2 dt
µs. What value of peak reverse 1 A
current do you expect? = * 20 * (5 * 10 − 6 ) 2
2 s
= 250C
Hence
A
I rr = 20 * 2 * 250C
s
= 100 A
Softness factor

Types Power Diodes
• General purpose rectifier Diodes
– For use in uncontrolled line-frequency rectifiers
• Fast Recovery Diodes
– For used in voltage source converters as a freewheeling
diode
• The device-heat sink assemblies
– Press-pack
• Double-sided cooling with low thermal stress
• For medium-voltage applications, leading to high power
density and low assembly costs
– Module
• Single-sided cooling
Cont…
Figure: 4.5-kV/0.8-kA press-pack and Figure : Device–heat sink assemblies for press-
1.7-kV/1.2-kA module diodes. pack and module diodes.

2.2 Thyristors
Thyristor Or Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR)
• A 3 terminal device with 4 p-n layers.
 SCR conducts when A is +ve w.r.t K & +ve gate (G) signal is
available.
 With out +ve G signal, it is in off state until forward break down
voltage (VFBO) reached.
 Once it is in on state, it is latched & G current can be removed &
can’t be turned off by G signal.
 It turns off, when A become –ve or below latching current.
 In on state, voltage drop on it is 1-3V & negligible small leakage
I flow in in reverse biased condition.
 V & I rating is up to 5-7kV and 4kA

Silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) Thyristor…
Thyristor-based device
• Three terminals
– Gate, Anode, and Cathode Once
the SCR is turned on, it is latched
on and gate current can be
removed
– Used in
• phase-controlled rectifiers
for PWM current source
inverter-fed drives
• Load-commutated inverters
for synchronous motor drives
• Forced commutated voltage
source inverters
– Normally press-pack design

Thyristor Conduction
• Thyristor cannot be turned off by
applying negative gate current.
• It can only be turned off if Ia goes
negative (reverse)
– This happens when negative portion
of the of sine-wave occurs (natural
commutation),
• Another method of turning off is
known as “forced commutation”
– The anode current is “diverted” to
another circuitry.

Basic Operating Principle of a Thyristor
• The underlying operating principle of a thyristor is best understood in terms
of the “two transistor analogy” as explained below.
Fig. : Two transistor analogy of a thyristor construction.

(a) Schematic Construction,
(b) Schematic division in component transistor
(c) Equivalent circuit in terms of two transistors.

Basic Operating Principle of a Thyristor…
• Let us consider the behavior of this p n p n device with forward voltage applied, i.e. anode
positive with respect to the cathode and the gate terminal open. With this voltage polarity J1
& J3 are forward biased while J2 reverse biased.
• Then we obtain for the collector current IC1 of the pnp-partial transistor
IC1 = α1 · IE1 + ICBO1 = α1 · IA + ICB01
where ICBO1 is the diffusion leakage current from the middle weakly doped n−-layer.
• In the same way we obtain for the npn-partial transistor
IC2 = α2 · IE2 + ICBO2 = α2 · IK + ICBO2
where ICBO2 is the diffusion leakage current in the p-base.
• The anode current IA is the sum of both partial currents IC1 and IC2:
IA = IC1 + IC2 = α1 · IA + α2 · IK + ICBO1 + ICBO2
• From the balance of currents flowing into the device and out of the device it holds
additionally that IK = IA + IG
• If this Equation inserted into above equation for IA leads to
IA = α1 · IA + α2 · IA + α2 · IG + ICBO1 + IICBO2
Then solving for IA results in an expression for the anode current
IA =  2 IG + ICBO1 + ICBO 2
1 − ( 1 +  2)
SCR Switching Characteristics
SCR switching characteristics
✓ Ig: gate current
✓ It: anode current
✓ Vt: anode-cathode voltage
✓ Td: delay time
✓ Tr: rise time
✓ Tgt: turn-on time
✓ T1: applying a negative current to
the switch time instant
✓ Trr: reverse recovery time
✓ Irr: peak reverse recovery current
✓ Qrr: reverse recovery charge
Turn on
✓ Tq: turn-off time
-By applying a positive gate current ig to the
SCR gate
Turn off
-Applying a negative anode current produced
21
by its power circuit ECEg 6294 Instructor - Dr. Milkias
Thyristor Specification
Main specifications
VDRM: maximum repetitive peak off-state voltage
VRRM: maximum repetitive peak reverse voltage
ITAVM: maximum average on-state current
ITRMS: maximum rms on-state current
22
Types of thyristors
• Phase controlled
– rectifying line frequency voltage and current for ac
and dc motor drives
– large voltage (up to 7kV) and current (up to 4kA)
capability
– low on-state voltage drop (1.5 to 3V)
• Inverter grade
– used in inverter and chopper
– Quite fast.
- Can be turned-off using “force commutation” method.
• Light activated
– Similar to phase controlled, but triggered by pulse of
light.
– Normally very high power ratings
• TRIAC
– Dual polarity thyristors
– “Back to back” SCR
– Bidirectional current flow, bidirectional voltage
blocking
23
2.2 Thyristors…
 Others Thyristor types are available like light activated thyristor (LASCR)
c)
b)
• Semi-controlled device
• Latches ON by a gate-current pulse if forward biased
• Turns-off if current tries to reverse
Thyristor in a Simple Circuit
• For successful turn-off, reverse voltage required for an

interval greater than the turn-off interval
Generic Switch Symbol
• Idealized switch symbol

• When on, current can flow only in the direction of the arrow
• Instantaneous switching from one state to the other
• Zero voltage drop in on-state
• Infinite voltage and current handling capabilities

Switching Characteristics (linearized)
Switching Power Loss is

proportional to:
• switching frequency
• turn-on and turn-off times

Gate Turn off Thyristor (GTO)
• Gate Turn off thyristor (GTO)–GTO can be turned on (+ve) & off (-ve) by G
signal.
• See fig.2.3, for symbol & characteristics
 Conduction process is similar to SCR, on state voltage drop is about 2–3V.
 GTO can handle large V & I (up to 5kV, 5kA and 10kHz switching
frequency)
• Slow switching
speeds
• Used at very
high power
levels
• Require
Fig.2.3: elaborate gate
control circuitry
28
GTO Turn-Off
• Need a turn-off snubber

Gate Turn-Off (GTO) Thyristor
• A self-extinguishable device that can be turned off by a
negative gate current
– Normally press-pack design
– Turn on by a pulse of positive gate current of a few
hundred milliamps
Fabrication
– Symmetrical structure
• Suitable for current source converters
• Vdrm is approximately equal to its Vrrm
– Asymmetrical structure
• Generally used in voltage source converters where the reverse
voltage-blocking capability is not required
• The value of Vrrm is typically around 20 V

The switching characteristics of the GTO
GTO switching
characteristics
– It: anode current
– Vt: anode-cathode
voltage
– Td: delay time
– Tf: fall time
– Ttail: tail time
– Tgt: turn-on time
– Tgq: turn-off time
– Ts: storage time

Main Specification of GTO
• Table shown above gives the main specifications of a 4500-V/4000-A asymmetrical

• GTO device, where VDRM, VRRM, ITAVM, and ITRMS have the same definitions as those for
the SCR device.
• It is worth noting that the current rating of a 4000-A GTO is defined by ITGQM, which is
the maximum repetitive controllable on-state current, not by the average current ITAVM.
• The turn-on delay time td and rise time tr are 2.5 µs and 5.0 µs while the storage time ts
and fall time tf at turn-off are 25µs and 3µs,

GTO Turn-off
• Turn off GTO by pulling one or both of the BJTs out of saturation
and into active region.
Ic1= β1.IB1 & Ic2=β2.IB2
Ic1=1.IE1 & Ic2= 2.IE2
• For initiating the turn-off process in GTO, a negative gate
current Ig’ isw applied
• Now KCL at anode ‘M’
IE I Ic1- Ig’- IB2=0, IB2= Ic1- Ig’, IB2= Ic1= 1IA- Ig’ as IE1= IA and from the
1 A
fig IA= Ic1+ Ic2, Ic2= IA- Ic1= IA-1IA=(1-1)IA
Q • When saturation in Q2 has occurred, IB2=IC2/ β2, for turn off
1 processes, Q2 must be out of saturation. That is accomplished by
Ic2 Ib1 I' putting IB2<IC2/ β2
Q Ic1 G IC2
2 Ib2 • therefore turning off GTO, IB2 < substituting the value of
2 ,
M IB2 and IC2 from the above equation
• IB2 = 1 IA - I'g ; IC2 = (1 - 1 ) IA
IE (1 - 1) IA (1 - 1) (1 - 2) IA

2 1 IA - I’g < = as β2=2/(1-2)
2 2
Then solving for - I’g and defining the turn-off gain as the ratio of
anode current IA to gate current I’g needed to turn off GTO
IA 2
 off = =
I 'g 1 +  2 − 1
33
GTO-Drawback
• Drawbacks
– Bulky and expensive turn-off snubber circuits due to low dVT/dt
– High switching and snubber losses
– Complex gate driver
– Need a turn-on snubber to limit dit/dt
• To ensure a reliable turn-off, dIG2/dt must meet with the
specification set
– To have a short storage time and a short anode current fall time
– To reduce the gate power dissipation
– However, too large a value of negative dIG2/dt will result in the
anode tail current to be described shortly.

Gate-Commutated Thyristor (GCT)
• Also known as integrated gate-commutated thyristor (IGCT)
– Developed from the GTO structure
– Use for medium voltage applications
– Snubber less operation
– Low switching loss
• The key GCT technologies
– Silicon wafer
• Reduction in on-state power loss
• Extremely low gate inductance (typically < 5nH) -> snubber less
• diG2/dt is normally greater than 3000 A/us (GTO is around 40 A/us)
– Gate driver
• Only needs dc power supply for gate driver, connect the driver to
the system controller through two fiber-optic cables and device
fault diagnostics
– Provide an extremely low gate inductance
GCT…
• Classification
– Asymmetrical type
• Where the reverse voltage-blocking capability is not required
– Reverse-conducting type
• Integrates the freewheeling diode into one package, resulting in a reduced
assembly cost
– Symmetrical type
• Use in current source converters

Switching Characteristics of GCT
• GCT switching
characteristics
– It: anode current
– Vt: anode-cathode
voltage
– Td: delay time
– Tf: fall time
– Ttail: tail time
– Tgt: turn-on time
– Tgq: turn-off time
– Ts: storage time

Main Characteristics of GCT

Snubber Circuit for GCT
▪ Turn-on di/dt snubber for GCTs
– Voltage Source Inverter
• The snubber inductor Ls limits the rate of anode current rise at the moment
when one of the six GCTs is gated on
• Rs dissipate the energy
– Current Source Inverter
– Where a di/dt limiting inductor of a few uH is required in each of the converter legs
– No other passive components are needed
39
2.3 Transistors and Other Devices
2.3.1. Power Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)
✓ 3 terminal device (emitter (E), base (B) &
collector (C) • Used commonly in the
• BJT is npn & pnp type past
• npn type most popular in PE switching. • Now used in specific
• See fig.2.4, for symbol & v-i characterizes applications
• Replaced by MOSFETs
• BJT is I controlled device & B current must be
supplied continuously. and IGBTs
• Has 1-2V on state voltage.
• To increase I, gain Darlington pair my be used
(Fig.2.5)

BJT…
Fig.2.4
Fig.2.5:
41
2.3.2. Power Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field
Effect Transistor (MOSFETs)
•MOSFETs–it has 3 terminal (drain (D), gate (G) & source (S).
• Fig.2.6, shows v-i characteristics & symbol
• It is on when D is +ve w.r.t S & +ve G-S voltage.
• It can be off by making G-S V→0.
• MOSFET –V controlled device & require continuous G-S V.
• It is fast switching device & use in low power and high
frequency applications with V/I rating up to about 1000V
/100A

MOSFET…
Fig.2.6:
• Easy to control by the gate

• Optimal for low-voltage operation at high switching frequencies
• On-state resistance is a concern at higher voltage ratings

MCT

2.3.3. Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT)
• IGBT combines the advantage of both BJT & MOSFET.
• It has high V/I rating up to 3-5kV/2kA.
• See fig.2.7 for symbol & characteristics.
• Power switch comparison is given in fig.2.8
Fig.2.7: IGBT
45
2.3.3. IGBT…
Fig. 2.8: Power switch comparison

46
2.3.3. IGBT…
▪ Voltage-controlled device
▪ Switched on with a +15 V gate voltage and turned off when the
gate voltage is zero
– Not require any gate current when it is fully turned on or off.
However, it does need a peak gate current of a few amperes
during switching transients due to the gate-emitter
capacitance
– A negative gate voltage of a few volts is applied during the
device off period to increase its noise immunity

2.3.3. IGBT…
▪ The device-heat sink assemblies
– Press-pack
▪ For assembly cost reduction and efficient cooling
▪ Selection of such devices is limited
▪ Techniques developed for press-pack thyristors can be utilized
– Module
▪ The majority of high-power IGBTs are of modular design
48
V-I characteristics of IGBT

IGBT Switching Characteristics.
▪ IGBT switching characteristics

– Tdon: turn-on delay time
– Tr: rise time
– Tdoff: turn-off delay time
– Tf: fall time
– Vg: waveforms for gate driver
output voltage
– Vge: gate-emitter voltage
– Ic: collector current
▪ Rg
– to adjust the device switching
– To limit the transient gate
current

Main Specification of IGBT
▪ Main specification
• Vce: rated collector-emitter voltage
• Ic: rated dc collector current
• Icm: maximum repetitive peak collector current
▪ Superior switching characteristics
• It can be turned on within 1 us and turned off within 2 us

Cont…
▪ Device features
– Simple gate driver
– Snubber less operation
– High switching speed
– Modular design with insulated base plate
– Can operate in the active region
– Collector current can be controlled by the gate voltage, providing an
effective means for reliable short-circuit protection and active control
of dv/dt and overvoltage at turn-off
▪ Series connected IGBT modules
– Efficient cooling arrangements
– Optimal dc bus-bar design
– Stray capacitance of base plates to ground
▪ Series connected press-pack IGBT
– Allow direct series connection, where the mounting and cooling
techniques developed for press-pack thyristors can be utilized
52
Comparison of Controllable Switches
ECEg 6294 Instructor - Dr. 53

Milkias
Reading Assignment
Other Switching Devices
▪ Other semiconductor devices

– Power MOSFET
– Emitter turn-off thyristor (ETO)
– MOS-controlled thyristor (MCT)
– Static induction thyristor (SIT)
– Injection enhanced gate transistor (IEGT)

2.4 Firing, Commutating and Protection of
Power Switches
Firing and commutating
•All controlled & semi-controlled power switches requires control
circuit.
 Process from OFF →ON – called firing or triggering
 Process from ON →OFF – called commutation
There are various base/gate drive circuits.
•We will see for example SCR turn on methods:
-High V turn on (not used in practice)
-High tem. turn on (not used in practice)
-Light turn on
-Rapid dv/dt turn on (not used in practice)
-Gate turn on (the most commonly used)- G current is from few A
- 0.2A
Firing and Commutating….
 3 ways to triggering the thyristor:
- By DC signal (not used)
- By AC signal (not used)
- By pulse signal (most used)
Commutating Thyristor:
• Line or natural commutation (used in AC→DC)
-Forced commutation - used in Chopper and Inverter
-Gate turn off – used in GTO

Protection of Semi-conductor Devices
• Power switches should be protected from:
- Over voltage
- Over current
- High temperature
- High dv/dt, di/dt, and supply/load side transient
Over voltage protection

• Semi-conductor device is very sensitive to over voltage.
• To protect from over voltage, shunt connected non-linear
resistance like metal oxide varisters (MOV) and to protect
from high dv/dt (di/dt) so called snubber circuit is used
(Fig.2.9).

Protection of Semi-conductor Devices…
Fuse Load
Power switch
AC ~ MOV
a)
C A
L L
B C C
T
BJT
R R
c)
b)
E K
Fig. 2.9 device over voltage and snubber circuit
58
Over Current (OC) Protection
• OC may damage device due to junction temperature exceeding
rated value.
• Fuses are used to protect diodes & thyristors.
• For transistor protection so called craw bar circuit is used
(Fig.2.10). Like power switches base/gate drive circuit need
protection.
L
F T
BJT
T
Fig.2.10: Craw bar circuit

Over Temperature Protection

• the on state current, off state leakage current and switching
losses generate heat in semi-conductor which must be
removed.
• For this purpose the heat sink and different cooling methods
are used in PE.
• Varieties of heat sinks are commercial available and in very
high power application the devices are cooled either by oil or
water

Operation of Series-connected Devices
In medium & high voltage applications
– Switching devices are normally connected in series
– Not necessary to parallel the devices
• Current capacity of a single device is usually sufficient
• Issues with series connection of devices
– May not have exactly the same static and dynamic
characteristics
– May not equally share the total voltage in the blocking
mode or during switching transients
– The Main task is to ensure equal voltage-sharing under
both static and dynamic conditions

Main Causes of Voltage Unbalance
• The static voltage unbalance is mainly caused by the
difference in the off-state leakage current Ilk of series-
connected switches.
• Furthermore, the leakage current is a function of device
junction temperature and operating voltage.
• The causes of the dynamic voltage unbalance can be
divided into two groups:
(a) unbalance due to the difference in device switching
behavior and
(b) (b) unbalance caused by the difference in gate signal
delays between the system controller and the switches.
Summary of the cause given next.

Cont…

Voltage Equalization for GCTs
Static voltage equalization

- ΔVT: desired maximum voltage discrepancy
between the series switches
- ΔIlk: allowable tolerance for the off-state
leakage current
- Valid for both asymmetrical and symmetrical
- Rp is normally 20 kΩ ~ 100 kΩ

Cont…
Dynamic Voltage equalization consideration for GCT
– Turn-on transient
– Turn-off transient by gate commutation
– Turn-off transient by natural commutation (for symmetrical GCTs in current
source converters only)
• Techniques
– Use devices of one production lot to minimize tdon, ts and Qrr.
– Match the device switching characteristics to minimize tdon, ts and Qrr.
– Make the device cooling condition identical to minimize Tj.
– Design symmetrical gate drivers to minimize tGDon and tGDoff.
– Place the gate drivers symmetrically to minimize Lwire.

Cont…
• The implementation of the above-mentioned
techniques can help to reduce the device
voltage unbalance during switching transients,
but does not guarantee a satisfactory result.
• The series connected switches are often
protected by RC snubber circuits shown in Fig.
2.3-1b.
• The value of Cs can be found from an
empirical equation
and
GCT in CSC
where tdelay - the total turn-off delay time
IT max is the maximum anode current
VT max is the maximum allowed voltage deviation
between the series switches 66
Cont…
• The value of Cs is normally in the range of 0.1 to 1
µF for the GCT devices, much lower than that for the
GTOs.
• The snubber resistance Rs should
– be sized such that it should be small enough to allow fast
charging and discharging of the snubber capacitor to
accommodate the short pulse widths of the PWM
operation and
– be large enough to limit the discharging current that flows
through the GCT at turn-on. A good compromise should
be made.

Voltage Equalization for IGBTs
• The static and dynamic voltage
equalization techniques for the
GCT devices can be equally
applied to the IGBTs.
• In addition, an active
overvoltage clamping scheme
can be implemented to limit the
collector–emitter voltage during
switching transients.
• This scheme is invalid for the
GCTs due to the latching ▪ Vce of each IGBT is detected
mechanism of the thyristor ▪ Compared with a reference voltage V*max
structure ▪ ΔV is sent to a comparator
- Vce is lower than V*max at turn off -> the
output of the comparator is zero
Note: V*max: maximum allowed voltage for -Vce is higher than V*max at the moment ->
the device |v| is added to the gate signal Vg, forcing Vce
to decrease
SUMMARY
• The chapter focuses on commonly used high-power
semiconductor devices including SCRs, GTOs, GCTs, and
IGBTs.
• Their switching characteristics are introduced and main
specifications are discussed.
• Since these devices are often connected in series for high-power
medium-voltage applications, the static and dynamic voltage
equalization techniques are elaborated.
• To summarize, a qualitative comparison for the GTO, GCT, and
IGBT devices is given as follows.

Summary of Device Capabilities
70
Cont…
71
Cont..
72
Thank you!!

Chapter Three:
Resonant Converters

Lecture One_2_power Semiconductor Devices

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Addis Ababa Science and Technology University

Advanced Power Electronics and Applications: ECEg

ECEg 6294 Instructor - Dr. Milkias 1

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• At present time, power handling (switching) capability

ECEg 6294 Instructor - Dr. Milkias 6

Fig.2.2 Diode Turn off

• Fast-recovery diodes have a small reverse-recovery time

ECEg 6294 Instructor - Dr. Milkias 7

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It is observed that the forward diode voltage

Vfr (called forward recovery voltage) is given as

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Fig. : Two transistor analogy of a thyristor construction.

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• For successful turn-off, reverse voltage required for an

• Idealized switch symbol

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Switching Power Loss is

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• Need a turn-off snubber

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• Table shown above gives the main specifications of a 4500-V/4000-A asymmetrical

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IE (1 - 1) IA (1 - 1) (1 - 2) IA

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• Easy to control by the gate

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Fig. 2.8: Power switch comparison

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▪ IGBT switching characteristics

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Other Switching Devices

▪ Other semiconductor devices

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Over voltage protection

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Fig.2.10: Craw bar circuit

Over Temperature Protection

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