EEE 6105

Power Electronics Devices and DC converters

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Quamruzzaman

Dept. of EEE, CUET

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 What Is Power Electronics?
 May be defined as the applications of solid-state electronics for the
conversion and control of electric power
 The raw input power is processed as specified by the control input yielding
the conditioned output power
Power Power - power input is usually from the
input Power output
Load electric utility at 50 Hz
vi processor io
vo - Phase angle between input voltage
ii
and current depends on topology and
Control
signals control of the power processor.
Feedforward Feedback
- The processed output (voltage,
Controller
current, frequency, phase angle)
depends on the load characteristic.
Reference - Feedback or feedforward controller
Fig. Block diagram of a power electronic system may be used.
- Advances in semiconductor fabrication - The controller in the block diagram
technology have made it possible to consists of linear ICs and/or DSPs.
significantly improve the voltage- and Revolutionary advances in
current-handling capabilities and the microelectronics have led to the
switching speeds of power semiconductor development of such controllers.
devices, which make up the power 2
processor unit.
 What Is Power Electronics?

• Control: Deals with steady state and dynamic characteristics

of closed-loop system

• Power: Deals with the static and rotating power equipment

for the generation, transmission and distribution of electric
power

• Electronics: Deals with the solid-state devices and circuits for

signal processing to meet the desired control objectives.

3
 Muscle and Brain
With the development of power semiconductor technology,
the voltage and current handling capabilities and the
switching speed of the power semiconductor devices have
improved tremendously. The development of
microprocessors and microcomputer technology has a great
impact on the control and synthesizing the control strategy
for the power semiconductor devices.

Modern power electronics equipment uses -

 Power semiconductor devices that can be regarded as the

muscle, and

 Microelectronics that have the power and intelligence of a

brain. 4
 Why Power Electronics needed?

Because of consumer requirements –

AC/DC, Fixed /Adjustable frequency
Low/High frequency, Low/High Voltage
Fixed/Variable Voltage

We need a power electronics system

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 POWER ELECTRONICS CONCEPTS

Purpose: to supply 3V to a load resistance from a 9V source.

Problems of this voltage divider circuit are:

- power absorbed by the 2RL resistor is twice as much as delivered to the

load and is lost as heat, making the circuit only 33.3 percent efficient.

- if the value of the load resistance changes, the output voltage will
change unless the 2RL resistance changes proportionally

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 POWER ELECTRONICS CONCEPTS

Purpose: to supply 3V to a load resistance from a 9V source.

Probable solution of the problem:

To use a transistor in place of the 2RL resistance.

The transistor would be controlled such that the voltage across it is

maintained at 6V, thus regulating the output at 3V.

Limitation: the same low-efficiency problem is encountered.

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 POWER ELECTRONICS CONCEPTS
Purpose: to supply 3V to a load resistance from a 9V source.

A more desirable design solution

The switch is a short circuit when it is closed and

an open circuit when it is open, making the
voltage across RL equal to 9 V when the switch is
closed and 0 V when the switch is open. The
resulting voltage across RL will be like that of Fig.
b. This voltage is obviously not a constant dc
voltage, but if the switch is closed for one-third
of the period, the average value of vx (denoted
as Vx) is one-third of the source voltage.

Average value is computed from the equation

T T /3 T
1 1 1
avg (v x )  Vx   v x (t ) dt   9 dt   0 dt  3V
T 0 T 0
T T /3

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 POWER ELECTRONICS CONCEPTS
Purpose: to supply 3V to a load resistance from a 9V source.

A more desirable design solution

Efficiency:

Instantaneous power absorbed by the switch is

the product of voltage and current. When the
switch is open, power absorbed by it is zero
because the current in it is zero. When the
switch is closed, power absorbed by it is zero
because the voltage across it is zero. Since
power absorbed by the switch is zero for both
open and closed conditions, all power supplied
by the 9-V source is delivered to RL, making the
circuit 100 percent efficient.

9
 POWER ELECTRONICS CONCEPTS
Purpose: to supply 3V to a load resistance from a 9V source.

A more desirable design solution

The circuit so far does not accomplish the
design object of creating a dc voltage of 3
V. However, the voltage waveform vx can
be expressed as a Fourier series
containing a dc term (the average value) Fig. A low-pass filter allows just the
plus sinusoidal terms at frequencies that average value of vx to pass through to the
are multiples of the pulse frequency. To load.
create a 3-V dc voltage, vx is applied to a
low-pass filter. An ideal low-pass filter In practice, the filter will have some losses
allows the dc component of voltage to and will absorb some power. Additionally,
pass through to the output while the electronic device used for the switch
removing the ac terms, thus creating the will not be perfect and will have losses.
desired dc output. If the filter is lossless, However, the efficiency of the converter
the converter will be 100 percent efficient. can still be quite high (more than 90
percent). The required values of the filter
components can be made smaller with
higher switching frequencies, making large
switching frequencies desirable.
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 POWER ELECTRONICS CONCEPTS
Purpose: to supply 3V to a load resistance from a 9V source.

A more desirable design solution

The power conversion process usually

involves system control. Converter output
quantities such as voltage and current are
measured, and operating parameters are
adjusted to maintain the desired output.
For example, if the 9-V battery in the
example in previous slide decreased to 6V,
the switch would have to be closed 50 Fig. Feedback is used to control the
percent of the time to maintain an switch and maintain the desired
average value of 3V for vx. A feedback output voltage.
control system would detect if the output
voltage were not 3V and adjust the
closing and opening of the switch
accordingly, as illustrated in this Fig.

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 Scope and Applications of Power Electronics
Switch-mode (dc) power supplies and uninterruptible power supplies :

Energy Conservation : - Fluorescent – regular and

Compact (CFL)
- LED (the most energy efficient)
- Arc lamp

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 Scope and Applications of Power Electronics

Process control and factory automation :

Transportation :

Electro-technical applications :

Utility-related applications :

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Switches are categorized into Three Types according to their
degree of controllability -

Uncontrolled: Switch ON or OFF depends on the circuit operating

conditions. Ex. Diode.

Semi-controlled: This type of switches can be turned on by

supplying some current to the gate or to the control terminal. But
their turn OFF depends upon the circuit condition. Ex. SCR

of switches can be turned ON or OFF

using the control terminal. Say BJT, MOSFET, IGBT, GTO, MCT.

14
Power diodes have larger power-, voltage- and current-handling capabilities than that
of ordinary signal diodes
Power Diode Signal Diode
Constructed with drift layer (n- layer) Drift layer is not present

The voltage, current and power ratings Lower ratings

are higher
Current: a few amperes to several hundred
amperes
Voltage: tens of volts to several thousand
volts
Power diode operates at high speeds Signal diode operates at higher switching
speeds
Heat sink requirement No heat sink requirement
Switching losses are more Reduced switching losses 15
 Depending on reverse recovery characteristics and manufacturing techniques the
power diodes can be classified into the following three categories:

i) Converter (or) power frequency diode (General purpose diode)

ii) Fast Recovery diode
iii) Schottky diode

Converter or power frequency diode:

 High power rating, low cost, Robust

 Voltage rating: 50V – 5 kV

 High reverse recovery time (25 s), suitable for low frequency applications (e.g.
diode rectifiers and converters for a low- frequency up to 1-kHz applications and
line-commutated converters)

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Fast Recovery diode:

 Reverse recovery time  5s. Recovery time is controlled by platinum or gold

diffusion. Cost .

 Forward voltage drop increases.

 Voltage rating: 50V – 3 kV

 Used in choppers, inverters, commutation circuits, SMPS etc.

 Used as freewheeling and feedback diodes.

i  0 (switch ON)
+
When suddenly switch opened, i = 0 and Ldi/dt very
DFW
large
- Equipment and switch may be damaged due to V .

Solution is connecting free-wheeling diode. For free-

wheeling purpose, here fast acting diode is needed. 17
Fast Recovery diode:

 Reverse recovery time  5s. Recovery time is controlled by platinum or gold

diffusion. Cost .

 Forward voltage drop increases. (0.8 – 1.1V)

 Voltage rating: 50V – 3 kV

 Used in choppers, inverters, commutation circuits, SMPS etc.

 Used as freewheeling and feedback diodes.

For inductive load, the diodes will

+ feed back power to the input. Here
1 11’ 2’ also fast acting diodes are needed.

Load
2 1’
-
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 Generalized Construction
Power diode has three layers:

Heavily doped p+ layer (terminal layer)

Lightly doped n– layer (drift layer)
Heavily doped n+ layer (terminal layer)

Terminal layer is always heavily doped

to increase the conductivity of the
device.

 n- layer is epitaxially grown on top of heavily doped n+ substrate. Heavily doped p+

layer is diffused on n- layer to form anode of power diode.

 Thickness of the depletion region increases with a decrease in doping concentration

of drift layer. This increased thickness of the depletion region helps the diode to
block larger reverse-biased voltage and hence have a greater breakdown voltage.
Thus, thickness of drift layer mainly depends upon the breakdown voltage.
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Generalized Construction

Vertical structure  Surface area 


Heat dissipation 

Can handle more power

Fig. Cross-sectional view of a pn-junction diode intended for

power applications.

Breakdown voltage of diode with lightly doped drift region is given by

E BD
2
VBD  where, EBD = electric field at the junction
2qN d
=2  10-5 V/cm
 = dielectric constant (1.05  10-12 F/cm for Si)
Nd = doping density

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 ID
1
 
For a given value of , EBD and q R

1 1V VD
VBD 
Nd
Depletion width of junction (in cm) is
2V In normal diode, current rises
w(for VBD )  BD  110 5VBD exponentially after cut-in voltage. But
E BD in power diode, it increases linearly and
wd  w slope is 1/R, where R is resistance of n-
layer.
Cross section   Current carrying capacity 
With the increase of n- layer
w   Voltage capacity 
- reverse breakdown voltage is
Since carrier concentration is less in n- layer, increased.
resistance is more and hence voltage drop is - Since resistance increases, forward
more. Here, forward voltage drop is about voltage drop and power loss
1V. increases in forward bias condition.

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Why n+ layer is used?
J1

A K
p+ n- n+

+ -

When forward biased, holes from p+ layer will jump to n- layer. But in n- layer,
number of carriers are less and recombination of all holes will not take place. The
holes will attract electrons of n+ layer, thus carriers increase in n- layer and
resistance decreases.

There is no contribution of n+ layer at the start of switching since junction is

between p+n- layer. Once conduction starts, n+ layer will help to decrease forward
resistance.

22
 VTD
VTD=0.3V Germanium
0.7V Silicon

23
Turn ON
 Power diode needs a finite time to switch on to remove the space charge
stored in the depletion region by large reverse biased voltage during turn off.
The depletion region is mostly in drift region or n- region.

if(t) tf  forward recovery time

 It takes some time to remove the depletion
region which occupies more area in power di f
diode. That’s why, dif/dt will be more in dt
0 t
power diode compared to normal diode.
(e.g. opening gate valve in a water pipe.)

 The time taken for the diode to reach its full current rating is called as
forward recovery time (tf). tf depends on the intrinsic characteristics of
diode and width of depletion region before switching off.

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Turn OFF
 During turn off, the excess carriers in the drift region has to be removed first
before the junction gets reverse biased. (Charge carriers were injected into
drift region from both the sides i.e. p+ and n+ layers).

 The current in a forward-biased junction diode is due to the net effect of

majority and minority carriers. The relative proportions of the electron and
hole currents will be decided by the relative concentrations of electrons on the
n side and holes on the p side. If p side has larger density of holes in
comparison to density of electrons on the n side, a large part of diode current
will be due to holes. An excess concentration of injected holes will be remain
on n side which are minority carriers.

 Once a diode is in a forward conduction mode and then its forward current is
reduced to zero (due to the natural behaviour of diode circuit or by applying a
reverse voltage), the diode continues to conduct due to excess minority
carriers stored in pn junction and bulk semiconductor material.

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Turn OFF
 The excess holes, which are minority carriers on the n side, need a finite time
to disappear before the diode is able to block reverse current flow. If the diode
is subjected to reverse voltage before this, a reverse current will flow through
it. During this reverse current flow, some holes will be pushed back to p side
and the rest will recombine with electrons. The reverse current will last until
the excess hole concentration has disappeared.

 The minority carriers require a certain time to recombine with opposite

charges and to be neutralized. This time is called ‘Reverse Recovery Time’ of
the diode.

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Reverse Recovery Time:

It is an important parameter that determines the selection of power diode. A diode

that has been in the conducting state needs a short, but finite time after the forward
conduction has stopped before it is able to recover its ability to block the reverse
voltages. This time is known as ‘Reverse Recovery Time’.

Types: (a) Fast recovery

(b) Slow recovery

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 Diode current
IF id

is S L ta tb
+ 0
- - t0 t1 t2 t3 t
IF R 0.25IRR
vd id
+ Diode voltage
IRR vd

Fig. Power diode voltage and current waveform during a turn OFF
switching transition

• Initially S is ON, IF is flowing. S is made OFF. When current in L tends to fall, the
induced e.m.f in L will forward bias the diode and id = IF starts flowing through
diode. IF is assumed constant due to large L.

Again S is turned ON at t = t0. is starts increasing and dis/dt is assumed constant.

Since IF is constant, id starts decreasing.
is  id  I F
did di
  s 28
dt dt
 Diode current
IF id

is S L ta tb
+ 0
- - t0 t1 t2 t3 t
IF R 0.25IRR
vd id
+ Diode voltage
IRR vd

Fig. Power diode voltage and current waveform during a turn OFF
switching transition

• At t = t1 , diode forward current is zero, but it continues to conduct in reverse

direction because of the excess minority carriers in depletion region and also in
bulk semiconductor material.

• From t1 to t2, current flows in the reverse direction and t2 – t1 = ta is the time
required to remove minority carrier in the depletion region.

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 Diode current
IF id

is S L ta tb
+ 0
- - t0 t1 t2 t3 t
IF R 0.25IRR
vd id
+ Diode voltage
IRR vd

Fig. Power diode voltage and current waveform during a turn OFF
switching transition

• After t = t2 , the reverse current falls toward zero and diode recovers its reverse
voltage blocking capability. The diode junction is like a charged capacitor
(charged to reverse voltage). The current flowing from t2 to t3 is like charging
current of this capacitor. tb = t3 – t2 is the time for charging the diode.
• Total recovery time, t rr  t a  tb di I RR
ta slope, 
di dt ta
Peak reverse current, I RR  t a IRR
dt di
I RR  t a
tb dt
Softness factor, S F  30
ta
 Diode current
IF id

is S L ta tb
+ 0
- - t0 t1 t2 t3 t
IF R 0.25IRR
vd id
+ Diode voltage
IRR vd

Fig. Power diode voltage and current waveform during a turn OFF
switching transition

• At t = t3 , id = 0; the diode is in full reverse voltage blocking state. The turn OFF
switching is complete.

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 Diode current Diode current
IF id IF id
trr trr
ta tb ta tb
0 t0 t1 t2 t 0 t
0.25IRR t3 t0 t1 t2 t3
0.25IRR

IRR IRR

(a) Soft recovery (b) Abrupt or hard recovery

tb
Softness factor, SF 
ta
 If decay period of reverse current is relatively long (SF = 1), the diode
belongs to soft recovery category and has lower di/dt during reverse
recovery, preferred in static power converters.

 If decay period of reverse current (t2 to t3 i.e. tb) is very short (SF < 1),
the diode belongs to hard recovery category.
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 Diode current Diode current
IF id IF id
trr trr
ta tb ta tb

0 t0 t1 t2 t3 t 0 t
0.25IRR t0 t1 t2 t3
0.25IRR

IRR IRR

(a) Soft recovery (b) Abrupt or hard recovery

Reverse Recovery Time, trr : may also be defined as the time interval between
the instant the current passes through zero during the changeover from forward
conduction to reverse blocking condition and the moment the reverse current
has decayed to 25% of its peak reverse value, IRR.

trr ta + tb
trr 25 s for slow recovery diode
trr < 5 s for fast recovery diode

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 Diode current Diode current
IF id IF id
trr trr
ta tb ta tb

0 t0 t1 t2 t3 t 0 t
0.25IRR t0 t1 t2 t3
0.25IRR

IRR IRR

(a) Soft recovery (b) Abrupt or hard recovery

Reverse Recovery Charge, QRR : is the amount of charge carriers that flow
across the diode in the reverse direction due to changeover from forward
conduction to reverse blocking condition. The storage charge is the area
enclosed by the path of recovery current approximately.
1 1 1 2QRR (if tb is negligible as
QRR  I RR t a  I RR tb  I RR t rr or, t 2
rr compared to ta in case of
2 2 2 di
dt abrupt recovery, trr  ta)
2QRR di
or, I RR   ta 2QRR
t rr dt or, t rr 
di
2QRR dt
or, t rr .t a  34
di So, trr, IRR, QRR, SF all are the specification for diode.
dt
1. Freewheeling in switch regulators

2. Charge reversal of capacitor

3. Energy transfer between components in thyristor commutation circuits

4. Isolation in boost regulators

5. Energy feedback from load to the power source

6. Trapped energy recovery

7. In rectifiers

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