ELT 39 – ELECTIVE (Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics) 2nd Semester

Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics S.Y. 2020-21

Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics

Specific Objectives:

1. Describe what is power electronics

2. List the application of power electronics
3. List the major types of power converters
4. List the major parts of power electronic equipment
5. List the types of power semiconductor devices

Definition of Terms:

Power Electronics - involves the study of electronic circuits intended to control the flow of electrical
energy. These circuits handle power flow at levels much higher than the individual device ratings.

Abbreviations:

HVDC – high-voltage direct-current

FACT – flexible ac transmissions
UPS - uninterruptible power supply
EMI - electromagnetic and radio frequency interference
THD - total harmonic distortion
IPF - input power factor
DF - displacement factor

Introduction

The demand for control of electric power for electric motor drive systems and industrial
controls existed for many years, and this led to early development of the Ward–Leonard system to
obtain a variable dc voltage for the control of dc motor drives. Power electronics has revolutionized
the concept of power control for power conversion and for control of electrical motor drives.

Prepared By: JAY-R M. BALLON, BSET Department Page 1

ELT 39 – ELECTIVE (Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics) 2nd Semester
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics S.Y. 2020-21

Information Sheet:

1.1 Power Electronics

- Power Electronics combines power, electronics, and control. Control deals with the steady-
state and dynamic characteristics of closed-loop systems. Power deals with the static and
rotating power equipment for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric
energy. Electronics deal with the solid-state devices and circuits for signal processing to
meet the desired control objectives.

- Power electronics may be defined as the application of solid-state electronics for the control
and conversion of electric power. There is more than one way to define power electronics.
One could also define power electronics as the art of converting electrical energy from one
form to another in an efficient, clean, compact, and robust manner for the energy utilization
to meet the desired needs.

Figure 1 a

- The interrelationship of power electronics with power, electronics, and control is shown in
Figure 1.1. The arrow points to the direction of the current flow from anode (A) to cathode (K).
It can be turned on and off by a signal to the gate terminal (G). Without any gate signal, it
normally remains in the off-state, behaves as an open circuit, and can withstand a voltage across
the terminals A and K.

- Modern power electronics equipment uses

1. Power semiconductors that can be regarded as the muscle,
2. Microelectronics that have the power and intelligence of a brain.

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ELT 39 – ELECTIVE (Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics) 2nd Semester
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics S.Y. 2020-21

1.2 Application of Power Electronics

- Applications of power electronics continue to expand. It is not possible to build practical

computers, mobile phones, handheld devices, cars, airplanes, industrial processes, and a
host of other everyday products without power electronics. Alternative energy systems
such as wind generators, solar power, fuel cells, and others require power electronics to
function. Technology advances such as electric and hybrid transportation, laptop computers,
microwave ovens, flat-panel displays, LED lighting, and hundreds of other innovations were
not possible until advances in power electronics enabled their implementation.

Advertising Generator exciters Refrigerators

Air-conditioning Grinders Regulators
Aircraft power supplies Hand power tools RF amplifiers
Alarms Heat controls Renewable energy
Appliances High-frequency lighting including (transmission,
Audio amplifiers High-voltage dc (HVDC) distribution,
Battery charger Induction heating and storage)
Blenders Laser power supplies Security systems
Blowers Latching relays Servo systems
Boilers Light dimmers Sewing machines
Burglar alarms Light flashers Solar power supplies
Cement kiln Linear induction motor Solid-state contactors
Chemical processing controls Solid-state relays
Clothes dryers Locomotives Space power supplies
Computers Machine tools Static circuit breakers
Conveyors Magnetic recordings Static relays
Cranes and hoists Magnets Steel mills
Dimmers Mass transits Synchronous machine
Displays Mercury arc lamp ballasts starting
Electric blankets Mining Synthetic fibers
Electric door openers Model trains Television circuits
Electric dryers Motor controls Temperature controls
Electric fans Motor drives Timers
Electric vehicles Movie projectors Toys
Electromagnets Nuclear reactor control rod Traffic signal controls
Electromechanical Oil well drilling Trains
electroplating Oven controls TV deflections
Electronic ignition Paper mills Ultrasonic generators
Electrostatic precipitators Particle accelerators Uninterruptible power
Elevators People movers supplies
Fans Phonographs Vacuum cleaners
Flashers Photocopies Volt-ampere reactive (VAR)
Food mixers Photographic supplies compensation
Food warmer trays Power supplies Vending machines
Forklift trucks Printing press Very low frequency (VLF)
Furnaces Pumps and compressors transmitters
Games Radar/sonar power Voltage regulators
Garage door openers supplies Washing machines
Gas turbine starting Range surface unit Welding

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ELT 39 – ELECTIVE (Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics) 2nd Semester
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics S.Y. 2020-21

1.3 Types of Power Electronics Circuits

The power electronics circuits can be classified into six types:

1. Diode rectifiers – a diode rectifier circuit converts AC voltage into a fixed DC voltage

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ELT 39 – ELECTIVE (Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics) 2nd Semester
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics S.Y. 2020-21

2. Dc–dc converters (dc choppers) – is also known as a chopper, or switching regulator, and a
transistor chopper

3. Dc–ac converters (inverters) – a DC to AC converter is also known as inverter

Prepared By: JAY-R M. BALLON, BSET Department Page 5

ELT 39 – ELECTIVE (Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics) 2nd Semester
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics S.Y. 2020-21

4. Ac–dc converters (controlled rectifiers) – a single-phase converter with two natural

commutated thyristor, also known as controlled rectifier

5. Ac–ac converters (ac voltage controllers) – these converters are used to obtain a variable ac
output voltage from a fixed ac source and a single-phase converter with a TRIAC.

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ELT 39 – ELECTIVE (Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics) 2nd Semester
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics S.Y. 2020-21

6. Static switches – because the power devices can be operated as static switches or contactors,
the supply to these switches could be either AC or DC and the switches are known as AC
static switches or DC static switches

- A converter may be considered as a switching matrix, in which one or more switches are
turned on and connected to the supply source in order to obtain the desired output voltage
or current.

- Figures 1.3 to 1.7 illustrate the fundamental concepts of different conversion types. The
input voltage to a rectifier circuit could be either a single-phase or a three-phase supply.
Similarly, an inverter can produce either a single-phase or a three-phase ac output voltage.
As a result, a converter could be either a single-phase or a three-phase type.

- A number of conversion stages are often cascaded to produce the desired output, as shown
in Figure 1.8. Mains 1 supplies the normal ac supply to the load through the static bypass.
The ac–dc converter charges the standby battery from mains 2. The dc–ac converter

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ELT 39 – ELECTIVE (Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics) 2nd Semester
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics S.Y. 2020-21

supplies the emergency power to the load through an isolating transformer. Mains 1 and
mains 2 are normally connected to the same ac supply.

1.4 Design of Power Electronics Equipment

The design of power electronics equipment can be divided into four parts:

1. Design of power circuits

2. Protection of power devices
3. Determination of control strategy
4. Design of logic and gating circuits

- In the analysis, the power devices are assumed to be ideal switches unless stated otherwise;
effects of circuit stray inductance, circuit resistances, and source inductance are neglected.
The practical power devices and circuits differ from these ideal conditions and the designs
of the circuits are also affected. However, in the early stage of the design, the simplified
analysis of a circuit is very useful to understand the operation of the circuit and to establish
the characteristics and control strategy.

- Before a prototype is built, the designer should investigate the effects of the circuit
parameters (and devices imperfections) and should modify the design if necessary. Only
after the prototype is built and tested, the designer can be, confident about the validity of
the design and estimate more accurately some of the circuit parameters (e.g., stray
inductance).

Prepared By: JAY-R M. BALLON, BSET Department Page 8

ELT 39 – ELECTIVE (Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics) 2nd Semester
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics S.Y. 2020-21

- Figure 1.12 shows the block diagram of a typical power converter including isolations,
feedback, and reference signals [9]. Power electronics is an interdisciplinary subject and the
design of a power converter needs to address the following:

 Power semiconductor devices including their physics, characteristics, drive requirements,

and their protection for optimum utilization of their capacities.
 Power converter topologies to obtain the desired output.
 Control strategies of the converters to obtain the desired output.
 Digital, analog, and microelectronics for the implementation of the control strategies.
 Capacitive and magnetic energy storage elements for energy storage and filtering.
 Modeling of rotating and static electrical loading devices.
 Ensuring the quality of waveforms generated and a high power factor.
 Minimizing electromagnetic and radio frequency interference (EMI).
 Optimizing costs, weights, and energy efficiency.

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ELT 39 – ELECTIVE (Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics) 2nd Semester
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics S.Y. 2020-21

1.5 Power Semiconductor Devices

A majority of the devices are made of silicon. These devices can be divided broadly into three types:
(1) power diodes, (2) transistors, and (3) thyristors.

These can further be divided broadly into five types: (1) power diodes, (2) thyristors, (3) power
bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), (4) power metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors
(MOSFETs), and (5) insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and static induction transistors
(SITs).

- The SiC power electronics has higher voltage ratings, lower voltage drops, higher maximum
temperatures, and higher thermal conductivities.

- Silicon carbide electrons need almost three times more energy to reach the conduction
band as compared to silicon. As a result, SiC-based devices withstand far higher voltages
and temperatures than their silicon counterparts. A SiC-based device can have the same
dimensions as a silicon device but can withstand 10 times the voltage. Also, a SiC device can
be less than a tenth the thickness of a silicon device but carry the same voltage rating. These
thinner devices are faster and boast less resistance, which means less energy is lost to heat
when a silicon carbide diode or transistor is conducting electricity.

Prepared By: JAY-R M. BALLON, BSET Department Page 10

ELT 39 – ELECTIVE (Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics) 2nd Semester
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics S.Y. 2020-21

Prepared By: JAY-R M. BALLON, BSET Department Page 11

ELT 39 – ELECTIVE (Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics) 2nd Semester
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Power Electronics S.Y. 2020-21

References:

Rashid, M. H. (2017). Power Electronics Handbook. Butterworth-Heinemann.

Bose, B. K. (2010). Power Electronics and Motor Drives. Elsevier.
Kularatna, N. (1998). Power Electronics Design Handbook. Elsevier.
Mohan, N. (2011). Power Electronics: A First Course. Wiley Global Education.
Perret, R. (2013). Power Electronics Semiconductor Devices. John Wiley & Sons.
Rashid, M. H. (2011). Power Electronics Handbook. Elsevier.
Rashid, M. H. (2013). Power Electronics Devices, Circuits, and Application. Pearson.
Rashid, M. H. (2017). Power Electronics Handbook. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Santos, E. dos. (2014). Advanced Power Electronics Converters. John Wiley & Sons.

Prepared By: JAY-R M. BALLON, BSET Department Page 12