Power Electronics (EC0606)

Unit-1
B.Tech (Electronics and Communication)
Semester-VI

Omkar Pabbati
 Learning Objectives
– Identify the function of electronics
switches, hence to select a proper
switching for certain applications.

– To become familiar with the power

electronics system.
 Introduction
• Generally, the electrical engineering field may be divided into three
areas of specialization:
✔Electronics
✔Power
✔Control

• Electronics essentially deals with the study of semiconductor devices

and circuits for the processing of information at low power levels.
• The Power area deals with both rotating and static equipment for the
generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization of vast quantities
of electrical power.
• The control area deals with the stability and response characteristics of
closed loop system using feedback on either a continuous or sampled
data basis.

• Power electronics deals with the use of electronics for the control and
conversion of large amount of electrical power.
 Introduction
• Power electronics refers to control and conversion of electrical
power by power semiconductor devices wherein these devices
operate as switches.
• silicon-controlled rectifiers, abbreviated as SCRs, led to the
development of a new field of application called the power
electronics.
• Before SCRs, mercury-arc rectifiers were used for controlling
electrical power, but such rectifier circuits were part of industrial
electronics and the scope for applications of mercury-arc
rectifiers was limited.
• The application spread to many fields such as drives, power
supplies, aviation electronics, high frequency inverters and power
electronics.
 introduction
• Power electronics relates to the control and flow of
electrical energy.

• Control is done using electronic switches, capacitors and

control systems.

• Scope of power electronics: milliWatts ⇒ gigaWatts

• Power electronics is a growing field due to the improvement

in switching technologies and the need for more and more
efficient switching circuits.
 introduction
• Power Electronics (definition): it is the electronics applied to
conversion and control of electric power.

▪ The primary task of power electronics is to process and

control the flow of electric energy by supplying voltages and
currents in a form that is optimally suited for user loads.
 Power electronics System
Power Power Power
input output
Converter

Control input
Feedback/Feedforward
Controller
( measurements of output signals
)
Reference
(commanding)

•Power modulators converts electrical energy of the source

as per the requirement of the load.
• Power converter along with its controller including the corresponding
measurement and interface circuits, is also called power electronic
system.
Classification of power converters
Power
Output & DC AC
Power Input

AC to AC converter
AC AC to DC (AC controller or Cycloconverter or
converter frequency converter)
(Rectifier)

DC DC to DC DC to AC converter
converter (Inverter)
(Chopper)
 History
Application of
fast-switching
Invention of fully-controlled
Thyristor semiconductor
devices GTO
Power MOSFET IGBT
Mercury arc rectifier Power diode Thyristor Power MOSFET
Vacuum-tube rectifier Thyristor (microprocessor) Thyristor
Thyratron (DSP)
1900 1957 mid 1970s late 1980s

Pre-history 1st phase 2nd phase 3rd phase

• The thread of the power electronics history precisely follows and

matches the break-through and evolution of power electronic devices
 Applications
• Industrial
• Transportation
• Utility Systems
• Power supplies for all kinds of electronic equipment
• Residential and home appliances
• Space technology
• Other applications
 Industrial applications
• Motor drives
• Electrolysis
• Electroplating
• Induction heating
• Welding
• Arc furnaces and ovens
• Lighting
 Transportation
• Trains & locomotives
• Subways
• Trolley buses
• Electric vehicles
• Automotive electronics
• Ship power systems
• Aircraft power systems
 Utility systems applications
• High-voltage dc
transmission(HVDC)
• Custom power &
power quality control
• Supplemental energy
sources :
wind, photovoltaic, fuel
cells
• Energy storage systems
Residential and home appliances
• Lighting
• Heating
• Air conditioning
• Refrigeration & freezers
• Cooking
• Cleaning
• Entertaining
 Power supplies for electronic
equipment
• Telecommunications

• Computers

• Office equipment

• Electronic instruments

• Portable or mobile
electronics
 Applications
• Heating and lighting control
• Induction heating
• Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS)
• Fluorescent lamp ballasts: Passive; Active
• Electric power transmission
• Automotive electronics
• Electronic ignitions
• Motor drives
• Battery chargers
• Alternators
• Energy storage
• Electric vehicles
• Alternative power sources: Solar; Wind; Fuel Cells
• And more!
 Power semiconductor devices
(Power switches)

• Can be categorized into three groups:

– Uncontrolled: Diode

– Semi-controlled: Thyristor (SCR)

– Fully controlled: Power transistors e.g. BJT,MOSFET,

IGBT, GTO, IGCT
Diodes & SCR
 Modes of Operation
►There are three modes of operations of SCR

1) Forward biased operation

a) Forward Blocking or Off-state condition

b) Conducting State or ON-state condition

2) Reverse Biased operation

Static Characteristics
• Latching Current: once the SCR is conducting forward
current that is greater than minimum value, called
latching current. the gate signal is no longer required to
maintain the device in its ON state.
• Holding Current: The SCR will return to its original
forward blocking state if the anode current falls below
a low level, called holding current.
NOTE 1: Latching current is associated with turn on process and holding current
with turn-off process.
NOTE 2: holding current is usually lower than, but very close to the latching
current.

Latching current should be greater than holding current

Break over Voltage:
These are the anode to cathode voltage
across the SCR after that SCR will be in ON state without
applying any gate signal to gate terminal.

NOTE: The forward break over voltage is generally higher than the
reverse break over voltage.

Higher the gate current gives lower forward break over voltage
 Important Points
► The forward anode current of a thyristor must be more
than its latching current to latch into the conduction state;
otherwise, the device reverts to the blocking condition as
the anode to cathode voltage falls.

► IF the forward anode current is reduced below its holding

current, the device becomes unlatched and remain in Off
State.

► Once a thyristor conducts, it behaves like a conducting

diode and there is no control over the device. That is, the
device cannot be turned Off by another positive or
negative gate pulse. So we can say that it is a semi control
device.
 Turn on methods of a Thyristor
• A thyristor can be switched from no conducting to
conducting state in several ways described as follows:
1. Forward Voltage Triggering
2. Thermal Triggering (Temperature Triggering)
3. Radiation Triggering (Light Triggering)
4. Triggering.
5. Gate Triggering
✔ D.C. Gate triggering
✔ A.C. Gate triggering
✔ Pulse Gate triggering
 Forward Voltage Triggering
• When anode to cathode forward voltage is
increased , the reverse biased junction will have an
avalanche breakdown at the voltage called
forward break over voltage VBO.
• At this voltage, a thyristor changes from OFF state
to ON state
• The forward voltage drop across the SCR during
the ON state is of the order of 1 to 1.5 V and
increases slightly with the load current
 Thermal triggering
• Like other semiconductors, the width of the
depletion layer of a thyristor decreases on
increasing the junction temperature.
• When the voltage applied between the anode &
cathode is very near to its breakdown voltage, the
device can be triggered by increasing its junction
temperature.
• This method of triggering device by heating is also
known as temperature triggering process
 Radiation Triggering
• As the name suggests, the energy is imparted by radiation.
• Thyristor is bombarded by energy particles such as neutrons
or photons.
• With the help of this external energy . Electron-hole pairs are
generated in the device, thus increasing the number of
charge carriers.
• This leads to the instantaneous flow of current within the
device and triggering of the device.
• Examples of this type of triggering : LASCR & LASCS
 Triggering.
• Junction J1 & J3 are in FW bias with the forward voltage
across anode and cathode, where as J2 becomes in
reversed biased.
• This reversed bias Junction J2 has the characteristics of a
capacitor due to charges existing across the junction.
• if forward voltage suddenly applied, charging current will
flow tending to turn the device ON.
• If the voltage impressed across the device is denoted by V,
the charge by Q and the capacitance by then
• The rate of change of junction capacitance may be
negligible as the junction capacitance is almost constant.

• Therefore, if the rate of change of voltage across the device

is large, the device may be turn-on even through the
voltage appearing across the device is small
 Gate triggering
• This is the most commonly used method for triggering the
SCRs.
• By applying the positive signal at the gate terminal of the
device, it can be triggered much before the specified break
over voltage.
• The conduction period of the SCRs can be controlled by
varying the gate signal.
• For the gate triggering, a signal is applied between the gate
and cathode of the device.
• Three types of signals can be used for this purpose
1. D.C. Gate signals
2. A.C. Gate signals
3. Pulse Gate Signals
 D.C. Gate triggering
• In this type of triggering, a d.c. voltage of proper magnitude
and polarity is applied between the gate and cathode of the
device in such a way that the gate becomes positive with
respect to the cathode.
• When the applied voltage is sufficient to produce the gate
current, the device starts conducting.
• Drawback:
✔Both the power and control circuits are DC and there is no isolation
between this two.
✔A continuous DC signal has to be applied, at the gate causing more
gate power loss
 A.C. Gate Triggering
• A.C. source is most commonly used for the gate signal in all
application of thyristor control adopted for AC applications.
• This scheme provides the proper isolation between the
power and control circuits.
• the firing angle control is obtained very conveniently by
changing the phase angle of the control signal.
• The gate drive is maintained for one half cycle after the
device is ON, and a reverse voltage is applied between the
gate and cathode during the negative half cycle.
• Drawback:
✔A separate transformer is required to step down the AC supply,
which adds to the cost.
 Pulse Gate triggering
• This is the most popular method for triggering the Device. In
this method, the gate drive consists of single pulse
appearing periodically or a sequence of high frequency
pulses.
• This is also known as carrier frequency gatting.
• A pulse transformer is used for isolation.
• Advantage:
✔There is no need of applying continuous signals and
hence the gate losses are very much reduced.
✔Electrical isolation is also provided between the
main device and gatting signals.
 Two-Transistor model of Thyristor
► Since Thyristor is a Latching device so the regenerative or
Latching action due to positive feedback can be
demonstrated by using a two transistor model of SCR.

► A thyristor can be considered as two complementary

transistors, one is pnp -transistor Q1 and other is npn –
transistor Q2.

► The circuit representation of the two-transistor model of a

thyristor is shown in diagram.
Diagram
 Contd.
• In the off state of a transistor, collector current IC is related
to emitter current IE as-
…(1)
• where α is the common-base current gain and ICBO is the
common base leakage current of collector-base junction of
a transistor with emitter open.
• For transistor Q1 in diagram, emitter current IE = anode
current Ia and collector current Ic is Ic1. Therefore for
transistor Q1,
…(2)
 Contd.
• Similarly for transistor Q2, collector current IC2 is given by

…(3)

• The sum of the two collector currents given by equations (2) and (3) is
equal to the anode current Ia.

…(4)
•
…(5)
 Contd.
► …(6)

…(7)

where Ik= (Ia + Ig)

► It is clear from eq. (7), that α1+α2 → 1 causes the thyristor to turn on i.e. the
anode current reaches a high value or the SCR starts conducting.

► α1 varies with Ia (emitter current) and α2 varies with Ia + Ig. If Ig is increased,

this increases Ia, which further increases α1 and α2. This will in turn increase
Ia. This is a regenerative or positive feedback effect.
 Phase Control of SCR
► In SCR Phase Control, the firing angle, or point during the
half-cycle at which the SCR is triggered, determines the
amount of current which flows through the device as well as
from the load.

► It acts as a high-speed switch which is open for the first part

of the cycle, and then closes to allow power flow after the
trigger pulse is applied.
Firing angle
 Contd.
►Figure shows an AC waveform being applied with a
gating pulse at 45 degrees. There are 360 electrical
degrees in a cycle; 180 degrees in a half-cycle.

►The number of degrees from the beginning of the cycle

until the SCR is gated ON is referred to as the firing
angle.

►The number of degrees that the SCR remains

conducting is known as the conduction angle.
 output voltage
applied to the load
AC to DC Conversion: Half-Wave Rectifier
 Importance of Free-Wheeling Diode
• A "freewheeling diode" is put into a circuit to protect
the switching device from being damaged by the
reverse current of an inductive load.
✔This diode serves two main functions
1. To protect/prevent the switching device from being
damaged by the reverse current of an inductive load.
2. It transfers load current away from the main rectifier,
there by allowing all of its thyristors to regain their
blocking states.

Note: with freewheeling diode, thyristor will not be able to

conduct beyond 180.
Dynamic turn-ON switching Characteristics
• The static characteristics gives no indication as to the speed
at which the SCR is capable of being switched from the
forward blocking voltage to the conducting state and vice-
versa.

• However transition from one state to another state does not

take place instantaneously, it takes a finite period of time.

• Total turn on time is subdivided into three distinct periods,

called the delay time, rise time and spread time.
Dynamic turn-ON switching Characteristics
• Delay Time: This is the time between the instant at
which the gate current reaches 90% of its final
value and the instant at which the anode current
reaches 10% of its final value.
• It can also be defined as the time during which
anode voltage falls from Va to 0.9 Va, where Va is
the initial value of the anode voltage.
• Rise Time: this is the time required for the anode
current to rise from 10 to 90% of its final value.

• It can also be defined as the time required for the

forward blocking off state voltage to fall from 0.9
to 0.1 of its initial value.
• Spread time: the spread time is the time required
for the forward blocking voltage to fall from 0.1 to
its value to the on state voltage drop (1 to 1.5 V).
• Turn –On time: this is the sum of the delay time,
rise time, spread time. This is typically of the order
of 1 to 4 micro-sec, depend upon the anode circuit
parameters and gate signal.
 Turn-off characteristics
• Once the SCR starts conducting , the gate has no control on
it and device can be brought back to the blocking state only
by reducing the forward current to a level below that of
the holding current
• However, if a forward voltage is applied immediately after
reducing the anode current to zero, it will not block the
forward voltage and will start conducting again, although it
is not triggered by a gate pulse.
• Therefore, it is necessary to keep the device reverse biased
for a finite period before a forward anode voltage can be
reapplied.
• The Turn off time of the thyristor is defined as the minimum
time interval between the instant at which the anode current
becomes zero, and the instant at which the device is capable
of blocking the forward voltage.

• The turn off time is divided into two time intervals: The
reverse recovery time & gate recovery time.

Process of turn off thyristors is also called as commutation

Turn-off characteristics
• At the instant t1, the anode forward current becomes zero.
During the reverse recovery time, t1 to t3, the anode
current flows in the reverse direction.
• At the instant t2, a reverse anode voltage is developed and
reverse recovery current continuous to decrease.
• At t3, because of the junction J2, the thyristor is not able
to block a forward voltage.
• Total turn off time: ?
Thyristors having large turn off time are called as slow switching device or phase
control type thyristors.

Thyristors having low turn off time are called as fast switching device or inverter
control type thyristors.
 Commutation
• The term commutation means the transfer of current from
one path to another.

• In thyristors, this term is used to describe process of

transferring current from one thyristor to another.

• As we know, it is not possible for a thyristor to turn itself

off, the current in which it is connected must reduce the
thyristor current zero to enable it to turn off.

• Two methods: natural commutation and forced

commutation
 Natural Commutation
• The simplest the most widely used method of commutation
makes use of the alternating, reversing nature of ac
voltages.
• In ac circuits, the current always passes through zero every
half cycle
• As the current passes through natural zero, a reverse voltage
will simultaneously appear across the device, This can turn-
off the device
• This process is known as natural commutation since no
external circuits are required for this purpose.
• This method may use ac main supply voltages, the line
commutated converters and inverters come under this
category
 Forced Commutation
• In case of DC circuits for switching of the thyristors, the
forward current should be forced to zero by means of some
external circuits.
• This process is called forced commutation and the external
circuit is required for it are known as commutation circuits.
• The components which constitute the commutating circuits
are called as commutating components.
• The method of commutation is based on the arrangement of
the commutation components in the manner at which zero
current is obtained in the SCR.
 Triggering of an SCR
• There are two simple methods for varying the trigger angle of
SCR. Instead of using a gate pulse to trigger an SCR, the gate
current is supplied by an ac source of voltage Vs through
Resistors and Diode.

• As Vs goes positive, the SCR becomes forward biased from A-K,

it will not conduct (VL=0) until its gate current exceeds Ig (min).

• The positive Vs also forward biases the diode and it causes the
flow of gate current.

• The gate current increases as Vs increases, when Ig reaches a

value equal to Ig(min), the SCR turns on and VL goes to equal Vs
(approximately).
• The SCR remains on and VL=Vs until Vs decreases to the point
where the load current is below the SCR holding current. this
usually occurs very close to the point until Vs=0 and begins to go
negative.

• The SCR now turns OFF and remains OFF, while Vs goes negative
(reversed biased) that means now SCR act as a open switch, the
load voltage becomes zero during this period.

• The purpose of diode in this circuit is to prevent the gate-

cathode reverse bias from exceeding peak gate voltage during
the negative half cycle of Vs.

• The same sequence is repeated when Vs goes positive again.

• Advantages:
✔R- triggering circuits are very simple to construct.
✔Hence, most Economical circuits.

• Disadvantages
✔Triggering angle can be varied up to an
approximate 90 degree.
✔Due to the use of only one SCR, this is a half wave
controlled circuit.
✔No isolation between gate and anode circuit.
RC triggering
 Contd…
• A large variation in the value of firing angle can be obtained
by changing the phase and amplitude of the gate current.
by varying Rv , the firing angle can be controlled from 0 to
180.
• In the negative half cycle , capacitor charges through diode
D2 with lower plate positive to peak supply voltage (Vmax).
• This capacitor voltage remains constant at –Vmax until
supply voltage attains zero value.
• As the SCR anode voltage passes through zero and
becomes positive , capacitor C begins to charge through Rv,
from the initial Value –Vmax.
 Contd..
• When the capacitor charges to positive voltage equal to
gate trigger voltage Vgt (=Vg(min)+Vd1), SCR is triggered
and after this, the capacitor holds to a small positive
voltage.
• During negative half cycle, the d1 prevents the breakdown
of the gate to cathode junction.
 Contd..
• Advantages:
✔RC- triggering circuits are easy to design &
economical.
✔Firing angle can be varied from 0 to 180.
• Disadvantages
✔Value of alpha will depend on RC time constant
which is temperature dependent.
✔No isolation between gate and anode circuit.
• R- Triggering circuit uses an SCR with
and . The diode is silicon and the peak
amplitude of the input is 24 V. Determine the
conduction angle for and .
 UJT
A uni-junction transistor (UJT) is an electronic
semiconductor device that has only one junction.

The UJT has three terminals: an emitter (E) and two

bases (B1 and B2).

The base is formed by lightly doped n-type bar of silicon.

Two ohmic contacts B1 and B2 are attached at its ends.

The emitter is of p-type and it is heavily doped. The

resistance between B1 and B2, when the emitter is open-
circuit is called interbase resistance (RBB or r’BB).
 Contd..
• UJT is another solid state three terminal device that can be used
in gate pulse, timing circuits and trigger generator applications to
switch and control either thyristors and triacs for AC power
control type applications.
• Like diodes, unijunction transistors are constructed from separate
P-type and N-type semiconductor materials forming a single
(hence its name Uni-Junction) PN-junction within the main
conducting N-type channel of the device.
• Although the Unijunction Transistor has the name of a transistor,
its switching characteristics are very different from those of a
conventional bipolar or field effect transistor as it can not be used
to amplify a signal but instead is used as a ON-OFF switching
transistor.
 Contd..

When the emitter diode is reversed biased, only a very small amount of emitter
current flows. Under this condition RB1 is at its normal high value. this is UJT’s OFF
state.

When the emitter diode becomes forward biased, RB1 drops to a very low value, so
that the total resistance between E and B1 becomes very low, allowing emitter
current to flow rapidly. This is the ON state of UJT
 UJT Characteristics
• Values of intrinsic standoff ratio is typically in the range from
0.5 to 0.8.
• What is the relationship in between Vp and VBB ?
 UJT Applications
UJT is often used as a trigger device for SCR and TRIACs.
Other applications include non sinusoidal oscillators, saw
tooth generators, phase control, and timing circuits.
• The data sheet for a 2N2646 Unijunction
Transistor gives the intrinsic stand-off
ratio η as 0.65. If a 100nF capacitor is used
to generate the timing pulses, calculate the
timing resistor required to produce an
oscillation frequency of 100Hz.
• Find the peak voltage for UJT, if intrinsic
stand-off ratio η as 0.78 and supply voltage
is 20 V.
 Diac
• The DIAC is a combination of two diodes. Diodes being
unidirectional devices, conduct current only in one
direction.
• If bidirectional (ac) operation is desired, two
diodes may be joined in parallel facing different
directions to form the DIAC.

• Because DIACs are bidirectional devices, their terminals

are not labeled as anode and cathode but as A1 and A2
or main terminal MT1 and MT2.
Diac Characteristics
 Applications
• Diac is mainly used as a triggering device for
triacs.
• Various matched diac-triac pair can be used
in different types of control circuits, like light
dimmers, heat control, etc.
 Triac
• The term TRIAC is derived by combining the first
three letters of the word “TRIODE” and the word
“AC”.
• A TRIAC is capable of conducting in both
the directions. The TRIAC, is thus, a bidirectional
thyristor with three terminals. It is widely used for
the control of power in ac circuits.
• The TRIAC has the following advantages:
(i) They can be triggered with positive- or negative-
polarity voltage.
(ii) They need a single heat sink of slightly larger size.
(iii) They need a single fuse for protection, which
simplifies their construction.
(iv) In some dc applications, the SCR has to be
connected with a parallel diode for protection against
reverse voltage, whereas a TRIAC may work without a
diode, as safe breakdown in either direction is possible
• The TRIAC as a bidirectional thyristor has various
applications. Some of the popular applications of
the TRIAC are as follows:

(i) In speed control of single-phase ac series or

motors.
(ii) In food mixers and portable drills.
(iii) In lamp dimming and heating control.
 GTO
• The Gate turn off thyristor (GTO) is a four layer PNPN power
semiconductor switching device that can be turned on by a
short pulse of gate current and can be turned off by a
reverse gate pulse.
• This reverse gate current amplitude is dependent on the
anode current to be turned off.
• There is no need for an external commutation circuit to turn
it off. So inverter circuits built by this device are compact
and low-cost.
• The device is turned on by a positive gate current and it is
turned off by a negative gate cathode voltage.
Symbol & Structure of GTO
GTO
With –ve gate drive, IB2↓

IB2< IC2/β2…….(1)

β2=α2/(1-α2) &
β1=α1/(1 -α1)

IC1= IGN+ IB2

during turn-off
IB2= IC1– IGN=α1.IE1– IGN
IB2=α1.Ia– IGN

IC2=IB1=IE1-IC1
IC2=Ia-α1Ia
IC2=Ia(1-α1)

βoff=α2/(α1+α2- 1)
 Advantages
• High blocking voltage capabilities
• High over current capabilities
• exhibits low gate currents
• fast and efficient turn off
• better static and dynamic dv/dt capabilities
 Disadvantages
Compared to a conventional SCR, the device has the following
disadvantages

• Magnitude of latching, holding currents is more. The

latching current of the GTO is several times more as
compared to conventional thyristors of the same rating.
• On state voltage drop and the associated loss is more.
• Due to multi cathode structure of GTO, triggering gate
current is higher than that required for normal SCR.
• Gate drive circuit losses are more. Its reverse voltage
blocking capability is less than the forward voltage blocking
capability.
 LASCR
• This device is turned on by direct radiation of light on the
silicon wafer.
• Electron –hole pair which are created due to the radiation
produce triggering current under the influence of electric
fields
• The gate structure is designed to provide sufficient gate
sensitivity for triggering from practical light sources
• Once the LASCR is triggered to the ON state , it behaves like
a normal SCR
• The LASCR will stay ON even if the light disappears.
• HVDC
• It offers isolation between gate and anode
circuit.
IGBT
 Contd…
• IGBT combines the best qualities of power
MOSFET & BJT.

• It has input characteristics of MOSFET & an output

characteristics of BJT. These means it has high
input impedance & low on-state loss.

• An IGBT is a voltage controlled device similar to

MOSFET, however it’s turn-off time period is
slightly greater.
Structure & Symbol of IGBT
Symmetric & Asymmetric IGBTs
IGBTs are classified on the basis of n+ buffer layer. They are
(a) Symmetric IGBTs (Non-Punch through IGBTs)
(b) Asymmetric IGBTS (Punch Through IGBTs)
 Operation of IGBT
The operation principle of an IGBT is similar to that MOSFET. It can be
divided into two parts as follows:

(a) Creation of an Inversion Layer

(b) Conducting Modulation
• The operation of an IGBT is based on the principle
of creation of an inversion layer.
• When gate to source voltage (Vgs) greater than
Vgs(th) is applied, n type inversion layer is
created.
• Due to the information of n-type of layer in the p-
type body layer, a channel (n+ n n-) is formed
which helps to establish the current as shown in
figure.
 Operation of IGBT
As shown in the figure Junction J3 is forward biased when the forward
voltage is applied between the collector & the emitter.

Due to the creation of inversion layer, electrons from the emitter are
injected into the n- drift layer via n+ n n- channel.

As the junction J3 is already forward biased, it will inject holes in the n+

buffer layer
• This way, double injection takes place into
the n- drift region from both sides as shown
in figure.
• This increases the conductivity of the drift
region and reduces the resistance to its
minimum.
• In this way, the conductivity modulation
reduces the on sate voltage across the IGBT.
• There is no conductivity modulation of drift layer
in MOSFET. Therefore, the on-state resistance and
hence the on-state power loss is high in MOSFET.

• However in IGBTs the conductivity modulation of

the drift layer reduces the on-state resistance and
hence the on-state power loss.

• Hence, the on-state power losses in IGBT are less

than MOSFET.
 Characteristics of IGBT

(a) Transfer Characteristics (b) Output Characteristics

 Series & Parallel operation
• Nowadays, SCRs are available of ratings up to 10
KV & 3 KA. But sometimes we face demand, more
than these ratings. In this case combination of
more than one SCRs is used.
• Series connection of SCRs meets high voltage
demand and parallel connection of SCRs meets
high current demand.
• These series and parallel connection of SCR will
work efficiently if all SCRs are fully utilized.
Although all SCRs in a string are of same rating,
their V-I characteristics differ from one another
 Series Operation of SCR
• When we consider a series connection of
thyristors, we mean thyristors of the same class to
be connected in series.
• Like any other semiconductor device,
characteristics properties of two thyristors of
same make and rating are never same and this
leads to the following two major problems during
series connection of the devices.
1) Unequal distribution of voltage across devices and
2) Difference in reverse recovery characteristics
 Need for Equalising Network
• Due to the difference in blocking currents,
junction capacitance, delay times, forward-voltage
drops as well as reverse recovery time for
individual SCRs, external voltage equalisation
networks and special considerations in gatting
circuit design are required.
• Equalising Network Design:
1. Static Equalising Network
2. Dynamic Equalising Network
Triggering of series connected thyristors
• Series operation of thyristors takes place
satisfactory only if all the thyristors are fired
at the same instant.

• Even differences of few microseconds in the

gate pulses to different thyristors can have
a major influence on the voltage sharing in
series operation
Triggering of series connected thyristors
• The following are the primary methods in
common use of triggering series connected
SCRs:

1. Simultaneous triggering.
2. Sequential triggering.
3. Optical triggering.
 Simultaneous triggering
• In this type of triggering, all the thyristors are
triggered simultaneously and independently
with the help of pulse transforming.
• hence, this method is also known as
independent or individual firing method.
• Most of the trigger pulse transformers are
provided with two secondary windings and
these can be used for two series connected
SCRs.
 Simultaneous triggering
• For more than two SCRs, special triggering
transformer has got to be made with
sufficient number of secondaries.
• The main triggering pulse is applied to the
primary of the transformer and each of the
secondary winding is connected to the
individual gates of respective SCRs.
• Triggering requirements may differ quite
widely between individual SCRs.
 Simultaneous triggering
• To equalize the gate current in each SCR, a
resistor is connected in series with the
secondary winding for swamping out any
difference in a gate-cathode impedance of
individual units.
Simultaneous triggering
 Sequential triggering
• In this technique, one “master” SCR is
triggered, and as its forward blocking
voltage collapse, a gate signal is thereby
applied to the “slave” SCR. Hence, this
method is also called slave-triggering
method.
Sequential triggering
 Optical triggering
• In this technique, LASCR is connected in the
gate circuit of each SCRs.
• Simultaneous triggering of SCRs is achieved
by triggering LASCR.
• Therefore, this method provides the
required gate isolation along with
simultaneous turn-on when a single light
source is used to turn on all LASCRs.
Optical triggering
 Parallel operation of Thyristors
• With parallel thyristors, all thyristors must
act as one and so the firing system
employed must be highly reliable.
• The essential requirement for triggering
SCRs connected in parallel is to use a
common pulse generator for all.
Parallel operation of Thyristors
 Parallel operation of Thyristors

The very simplest method of triggering of thyristors in

parallel is shown in the figure.

Here, when thyristor T1 is triggered, the voltage drop in

R1 will trigger thyristor T2.
 Contd..
Diode D is necessary when one of the SCRs tends to
turn-off due to the current through it failing to a value
lower than holding current value.

Because of the presence of diode D, thyristor T1 will be

retriggered whenever current in T2 increases and T1 is
not being triggered.

T1 will be triggered by the voltage drop in R2.

 String Efficiency
• These series and parallel connection of SCR or
Thyristor will work efficiently if all SCRs are fully
utilized.
• Although all SCRs in a string are of same rating,
their V-I characteristics differ from one another.
• This leads to unequal voltage or current division
among them. Hence every SCR is not fully utilized.
• So the efficiency of string is always less than 100%
according to the given expression
 String Efficiency
• We can say that string efficiency is a term that is
used for measuring the degree of utilization of
SCR in string (Series/Parallel).
• In practice, this ratio is less than one.
• To obtain highest possible string efficiency, the
SCRs connected in string must have identical
characteristics. (Since, SCRs of the same rating and
specifications do not have identical characteristics,
unequal current /voltage sharing is bound to occur for all
SCRs in string. Hence, the string efficiency can never be
equal to one)
• A thyristor string is formed by the series & parallel
connection of thyristors. The voltage and current
ratings of the string are 6KV and 1 KA respectively.
Available thyristors have the voltage & current
ratings of 1.2 KV and 1 KA, respectively. The string
efficiency is 90% for both the series & parallel
connections.
Calculate the number of thyristors to be connected
in series & parallel.
 Derating
• Several methods/networks used for voltage &
current equalization in series & Parallel connected
thyristors, respectively.
• Although, the differences in voltages/current will
be reduced, these methods do not entirely
eliminate these differences.
• Therefore, in order to improve the reliability of the
series/parallel string, an extra unit may be added
so that the voltage/current applied to each device
will be lower than its normal rating.
 Cont…
• This phenomenon increases the reliability of
the string, but reduces the utilization of
each SCR. Thus string efficiency decreases.
Reliability of string is measured by derating
factor (DRF) which is given by the expression

DRF = 1 – string efficiency

 Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)

• Ratings: Voltage: VCE<1000, Current: IC<400A. Switching

frequency up to 5kHz. Low on-state voltage: VCE(sat) : 2-3V.
• Low current gain (β). Need high base current to obtain
reasonable IC . (Current driven). Expensive and complex
base drive circuit.
• Not popular in new products.
 BJT Conduction
• The level of IB in the active region just before saturation
must be

• At saturation, the current IC is quite high and the voltage

VCE very low. The resistance across the terminals
determined by

Saturation conditions and Cutoff conditions and

the resulting terminal resistance the resulting terminal resistance
Metal Oxide Silicon Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET)

• Ratings: Voltage VDS<500V, current IDS<300A. (Voltage

driven)
• Very fast device: >100KHz. For some low power devices
(few hundred watts) may go up to MHz range.
 MOSFET characteristics
• Turning on and off is very simple. Only need to provide VGS
=+15V to turn on and 0V to turn off. Gate drive circuit is
simple.
• Basically low voltage device. High voltage device are
available up to 600V but with limited current. Can be
paralleled quite easily for higher current capability.

• Internal (dynamic) resistance between drain and source

during on state, RDS(ON), limits the power handling capability
of MOSFET. High losses especially for high voltage device
due to RDS(ON) .

• Dominant in high frequency application (>100kHz). Biggest

application is in switched-mode power supplies.