Power MOSFET Electrical Characteristics

Application Note

Power MOSFET
Electrical Characteristics

Description
This document explains electrical characteristic of power MOSFETs.

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 Power MOSFET Electrical Characteristics
Application Note

Table of Contents
Description............................................................................................................................................1

Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................2

1. Electrical Characteristics.................................................................................................................3

1.1. Static Characteristics........................................................................................................................... 3

1.2. Dynamic Characteristics ..................................................................................................................... 3

1.2.1. Capacitance characteristics .................................................................................................................3

1.2.2. Effective output capacitance (energy-related).................................................................................4

1.2.3. Switching characteristics .....................................................................................................................5

1.2.4. dv/dt capability .....................................................................................................................................6

1.3. Charge Characteristics ........................................................................................................................ 7

1.3.1. Gate charge ...........................................................................................................................................7

1.3.2. Calculation of Total Gate Charge ........................................................................................................8

1.3.3. Output charge (Qoss) ............................................................................................................................8

1.4. Source-Drain Characteristics ............................................................................................................. 9

1.4.1. Body Diode Characteristics..................................................................................................................9

1.4.2. dv/dt Capability of the Body Diode ..................................................................................................10

RESTRICTIONS ON PRODUCT USE.................................................................................................. 11

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 Power MOSFET Electrical Characteristics
Application Note
1. Electrical Characteristics
(The specified characteristics differ from product to product. Ta=25°C unless otherwise
specified.)
1.1. Static Characteristics
Characteristic Symbol Unit Description

Gate leakage current IGSS μA The leakage current that occurs when the specified voltage
is applied across gate and source with drain and source
short-circuited
Drain cut-off current IDSS μA The leakage current that occurs when a voltage is applied
across drain and source with gate and source
short-circuited
Drain-source breakdown V(BR)DSS V The maximum voltage that the device is guaranteed to
voltage V(BR)DSX block between drain and source
V(BR)DSS: With gate and source short-circuited
V(BR)DSX: With gate and source reverse-biased
Gate threshold voltage Vth V Vth stands for "threshold voltage." Vth is the gate voltage
that appears when the specified current flows between
source and drain.
Drain-source on-resistance RDS (ON) Ω The resistance across drain and source when the MOSFET is
in the "on" state
Forward |Yfs| S Also called gm, |Yfs| is the ratio of the drain current variation
transfer admittance at the output to the gate voltage variation at the input and
is defined as |Yfs| = ∆ID / ∆VGS. |Yfs| indicates the
sensitivity or amplification factor of the power MOSFET.
|Yfs| can be read from the ID-VGS curve.

1.2. Dynamic Characteristics

Symbol Unit Unit Description

Capacitances Ciss pF Ciss is the input capacitance, Crss is the reverse transfer
Crss capacitance, and Coss is the output capacitance.
Capacitances affect the switching performance of a power
Coss MOSFET.
Effective output capacitance Co(er) pF Effective output capacitance calculated from Eoss, which is
needed to charge Coss
Gate resistance rg Ω The internal gate resistance of a MOSFET
Switching time tr ns tr is the rise time, ton is the turn-on time, tf is the fall time,
ton and toff is the turn-off time.
tf
toff
MOSFET dv/dt capability dv/dt V/ns The maximum drain-source voltage ramp allowed at the
turn-off of a MOSFET

1.2.1. Capacitance characteristics

In a power MOSFET, the gate is insulated by a thin silicon oxide. Therefore, a power MOSFET has
capacitances between the gate-drain, gate-source and drain-source terminals as shown in
Figure 1.1.
The gate-drain capacitance Cgd and the gate-source capacitance Cgs are mainly determined by
the structure of the gate electrode, while the drain-source capacitance Cds is determined by the
capacitance of the vertical p-n junction.
For the power MOSFET, the input capacitance (Ciss=Cgd+Cgs), the output capacitance
(Coss=Cds+Cgd) and the reverse transfer capacitance (Crss=Cgd) are important characteristics.

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 Power MOSFET Electrical Characteristics
Application Note

Figure 1.2 shows the dependency of Ciss, Crss and Coss on drain-source voltage VDS.
Switching characteristics of a MOSFET manly vary with the input capacitance Ciss and the output
impedance of the drive circuit.
Gate current flows from gate to source instantaneously to charge the input capacitance.
Therefore, the lower the output impedance of the drive circuit, the faster the switching speed.
Large input capacitance of a MOSFET causes a large power loss at light load. Ciss, Crss and Coss
hardly vary with temperature.
Drain (D)

Cgd Cgs Gate

Source
Gate (G) Cds +
+ n Cgd
p
Cgs

Cds
-
n
Source (S)
+
n
Input capacitance (Ciss) = Cgd + Cgs Drain
Output capacitance (Coss) = Cds + Cgd
Reverse transfer capacitance (Crss) = Cgd

Figure 1.1 Capacitance Equivalent Circuit

Figure 1.2 Capacitance vs VDS

1.2.2. Effective output capacitance (energy-related)

Co(er) is the effective output capacitance (energy-related) dependent on the drain voltage and is
calculated as follows. Superjunction MOSFETs have a large output capacitance because of their
structure. Power loss occurs at the turn-on and turn-off of the MOSFET due to the charging and
discharging of the output capacitance.

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 Power MOSFET Electrical Characteristics
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𝐶𝐶𝑜𝑜(𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) × 𝑉𝑉𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 2 𝑉𝑉𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷
= � 𝐶𝐶(𝑣𝑣) × 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣
2 0
𝑉𝑉𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷
2
𝐶𝐶𝑜𝑜(𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) = � 𝐶𝐶(𝑣𝑣) × 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣
𝑉𝑉𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 2 0

C(v) is a function of the VDS-dependent output capacitance Coss.

1.2.3. Switching characteristics

Since power MOSFETs are majority-carrier devices, they are faster and capable of switching at
higher frequencies than bipolar transistors.
Figure 1.3 shows a switching time test circuit, and Figure 1.3 gives the input and output
waveforms.

VDD
VGS 90%

10%
RL

VOUT VDS 90%

90%
RG
VDS 10%
10%

VGs td(on) td(off)

tr tf
ton toff

(a) Test Circuit (b) Input and Output Waveforms

Figure 1.3 Switching Time Test Circuit and Input/Output Waveforms

The symbols used in the above input and output waveforms are briefly explained below:

(1) td (on): Turn-on delay time

The time from when the gate-source voltage rises over 10% of VGS until the drain-source
voltage reaches 90% of VDS
(2) tr: Rise time
The time taken for the drain-source voltage to fall from 90% to 10% of VDS
(3) ton: Turn-on time
The turn-on time is equal to td (on) + tr.
(4) td (off): Turn-off delay time
The time from when the gate-source voltage drops below 90% of VGS until the
drain-source voltage reaches 10% of VDS
(5) tf: Fall time
The time taken for the drain-source voltage to rise from 10% to 90% of VDS
(6) toff: Turn-off time
The turn-off time is equal to td (off)+ tf.

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Application Note
1.2.4. dv/dt capability
When the drain-source voltage is raised sharply at the turn-on of a MOSFET, a displacement
current flows to the PN junction capacitance (C) between drain and source, as shown in Figure
1.4, due to the rate of voltage change dv/dt. The displacement current is calculated as
i=C∙(dvc/dt). Current i causes a voltage drop of i∙Rb due to the resistance Rb of this layer. If the
voltage drop exceeds the base-emitter forward voltage (VBE) of the parasitic NPN transistor, it is
forced into conduction.
If the drain-source voltage, VDS, is high at this time, the parasitic NPN transistor might enter
secondary breakdown, causing a catastrophic failure.

Drain
dvd/dt
i=C∙(dvc/dt)

C
Q Gate
NPN
Rb

Source
(a) Cross Section of a MOSFET (b) Equivalent Circuit of
(Parasitic NPN Transistor) dv/dt-Induced Turn-On

Figure 1.4 Cross Section and Equivalent Circuit of a MOSFET

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1.3. Charge Characteristics
Characteristic Symb Unit Description
ol

Total gate charge Qg The amount of charge to apply voltage (from zero to designated
voltage) to gate
Gate-source charge 1 Qgs1 The amount of charge required for a MOSFET to begin to turn on
(before dropping drain-source voltage)
Gate-drain charge Qgd As the MOSFET begins to turn on, the drain-source voltage begins to
nC fall, charging the gate-drain capacitance. The gate-source voltage
stops increasing and reaches the Miller plateau. From this point to the
ending point of Miller plateau is known as the gate-drain charge
period.
Gate switch charge Qsw The amount of charge stored in the gate capacitance from when the
gate-source voltage has reached Vth until the end of the Miller plateau
Output charge Qoss Drain-source charge

1.3.1. Gate charge

Because the Gate (G) input terminal of a MOSFET is insulated, the amounts of charge Q seen
from the Gate, are important characteristics. Figure 1.5 illustrates the definitions of gate charge
characteristics.

Figure 1.5 Definition of Total Gate Charge, Qg

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1.3.2. Calculation of Total Gate Charge
During the turn-on of a power MOSFET, a current flows to the gate, charging the gate-source
and gate-drain capacitances. The amount of gate charge is measured using a test circuit shown
in Figure 1.6 (a). A constant current is applied to the gate to obtain a graph like the one shown
in Figure 1.6 (b) showing a change in gate-source voltage VGS over time. The time axis can be
expressed in terms of gate capacitance Qg by multiplying time by constant gate current iG. Gate
charge is calculated as follows:
𝑡𝑡
𝑄𝑄𝑔𝑔 = ∫0 𝑖𝑖𝐺𝐺 (𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

(a) Gate Charge Test Circuit (b) Waveform of Gate-Source Voltage

Figure 1.6 Gate Charge

1.3.3. Output charge (Qoss)
Qoss is the amount of charge for charging drain-source capacity.
Since the value of Coss of a MOSFET varies with VDS when Q = CV, Qoss is calculated as follows:
𝑉𝑉𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷
𝑄𝑄𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 = � 𝐶𝐶(𝑣𝑣)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
0
where C(v) is a function of the output capacitance Coss that is dependent on VDS.
Qoss is equal to the integral of the Coss (output capacitance) along VDS shown in Figure 1.7,
"Capacitance vs VDS."
Qoss affects efficiency in the application such as switching power supplies especially driving in
light load.

Figure 1.7 Capacitance vs VDS

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Application Note
1.4. Source-Drain Characteristics
(The specified characteristics differ from product to product. Ta=25°C unless otherwise
specified.)
Characteristic Symbol Unit Description

Reverse drain current IDR A The maximum current that can flow to the body diode of a
(DC) MOSFET in the forward direction
Reverse drain current IDRP
(pulsed)
Diode forward voltage VDSF V Drain-source voltage that appears when a current is applied
to the body diode of a MOSFET in the forward direction
Reverse recovery time trr ns The time trr and the amount of charge Qrr required for the
reverse recovery current to reach zero during the reverse
Diode reverse recovery Qrr μC recovery operation of the body diode under the specified
charge test conditions. The peak current during this period is Irr.
Diode peak reverse Irr A
recovery current
Diode dv/dt capability dv/dt V/ns The maximum voltage ramp allowed during the reverse
recovery time of the diode

1.4.1. Body Diode Characteristics

A power MOSFET has a circuit structure between source and drain equivalent to a diode. The
forward current of the body diode IDR and IDRP are defined on individual product datasheet.
Figure 1.9 shows current characteristics of body diode. Reverse breakdown voltage is same as
drain-source voltage VDSS.
Regarding the reverse recovery time trr of the body diode, Figure 1.8 shows an example of a test
circuit and waveform.

Figure 1.9 IDR–VDS

Curve

Figure 1.8 Reverse Recovery Time of the Body Diode in a Power MOSFET

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1.4.2. dv/dt Capability of the Body Diode
When the body diode in a power MOSFET is switched from forward voltage to reverse voltage
while a current is flowing, it enters the reverse recovery state. This causes the drain-source
voltage to increase sharply. As shown in Figure 1.10, due to a voltage change dv/dt a
displacement current, i=C∙(dv/dt), flows to the capacitance C of the PN junction between drain
and gate, thereby causing a voltage drop by the current i and resistance Rb. This voltage drop,
in turn, causes the parasitic NPN transistor to turn on. At this time, if the drain-source voltage
VDS is high, the parasitic NPN transistor might enter secondary breakdown. As is the case with
the MOSFET dv/dt, the diode might suffer a catastrophic failure, although the failure processes
are different.

Drain

D2 D1
C i N-Channel
MOSFET
Q
NPN Gate

Rb
Source
(a) dv/dt Equivalent Circuit (b) Waveform of the Body Diode
of the Body Diode during Reverse Recovery

Figure 1.10 Equivalent Circuit and Reverse Recovery Waveform of the Body Diode

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