UNIT I

Power Semiconductor
Devices

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Introduction
• What are Power Semiconductor Devices (PSD)?
They are devices used as switches or rectifiers in
power electronic circuits

• What is the difference of PSD and low-power

semiconductor device?
 Large voltage in the off state
 High current capability in the on state

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Classification

Fig. 1. The power semiconductor devices family

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Important Parameters
• Breakdown voltage.
• On-resistance.
Trade-off between breakdown voltage and
on-resistance.
• Rise and fall times for switching between on
and off states.
• Safe-operating area.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Power MOSFET: Structure
Power MOSFET has much higher current handling capability in
ampere range and drain to source blocking voltage(50-100V)
than other MOSFETs.

Fig.2.Repetitive pattern of the cells

structure in power MOSFET

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Power MOSFET: R-V Characteristics
An important parameter of a power MOSFET is on resistance:
L
Ron  RS  RCH  RD , where RCH 
W nCox (VGS  VT )

Fig. 3. Typical RDS versus ID characteristics of a MOSFET.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Thyristor: Structure
• Thyristor is a general class of a four-layer pnpn
semiconducting device.

Fig.4 (a) The basic four-layer pnpn structure.

(b) Two two-transistor equivalent circuit.
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Thyristor: I-V Characteristics

Three States:
 Reverse Blocking
 Forward Blocking
 Forward Conducting
Fig.5 The current-voltage
characteristics of the pnpn
device.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Applications
Power semiconductor devices have widespread
applications:
 Automotive
Alternator, Regulator, Ignition, stereo tape
 Entertainment
Power supplies, stereo, radio and television
 Appliance
Drill motors, Blenders, Mixers, Air conditioners
and Heaters
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Thyristors

• Most important type of power

semiconductor device.
• Have the highest power handling
capability.they have a rating of 1200V /
1500A with switching frequencies ranging
from 1KHz to 20KHz.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
• Is inherently a slow switching device
compared to BJT or MOSFET.
• Used as a latching switch that can be
turned on by the control terminal but
cannot be turned off by the gate.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Different types of Thyristors
• Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR).
• TRIAC.
• DIAC.
• Gate Turn-Off Thyristor (GTO).

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 SCR

Symbol of
Silicon Controlled
Rectifier

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Structure
G a te C a th o d e

n
+
10
19
cm
-3
n
+
10
19
cm
-3
 1 0 m


J3 - 17 -3
p 10 cm 3 0 -1 00 m


J2
–
n 10
13
-5 x 1 0
14
cm
-3 5 0 -1 0 0 0 m

J1
p
+
10
17
cm
-3
 3 0 -5 0 m
19 -3
p 10 cm

Anode

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
Device Operation

Simplified model of a
thyristor

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 V-I
Characteristics
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
Effects of gate current

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
Two Transistor Model of SCR

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
Considering PNP transistor
of the equivalent circuit,
I E 1  I A , I C  I C1 ,   1 ,
I CBO  I CBO1 , I B  I B1
 I B1  I A  1  1   I CBO1     1

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
Considering NPN transistor
of the equivalent circuit,
I C  I C2 , I B  I B2 , I E2  I K  I A  I G
I C2   2 I k  I CBO2
I C2   2  I A  I G   I CBO2     2 
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
From the equivalent circuit,
we see that
 I C2  I B1
 2 I g  I CBO1  I CBO 2
 IA 
1   1   2 
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
Case 1: When I g  0
I CBO1  I CBO2
IA 
1   1   2 
Case 2: When I G  0
 2 I g  I CBO1  I CBO 2
IA 
1   1   2 
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Turn-on
Characteristics

ton  td  tr
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 V A K
tC
tq

IA
di
C o m m u t a t io n
A n o d e c u rre n t dt
b e g in s t o
d e cre a se R ecovery R e c o m b in a tio n

t1 t2 t3 t4 t5

tq= d e v ic e o f f t im e
Turn-off
t

Characteristi
trr tgr
tc= c ir c u it o f f t im e
tq
tc

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS c
 Methods of Thyristor Turn-on
• Thermal Turn-on.
• Light.
• High Voltage.
• Gate Current.
• dv/dt.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Thyristor Types
• Phase-control Thyristors (SCR’s).
• Fast-switching Thyristors (SCR’s).
• Gate-turn-off Thyristors (GTOs).
• Bidirectional triode Thyristors (TRIACs).
• Reverse-conducting Thyristors (RCTs).

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
• Static induction Thyristors (SITHs).
• Light-activated silicon-controlled rectifiers
(LASCRs).
• FET controlled Thyristors (FET-CTHs).
• MOS controlled Thyristors (MCTs).

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Phase Control Thyristor
• These are converter thyristors.
• The turn-off time tq is in the order of 50 to
100sec.
• Used for low switching frequency.
• Commutation is natural commutation
• On state voltage drop is 1.15V for a 600V
device.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
• They use amplifying gate thyristor.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Fast Switching
Thyristors
• Also called inverter thyristors.
• Used for high speed switching applications.
• Turn-off time tq in the range of 5 to 50sec.
• On-state voltage drop of typically 1.7V for
2200A, 1800V thyristor.
• High dv/dt and high di/dt rating.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
Bidirectional Triode
Thyristors (TRIAC)

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Mode-I
Operation
M T (+ ) 2

P 1

N 1

P
Ig 2
N
MT2 Positive,
2

M T 1 ()
G Gate Positive
V
(+ )
Ig
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 Mode-II
Operation
M T (+ ) 2

P 1

In itia l F in a l
c o n d u c tio n N 1 c o n d u c tio n
P 2
N N
3 2
MT2 Positive,
M T 1 () Gate Negative
G
V

Ig
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
Mode-III Operation
M T 2 ()

N 4

P 1

N 1

P 2
N 2
MT2 Negative,
G M T 1 (+ )
(+ ) Gate Positive
Ig
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
Mode-IV Operation
M T 2 ()

N 4

P 1

N 1

N
P 2
MT2 Negative,
3

G M T 1 (+ )
Gate Negative
(-)

Ig
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
Triac Characteristics

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 BJT structure
heavily doped ~ 10^15 lightly doped ~ 10^8 lightly doped ~ 10^6
provides the carriers

note: this is a current of electrons (npn case) and so the

conventional current flows from collector to emitter.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
BJT characteristics

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
BJT characteristics

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 BJT modes of operation

Mode EBJ CBJ

Cutoff Reverse Reverse
Forward Forward Reverse
active
Reverse Reverse Forward
active
Saturation Forward Forward
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 BJT modes of operation
Cutoff: In cutoff, both junctions reverse biased. There is very little current flow, which
corresponds to a logical "off", or an open switch.

Forward-active (or simply, active): The emitter-base junction is forward biased and the
base-collector junction is reverse biased. Most bipolar transistors are designed to afford the
greatest common-emitter current gain, βf in forward-active mode. If this is the case, the
collector-emitter current is approximately proportional to the base current, but many times
larger, for small base current variations.

Reverse-active (or inverse-active or inverted): By reversing the biasing conditions of the

forward-active region, a bipolar transistor goes into reverse-active mode. In this mode, the
emitter and collector regions switch roles. Since most BJTs are designed to maximise
current gain in forward-active mode, the βf in inverted mode is several times smaller. This
transistor mode is seldom used. The reverse bias breakdown voltage to the base may be an
order of magnitude lower in this region.

Saturation: With both junctions forward-biased, a BJT is in saturation mode and facilitates
current conduction from the emitter to the collector. This mode corresponds to a logical
"on", or a closed switch.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 BJT structure (active)

current of electrons for npn transistor – IE IC

conventional current flows from - VCE +
collector to emitter. E C
- +
VBE IB VCB
+
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS -
B
 MOSFET
• NMOS: N-channel Metal
Oxide Semiconductor
• L = channel length
W
• W = channel width
GATE
L

i nsula tor n
o x id e
“Metal” (heavily
doped poly-Si) n
ilicon DRAIN
p-type s

SOURCE
• A GATE electrode is placed above (electrically insulated
from) the silicon surface, and is used to control the
resistance between the SOURCE and DRAIN regions
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 N-channel MOSFET
Gate
IG Drain
Source
IS gate ID
oxide insulator
n n
p

• Without a gate-to-source voltage applied, no current can

flow between the source and drain regions.
• Above a certain gate-to-source voltage (threshold
voltage VT), a conducting layer of mobile electrons is
formed at the Si surface beneath the oxide. These
electrons can carry current between the source and drain.
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 N-channel vs. P-channel
MOSFETs
NMOS PMOS

n+ poly-Si p+ poly-Si

n+ n+ p+ p+

p-type Si n-type Si

• For current to flow, VGS > VT • For current to flow, VGS < VT
• Enhancement mode: VT > 0 • Enhancement mode: VT < 0
• Depletion mode: VT < 0 • Depletion mode: VT > 0
– Transistor is ON when VG=0V – Transistor is ON when VG=0V
(“n+” denotes very heavily doped n-type material; “p+” denotes very heavily doped p-type material)
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 MOSFET Circuit Symbols

NMOS G G

n+ poly-Si

n+ n+ S S

p-type Si

PMOS G G
Body
p+ poly-Si

p+ p+ S S

n-type Si

Body
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 MOSFET Terminals
• The voltage applied to the GATE terminal determines whether
current can flow between the SOURCE & DRAIN terminals.
– For an n-channel MOSFET, the SOURCE is biased at a lower
potential (often 0 V) than the DRAIN
(Electrons flow from SOURCE to DRAIN when VG > VT)
– For a p-channel MOSFET, the SOURCE is biased at a higher
potential (often the supply voltage VDD) than the DRAIN
(Holes flow from SOURCE to DRAIN when VG < VT )

• The BODY terminal is usually connected to a fixed potential.

– For an n-channel MOSFET, the BODY is connected to 0 V
– For a p-channel MOSFET, the BODY is connected to VDD

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 NMOSFET IG vs. VGS Characteristic
Consider the current IG (flowing into G) versus VGS :
IG
G
S D
VDS
oxide
VGS +
 semiconductor +


IG
The gate is insulated from the
semiconductor, so there is no
significant steady gate current.
always zero!
VGS

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 NMOSFET ID vs. VDS Characteristics
Next consider ID (flowing into D) versus VDS, as VGS is varied:
G ID
S D
VDS
oxide
VGS +
 semiconductor +


ID Above threshold (VGS > VT):

“inversion layer” of electrons
VGS > VT appears, so conduction
between S and D is possible
zero if VGS < VT
VDS Below “threshold” (VGS < VT):
no charge  no conduction

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 The MOSFET as a Controlled Resistor
• The MOSFET behaves as a resistor when VDS is low:
– Drain current ID increases linearly with VDS
– Resistance RDS between SOURCE & DRAIN depends on VGS
• RDS is lowered as VGS increases above VT oxide thickness  tox

NMOSFET Example:
ID

VGS = 2 V

VGS = 1 V > VT
VDS

Inversion charge density Qi(x) = -Cox[VGS-VT-V(x)]

IDS = 0 if VGS < VT where Cox  ox / tox
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 ID vs. VDS Characteristics

The MOSFET ID-VDS curve consists of two regions:

1) Resistive or “Triode” Region: 0 < VDS < VGS  VT

W  VDS 
ID  k n VGS  VT  2 VDS
L  
where k n   n Cox
process transconductance parameter

2) Saturation Region:
VDS > VGS  VT
k n W
I DSAT  VGS  VT  2
2 L
where k n   nCox “CUTOFF” region: VG < VT
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
The Evolution Of IGBT
Part I: Bipolar Power Transistors
• Bipolar Power Transistor Uses Vertical Structure For
Maximizing Cross Sectional Area Rather Than Using Planar
Structure

Base Emitter

Collector
+
N

Base
N+

N-
Emitter
Collector

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
The Evolution Of IGBT
Part II:Power MOSFET
• Power MOSFET Uses Vertical Channel Structure Versus
The Lateral Channel Devices Used In IC Technology
Gate
Source
Drain

SiO2
n+ n+

P P

n- Gate

n-

Source

Drain

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
Lateral MOSFET structure

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
The Evolution Of IGBT
Part III: BJT(discrete) + Power MOSFET(discrete)
• Discrete BJT + Discrete Power MOSFET In Darlington
Configuration
C

N-MOSFET
D
G
S

NPN B

E
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
The Evolution Of IGBT
Part IV: BJT(physics) + Power MOSFET(physics) = IGBT
• More Powerful And Innovative Approach Is To Combine
Physics Of BJT With The Physics Of MOSFET Within Same
Semiconductor Region

• This Approach Is Also Termed Functional Integration Of

MOS And Bipolar Physics

• Using This Concept, The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor

(IGBT) Emerged

• Superior On-State Characteristics, Reasonable Switching

Speed And Excellent Safe Operating Area

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
The Evolution Of IGBT
Part IV: BJT(physics) + Power MOSFET(physics) = IGBT
• IGBT Fabricated Using Vertical Channels (Similar To Both
The Power BJT And MOSFET)
E
Emitter Gate

n+
p - base
p+

NPN G

n- - drift
N-MOSFET

PNP

p+ - substrate

Collector C
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
Device Operation
• Operation Of IGBT Can Be Considered Like A PNP
Transistor With Base Drive Current Supplied By The MOSFET

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 DRIVER CIRCUIT (BASE / GATE)

• Interface between control (low power electronics) and (high power) switch.

• Functions:
– amplifies control signal to a level required to drive power switch

– provides electrical isolation between power switch and logic level

• Complexity of driver varies markedly among switches. MOSFET/IGBT drivers

are simple but GTO drivers are very complicated and expensive.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 ELECTRICAL ISOLATION FOR DRIVERS

• Isolation is required to prevent damages on

the high power switch to propagate back to
low power electronics.

• Normally opto-coupler (shown below) or high

frequency magnetic materials (as shown in
the thyristor case) are used.

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 ELECTRICAL ISOLATION FOR DRIVERS

• Power semiconductor devices can be categorized into 3

types based on their control input requirements:

a) Current-driven devices – BJTs, MDs, GTOs

b) Voltage-driven devices – MOSFETs, IGBTs, MCTs
c) Pulse-driven devices – SCRs, TRIACs

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 CURRENT DRIVEN DEVICES (BJT)

• Power BJT devices have low current gain due to

constructional consideration, leading current than would
normally be expected for a given load or collector current.
• The main problem with this circuit is the slow turn-off time.
Many standard driver chips have built-in isolation. For
example TLP 250 from Toshiba, HP 3150 from Hewlett-
Packard uses opto-coupling isolation.
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
ELECTRICALLY ISOLATED DRIVE CIRCUITS

EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS
 EXAMPLE: SIMPLE MOSFET GATE DRIVER

• Note: MOSFET requires VGS =+15V for turn on and 0V to

turn off. LM311 is a simple amp with open collector
output Q1.

• When B1 is high, Q1 conducts. VGS is pulled to ground.

MOSFET is off.

• When B1 is low, Q1 will be off. VGS is pulled to VGG. If VGG

is set to +15V, the MOSFET turns on.
EE2301-POWER ELECTRONICS