P | KHANNA PUBLISHERSPOWER ELECTRONICS 621: 31% pin 3397 037474 Ce Dr. RS. BIMBHRA Ph.D., M.E. (Hons.), ELE. (India), M1S.7.E., M.LE.E. (UK) Professor & Head of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department ‘Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology PATIALA-147001 j With the Assistance of : Mrs. Surinder Kaur ‘THROUGHLY REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION KHANNA PUBLISHERS 2-B NATH MARKET, NAI SARAK DELHI-110006 Phones : 391 23 80 ; 722 41 79 @ Fax : 3980811Published by : Romesh Chander Khanna, for, KHANNA PUBLISHERS 2-B, Nath Market, Nai Sarak Delhi-110006. 60 All Rights Reserved (This book or part thereof cannot be translated or reproduced in any form (except for review or criticism) without the written permission of the Author and the Publishers] ISBN No. : 81-7409-056-8 Third Edition : Thirteenth Reprint : 2004 Price : Rs. 160.00 Computer Typeset at : Softserve Computer Systems Phone : 2462423 Printed at : HINDUSTAN OFFSET PRESS, New Delhi-28In Loving Memory of My Late ParentsPREFACE ‘The advent of thyristors has revolutionized the art of electric power conversion and its con- trol. Many more semiconductor devices such as triacs, asymmetrical thyristors, gate-turn-off. thyristors, power MOSFET, insulated gate bipolar transistor and MOS-controlled thyristors are now available, The use of these semiconductor devices has pervaded the industrial applications relating to the field of Electrical, Electronics, Instrumentation and Control Engineering. In other words, power-electronic components find their use in low as well as high power applications. The purpose of this book is to provide a good understanding of the power-electronic components and the behaviour of power-electronic controllers by presenting systematically all important aspects of semiconductor devices and the common types of electric power controllers: The book begins with the study of salient features of power diodes, power transistors, MOS-controlled thyristor and other members of thyristor family. Then their applications in the different types of power converter configurations are presented in a lucid detail. This book is intended to serve as an introductory course to the undergraduate students of Electrical, Electronics, Instrumentation and control disciplines. It is presumed that the reader is familiar with the basics of elementary electronics and circuit theory. The material presented here can be covered in one semester with the omission of some topics. The instructor, after browsing through the book for some time, can plan the course contents and its sequence without loss of continuity. The book contains twelve chapters. Chapter 1 gives an overview of merits and demerits of power-electric controllers and briefly discusses the topics covered in this book. This chapter also touches upon the significance of power electronics. Chapter 2 describes the characteristics of power diodes, power transistors and MOS-controlled thyristor. In Chapter 3 are presented diode circuits and rectifiers. Chapter 4 explains the characteristics of thyristors in detail and of triacs, GTOs ete. in brief: Thyristor commutation techniques are given in Chapter 5. In Chapter 6, the principles of conversion from ac to de involving single-phase as well as three-phase converters are presented. Chapters 7 to 10 pertain to the treatment of de choppers, inverters, ac voltage controllers and cycloconverters respectively. While chapter 11 gives study of several applications of power electronics, Chapter 12 discusses electric drives. A large number ofiillustrative diagrams and a wide variety of worked examples add to the clarity of the subject matter. The material given in this book is class-room tested. In the appendix, large number of objective-type questions relat- ing to Chapter 2 to 10 are given. ‘The material added in the present edition includes Chapter 11 and Chapter 12. Some topics have been re-written to make the presentation more lucid. Many more illustrative examples to reinforce the understanding of the subject matter are also included. It is hoped that the book in its present form will serve the purpose of students for the courses on Power Electronics of all Indian Universities. ‘The author is grateful to all those students who interacted with the author, in the class-room or outside, during the teaching of this subject. This interaction has greatly influenced the author’s style of teaching and writing to a great extent and every effort has gone into making the subject matter presentation as easily comprehensible as possible. Finally, the author expresses his gratitude to his wife for her perennial encouragement, un- derstanding and patience during the preparation of this book. ‘The author also places on record the assistance rendered by his two sons during the gruelling task of proof-reading. Suggestions leading to the improvement of the book will be gratefully acknowledged. Patiala Dr. PS. Bimbhra 14th November, 1999 AJ, INTRODUCTION .......--.0++05 1.1, Concept of Power Electronics . f 1.2. Applications of Power Electronics... . 1 18, Advantages and Disadvantages of Power-Electronic Converters. 2 1.4. Power Electronic Systems . . - 3 1.5. Power Semiconductor Devices . oe 4 1.6. Types of Power Electronic Converters. . 4 1.7. Power Electronic Modules .....- 5 2, POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DIODES AND TRANSISTORS .....-- 7-81 2.1, Characteristics of Power Diodes 7 2.1.1, Diode V-I Characteristics . 7 2.1.2, Diode Reverse Recovery Characteristics 8 2.2. Types of Power Diodes .....- . . 10 2.2.1. General-purpose Diodes +10 2.2.2, Fast-recovery Diodes . 10 2.2.8, Schottky Diodes = 10 2.3. Power Transistors .. . -10 23.1. Bipolar Junction Transistors . sr 1 2.9.1.1, Steedy-state Characteristics... . u 2.3.1.2. Transistor Switching Performance. - 4 2.3.1.3. Safe Operating Area. 115 2.4. Power MOSFETS .... . - 20 2.4.1, MOSFET Characteristics . 22 2.4.2, Comparison of MOSFET with BJT 23 2.5. Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (GBT) . 22d 2.5.1, Basic Structure and Working BICOL ie aoe ae 2.5.2. IGBT Characteristics . .. . « Et Tanneries So ete een 2.5.3, Switching Characteristics BENS ees ee. ee 2.5.4. Applications of IGBT .... - De es als ROU 2.6. Mos-controlled Thyristor (MCT). . . oat 2.7. New Semicondueting Materials 7) 3. DIODE CIRCUITS AND RECTIFIERS . saat 3.1. Diode Circuits with DC Source . . “ 3.1.1. Resistive Load . . . BE 3.1.2. RC Load ae 3.1.3. RL Load . 2 84 3.1.4. LC Load . - 84 3.1.5. RLC Load .. BB 3.2. Freewheeling Diodes 241 3.3. Diode and L-Circuit . ae 3.4. Recovery of Trapped Energy 42 3.5. Single-phase Diode Rectifiers . . . ae 43 3.5.1. Single-phase Half wave Rectifier . . . 43 Ge zener Dicdes. ss es : 87 \THYRISTORS 000.30 .. digh nh 62-159 “4.1. Terminal Chiracteristies of Thyristors 4.1.1. Static V-I Characteristics of a Thyristor 4.2. Thyristor Turn-on Methods ........ . 4.3. Switching Characteristics of Thyristors ..... |. 4.3.1, Switching Characteristics during Turn-on 4.3.2. Switching Characteristics During Turn‘off 4.4. Thyristor Gate Characteristics...) oe) 4.5. Two-transisto Model of a Thyristor . . . 4.8. Thyristor Ratings. .... 2... 4.6.1, Anode Voltage Ratings 4.6.2. Current Ratings... . . 4.7. Thyristor Protection ..... . 4.7.1. Design of Snubber Cireuits : 4.7.2. Overvoltage Protection ....... 4.7.2.1, Suppression of Overvoltages . 99 4.1.3. Overcurrent Protection . 100 4.7.4, Gate Protection .............., 101 4.8, Heating, Cooling and Mounting of Thyristors .. 103 4.8.1, Thermal Resistance... 2... . » 104 4.8.2. Heat Sink Specifications . . 105 4.8.3. Thyristor Mounting Techniques... . . -. 106 4.9. Series and Parallel Operation of Thyristors .. . 110 4.9.1. Series Operation 2 i 4.9.2. Parallel Operation fi e 16 4.10. Other Members of the Thyristor Family... .... 120 4.10.1. PUT (Programmable Unijunction Transistor). 120 4.10.2. SUS (Silicon Unilateral Switch) . 120 4.10.8. SCS (Silicon Controlled Switch) 121 4.10.4. Light Activated Thyristors ..... . . - 122 4.10.5. Static Induction Thyristors (SITHs) . . 122 4.10.6. The Diac (Bidirectional Thyristor Diode) . 192 pia Beatirinc 6 8 Sse a. » 123 4.10.8. Asymmetrical Thyristor (ASCR) . ie 125 4.10.9. Reverse Conducting Thyristor (RCT) .. 126 4.10.10. Other Thyristor Devices i +. 126 4.11. Gate Tum Off (G..0.) Thyristor ae .. 126 4.11.1, Static VI Characteristics of GTOs 127 4.11.2. Switching Performance z 127 4.12. Firing Cireuits for Thyristors +8 . 129 4.12.1, Main Features of Firing Circuits widaivg 129 4.12.2. Resistance and Resistance-Capacitance Firing Circuits - 130 4.12.3. Unijunction Transistor (UJT) . 134 4.18. Pulse Transformer in Firing Circuits. . . ee, 4.14, Triac Firing Cireuit........,.. 3 fe, ida 4.15. Gating Circuits for Single-phase Converters .. 46 4.15.1, Gate Pulse Amplifiers . - 48 4.15.2. Pulse Train Gating . . . 149 4.16. Cosine Firing Scheme 150Gy 5. THYRISTOR COMMUTATION TECHNIQUES 5.1, Class A Commutation : Load Commutation . . a 5.2. Class B Commutation : Resonant-Pulse Commutation 5.3. Class C Commutation : Complementary Commutation 54, impulse Commutation 55. ixternal Pulse Commutation. 5.6, Class F Commutation : Line Commutation... . . /6. PHASE CONTROLLED RECTIFIERS i 6.1. Principle of Phase Control... . . 6.1.1. Single-phase Half wave Cireuit With RL Load é 6.1.2. Single-phase Half-wave Circuit With RL Load And Froowheding Diode |. 180 6.1.3. Single-phase Half-wave Circuit With RLE Load ane ~» 182 6.2. Full-wave Controlled Converters... .. « 187 6.3. Single-phase Full-wave Converters . 188 6.3.1. Single-phase Full-wave Mid-point Converter . 189 6.3.2, Single-phase Full-wave Bridge Converters . 191 6.3.2.1. Single-phase Full Converter 191 6.3.2.2, Single-phase Semiconverter. 194 6.9.2. Analysis of Two-pulse Bridge Converter With Continuous Conduction. 196 6.4. Single-phase Two-pulse Converters with Discontinuous Load Current. +. 200 6.4.1. Single-phase Full Converter With Discontinuous Current... . 2. S00 6.4.2. Single-phase Semiconverter With Discontinuous Current .....-.-.. 201 6.5. Three-phase Converter Systems using Diodes 208 6.6. Three-phase Thyristor Converter Circuits . . 209 6.6.1, Throc-phase Full Converters 210 6.6.2, Three-phase Semiconverters . . . 214 6.7. Effect of Source Impedance on the Performance of Converters 221 6.7.1. Single-phase Full Converter . . . 6.7.2. Three-phase Full Converter Bridge . 6.8. Dual Converters ........... 6.8.1. Ideal Dual Converter . 6.8.2. Practical Dual Converter . . 6.9, Some Worked Examples... .. . . 7. CHOPPERS . mat 7A, Principle of Chopper Operation . . 7.2, Control Strategies 72.1. Constant Frequency System 7.2.2. Variable Se System 71.3. Step-up Choppers . : 7.4. Types of Chopper Circuits . 74.1. Frst-quadrant, or Type-A, Chopper . 7.4.2. Second-quadrant, or Type-B, Chopper . 7.4.3. ‘Tw6-quadrant Type-a Chopper, or Type-C Chopper . 256 7.4.4. Two-quadrant Type-b Chopper, or Type-D Chopper 256 7.4.5. Four-quadrant Chopper, or Type-B Chopper 257 75, Steady State Time-domain Analysis of Type-A Chopper » 259 7.5.1, Steady State Ripple... .....--+ ; 263@® 7.5.2. Limit of Continuous Conduction 264 7.5.3. Computation of Extinction Time t, 265 7.5.4. Fourier Analysis of Output Nola 266 7.6. Thyristor Chopper Circuits . . 4 274 1716.1. Voltage-commutated Chopper. 276 7.6.2. Current-commutated Chopper . 285 7.6.3. Load-commutated Chopper . 293 7.7, Multiphase Choppers... . - 5 298 £ @ INVERTERS ...... Be ba sasaibs 8.1, Single-phase Voltage Source Inverters | Operating Pane ‘Single-phase Bridge Inverters Steady-state Analysis of Single-phase Inverter . 82, Fourier Analysis of Single-phase Inverter Output Voltage « 8.3. Force-commutated Thyristor Inverters... ... - Modified Memurray Half-bridge Inverter . Modified McMurray Full-bridge Inverter . . Modified MeMurray-Bedford Halftbridge Inverter - 3.4. Modified McMurray-Bedford Full-bridge Inverter . . 8.4, Three Phase Bridge Inverters . . | Three-phase 180 Degree Mode VSI 4.2. Three-phase 120 Degree Mode VSI 85. Voltage Control In Single-phase Inverters... . . - 8.5.1, External Control of AC Output Voltage . . . 85.2. External Control of DC Input Voltage . 8.5.3. Ifternal Control of Inverter... . 8.6. Pulse-width Modulated Inverters . 8.6.1. Single-pulse Modulation . 8.6.2. Multiple-pulse Modulation 8.6.3. Sinusoidal-Pulse Modulation (sin M) . . 8.64, Realization of PWM in Single-phase Bridge Tnverters . 356 8.7. Reduction of Harmonics in the Inverter Output Voltage . 359 8.7.1. Harmonic Reduction by PWM .......-. 359 872. Harmonie Reduction by Transformer Connections 360 8.7.3. Harmonic Reduction by Stepped-wave Inverters 362 8.8, Current Source Inverters ......- 2ié 363 8.8.1. Single-phase CSI With Ideal Switches. ‘ 363 88.2, Single-phase Capacitor-commutated CSI With R-Lond 365 88.8, Single-phase Auto-sequential Commutated Inverter (I-Phase ASCD 369 8.9. Series Inverters . ines ss . 317 8.9.1. Basic Series Inverter |... eo 377 8.9.2. Analysis of Basic Series Inverter . . . - 378 8.10. Single-phase Parallel Inverter . . . 382 8.10.1, Analysis of Parallel Inverter 383 9. AC VOLTAGE CONTROLLERS ..... 392-418 9.1. Types of AC Voltage Controllers 392 9.2, Integral Cycle Control... .. . - - 893 9.3. Single-phase Voltage Controllers . . . } Load | Feedback Signal Fig. 1.1 Block diagram of a typical power electronic system. eS wor4 [Art 1.6] Power Electronics The output from the power electronic circuit may be variable de, or ac voltage, or it may be a variable voltage and frequency. In general, the output of a power electronic convertor circuit depends upon the requirements of the load. For example, if the load is a de motor, the converter output must be adjustable direct voltage. In case the load is a 3-phase induction motor, the converter may have adjustable voltage and frequency at its output terminals. ‘The feedback component in Fig. 1.1 measures a parameter of the load, say speed in case of a rotating machine, and compares it with the command. The difference of the two, through the digital circuit components, controls the instant of turn-on of semiconductor devices forming the solid-state power converter system. In this manner, behaviour of the load circuit can be controlled, as desired, over a wide range with the adjustment of the command, 1.5. POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES. Silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) was introduced first in 1957. Since then, several,other power semiconductor devices have been developed. All these semiconductor devices are enumerated below along with their ratings. Power diodes are available up to 3000 V, 3500 A, 1 kHz. Thyristors have ratings up to 6000 V, 3500 A, 1 kHz. SITHs (static induction thyristors) can operate up to 4000 V, 2200 A, 20 kHz. GTOs (gate-turn off thyristors) have ratings of 4000 V, 3000 A, 10 kHz. MCTs (MOS controlled thyristors) can work up to 600 V, 60 A, 20 kHz. Triacs have power ratings of 1200 V, 300 A, 400 Hz. BJTs are used up to power ratings of 1200 V, 400 A, 10 kHz. Power MOSFETs (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors) and SITs (static induction transistors) have relatively low range of 1000 V, 50 A and 1200 V, 300 A respectively. Both these devices can, however, operate satisfactorily up to a frequency range of 100 kHz. IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors) are available up to 1200 V, 400 A and 20 kHz. Based on () turn-on and turn-off characteristics and (ii) gate signal requirements, the power semiconductor devices can be classified as under : = (@) Diodes : These are uncontrolled rectifying devices. Their on and off states are controlled by power supply. (b) Thyristors : These have controlled turned-on by a gate signal. After thyristors are turned-on, they remain latched-in on-state due to internal regenerative action. (c) Controllable switches : These devices are turned-on and turned-off by the application of control signals. The devices which behave as controllable switches are BJT, MOSFET, GTO, SITH, IGBT, SIT and MCT. si SCR, GTO, SITH and MCT require pulse-gate signal for turning them on ; once these devices are on, gate pulse is removed. But BJT, MOSFET, IGBT and SIT require continuous signal for keeping them in turn-on state. ‘The devices which can withstand unipolar voltage are BJT, MOSFET, IGBT and MCT. Thyristors and GTOs are capable of supporting bipolar voltages. ‘Triac and RCT (reverse conducting thyristor) possess bidirectional current capability whereas all other remaining devices ( diode, SCR, GTO, BJT, MOSFET, IGBT, SIT, SITH, MCT ) are uniditectional current devices. 1.6. TYPES OF POWER ELECTRONIC CONVERTERS A power elegtronic system consists of one or more power electronic converters. A power [electronic converter is made up of some power semiconductor devices controlled by integratedIntroduction fart. 17] 5 cireuits. The. switching characteristics of power semiconductor devices permit a power electronic converter to shape the input power of one form to output power of some other form, Static power converters perform these functions of power conversion very efficiently. Broadly speaking, power electronic converters (or circuits) can be classified into six types as under: 1. Diode Rectifiers : A diode rectifier circuit converts ac input voltage into a fixed de voltage. The input voltage may be single-phase or three phase. Diode rectifiers find wide use in electric traction, battery charging, electroplating, electrochemical processing, power supplies, welding and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems. 2, Ac to de converters ( Phase-controlled rectifiers ) : These convert constant ac voltage to variable de output voltage. These rectifiers use line voltage for their commutation, as such these are also called line-commutated or naturally-commutated ac to de converters. Phase-controlled converters may be fed from 1-phase or 3-phase source. These are used in de drives, metallurgical and chemical industries, excitation systems for synchronous machines etc. 8. DC to de converters (DC Choppers ) : Adc chopper converts fixed de input voltage to a controllable de output voltage. The chopper circuits require forced, or load, commutation to turn-off the thyristors. For lower power circuits, thyristors are replaced by power transistors. Classification of chopper circuits is dependent upon the type of commutation and also on the direction of power flow. Choppers find wide applications in de drives, subway cars, trolley trucks, battery-driven vehicles ete 4. DC to ac converters (inverters ) : An inverter converts fixed de voltage to a variable ac voltage. The output may be a variable voltage and variable frequency. These converters use line, load or forced commutation for turning-off the thyristors. Inverters find wide use in induction-motor and synchronous-motor drives, induction heating, UPS, HVDC transmission ete. At present, conventional thyristors are also being replaced by GTOs in high-power applications and by power transistors in low-power applications. . 5. AC to ac converters : These conyert fixed ac input voltage into variable ac output voltage. These are of two types as under : (a) AC voltage controllers (AC voltage regulators) : These converter circuits convert fixed ac voltage directly to a variable ac voltage at the same frequency. AC voltage controller employ two thyristors in antiparallel of a triac. Turn-off of both the devices is obtained by line commutation. Output voltage is controlled by varying the firing angle delay. AC voltage controllers are widely used for lighting control, speed control of fans, pumps ete. (6) Cycloconverters : These circuits convert input power at one frequency to output power ata different frequency through one-stage conversion. Line commutation is more common in these converters, though forced and load commutated cycloconverters are also employed. These are primarily used for slow-speed large ac drives like rotary kiln ete. 6, Static switches : The power semiconductor devices can operate as static switches or contactors. Static switches possess many advantages over mechanical and electromechanical circuit breakers. Depending upon the input supply, the static switches are called ac static switches or de static switches, 1.7, POWER ELECTRONIC MODULES A power electronic converter may require two, four or more semiconductor devices depending upon the circuit configuration. Power modules consisting of two, four or six devices are, at present, available. Thus, a power electronic converter can be assembled from power modules instead of from individual semiconductor devices. A power module has Betterrr ae 6 [Art 1.7] Power Electronics performance characteristics as compared to conventional devices so far as theit switching characteristics, operating speed and losses are concerned. Gate drive circuits for individual devices or power modules are also commercially available. As a result of these developments, now intelligent modules have come in the market. Intellegent module, also called smart-power, is state-of-the-art power electronics and it consists of power module and a peripheral circuit. The peripheral circuit comprises of interfacing of power module with the input/output through proper isolation from low-voltage signal and from high-voltage power circuit, a drive circuit, protection and diagnostic circuitry against maloperation like excess current, over voltage ete, microcomputer control and controlled power supply. The user has merely to connect the existing supply and the load terminals to the smart-power. At present, intelligent modules are being used extensively in power electronics. It is reported that there are more than twenty manufacturers of intelligent modules. SUMMARY Power semiconductor devices form the heart of modern power electronics. A power electronics engineer must understand the device thoroughly for efficient, reliable and cost-effective design of power converters. For this purpose, chapter 2 is devoted to the study . of power semiconductor diodes, transistors and MCT. Chapter 3 deals with diode circuits and rectifiers. In chapter 4, are discussed in detail the thyristor characteristics and its control strategies. Thyristor commutation techniques are described in chapter 5. Other power electronic converters mentioned in this chapter are described in detail in chapter 6 onwards. PROBLEMS ‘1.1 (@) What is power electronics ? Discuss briefly the concept of power electronics. (®) What is a converter ? Illustrate your answer with examples. () Enumerate at least ten applications of power electronics. (@ Give the advantages and disadvantages of power electronic converters. 1.2 (a) Discuss the various types of power electronic converters. (8) Deseribe a power electronic system with its general block diagram. {c) Compare a diode with a thyristor. (d) Give the differences between a triac and a thyristor. 1.8 (a) List the semiconductor devices which can withstand (#) unipolar voltages and (i) bipolar voltages. (6) Give the differences between an ac voltage controller and a cycloconveter. (©) What are the differences in the gating requirements of thyristors and transistors ? (d) Give the differences between a triac and an IGBT. * (@) What is power-electronic module ? Describe smart-power.TWO Power Semiconductor Diodes and Transistors Power semiconductor diodes are similar to low-power p-n junction diodes, called signal diodes. Similarly, power transistors are identical with npn or pap signal transistors, As matter of fact, power semi conductor devices are more complex in structure and in operation than their low-power counterparts. This complexity arises because low-power devices must be modified in order to make them suitable for high-power applications, for example, power diodes are constructed with n” layer, called drift region, between p® layer (anode) and n* layer or substrate (cathode). This is done to support large blocking voltages. This n™ type layer is, however, not present in signal diodes. = < ‘The voltage, current and power ratings of power diodes and transistors are much higher than the corresponding ratings for signal devices. In addition, power devices operate at lower switching speeds whereas signal diodes and transistors operate at higher switching speeds. Power semiconductor devices are used extensively in power-electronic circuits. Some applications of power diodes include their use as freewheeling diodes, for ac to de conversion, for recovery of trapped energy etc. Power transistors, used as a switching device in power-electronic circuits, must operate in the saturation region in order that their on-state voltage drop is low. Their applications as switching elements include de choppers and inverters. The object of this chapter is to describe power diodes, power transistors and MOS-controlled thyristor (MCT). A thyristor is more important component of power semiconductor devices, it is, therefore, discussed in detail in Chapter 4. 2.1, CHARACTERISTICS OF POWER DIODES Power diode is a two-layer, two-terminal, p-n semiconductor device. It has one pn-junction formed by alloying, diffusing or epitaxial growth. The two terminals of diode are called anode and cathode, Fig. 2.1 (a). Two important characteristics of power diodes are now described. 2.1.1, Diode V-I Characteristics a When anode is positive with respect to cathode, diode is said to be forward biased. With increase of the source voltage V, from zero value, initially diode current is zero. From V, =0 to cut-in voltage, the forward-diode current is very small. Cut-in voltage is also known as threshold voltage or turn-on voltage. Beyond cut-in voltage, the diode current rises rapidly and the diode is said to conduct. For silicon diode, the cut-in voltage is around 0.7 V. When diode conduets, there is a forward voltage drop of the order of 0.8 to 1 V. 8 i8 [Art 2.1) Power Electronics When cathode is positive with respect to anode, the diode is said to be reverse biased. In the reverse biased condition of the diode, a small reverse current, called leakage current, of the order of microamperes or milliamperes (for large diodes) flows. The leakage current increases slowly with the reverse voltage until breakdown or avalanche voltage is reached At this breakdown voltage, diode is turned on in the reversed direction. If current in the reversed direction is not limited by a series resistance, the current will become quite high to destroy the diode. The reverse avalanche breakdown of a diode is avoided by operating the diode below specified peak repetitive reverse voltage Vapy. Fig. 2.1 (c) illustrates diode characteristics where Vapy and cut-in voltage are shown. - Forward voltage drop Reverse Anode en bl i nn Bale \ Vana : cs ‘ ‘ , \ cut’ 1 i Reverse voltage =0.7.V Ms Ne. breakdown (o) (b) () Fig. 2.1, (@) p-n junction (6) diode symbol (c) V-I characteristics of diode, Diode manufacturers also indicate the value of peak inverse voltage (PIV) of a diode. This 18 the largest reverse voltage to which a diode may be subjected during its working. PIV is the same'as Veni. ‘The power diodes are now available with forward current ratings of 1 A to several thousand amperes-and with reverse voltage ratings of 50 V to 3000 V or more. 2.1.2, Diode Reverse Recovery Characteristics After the forward diode current decays to zero, the diode continues to conduct in the reverse direction because of the presence of stored charges in the two layers, The reverse current flows for a time called reverse recovery time ¢,,. The diode regains its blocking capability until reverse recovery current decays to zero. The reverse recovery time t,, is defined as the time between the instant forward diode current becomes zero and the instant reverse recovery current decays to 25% of its reverse peak value Ipy as shown in Fig, 2.2 (a). The reverse recovery time is composed of two segments of time ¢, and, /.,f,, =t, +, Time #, is the time between zero crossing of forward current and peak reverse current Ipy, During the time £,, charge stored in depletion region is removed, Time ¢, is measured from the instant of Zpyy to the instant where 0.25 Ipy is reached, Fig. 2.2 (a). During t,, charge from the two semiconductor layers is removed. The shaded area in Fig. 2.2 (a) represents the stored charge, or reveise recovery charge, Q; which must be removed during the reverse recovery time f,,, The ratiot,/£, is called the softness factor or S-factor. This factor is a measure ofthe voltage transients that occur during the time diode recovers. Its usual value is unity and this indicates low oscillatory reverse recovery process. In case S-factor is small, diode has large oscillatory over voltages. A diode with S-factor equal to one is called soft-recovery diode and a diode with S-factor less than one is called snappy-recovery diode or fast-recoveryPower Semiconductor Diodes and Transistors [Art 24) 9 diode. In Fig, 2.2 () is shown the i waveform of forward-voltage drop v, across the diode. The product of v;and iy gives the power loss in a diode. Its variation is shown in Fi 2.2 (c). The average value of vi; gives the total power loss in a diode. Fig. 2.2 (c) reveals that major power (b) loss in a diode occurs during the period ty, Itis noticed from Fig. 2.2(a) that 1 NA peak inverse current Inj can be |.) ; expressed as siege Le nena oat ees +20), ) Tae di Fig. 2.2. Reverse recovery characteristics where & is the rate of change of (@) variation of forward current ip vw current, ‘The reverse (©) forward voltage drop uand (e) power loss in a diode recovery characteristics of Fig. 2.2 (a) can be taken to be triangular. Under this assumption, storage charge Qz from Fig. 2.2 (a), is given by 1 Qr= Glau ite 2 4plhs or Tru (22) ft, ai peste z _ 28) From Eqs. (2.2) and (2.3), we get t,-d2 2@r aa 2Qe fF ie: tole os. (2.4) From Eq. (2.1), with ¢, =¢,,, we get di dt ote) It is seen from Eqs. (2.4) and (2.5) that reverse recovery em and peak inverse current are dependent on storage charge and rate of change ofcurrent 4 a The storage charge depends upon the forward diode current Jy, This shows that reverse cone time and pesleinverse current depend on forward field current.10 [Art 2.3] Power Electronics A power-electronics engineer must know peak reverse current Ip, stored charge Qn; S-factor, PIV ete in order to be able to design the circuitry employing power diodes. These parameters are usually specified in the catalogue supplied by the diode manufacturers, 2.2. TYPES OF POWER DIODES Diodes are classified according to their reverse recovery characteristics. The three types of power diodes are as under : (é) General purpose diodes (ii) Fast recovery diodes (ii) Schottky diodes. These are now described briefly. 2.2.1. General-purpose Diodes ‘These diodes have relatively high reverse recovery time, of the order of about 25 us. Their current ratings vary from 1 A to several thousand amperes and the range of voltage rating is from 50 V to about 5 kV. Applications of power diodes of this type include battery charging, electric traction, electroplating, welding and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). 2.2.2, Fast-recovery Diodes The diodes with low reverse recovery time, of about 5 us or less, are classified as fast-recovery diodes. These are used in choppers, commutation circuits, switched mode power supplies, induction heating ete. Their current ratings vary from about 1 A to several thousand amperes and voltage ratings from 50 V to about 8 kV. For voltage ratings below about 400 V, the epitaxial process is used for diode fabrication. These diodes have fast recovery time, as low as 50 ns. For voltage ratings above 400 V, diffusion technique is used for the fabrication of diodes. In order to shorten the reverse-recovery time, platinum or gold doping is carried out. But this doping may increase the forward voltage drop in a diode. 2.2.8. Schottky Diodes This class of diodes use metal-to-semiconductor junction for rectification purposes instead of pn-junction. Schottky diodes are characterised by very fast recovery time and low forward voltage drop. Rectified current flow is by majority carriers only and this avoids the turn-off delay accompanied with minority carrier recombination. Their reverse voltage ratings are limited to about 100 V and forward current ratings vary from 1 A to 300 A. Applications of Schottky diodes include high-frequency instrumentation and switching power supplies. The electrical and thermal characteristics of power diodes are similar to those of thyristors and these are described in Chapter 4. 2.3. POWER TRANSISTORS Power diodes are uncontrolled devices. In other words, their turn-on and turn-off characteristics are not under control. Power transistors, however, possess controlled characteristics. These are turned on when a current signal is given to base, or control, terminal. The transistor remains in the on-state so long as control signal is present. When this control signal is removed, a power transistor is turned off. \ Power transistors are of three types as under : (@) Bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) (i) Motal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) \ g:Power Semiconductor Diodes and Transistors [Art.2.3] 11 (iii) Insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) ‘These three types are now described one after the other. 2.3.1. Bipolar Junction Transistors A bipolar transistor is a three-layer, two junction npn or pnp semiconductor device. With one p-region sandwiched by two n-regions, Fig. 2.3 (a), npn transistor is obtained. With two p-regions sandwiching one n-region, Fig, 2.3 (b), pnp transistor is obtained. The term ‘ bipolar * denotes that the current flow in the device is due to the movement of both holes and electrons. ABUT has three terminals named collector, emitter and base, An emitter is indicated by an arrowhead indicating the direction of emiitter current. No arrow is associated with base or collector. Collector c Collector c es ha eel 0 P 2 7 n e le | Je Emitter E Emitter é @ @) Fig. 2.3. Bipolar junetion transistors (a) npn type and (6) pnp type. 2.3.1.1, Steady-state Characteristics. Out of the three possible circuit configurations for a transistor, common-emitter arrangement is more common in switching applications. So, henceforth, npn transistors will only be considered. Input characteristics. A graph between base current J, and base-emitter voltage Vag gives input characteristics. As the base-emitter junction of a transistor is like a diode, Ip versus Vpg graph resembles a diode curve. When colfector-emitter voltage Vor» is more than Voey base current decreases as shown in Fig. 2.4 (6). Base Tes Ieu>--->T51 Satu- ration region Leakage current () + () Fig. 2.4. (a) npn transistor cireuit characteristies, (b) input characteristics and (e) outputf fart. 2.3] Power Electronics Output characteristics. A graph between collector current I, and collector-emitter voltage Vog gives output characteristics of a transistor. For zero base current, i.e. for Ip =0, as Vog is increased, a small leakage (collector) current exists as shown in Fig. 2.4 (c). As the base current is increased from Jy = 0 to Ip;, Ips ete, collector current also rises as shown in Fig. 2.4 ©), Fig. 2.5 (a) shows two of the output characteristic curves, 1 for p= 0 and 2 for Ip #0. The initial part of curve 2 , characterised by low Vog, is called the saturation region. In this region, the transistor acts like a switch. The falt part of curve 2, indicated by increasing Vog and almost constant J,, is the active region. In this region, transistor acts like an amplifier. Almost vertically rising curve is the breakdown region which must be avoided at all costs. Collector Breckdown, ‘Saturation point 1p#0 Breakover Ip voltage =a Load line Base Saturation region aot i 0 Vee lee Emitter @) ) Fig. 2.5. (a) Output characteristics and load line for npn transistor and (6) electron flow in an npn transistor. For load resistor Ro, Fig. 2.4 (a), the collector current Ig is given by i Veo-Ver (2.6) This is the equation of load line. It is shown as line AB in Fig. 2.5 (a). A load line is the locus of all possible operating points. Ideally, when transistor is on, Vog is zero and Ie=Vec/Rg. This collector current is shown by point A on the vertical axis. When the transistor is off, or in the cut-off region, Vago appears across collector-emitter terminals and there is no collector current. This value is indicated by point B on the horizontal axis. For the résistive load, the line’joining points A and B is the load line. Relation between o. and . Most of the electrons, proportional to I, given out by emitter, reach the collector as shown in Fig. 2.5 (b). In other words, collector current Io, though less than emitter current Zp, is almost equal to J, A symbol a. is used to indicate how close in « value these two currents are. Here , called forward current gain, is defined as As Ic < Ig, value of ot varies from 0.95 to 0.99.Power Semiconductor Diodes and Transistors fart. 2.3] 13 In a transistor, base current is effectively the input current and collector current is the output current. The ratio of collector (output) current-I to base (input) current I, is known as the current gain B. ae (2.7) As I, is much smaller, B is much more than unity ; its value varies from 50 to 300. In another system of analysis, called h parameters, hips is used in place of B. I B= hre= 7 Use of KCL in Fig. 2.4 (a) gives c+ Ty (2.8) Remember that emitter current is the largest of the three currents, collector current is almost equal to, but less than, emitter current. Base current has the least value. Dividing both sides of Eq. (2.8) by Io, we get or (2.9) and (2.10) Transistor Switch. Transistor operation as a switch means that transistor operates either in the saturation region or in the cut-off region and nowhere also on the load line. As an ideal switch, the transistor operates at point A in the saturated state as closed switch with Vog =0 and at point B in the cut-off state as an open switch with I= 0, Fig. 2.5 (a). In practice, the large base current will cause the transistor to work in the saturation region at point A’ with small saturation voltage Vogs. Here subseript S is used to denote saturated value. Voltage Vozs represents on-state yoltage drop of the transistor which is of the order of about 1 V. When the control, or base, signal is reduced to zero, the transistor is turned off and its operation shifts to B’ in the cut-off region, Fig. 2.5 (a). A small leakage current Zoro flows in the collector circuit when the transistor is off. For Fig. 2.4 (a), KVL for the circuit consisting of Vp, Rp and emitter gives Vp -Re ls }-Vaz=0 Va-Vae Re Also, from Fig. 2.4 (a), Veo =Ver+IcRe or Ver = Veen IcRe=Veo+ Bla Be =Voo- ae (V2 -Vaz) Q.1) or Ip= Also Von = Von +Vard4__‘[Art. 2.3) Power Electronics or Vea=Ves- Var (2.12) If Vogs is the collector-emitter saturation voltage, then collector current Igs is given by Veo - Ve Tegan (2.13) if and Ipg= e (2.14) where Ipg is the base current that produces saturation, Ifbase current is less than Ipg the transistor operates in the active region, i.e . somewhere between the saturation and cut-off points. If base current is more than Ing, Vogg is almost zero and collector current from Eq, (2.13) is given by Igs = Vg¢/Ro, This shows that collector current at saturation remains substantially constant even if base current is increased. With base current more than Igs, hard drive of transistor is obtained, With hard saturation, Vogs becomes low and on-state losses of transistor are reduced. Under hard-drive conditions, the ratio of Ip and Ipg is defined as the overdrive factor (ODF). opr = (2.15) Tas The ratio of Ios to Ip is called forced current gain B, where I B= - < natural current gain B or hg (2.16) IB The total power loss in the two junctions of a transistor is Pr=VarIp+Voelc (217) Under saturated state, Vags is greater than Vogs and Eq. (2.12) shows that Vop is negative. It means both transistor junctions are forward biased under saturated condition. 2.3.1.2, Transistor Switching Performance. A transistor cannot be turned on instant- ly because of the presence of internal capacitances. Fig. 2.6 (b) shows switching waveforms of an npn transistor with resistive load between collector and emitter Fig. 2,6 (a), When base-emitter voltage Vge is applied, the base current rises to Ips ; the collector current, however, remains zero or equal to cdllector-emitter leakage current [og9 as shown. After some time delay ¢,, called delay time, the collector current begins to rise. This delay is due to the time required to charge base-emitter capacitance to Vapg = 0.7 V. After this delay ty, collector current rises to steady state value Ics in time t,, which is known as rise time. This means that turn-on time for BUT is t,,=f;+t,. Rise time depends upon the input capacitances. During rise time #,, collector-emitter voltage falls from Vgq to Vops. The transistor remains | im the on and saturated state so long as forward base current is maintained. ‘When the base-emitter voltage Vug is removed at time t,, the collector current does not change for a time #,, called storage time. During t,, saturating charge is removed from the base. After ¢,, collector current begins to fall and at the same time, collector voltage starts building up. After times z, called fall time, Ip decreases to Igo (almost zero) and ‘collector-emitter voltage rises to Vcc, Sum of storage time and fall time gives the transistor burn-off time, i.e. ty=t, +t, The various waveforms during transistor switching are shownPower Semiconductor Diodes and Transistors (Art. 2.3] 15 stint onteeto ot ty t @ b) Fig. 2.6. (a) vciiahse Wh Pinel ida ea @ ayia wma RN AR in Fig. 2.6 (6). In this figure, t, = conduction period, t, = off period and 7"= 1/fis the periodic time. 2.3.1.8. Safe Operating Area. The safe operating area (SOA or SOAR) of a power tran- sistor specifies the safe operating limits of collector current Jo versus collector-emitter voltage Vop, For reliable operation of the transistor, the collector current and voltage must always Jie within this area. Actually, two types of safo operating areas are specified by the manufac- turers, FBSOA and RBSOA. ‘The forward-base safe operating area (FBSOA) pertains to the transistor operation when base-emitter junction is forward biased to turn-on the transistor. For a power transistor, Fig. 2.7 shows typical FBSOA for its de as well as single-pulse operation. The scale for Ig and Veg are logarithmic. Boundary AB is the maximum limit for dc and continuous current for Vor less than about 80 V. For Vog for more than 80 V, collector current has to be reduced to boundary BC so as to limit the junction temperature to safe values. For still higher Voz, current should further be reduced so as to avoid secondary breakdown limit. Boundary CD defines this secondary breakdown limit. Boundary DB'gives the maximum voltage capability for this particular transistor. i For pulsed operation, power transistor can dissipate more peak power so long as average power loss is within safe limits of junction temperature. In Fig. 2.7 ; 5 ms, 500 us.ete. indicate pulse widths for which transistor is on. It is seen that FBSOA increases as pulse-width is decreased. It should be noted that FBSOA curves, as given by the manufacturers, are for a case temperature of 25°C and for de and single-pulse operation. In order to take into consideration the actual working temperature and repetitive nature of the pulses, these curves modified with’ the help of thermal impedance of the device. alt a16 [Art. 2.3] Power Electronics 100 Sus 100 us S00 us 0 100 7000 000 200 300 400500600 Vee (V— Yee V) = Fig. 2.7. Typical forward biased safe Fig. 2.8. Typical reverse-block safe operating operating area (FBSOA) for a power area (RBSOA) for a power transistor. transistor (logarithmic scale) During turn-off, a transistor is subjected to high current and high voltage with base-emitter junction reverse biased. Safe operating area for transistor during turn-off is specified as reverse blocking safe operating area (RBSOA). This RBSOA is a plot of collector current versus collector-emitter voltage as shown in Fig. 2.8. RBSOA specifies the limits of transistor operation at turn-off when the base current is zero or when the base-emitter junction is reverse biased (i.e. with base current negative). With increased reverse bias, area RBSOA decreases in size as shown in Fig. 2.8. Example 2.1. For a power transistor, typical switching waveforms are shown in Fig. 2.6. The various parameters of the transistor circuit are as under : Voc =220 V, Vors=2 V, Iog = 80 A, tz = 0.4 us, t, = 1 1s, t, = 50 Us, 1,=8 ps, t7=2 us, t, = 40 us, = 5 kHz. Collector to emitter leakage current = 2 mA. Determine average power loss due to collector current during ts, and t,. Find also the peak instantaneous power loss due to collector current during turn-on time, Solution, During delay time, the time limits are 0 <¢ < ty. Fig. 2.6 (b) shows that in this time, ig © = Togo and veg = Veo: = Instantaneous power loss during delay time is Py )= i vee = Togo Voo=2 x 10 * x 220 = 0.44 W Average power loss during delay time with 0<¢< tj is given by Py=F Jp itt) vee dt A Teno Weodt =f Toso Veo = 5x 10°x 2x 10°? x 220 x 0.4% 10° = 0.88 mW where f= p= frequency of transistor switching During rise time, Ostst, he =.Power Semiconductor Diodes and Transistors (Art. 2.3] 17 Fe SS rs i Tos ig =% Sar ebman erUED BAR fe Nazareth Colles ot Feeasna! and Yee t) -[Vee Shree | “ide REE mane LipeaRy +. Average power loss during rise time is “Files ae e 3 el a ate | =5x10°x 80x1x 10" ie 3 = 14.933 W Instantaneous power loss during rise time is od) dP.) aara) = 0 gives times, at which instantanedus’power loss during, would bemaximum. It is seen from Eq. (é) that ear » 21V¢c-Vers] 2 [220 Peak instantaneous power loss P,,, during rise time is obtained by substituting the value of t=t,, in Eq. @). Wea: t) Woo Vers 4 ec -Vorsl” 440.4 W tes: Veo _ 80x 220? © 41Vec-Vezs) 4 (220-2) ‘Total average power loss during turn-on Pon = Py + P, = 0.00088 + 14.933 = 14.9839 W. During conduction time, 0 is called resonant frequency of the cireuit, Capacitor voltage is given by Ta Aff (oar ve =B J, io-a=B) v, Vez sin wt " =V, (cos ay) (8.100) Voltage across inductance is given by, v1) =1 4 -Veos ayt “.(8.108) When a f=" or when t=n/a, from Eq. (8.9), i(t,)=0 and from Eq. (8.10a), Yell =2V, and v;(t,)=-V, Here f = x /«) = conduction time of diode =n VEC From Eq. (3.9), circuit or diode current at bas attains a peak value of 0 C/L as shown in Fig. 3.4 (b). Voltage across diode, soon after diode stops conduction at ty is given by36 [Art. 3.1] Power Electronics vp =- 0, - Uc + V,=0-2V,+V,=— Ve Waveforms of i(f), vg, vz and vp are sketched in Fig, 3.4 (6). It is seen that at t/2= Fe diode current reaches peak value, uc=V, and v,=0. Also at ty =%/@) = (NEC), diode current decays to zero and capacitor is charged to voltage 2V,. Soon. after to, voltage across L is zero and diode voltage up =— V,. Example 3.1. For the circuit shown in Fig. 3.5 (a), the capacitor is initially charged to a voltage Vo with upper plate positive. Switch S is closed at t = 0. Derive expressions for the current in the cireuit and voltage across capacitor C. What is the peak value of diode current? Find also the energy dissipated in the circuit. Solution. When switch S is closed, KVL gives 1 Ri+hfide=0 Its Laplace transform, including the initial voltage across capacitor, is I, Ve nim +3[e-S]-0 2 3 1) Me ae Ts) fF + a) : Vv. Its solution, as per Art. 3.1.2, is io-ge™ Se ertie 2 t ¥. t ) . Yger tite (b) Fig. 8.5. Pertaining to Example 3.1 (@) circuit diagram and (b) waveforms. -. Peak diode current = Ye a Capacitor voltage, we =Z J iat—v, 0 t Vs alee ae i yiesirao Current i(t) and voltage v(t) are sketched in Fig. 3.5 (6). Energy dissipated in the circuit =$ CV} JoulesDiode Circuits and Rectifiers [Art 3.1] 37 Example 3.2. In the diode and LC network shown in Fig. 3.6 (a), the capacitor is initially charged to voltage Vo with upper plate positive. Switch S is closed at t = 0. Derive expressions for current through and voltage across C. Find the conduction time of diode, peak current through the diode and final steady-state voltage across C in case V,=400V, Vo=100V, L=100uH and C=30pF. Determine also the voltage across diode after it stops conduction. Soution : When switch S is closed, KVL for Fig. 3.6 (a) gives a ile (isi LS +g) idt=V, Its Laplace transform gives Is) C: Vo a V, Liss) -il 4G)" += S 8 s As initially i(0) = 0, the above equation becomes Fig. 3.6. Pertaining to Example 3.2 (a) circuit diagram and () waveforms ‘This equation in s-domain can be solved as in Art 3.1.4. Its solution is i= (,-V9-[E sin at oe ‘ ve=U,-VOVF J sin ay t+ Vo = (V, ~ Vo) (1—cos agt) + Vo At @)t=0, ult) = Vo woe Zt At @t=1/2, ve(t)=V, andat @)t=n, vo{t)=2 (V,-Vo)+ Vo =2V,- Vo.P 38 Art. 3.1] v Power Electronics Diode conduction time, t) => =n VLC = xV30 x 100 x 10°°= 54.77 1s W Peak current through diode, 1, =(V,~ Vo \V© =300 V joo 7164324 Steady state voltage across C occurs when Wf, =. * Vo =2(V, — Vo) + Vo = 2V, ~ Vo = 2x 400 - 100 = 700 V Voltage across diode, after it stops conducting, is given by Up =~ U, — e+ V, = 0 ~ (QV, - Vo) + V, =~ V, + Vy =- 400 + 100 300. Example 3.3. In the circuit shown in Fig. 3.7 (a), the capacitor has initial voltage of Vo with upper plate positive. The circuit is switched at t = 0. Derive expressions for current and voltage across capacitor. Find the conduction time for diode and steady-state capacitor voltage. Solution. The voltage equation for the circuit of Fig. 3.7 (a), after switch S is closed at t=0, is dipgle tae 1444 fiat=o Its Laplace transform, including initial voltage across capacitor, is A| is) _CV¥o|_ Is) ae} a =atl=0 ; Ve N ay Bo: (No U(s)|sb+ wl" Here minus sign is put before Vo, because for the direction of positive current flow, polarity of Vp is opposite. Solution of above s-domain equation, from Art. 3.1.4, is Wo (initia ie voltage) uy See i 1 gad (Oho O) fas Fig. 3.7, Pertaining to Example 3.3 (a) circuit diagram and (6) waveforms,Diode Circuits and Rectifiers [Art 3.1] 39 i =VVE sin ay t Voltage across C is volt) = Vo ve fy sin ot Vy =— Vp cos aye Diode conduction time, f= we =n VLC Steady-state capacitor voltage =—V, cosm=+ Vp Voltage across diode, vp =~Vo. ; Waveforms for i, Vo and vp are sketched in Fig. 3.7 (6) 3.1.5. RLC Load A diode in series with RLC circuit is shown in Fig. 3.8 (a). KVL for this circuit, when switch S is closed at t= 0, is given by eee var tal wRi+L aa @) ) Fig. 3.8. Diode circuit with RLC load (a) circuit diagram and (6) waveforms, With zero initial conditions, the Laplace transform of above equation is Ts) [R toL+ al Ve 1 a pein is LT Hore s?+ £ s+ a =0 is the characteristic equation in s-domain. The roots equation are | iia RAY (oe peers) orl aara or s=-b2B af where ree is called the damping factor. og = Te of this (8.11) -(B.12) --(3.13)40 fArt. 3.4] Power Electronics al o-Vi-(2 (3.14) oq = = ringing frequency in rad /sec . Also = Vor 2 Depending upon the values of and (wp, the solution for the current can have three possible solutions, Case 1. In ease & < @, it is seen from Eq, (3.11) that the roots are complex and the circuit is said to be underdamped. The two roots are s1=-§+J, and s,=-5-j0, and the current is given by (3.15) ore 4 io) EGE a pv ut)= @L e sin ort Case 2. If & > ap, the two roots are real and the cireuit is said to be overdamped. The two roots are s,=-§+V@—o} and s, and the solution for current is 5 NE a V, : i= pra oih Wat FZ (3.16) Case 3. In case § = @p, the roots are equal and the circuit is said to be critically damped. The roots are s;=s)=—& and the solution for the current is wv =p et ZA (8.17) Waveforms of current for the three different levels of damping are sketched in Fig. 3.8 () Example 3.4. For the circuit of Fig. 3.8 (a), the data is as under : R=100, L=1mH, C=5yF, V,=230V The circuit is initially relaxed. With switch closed at t = 0, determine (a) current i(t) (b) conduction time of diode (c) rate of change of current at t = 0. Solution : (a) From Eq. (3.12), : From Eq. (3.13), Gop = 14142.106 rad /s “ [xix 5x10)? i 12 From Eq. (3.14), ©, pe soo? = 13228.76 rad /s Here as & < @,, the circuit is underdamped. The current is, therefore, given by Eq. (3.15) i) = 2801000 soon 10 = 75998 76x1 °° = 17.3864 5. sin (13228.76 t) sin (13228.76)tDiode Circuits and Rectifiers (Art. 3.2) 41 (6) Diode stops conducting when «, t; == +. Conduction time of diode, © x 4s = gong 7g 240s (c) From Eq. (8.15), Gs alee @, cos @¢ — sin @t - (-&) eee | eee dt o,L bey di 230 x 1000 |, 9 ET OOO 3.2. FREEWHEELING DIODES In Fig. 3.3 (a), steady state current, after switch S is closed, is equal to V,/RIf switch S is now opened, the energy stored aa (V,/R)*| in inductance L will appear in the form of are at the opening contacts of switch S. In order to avoid such an occurrence, a diode FD, called freewheeling, or flywheel, diode, is connected across RL as shown in Fig. 3.9: (a), For understanding how FD comes into play, the working of circuit of Fig. 3.9 (a) is divided into two modes. Mode I : When switch S is closed in Fig. 3.9 (a) at t=0, current flows through V,, 8, D, R and L as shown in Fig. 3.9 (6). In this circuit, current i is given by D eet i fsimes ee + R val 3 R Vs FD Vs 2 FD — + et 3 of Zt gh - aredt pA i ft (a) at 7 () (ce) Fig. 8.9, Cirouit of Fig. 3.3 with freewheeling diode. _E Marae sae Rie (3.18) ve Final value of current, R Mode I: When switch S is opened at t = 0, current in the circnit tends to decay and so a voltage Le is induced in L which current 4 forward biases freewheeling diode. The | current is, therefore, transferred to the cireuit consisting of FD, R and L as shown in Fig, 3.9 (c). In this circuit, current is given by ee , aoge rE (8.19) | —Mode-1 ———-- Mode mo}. time: Fig. 3.9 (d). Current variation in the cireuit of Fig 3.8,42 [Art. 3.4] Power Electronics The current i, will eventually decay to zero exponentially in mode Il of Fig. 3.9 (c). The current build up during mode I and current decay during mode II are shown in Fig. 3.9 (d). 3.3. DIODE AND L CIRCUIT Consider the circuit of Fig. 3.10 (a) where de source feeds L through diode D. A freewheeling diode FD is connected across L. When switch S is closed at t= 0, KVL gives di Vj=L 9 or +-(3.20) % ae tic + pe 1 Bt; id ue t t (@ ®) Fig. 3.10. Diode circuit with FD amd L load (a) circuit diagram and (6) waveforms. This shows that current i rises linearly with time t. In case switch S is opened at ¢,, load V, current —F* f; begins to flow through FD. As there is no resistance in the circuit formed by y, Land FD, current continues to flow at its constant value of | '. Energy stored in the 1 ib z 3.4. RECOVERY OF TRAPPED ENERGY In the ideal circuit of Fig. 3.10 (a), the energy stored in the inductor is’ trapped. This trapped energy is not dissipated even when FD conducts because circuit does not contain resistance. The best way of utilization of this trapped energy is to return it to the source. In this manner, not energy taken from the source is reduced and the system efficiency improves. A V, inductance 3 (e4) L= 5-7 tr joules. Current waveforms are shown in Fig. 9.10 (b), One way of returning this trapped energy back to the source is to add a second winding closely coupled with the inductor winding as shown in Fig. 8.11. A diode D is also placed in series with the second winding. The inductor now behaves like a transformer. The two windings are so arranged that their polarity markings are opposite to each other. When switch S is closed, current i begins to flow and energy is stored in the inductance of primary winding with NV, turns. The polarity of the secondary winding voltage V, is as shown. The diode D is reverse biased by voltage (V) + V,).Diode Circuits and Rectifiers [Art 3.5] 43 (a) ) Fig. Sis Enerny-rosovery cireuit(@) witch 8 closed and (6) Sateen When switch $ is opened, polarities of voltages V; and V2 get reversed, the diode is now forward biased by voltage (V> - V,). As a result, diode begins to conduct a current i, into the positive terminal of source voltage V, and so the trapped energy is fed back to the source. Energy fedback to dc source = V, x current i, dependent upon (V»~ V,)- ‘The energy stored in L of N; turns is transferred to secondary winding of N, turns from where it is fed back into the de source. 3.5. SINGLE-PHASE DIODE RECTIFIERS Rectification is the process of conversion of alternating input voltage to direct output voltage. As stated before, a rectifier converts ac power to de. In diode-based rectifiers, the output voltage cannot be controlled. In this section, uncontrolled single-phase rectifiers are studied. The diode is assumed ideal as before. 3.5.1. Single-Phase Half-wave Rectifier This 18 the simplest type of uncontrolled rectifier. It is never used in industrial applications because of its poor performance. Its study is, however, useful in understanding the principle of rectifier operation. — Ina single-phase half-wave rectifier, for one cycle of supply voltage, there is one half-cycle of output, or load, voltage. As such, it is also called single-phase one-pulse rectifier. ‘The load on the output side of rectifier may be R, RL or RL with a flywheel diode. These are now discussed briefly. (a) R load : The circuit diagram of a single-phase half-wave rectifier is shown in Fig. 8.12 (a). During the positive half cycle, diode is forward biased, it therefore conducts from f= 0° to wt = x, During the positive half eyele, output voltage vp = source voltage v, and load current ig=v/R. Atot=n, vp =0 and for R load, ig is also zero. As sori as v, tends to become negative after wt = 1, diodé D is reverse biased, it is therefore turned off and goes into blocking state. Output voltage, as well as output current, are zero from wt=n to wt=2n. After @t=2n, diode is again forward biased and conduction begins. For a resistive load, output current i has the same waveform as that of the output voltage vp. Diode voltage up is zero when diode conducts. Diode is reverse biased from @é=™ to44 [Art. 3.5] Power Electronics ov = 2r as shown. The waveforms of v,, vy ig and vp are sketched in Fig, 8.12 (6). Hore source voltage is sinusoidal ie. v,=V,, sin at. KVL for the circuit of Fig. 3.12 (a) gives v, = U9 + up, vst Source voltage ic (a) (b) Fig. 3.12. Single-phase half-wave diode rectifier with R load (a) circuit diagram and (b) waveforms. Average value of output (or load) voltage, Lt" eae V, cos wt [z= a Rms value of output voltage, V,, = [x J, V4 sin? a. se) Vin [¢% al va 2 = (3.22) (8.23) (8.24) Vi t 7 (3,25) Peak inverse voltage, PIV, is an important parameter in the design of rectifier circuits ZIV is the maximum voltage that appears across the device (here diode) during ite blocking state. In Fig. 3.12, PIV=V,, =12 - V,=19 (rms value of transformer secondary voltage).Diode Circuits and Rectifiers [Art 35] 45 Power delivered to resistive load = (rms load voltage) (rms load current ) (3.26) Input power factor (6) L load : Single-phase half-wave diode rectifier with L load is shown in Fig. 3.13 (a). When switch $ is closed at wt =0, diode starts conducting. KVL for this circuit gives is v= vga Fe V,, sin ot % or i= foinor-at Vin = Gp s@ttA (8.27 a) - Vn At wt =0, ip=0, -. On- +A SS or A=V,,/aL Substitution of the value of A in Eq, (3.27 a) gives , Ym i= GE (1 - cos ot) (8.27 B) di, dt Source voltage v, and both output voltage vp and output current iy are plotted in Fig. 3.13 (6), Average value of output voltage, Vy = 0 Output voltage, weak yim ‘ vom ap sin of] o=V,, sin at =v, (a) @) 2 Fig. 3.13. Single-phase one-pulse rectifier with Z load (a) circuit diagram and (6) waveforms46 [Art 3.5] Power Electronies The output current ip consists of de component and fundamental frequency component of frequency 0, Peak value of current Inq. occurs at wt = 7 (3.28) Average value of current, (3.29) Rms value of fundamental current, Jy, is given by 2 a a f¥e) jf 2 ofa] fee a Vn Vs _ Io 4 “a a we (8.30) 12 Rms value of rectified current = [14 + a] 2 & =|B+2] =1.2251, (3.31) Voltage across diode, up =0. (©) C Load : In Fig. 3.14 (a), when switch S is closed at wt = 0, the equation governing the behaviour of the circuit is si a, od ni ig= CG = C5; (Vngin of) ip nt _3n/2 2m Sni2 3m 7nl2} Me 2Vim @ ¥ @) diagram and (b) waveforms,Diode Circuits and Rectifiers (Art. 3.5] 47 =a V,, cos wt (8.82) Output voltage, v= 2 J idt=V,, sin of =v, =v¢ 0=F ‘m = Ue ‘Capacitor is charged to voltage V,, at wt= and subsequently this voltage remains P me 3 constant at V,,. This is shown as vp =vc in Fig. 3.14 (b) Capacitor current or load current is maximum at o¢ = 0. Its value at at = 0 is @ CV, as shown. m ‘The diode conducts for a seconds only from wt =0 to at =5 . During this interval, diode voltage is, therefore, zero. After of =%/2 , diode voltage vp is given by Up =— U9 +U,=- Vn t V_ sin ot V(sin @t-1) - (3.33) For Eq. (3.33), the time origin is redefined at wt = 1/2. After wt = 1/2, diode voltage is plotted as shown in Fig. 3.14 (6). At at = & vp =-2 Vm ‘Average value of voltage across diode, 1 4 =i, Vn (Sin wt — 1) d(wt) =V,, = V2 V, (3.34 a) Rms value of fundamental component of voltage across diode, wa pl Pf 2 Vn Vy Ee : V2, sin’ oreo] a ol {8.34 b) Rims value of voltage across diode =VW5+Vi, = 1.225 V,, (3.35) Example 3.5. A single-phase 230 V, 1. RW heater is connected across single-phase 230 V, 50 Hz supply through a diode. Calculate the power delivered to the heater element. Find also the peak diode current and input power factor. x 2307 Solution. Heater resistance, R= 7555 2 Rms value of output voltage, from Eq, (8.22), is V2 x 230 er awe Power absorbed by héater element 230° , 1000 BS pate Peak value of diode current, from Eq. (3.25), is given by 2 x 230 230? 00 W x 1000= 6.1478 Ar 48 [Art. 3.5] : Power Electronics. Vor _¥2 230.1 Tnput power factor =r = TS SESS x 555 = 01707 fag. (d) RE Load : Singie-phase half-wave rectifier with load resistance R and load counter emf Z is shown in Fig. 3.15 (a). If the switch $ is closed at wt = 0° or when v, = 0, then diode @) ®) Fig. 3.15, Single-phase half-wave diode rectifier with RE load, would not conduct at wt =0 because diode is reverse biased until source voltage v, equals E. When V,, sin 0, =E, diode D starts conducting and the turn-on angle @, is given by tu ( 8 0, =sin"* (v.] (8.36) The diode now conducts from «t= 0, to wf =(n~0)), i.e. conduction angle for diode is (n— 26,) as shown in Fig. 8.16 (6). During the conduction period of diode, the voltage equatitin’. for the circuit is V,, sin ot =E+igR oe Vin sin of -E a or ee ae Average value of this current is given by Lok ‘ b= g [r (Vy sin ot-B) a) = pg BV, cos & ~B (x26) (8.38) Rams value of the load current of Eq. (3.37) is ‘ we taeet aa]n. Here =7iis also the conduction angle of the diode. Average value of output voltage, ree al aed 0= Bg Jo Versin wt - dlc) Vin = gq, (1-008 B) (8.42) Average value of load or output current Vo _ Vm Ty= Fp gam 2208 B) (8.43)Diode Circuits and Rectifiers [Art 3.5] 51 A general expression for output current iy for 0 < wt < B can be obtained as under : When diode is conducting, KVL ae the circuit of Fig. 3.16 (a) gives Rig 72 = Vi, sin ot ‘The load, or output, current: ip cael ‘of two components, one steady state component i, and the other transient component i,. Here i, is given by Vin (ot — wee} where = tan *+ 1X and X= al. Here ¢ is the angle by which rms current I, lags V,. The transient component i, can be obtained fiom force-free equation Re Be Ri+L Ge R Its solution gives i=Aet! ‘Total solution for current iy is, therefore, given by reve ey +i,=Fi sin (ot -)+ACL where Z=\Ri+X" Constant A can be obtained from the boundary condition at wt =0. At wt =0, or at t=0, i) +0. Thus, from Eq. (8.44) ip= Vin gi O=-Fsino+A Von oi A= sing Substitution of A in Eq. (3.44) gives Vin p80) 10) By ig=Z [sin (@t -9) +sing- oxo[-Z0]-0 The solution of this transcendental equation can give the value of extinction angle B. (f RL load with freewheeling diode : Performance of single-phase one-pulse diode rectifier with RL load can be improved by connecting a freewheeling diode across the load as shown in Fig. 3.17 (a). Output voltage is vp =v, for 0< at Tg2>o1 Forward Forward leakaye Reverse + blocking current blocking Vao=Forward breakover voltage leverse breakover voltage Ig= Gate current @ © Fig. 4.2. (a) Elementary circuit for obtaining thyristor V-I characteristics (6) Static V-I characteristics of a thyristor. the SCR rating) flows. This is reverse blocking i. * mode, called the off-state, of the thyristor. If the Forward reverse voltage is increased, then at a critical ome Sa breakdown level, called reverse breakdown voltage P n Vpp, an avalanche occurs at J, anddy and the P reverse current increases rapidly. A large current Hs af associated with Vpp gives rise to more losses in the bs a SCR. This may lead to thyristor damage as the? “°° |, pense I; junction temperature may exceed its permissible ial ie n[? temperature rise. It should, therefore, be ensured that maximum working reverse voltage across a ee ae thyristor does not exceed Vgp,. When reverse voltage 46. current es applied across a thyristor is less than Vga, the device « « offers a high impedance in the reverse direction. The @ ® SCR in the reverse blocking mode may therefore be Fig. 4.3, (a) Ja forward biased and Jy, J treated as an open switch. reverse biased (b) Jy reverse biased and Note that V-I characteristic after avalanche oe ea breakdown during reverse blocking mode is applicable only when load resistance is zero, Fig. 4.2 (6). In case load resistance is present, a large anode current associated with avalanche breakdown at Vip would cause substantial voltage drop across load and as a result, V-I characteristic in third quadrant would bend to the right of vertical line drawn at Vigy Forward Blocking Mode : When anode is positive with respect to the cathode, with gate circuit open, thyristor is said to be forward biased as shown in Fig. 4.3 (6). It is seen from this figure that junctions Jj, J, are forward biased but junction J, is reverse biased. In this mode, a small current, called forward leakage current, flows as shown in Figs. 4.2 (b) and 4.3 (6). In case the forward voltage is increased, then the reverse biased junction J, willThyristors [art 4.2] 65 have an avalanche breakdown at a voltage called forward breakover voltage Vzo. When forward voltage is less than Va, SCR offers a high impedance, Therefore, a thyristor can be treated as an open switch even in the forward blocking mode. - Forward Conduction Mode : In this mode, thyristor conducts currents from anode ¢o cathode with a very small voltage drop across it. A thyristor is brought from forward blocking mode to forward conduction mode’by turning it on by exceeding the forward breakover voltage or by applying a gate pulse between gate and cathode, In this mode, thyristor is in on-state and behaves like a closed switch, Voltage drop across thyristor in the on state is of the order of I to 2 V depending on the rating of SCR. It may be seen from Fig. 4.2 (6) that this voltage drop inereases slightly with an increase in anode current, In conduction mode, anode current is limited by load impedance alone as voltage drop across SCR is quite small. This small voltage drop up across the device is due to ohmic drop in the four layers. * 4.2. THYRISTOR TURN-ON METHODS © . With anode positive with respect to cathode, a thyristor can be turned on by any one of the following techniques : (@) Forward voltage triggering - (6) gate triggering (c) dv/de triggering (d) Temperature triggering (e) Light triggering. x. ‘These methods of turning-on a thyristor are now discussed one after the other. (a) Forward Voltage Triggering : When anode to cathode forward voltage is increased with gate circuit open, the reverse biased junction J, will break. This is known as avalanche breakdown and the voltage at which avalanche occurs is called forward breakover voltage Vso, At this voltage, thyristor changes from off-state (high voltage with low leakage current) to on-state characterised by low voltage across thyristor with large forward current, As other Junctions J, J, are already forward biased, breakdown of junction J, allows free movement of carriers across three junctions and as a result, large forward anode-current flows. As stated before, this forward current is limited by the load impedance. In practice, the transition from Off-state to on-state obtained by exceeding Vag is never employed as it may destroy the device. ‘The magnitudes of forward and reverse breakover voltages are nearly the same and both are temperature dependent, In practice, it is found that Vaq is slightly more than Vp. Therefore, forward breakover voltage is taken as the final voltage rating of the device during the design of SCR applications. After the avalanche breakdown, junction J, looses its reverse blocking capability. Therefore, if the anode voltage is reduced below Vag, SCR will continue conduction of the current. The SCR can now be turned off only by reducing the anode current below a certain value called holding current (defined later). ©) Gate Triggering : Turning on of thyristors by gate triggering is simple, reliable and efficient, i is therefore the most usual method of firing the forward biased SCRs. A thyristor with forward breakover voltage (say 800 V) higher than the normal working voltage (say 400 V) is chosen. This means that thyristor will remain in forward blocking sate with normal Working voltage across anode and cathode and with gate open. However, when turn-on of a thyristor is required, a positive gate voltage between gate and eathode is applied. With gate current thus established, charges are injected into the inner p layer and voltage at which forward breakover occurs is reduced. The forward voltage at which the device awitehes to66 [Art 4,2) Power Electronics on-state depends upon the magnitude of gate current. Higher the gate current, lower is the forward breakover voltage. When positive gate current is applied, gate P layer is flooded with electrons from the cathode. This is because cathode N layer is heavily doped as compared to gate P layer. As the thyristor is forward biased, some of these electrons reach junction Jp. As a result, width of depletion layer around junction Jp is reduced. This causes the junction J; to breakdown at an applied voltage lower than forward breakover voltage Vgo. If magnitude Forward Breakover Voltage > ———— 0 a Igi Ig2 Tg3 of gate current is increased, more electrons Gate Current —> will reach junction Jy, as a consequence Fig. 4.4. Variation of forward breakover thyristor will get turned on at a much lower voltage with gate current, forward applied voltage. Fig. 4.2 (6) shows that for gate current I, = 0, forward breakover voltage is Vgo. For Ip, forward breakover voltage, or turn-on voltage is less than Vgo, For Ij. > J,,, forward breakover voltage is still further reduced. The effect of gate current on the forward breakover voltage of a thyristor can also be illustrated by means of a curve as shown in Fig. 4.4. For I, < oa, forward breakover voltage remains almost constant at Vgo. For gate currents Ty, Igo and Is, the values of forward breakover voltages are ox, oy and oz, respectively as shown. In Fig. 4.2 (b), the curve marked I, = 0 is actually for gate current less than oa. In practice, the magnitude of gate current is more than the minimum gate current required to turn on the SCR. Typical gate current magnitudes are of the order of 20 to 200 mA. ‘Once the SCR is conducting a forward current, reverse biased junction Jp no longer exists. As such, no gate current is required for the device to remain in on-state. Therefore, if the gate current is removed, the conduction of current from anode to cathode remains unaffected. However, if gate current is reduced to zero before the rising anode current attains a value, called the latching current, the thyristor will turn-off again. The gate pulse width should therefore be judiciously chosen to ensure that anode current rises above the latching current. Thus latching current may be defined as the minimum value of anode current which it must attain during turn-on process to maintain conduction when gate signal is removed. Once the thyristor is conducting, gate loses control. The thyristor can be turned-off (or the thyristor can be returned to forward blocking state) only if the forward current falls below a low-level current called the holding current. Thus holding current may be defined as the minimum value of anode current below which it must fall for turning-off the thyristor. The latching current is higher than the holding current. Note that latching current is associated with turn-on process and holding current with turn-off process. It is usual to take latching current as two to three times the holding current [1]. In industrial applications, holding current (typically 10 mA) is almost taken as zero. © oy Triggering : This method is discussed further in Art. 4. (@) Temperature Triggering : During forward blocking, most of the applied voltage appears across reverse biased junction J,. This voltage across junction J, associated with leakage‘Thyristors tart. 42) 67 current may raise the temperature of this junction With increase in temperature, leakage current through junction J further increases. This Sumulative process may turn on the SCR at some high temperature. (@) Light Triggering. For light-triggered SCRs, a ror (or niche) is made in the inner p-layer as shown in Fig. 4.5 (a). When this reves! js irradiated, free charge carriers (holes End electrons) are generated just like when gate signal is applied between gate and cathode. The pulse of light of appropriate wavelength is guided by optical fibres for irradiation. Ifthe fntensity of this light thrown on the recess exceeds 8 certain value, forward-biased SCR is turned on. Such a thyristor is known as light-activated SCR (LASCR). LASCR may be triggered with a light source oF ‘with a gate signal. Sometimes 4 combination of both light source and gate signal is sed to trigger an SCR. For this, the gate fe biased with voltage or current slightly less than that required to turn it on, now a beam flight directed at the inner p-layer junction turns of the SCR. The light intensity required fo turn-on the SCR depends upon the voltage bias given ‘to the gate. Higher the voltage (or current) bias, lower the light intensity required. : Light-triggered thyristors have now been ‘ysed in high-voltage direct current (HVDC) tranamission systems. In these several SCRs are ‘connected in series-parallel combination and their light-triggering has the advantage of Jioetnical isolation between power and control circuits. Example 4.1. Discuss what would happen if gate is made positive with respect to cathode during the reverse blocking of @ thyristor. Te Solution, Before answering this question, it is worthwhile to know a little more about the internal details of a thyristor. Fig. 4.5 (6) shows cross-section of a conventional centre-gate thyristor. In this figure, approximate doping densities in number per abie centimeter ate also indicated for all the four layers. For example, for p; layer, the doping density is 10" per em’. Anode A py(p?) 10"%em=* ef 4 J : an ny(er) 10" to Sxi0em| n Je 2 da pte) 10am"? Light =P a4 — %3 hole n K cathode cate (a) (6) Fig. 4.5. (2) seats DASCR (6) Structural details of joc ol centre-gate thyristor. For semiconductor devices, it should be kept in mind that {@) junction with lightly doped layers (at least on one side of the junction) requires large ‘breakdown voltage, (Gi) junction with highly doped layers on both sides requires low breakdown voltage. When thyristor is in forward blocking state, junctions J» Js are forward biased whereas junction J, is reverse biased. As layer n is lightly doped around junction Jz, depletion region68 __[Art. 43) Power Electronics of junetion J, extends mainly into n; layer. Therefore, n, layer is made to have larger width to withstand the high voltage during forward blocking state. For reverse voltage on the device ; junctions J, Jy are reverse biased and J is forward biased. As layers p», ny across junction J, are heavily doped, J, has low breakdown voltage Layer n; being lightly doped as compared to layer p,, junction J, has large breakdown voltage. As a consequence, during the reverse blocking of a thyristor, junction J, supports most of the reverse voltage. Even during blocking, the depletion region extends into the n, layer. This shows that width of layer n, absorbs most of the voltage during forward blocking mode and also during the reverse blocking mode of a thyristor. If positive gate voltage is applied between gate and cathode during the reverse blocking of a thyristor, blocking property of junction J; disappears as J, has low breakdown voltage. As a result, reverse voltage appears across junction J;. Positive charge carriers are now injected into the nj layer of reverse biased junction J. This causes an increase in the reverse leakage current. The flow of large leakage current associated with high reverse voltage results in increased power loss across junction J and heat thus generated may raise the junction temperature above the allowable maximum and this may destroy the SCR. Such an happening can be avoided if no positive gate voltage is applied between gate and cathode during the reverse blocking of SCR. Some manufacturers do specify the maximum positive voltage (usually less than 0.25 V) that can exist between gate and cathode during the reverse blocking of a thyristor. 4.3, SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS OF THYRISTORS Static and switching characteristics of thyristors are always taken into consideration for economical and reliable design of converter equipment. Static characteristics of a thyristor have already been examined. In this part of the section; switching, dynamic or transient, characteristics of thyristors are discussed. During turn-on and turn-off processes, a thyristor is subjected to different voltages across it and different currents through it. The time variations of the voltage across a thyristor and the current through it during turn-on and turn-off processes give the dynamic or switching characteristics of a thyristor. Here, first switching characteristics during turn-on are described and then the switching characteristics during turn-off. 4.3.1. Switching Characteristics during Turn-on A forward-biased thyristor is usually turned on by applying a positive gate voltage between gate and cathode. There is, however, a transition time from forward off-state to forward on state. This transition time called thyristor turn-on time, is defined as the time during which it changes from forward blocking state to final on-state. Total turn-on time can be divided into three intervals ; (i) delay time t,, (i) rise time t, and (i) spread time ¢,, Fig. 48, @ Delay time t, : The delay time t, is measured from the instant at which gate current reaches 0.9 J, to the instant at which anode current reaches 0,1/,. Here J, and J, are respectively the final values of gate and anode currents. The delay time may also be defined as the time during which anode voltage falls from V,, to 0.9V,, where V, = initial value of anode voltage. Another way of defining delay time is the time during which anode current rises from forward leakage current to 0.1 J, where J, = final value of anode current. With the thyristor initially in the forward blocking state, the anode voltage is OA and anode current is smallThyristors : fart. 4.3] 69 leakage current as shown in Fig. 4.8. Initiation of turn-on process is indicated by a rise in anode current from small forward leakage current and a fall in anode-cathode voltage from forward blocking voltage OA. As gate current begins to flow from gate to cathode with the application of gate signal, the gate current has non-uniform distribution of current density over the cathode surface due to the p layer. Its value is much higher near the gate but decreases rapidly as the distance from the gate increases, see Fig. 4.6 (a). This shows that during delay time ¢,, anode current flows in a narrow region near the gate where gate current density is the highest. = ‘The delay time can be decreased by applying high gate current and more forward voltage between anode and cathode. The delay time is fraction of a microsecond. yn 32 Sh, Soe: Seana De (a) (5) Fig. 4.6. (a) Distribution of gate and anode currents danny delay time (6) Conducting area of cathode (i) during tg (i) after t, (iit) after tp. (Gi) Rise time t, : The rise time ¢, is the time taken by the anode current to rise from 0,1 J, #0 0.9,, The rise time is also defined as the time required for the forward blocking off-state voltage to fall from 0.9 to 0.1 of its initial value OA. The rise time is inversely proportional to the magnitude of gate current and its build up rate. Thus t, can be reduced if high and steep current pulses are applied to the gate. However, the main factor determining ¢, is the nature of anode circuit. For example, for series RL circuit, the rate of rise of anode current is slow, therefore, ¢, is more. For RC series circuit, di/dt is high, t, is therefore, less. From the beginning of rise time ¢,, anode current starts spreading from the narrow ‘conducting region near the gate. The anode current spreads at a rate of about 0.1 mm per microsecond [2]. As the rise time is small, the anode current is not able to spread over the entire ‘cross-section of cathode. Fig. 4.6 (6) illustrates how anode current expands over cathode surface area during turn-on process of a thyristor. Here the thyristor is taken to have single gate electrode ‘away from the centre of p-layer. It is seen that anode current conducts over a small conducting channel even after ¢, -this conducting channel area is however, greater than that during t,. ; Fig. 4.7. Typical waveform for gate current. ig70__[Art. 4.3] Power Electronics During rise time, turn-on losses in the thyristor are the highest due to high anode voltage (V,) and large anode current (Z,) occurring together in the thyristor as shown in Fig, 4.8, As these losses occur only.over a small conducting region, local hot spots may be formed and the device may be damaged. (iii) Spread time t, : The spread time is the time taken by the anode current to rise from 0.97, toI,. It is also defined as the time for the forward blocking voltage to fall from 0.1 of its value to the on-state voltage drop (1 to 1.5 V). During this time, conduction spreads over the entire cross-section of the cathode of SCR. The spreading interval depends on the area of cathode and on gate structure of the SCR. After the spread time, anode current attains steady state value and the voltage drop across SCR is equal to the on-state voltage drop of the order of 1 to 1.5 V, Fig. 4.8. ‘Total turn-on time of an SCR is equal to the sum of delay time, rise time and spread time. ‘Thyristor manufacturers usually specify the rise time which is typically of the order of 1 to 4 -sec. Total turn-on time depends upon the anode circuit parameters and the gate signal waveshapes. During turn-on, SCR may be considered to be a charge controlled device. A certain amount of charge must be injected into the gate region for the thyristor conduction to begin. This charge is directly proportional to the value of gate current. Therefore, higher the magnitude of gate current, the lesser time it takes to inject this charge. The turn-on time can therefore be reduced by using higher values of gate currents. The magnitude of gate current is usually 3 to 5 times the minimum gate current required to trigger an SCR. ‘When gate current is several times higher than the minimum gate current required, a thyristor is said to be hard-fired or overdriven. Hard-firing or overdriving of a thyristor reduces its turn-on time and enhances it di/dt capability. A typical waveform for gate current, that is widely used, is shown in Fig. 4.7. This waveform has higher initial value of gate current with a very fast rise time. The initial high value of gate current is then reduced to a lower value where it stays for several microseconds in order to avoid unwanted turn-off of the device. 4.3.2. Switching Characteristics during Turn-off ‘Thyristor turn-off means that it has changed from on to off state and is capable of blocking the forward voltage. This dynamic process of the SCR from conduction state to forward blocking state is called commutation process or turn-off process. Once the thyristor is on, gate loses control. The SCR can be turned off by reducing the anode current below holding current’. If forward voltage is applied to the SCR at the moment its anode current falls to zero, the device will not be able to block this forward voltage as the carriers (holes and electrons) in the four layers are still favourable for conduction. The device will therefore go into conduction immediately even though gate signal is not applied. In order to obviate such an occurrence, it is essential that the thyristor is reverse biased for a finite period after the anode current has reached zero. ‘The turn-off time t, of a thyristor is defined as the time between the instant anode current becomes zero and the instant SCR regains forward blocking capability, During time ¢,, all the excess carriers from the four layers of SCR must be removed. This removal of excess carriers consists of sweeping out of holes from outer p-layer and electrons from guter n-layer. The carriers around junction J, can be removed only by recombination. The turn-off time is divided into two intervals ; reverse recovery time f,, and the gate recovery time t,,; i.e. t, ret tae “This can be achieved through natural commutation or forced commutation.Thyristors (Art. 43] 71 Voltage, vg Gate pulse Anode voltage vq and gate current ig Cary On state voltage drop across SCR II ' i Anode current] t Reverse voltage ue to power circut Ig=Load current | | ts 0.91a} | mode current _| |. ‘begins to | decrease | 1 Recovery Recombination §.9.1to|—-!, | tet rat ies at Forward, eae | | scaeat AA leas i ful GLE pital dale ustensdyyevcunan auth to estaetcbo tae} Power loss sj eee , feet rc | [A | ime in Microsec Fig. 4.8. Thyristor voltage and current waveforms during turn-on and turn-off processes. ‘The thyristor characteristics during turn-on and turn-off processes are shown in one Fig. 4.8 so as to gain insight into these processes. ‘At instant ¢,, anode current becomes zero. After f, anode current builds up in the reverse direction with the same di/d¢ slope as before t;. The reason for the reversal of anode current after f, is duo to the presence of carriers stored in the four layers. The reverse recovery current, removes excess carriers from the end junctions J, and J, between the instants t; and fs. In other words, reverse recovery current flows due to the sweeping out of holes from top p-layer ‘and electrons from bottom n-layer. At instant f, when about 60% of the stored charges are removed from the outer two layers, carrier density across J; and Jg begins to decrease and with this reverse recovery current also starts decaying. The reverse current decay is fast in the beginning but gradual thereafter. The fast decay of recovery current causes a reverse voltage across the device due to the circuit inductance. This reverse voltage surge appears across the thyristor terminals and may therefore damage it. In practice, this is avoided by72 (Art. 4.4) Power Electronics using protective RC elements across SCR. At instant t,, when reverse recovery current has fallen to nearly zero value, end junctions J} and Jj recover and SOR is able to block the reverse voltage. For a thyristor, reverse recovery phenomenon between f; and t, is similar to that of a rectifier diode. At the end of reverse recovery period (f;—t,), the middle junction J, still has trapped charges, therefore, the thyristor is not able to block the forward voltage at ¢, The trapped charges around J}, ic. in the inner two layers, cannot flow to the external circuit, therefore, these trapped charges must decay only by recombination. This recombination is possible if a reverse voltage is maintained across SCR, though the magnitude of this voltage is not important. The rate of recombination of charges is independent of the external circuit parameters. The time for the recombination of charges between t, and f, is called gate recovery time tz. Atinstant t,, junction J recovers and the forward voltage can be reapplied between anode and cathode. The thyristor turn-off time ¢, is in the range of 8 to 100 usec. The turn-off time is influenced by the magnitude of forward current, di/dt at the time of commutation and junction temperature. An increase in the magnitude of these factors increases the thyristor turn-off time. If the value of forward current before commutation is high, trapped charges around junction J, are more. The time required for their recombination is more and therefore turn-off time is increased. But turn-off time decreases with an increase in the magnitude of reverse voltage, particularly in the range of 0 to — 50 V. This is because high reverse voltage sucks out the carriers out of the junctions Jy, J, and the adjacent transition regions at a faster rate. It is evident from above that turn-off time ty is not a constant parameter of a thyristor. ‘The thyristor turn-off time , is applicable to an individual SCR. In actual practice, thyristor (or thyristors) form a part of the power circuit, The turn-off time provided to the thyristor by the practical cireuit is called circuit turn-off time t,. It is defined as the time between the instant anode current becomes zero and the instant reverse voltage due to practical circuit reaches zero, see Fig. 4.8. Time ¢, must be greater than f, for reliable turn-off, otherwise the device may turn-on at an undesired instant, a process called commutation failure. Thyristors with slow turn-off time (60-100 psec) are called converter grade SCRs and those with fast turn-off time (3 — 50 usec) are called inverter-grade SCRs. Converter-grade SCRs are cheaper and are used where slow turn-off is possible as in phase-controlled rectifiers, ac voltage controllers, cycloconverters ete. Inverter-grade SCRs are costlier and are used in inverters, choppers and force-commutated converters, 4,4, THYRISTOR GATE CHARACTERISTICS ‘The forward gate characteristics of a thyristor are shown in Fig. 4.9 in the form of a graph between gate voltage and gate current. Here positive gate to cathode voltage V, and positive gate to cathode current I, represent de values. As gate-cathode circuit of a thyristor is a p-n junction, gate characteristics of the device are similar to that of a diode. For a particular type of SCRs, V,-I, characteristic has a spread between two curves 1 and 2 as shown in Fig: 4.9. This spread, or scatter, of gate characteristics is due to difference in the low doping levels of pandn layers. The gate trigger circuitry must be suitably designed to take care of this unavoidable scatter of characteristics. In Fig. 4.9, curve 1 represents the lowest voltage values that must be applied to turn-on the SOR. Curve 2 gives the highest possible voltage values that can be safely applied to gate circuit,Thyristors Tart. 4.4) 73° Each thyristor has maximum limits as V;», for gate voltage and I,,, for gate current. There is also rated (average) gate power dissipation P,,, specified for each SCR. These limits should not be exceeded in order to avoid permanent damage of junction Js, Fig. 4.3. There are also minimum limits for V, and I, for reliable turn-on, these are represented by oy andox respectively in Fig. 4.9. As stated before, if Vjm, Ign and Pq, are exceeded, the thyrister can be destroyed. This shows that preferred gate drive area for an SCR is bede/ghb as shown in Fig. 49. Pag oy, ox — Minimum gate voltage and current to trigger an SCR. Vor» Igm — Maximum permissible gate voltage and current. oa — Non-triggering gate voltage. Fig. 4.9, Forward gate characteristics of thyristor. ‘A non-triggering gate voltage is also prescribed by the manufacturers of SCRs. This is indicated by oa in Fig. 4.9. If firing circuit generates positive gate signal prior to the desired instant of triggering the SCR, it should be ensured that this unwanted signal is less than the non-triggering gate voltage oa. At the same time, all spurious or noise signals should be less than the voltage oa. . Trigger circuit . Trigger circuit : x I { \ ' ' | i L (a) () Fig. 4.10. Trigger circuit connected to gate-cathode circuit of an SCR. ‘The design of the firing circuit can be carried out with the help of Figs. 4.10 and 4.11. In Fig. 4.10 (a) is shown a trigger circuit feeding power to gate-cathode circuit, For this circuit, £,=V,+1,R, 41a) "r 74 (Art. 4.4] Power Electronics where = gate source voltage V, = gate-cathode voltage and R, = gate-source resistance ‘The internal resistance R, of trigger source should be such that current (B,/R,) is not harmful to the source as well as to the gate circuit when SCR is turned on. In case R, is low, an external resistance in series with R, must be connected A resistance R, is also connected across gate-cathode terminals, Fig. 4.10 (6), so as to provide an easy path to the flow of leakage current between SCR terminals. If Tynan and Vin, Axe the minimum gate current and gate voltage to turn-on SCR, then it is seen from Fig. 4.10. (6) that current through R; is Vjn,/R; and the trigger source voltage E, is given by R, ‘gmn For low-power circuits, operating point is obtained by utilizing the source V- characteristic and the device VI characteristic, In view of this, for selecting the operating point for the circuit of Fig. 4.10, a load line of the gate source voltage H, = OA is 2 (in BR, «(4.1b) 1 circuit short circuit current =E,/R,. Let us consider a thyristor whose V,-I, characteristic is given by curve 3. Intersection of load line AD and V,-l, curve 3 gives the operating point S. Thus, for this SCR, gate voltage = PS and gate current =OP. In order to minimise turn-on time and jitter (unreliable turn-on), the load line and hence the operating point S, which may change from S; to S,, must be as close to the P,qy curve as possible. At the same time, the operating point S must lie within the limit curves 1 and 2. The gradient of the load Fig. 4.11. Choice of gate cireuit parameters. Jine AD (= OA/OD) will give the required gate source resistance R,, The minimum value of gate source series resistance is obtained by drawing a line AC tangent to P,,, curve. Gate Current ——~ Gate drive requirements in terms of continuous de signal can be obtained from Fig. 4.11. However, it is common to use a pulse to trigger a thyristor. For pulse widths beyond 100 see, the de data apply [1]. For pulse widths less than 100 sec, magnitudes of gate voltage and gate current can be increased, see Example 4.2. ‘As stated before, thyristor is considered to be @ charge controlled device. Thus, higher the magnitude of gate current pulse, lesser is the time to inject the required charge for turning-on the thyristor. Therefore, SCR turn-on, time can be reduced by using gate current of higher magnitude. It should be ensured that pulse width is sufficient to allow the anodeThyristors (Art 44] 75 current to exceed the latching current. In practice, gate pulse width is usually taken as equal to, or greater than, SCR turn-on time. If T'is the pulse width as shown in Fig. 2.10 (a), then Fee, With pulse triggering, greater amount of gate power dissipation can be allowed ; this should, however, be less than the peak instantaneous gate power dissipation P,,, as specified by the manufacturers. Frequency of firing (or pulse width) for trigger pulses can be obtained by taking pulse of (i) amplitude P,,, (éi) pulse width T and (iit) periodicity T;. Therefore, » PT ages =P ora) aR aMip ah eyy 7 P, or Tr Pee -(4.2a) where = x = frequency of firing, or pulse repetition rate, in Hz, 1 and T = pulse width in sec. P, P, no a Paw In the limiting case, $7? =Pyq or f= 7155. ‘em Gote current (a) Perf ; .__1,__+ f zl'9 § (b) 3 Bs ae f © Fig. 4.12. (a) Pulse gating and () high-frequency carrier gating of SCRs, (c) Thyristor protection against reverse overvoltages. A duty cycle 1s defined as the ratio of pulse-on period to periodic time of pulse. In Fig. 4.12 (a), pulse-on period is T and periodic time is T;. Therefore, duty cycle 8 is given by a De =p iE P, From Eq. (4.2a), an APs, OF ae pas ~-A4.2 6) ‘Sometimes the pulses of Fig. 4.12 (a) are modulated to generate a train of pulses as shown: in Fig. 4.12 (6). This technique of firing the thyristor is called high-frequency carrier gating. The advantages offered by this method of firing the SCRs are lower rating, reduced dimensions and therefore an overall economical design of the pulse transformer needed for isolating the low power circuit from the main power circuit. For an SCR, V,, and [,;, are specified separately. If both ofthese are used for pulse firing, ‘then P,q may be exceeded and the thyristor would be damaged. For example, GE-C3576 (Art. 4.4) Power Electronics thyristor has Vjq.~=10V and Jyq=2A. If both these limits are placed on C35, the power dissipation is 20 W. But this is far excess of the specified P,,, = 5 W. It should be ensured that (pulse voltage amplitude) (pulse current amplitude) Power dissipation can be obtained from the relation pig 4.19, Pertaining to Beran An, daft on Te f, Yd where up, i, are the instantaneous values of gate voltage and gate current. Therefore, for this example, average gate power dissipation is given by iD i Vale p= (0.55 = 0.25 W.Thyristors Tart. 4.4] "77 As this is less than the allowable P,,,, higher values of v, i, can be used for the pulse firing of SCRs. ~/Example 4.3. For an SCR, the gate-cathode characteristic has a straight-line slope of 130. For trigger source voltage of 15 V and allowable gate power dissipation of 0.5 watts, compute the gate-source resistance. Solution. Here Vi, Iy= 0.5 W V, and 7-130 I, e 130 =0.5 This gives 1, = [0.5/130]'? = 0.062 =62 mA +: Gate voltage, V,= 180 x 62x 10°* = 8.06 V For the gate circuit, E,=1,R,+V,=0.062 R, + 8.06 = 15 15 -8.06 or R.= 967 = 111.940. vExample 4.4. The trigger circuit of a thyristor has a source voltage of 15 V and the load line has a slope of — 120 V per ampere. The minimum gate current to turn-on the SCR is 25 mA. Compute (a) source resistance required in the gate circuit, () the trigger voltage and trigger current for an average gate power dissipation of 0.4 watts. Solution. (a) The slope of load line gives the required gate source resistance. From the load line, series resistance required in the gate circuit is 120.0. (b) Here V,1,=0.4W For the gate circuit, E,=RJ,+V, oa eT or 120-151, +0.4=0 Its solution gives 1,= 38.56 mA or 86.44 mA 0.4 x 10° Ve 38.56 0.4 x 108 agaae = £627 V. Choose V, = 4.627 V and I, = 86.44 mA for minimum gate current of 25 mA. “Example 4.5. For an SCR, gate-cathode characteristic is given by V_=1 +101,. Gate source voltage is a rectangular pulse of 15 V with 20 usec duration. For an average gate power dissipation of 0.3 W and a peak gate drive power of 5 W, compute ‘ (@) the resistance to be connected in series with the SCR gate, (b) the triggering frequency and (c) the duty cycle of the triggering pulse. Solution. (a) Here V,=1+104, =1037V or78 [Art 44] Power Electronics For pulse-triggering of SCRs, (Peak gate voltage) (peak gate current) during pulse-on period i = peak gate drive power, P,,. As the gate pulse width is 20/1 sec (less than 100 psec), the de data does not apply. Had the gate pulse width been more than 100 isec, the relation (1 + 10 J,) Z, = 0.3 W will hold good. But as the de data does not apply, we have here (1+101,)1,=5W or 108+1,-5=0 Its solution gives, 1, = 0.659 A. + Amplitude of current pulse = 0.659 A During the pulse-on period, B,=R,I,+Vy or 15=R, I, +1+107, 15-1 7-0 659 =10= 11.2440 (6) Fi ork Here T= 20 psec 0.3 x 108 5x20 (c) Duty cycle, 8=fT=38 x 10° x 20x 10 °=0.06. Y Example 4.6, Latching current for an SCR inserted in between a de voltage source of 200 V and the load is 100 mA. Compute the minimum width of gate-pulse current required to turn-on this SCR in case the load consists of (a) L = 0.2 H, (6) R = 20 Qin series with L = 0.2 Hand (¢) R= 209 in series with L = 2.0 H. Solution. (a) When load consists of pure inductance L, the voltage equation is E ; Ez or di=yt peae =z =3kHz +; Triggering frequency, f or Thus, minimum gate-pulse is 100 sec: (©) The voltage equation for R-L load is di E=Ri+L z = 200 4-104 or Ete “) or 0.100= 55° (=e 14) or #= 100.503 psec -. Minimum gate-pulse width is 100.503 j1sec (ec) or or #=1005,03 psec.Thyristors [Art 4.5] 79 ‘This example shows that if load resistance is increased from zero to 20 Q, the gate-pulse width remains almost unaffected. But with an increase in inductance from 0.2 H to 2 H, the gate-pulse width becomes 10 times its previous value. \y Example 4.7. The gate current of a forward biased SCR is gradually increased from zero until the device is turned on. It is observed that gate current, just prior to the instant of turn-on, is 1mA and soon after SCR goes into conduction, gate current decays to about 0.3 mA. Discuss’ how it happens. Solution. When anode of an SCR is made positive with respect to cathode, a small voltage HE, generated internally, appears across the gate-cathode terminals, Fig. 4.14 (a). The magnitude of Z’, depends upon applied anode voltage and the device geometry. In the gate-cathode equivalent circuit of Fig. 4.14 (a), R is the static non-linear gate resistance. If the SCR is turned on by applying a positive gate signal, then the equivalent circuit for the trigger circuit is as shown in Fig, 4.14 (®). Here Z, is the gate voltage generated internally due to the flow of anode current. The magnitude of E’, is much smaller as compared to E,. For a typical SOR, 2’, = 0.05 V and E, = 0.7 V. @ @) Fig. 4.14. Pertaining to Example 4.7. &,-EF Before the SCR starts conducting, gate current I,’=—7—p*. As E,’ is very small, E,-E, 1, 2E,AR+R,). After SCR goes into conduction, J, =p pt. Voltage H, is quite large as compared to K’,, therefore, gate current is reduced from a higher value of J,’ to a lower value of I, In case EH, is reduced to zero, gate current becomes negative with its value equal to 1y'= fr: Under this condition of Z,=0, the voltage appearing across the gate-cathode terminals is E, - I,” R. 4,5, TWO-TRANSISTOR MODEL OF A THYRISTOR ‘The principle of thyristor operation can be explained with the use of its two-transistor model (or two-transistor analogy). Fig. 4.15 (a) shows schematic diagram of a thyristor. From this figure, two-transistor model is obtained by bisecting the two middle layers, along the dotted line, in two separate halves as shown in Fig. 4.15 (6). In this figure, junctions J, Jz, andJy~

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