Power Electronics Technology October 2005 www.powerelectronics.com October 2005 www.powerelectronics.

com
44
A Graphical Approach
To MOSFET Evaluation
Using a new version of power MOSFET gure of
merit and constant-power dissipation curves,
designers can calculate the optimum combination
of factors to select a device for a power supply
application and minimize its dissipation.
By Alan Elbanhawy, By Alan Elbanhawy By Alan Elbanhawy Director, Computing and
Telecommunications Segments, Advanced Power Systems
Center, Fairchild Semiconductor, San Jose, Calif. Center, Center,
T
he demands of modern power supplies for
increasingly higher efficiencies at higher
frequenci es have propel l ed MOSFET
technology in the last few years to heights of
performance that were hard to anticipate only
a few years ago. The proliferation of these devices in almost
all power applications requires a means of comparison to
allow design engineers to choose the optimum device as
easily and accurately as possible.
The product of a MOSFETs on-resistance, R
DS(ON)
, and
total gate charge, Q
G
, has been used as the gure of merit
(FOM) for power MOSFETs for years. The lower the value,
the better the MOSFET. In general, this value represents how
good one fabrication process is compared to another. But,
does this value indicate whether a given MOSFET will perform
better than another in a particular application? The use of
this FOM implies that two MOSFETs with the same value
would perform the
same in a given
application. But, is
that true regardless
of the individual
value of R
DS(ON)
and
Q
G
that constitute
this FOM?
To answer this
question, we will
show that we need
a different tool to
pinpoint the subtle
differences. This
tool is the FOM
that results from
multiplying the on-
resistance (referred
to in the equations
as R
DS(ON)
for the high-side MOSFET and R
DS(ON)sr
for the low-
side MOSFET), and the gate-to-drain charge, Q
GD
. We will
show that this FOM works best to predict the performance of
the high-side control MOSFET, QHS (Fig. 1), in a synchronous
buck converter, because its performance and losses are
governed to a large degree by its dynamic losses. Meanwhile,
Q
G
R
DS(ON)
RR continues to predict the performance of the low-
side synchronous rectier, QLS, because the losses in the low-
side device are mostly governed by ohmic losses. We also will
demonstrate a simple method to evaluate a given MOSFET
for a specic application. Furthermore, comparisons between
several MOSFETs can be made to choose the most suitable
device from a large selection of components.
For simplicity, consider only the common synchronous
buck converter of Fig. 1 for the analysis. Assume that QLS
is initially turned off and QHS is turned on. This applies
the input voltage on one end of the inductor, causing the
inductor current to rise. When QHS is turned off, the current
will continue owing through the inductor but now it ows
through the diode D1. After a dead time on the order of a few
tens of nanosecondsdictated by the PWM controllerQLS
turns on. This allows all the inductor current to ow through
QLS rather than D1, since the voltage drop across its R
DS(ON)
is
lower than the diode voltage drop. Assuming that the current
through the inductor does not reach zero (the continuous
conduction mode), the voltage across QLS will simply be
R
DS(ON)
I
LOAD
during the full off period of QHS.
At the end of the off period of QHS, QLS will turn off,
allowing the inductor current to ow in the diode D1. After
the dead time, QHS will turn on and the cycle continues.
The average voltage at the output will depend on the average
on-time of QHS if the inductor current is continuous.
MOSFET Loss
Losses will be calculated based on the simple rst-order
silicon losses without any consideration of the packages
Fig. 1. The classical synchronous buck converter
uses two switching MOSFETs: the high-side
(control) device, QHS, and the low-side
synchronous rectier, QLS.
PW
Controlle
and
Driver
Cf
O
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45
MOSFET EVALUATION
Fig. 2. The constant-power dissipartion curves for a high-side MOSFET running at a 15-A load at
a frequency of 300 kHz.
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035 0.04 0.045 0.05
G
D
Q
DS (ON)
R
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
2
5
2
5
3
5
3
5
5
0
5
0
7
5
7
5
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
5
0
0.5 WW
0.6 WW
0.7
0.7
0.7 WWW
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8 WWWW
0.9
0.9
0.9 WWWW
1.0
1.0
1.0 WWW
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1 WWW
1.2
1.2
1.2 WWWW
1
.3

1
.3
WWW
2
.2
W
2.0 W
1.4
1.4 WW
1
.5

1
.5

1
.5
WW
1.6
1.6
1.6 WWW
1.7
1.7
1.7
1.7 WWW
1
.8

1
.8
WW
1
.9

1
.9

1
.9

1
.9
WW
parasitic effects. This is done to simplify
the equations and make them easy to
implement in a spreadsheet while at the
same time getting reasonable results.
Lets consider the two sources of losses
in any switching MOSFET. The rst is
from conduction losses or ohmic losses,
and the second is from dynamic losses.
In conduction loss, power dissipates
according to I
2
R duty cycle, while
the dynamic or switching losses are those
that result when the MOSFET turns on or
off, because there will be a nite voltage
(a value between zero and the input
voltage) between the MOSFETs drain
and source while current is owing through the transistor.
The losses for the high-side MOSFET may be calculated
as follows:
P t t I V f V
DY
P t P t
NAMI
P t P t
C R
P t P t
F L
t I t I
OAD I
V f V f
N S
V f V f
DRIV
VV
E
P t P t P t P t P t P t P t P t
1
2
C R C R
( ) P t P t t I t I
C R C R
P t P t P t P t
F L F L
t I t I t I t I = + = + P t P t P t P t
C R C R C R C R
P t P t P t P t P t P t P t V f V f
D I D I
V f V f V f V f V f V f V f V f + Q f
G S
Q Q ff
P I R PWM
CONDUCTION
P I P I
LOAD DS
R P R P P I P I
2
( )
R P R P
ON ON
R P R P R P R P R P R P

P P
DI
P P P P
SSI
P P P P
PA
P P P P
TION
P P P P
DY
P P P P
NAMIC
P P P P + P
CONDUCTION
PP
(Eq. 1)
Where t
R
and t
RR F
are the rise and fall times, f
S
ise and fall times, f ise and fall times, f is the
switching frequency, PWM is the duty cycle, Q
G
is the
gate charge, V
IN
is the input voltage, R
DS(ON)
is the high-side
MOSFET on-resistance, V
DRIVE
is the gate-drive voltage and
I
LOAD
is the load current.
To calculate t
R
and t
F
, we need to make the following
assumptions:
1. t
R
t
F
2. For switching, consider only the gate-to-drain charge
component Q
GD
, as the rest of the gate charge Q
G
does not
play any role in switching:
Constant K
RF
Constant K
I
V
R
Constant K Constant K
R Q
Constant K Constant K
V
DRIVE
DRIV
VV
E
G
R F
Constant K Constant K Constant K Constant K Constant K Constant K
G G
Constant K Constant K
R Q R Q
Constant K Constant K Constant K Constant K
D
Constant K Constant K
DRIV
VV
E
=
Constant K Constant K Constant K Constant K Constant K Constant K
R Q R Q R Q R Q R Q R Q
Empirically, the constant K
RF
4.6, and I
DRIVE
is the gate-
drive current, R
G
drive current, R drive current, R is the gate-path resistance and V
DRIVE
is the
gate-drive voltage. Using the same treatment as above for
the low-side MOSFET, we can derive the equations for the
synchronous rectier:
(Eq. 2)
P t P t
DI
P t P t
SSI
P t P t
PA
P t P t
TION
P t P t
sr R
P t P t
1
2
2
(Eq. 2) (Eq. 2)
( + P t P t
RR
t )I V f +
(Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2)
F L
t ) t )I I
OA
I I
D D
I I V V
S
f + f +
LOAD
(Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2)
DS
(Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2)
(O
(Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2)
N)
(Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2) (Eq. 2)
Where V
D
is the voltage drop across the body diode or a
Schottky diode in parallel. The drain-to-source capacitor loss
will not be considered in this analysis because it represents a
small percent of the total power loss compared to the dynamic
and conduction losses.
A Device Evaluation Chart
Based on Eqs. 1 and 2, it is clear that R
DS(ON)
and Q
GD,
and
not Q
G
, play a major role in determining the power losses
in the high-side MOSFET in synchronous buck converters.
While both R
DS(ON)
and Q
GD
determine how much conduction
loss and switching loss is to be expected, the balance between
the two losses is different in a given MOSFET used in the
high-side position compared to the synchronous rectier
position in a synchronous buck converter. With that in
mind, a new tool is needed that allows us to readily evaluate
whether a given MOSFET is well suited for operation in a
given position (high-side or synchronous rectier) based on
the power dissipation. This tool should also help in comparing
two MOSFETs head-to-head for a specic application using
both Q
GD
and R
DS(ON)
.
In order to evaluate MOSFET power dissipation, we need
to create a reference circuit representative of a commonly
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46
MOSFET EVALUATION
Part Number Total Q
G
Q
GD
R
DS(ON)
R
DS(ON)
x Q
G
M1 13 4.7 11.2 146
M2 18 5 11.5 207
M3 19 4.5 10 190
Table. Representative MOSFETs and their gures of merit.
Fig. 3. The constant-power dissipation curves for a high-side (control) MOSFET at a 30-A load
current and 500-kHz frequency.
0.8 W
1.1 W
0.9 W
1.4 W
1.7 W
FOM= 15
FOM= 25
1.0 W
1.2 W
1.3 W
1.5 W
FOM= 10
FOM= 20
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.0015 0.0025 0.0035 0.0045 0.0055 0.0065 0.0075 0.0085 0.0095
DS (ON)
G
D
Q
N
G
D
G
D
F
R
Fig. 4. The points where the FOM hyperbolas intersect the constant-power dissipation lines
determine the minimum power dissipation for the MOSFET.
R
DS (ON)
C




N
F
G
D
C




N
F
C




N
F
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01
1.4 W
FOM= 10
1.7 W
FOM= 15
used buck converter. The following
specifications are typical for a buck
converter application:
Input voltage = 12 V
Output voltage = 1.5 V
Load current = 15 A
This represents a typical phase of a
multiphase power supply for the new
generation of microprocessors.
Using the power dissipation equations
listed previously, in an Excel spreadsheet,
one can create a set of constant-power
dissipation lines using a MOSFETs
R
DS(ON)
and Q
GD
. This set of lines
represents possible combinations of Q
GD
and R
DS(ON)
that will produce the same
power dissipation if used in the reference
circuit. This should be repeated several
times using power dissipation values
from 0.05 W to 2.2 W. These values
represent a realistic MOSFET power
dissipation. Separate graphs are needed
for the high-side
and the low-side
MOSFETs.
A spreadsheet-
generated graph
should represent
R
DS(ON)
RR on the X-axis
and Q
GD
on the Y-
axis. Several constant-power dissipation
lines are drawn on the graph. Fig. 2 is
the high-side MOSFET graphs where
the thin slanted lines are the constant-
power dissipation lines calculated at
a 300-kHz switching frequency. The
associated value of power dissipation is
in black on the bottom and right-hand
side of the graph. Several constant-FOM
lines are also drawn on the graph; those
are the thick blue hyperbolas with the
associated FOM value on the top left
side of the graph.
Fig. 2 is calculated at load current of
15 A and a switching frequency of 300
kHz at a duty cycle, PWM, of 0.125. Fig.
3 depicts constant-power dissipation
graphs for the control MOSFET at
load current of 30 A and a switching
frequency of 500 kHz. It is worthwhile
noting that even a Q
GD
R
DS(ON)
FOM
of 10 is not capable of delivering power
dissipation under 1 W, and in reality
delivers a power dissipation of 1.4 W
only at the optimum combination of
Q
GD
and R
DS(ON).
In Fig. 3, a power dissipation of less
than 1 W at 30 A and 500 kHz is to be
found only in future developments
in this fast-moving semiconductor
industry. The optimum mix of R
DS(ON)
and Q
GD
for a given FOM may be
obtained by plotting the constant-
power dissipation graph and a set of
FOM curves of interest. It can be easily
observed that any constant-power
dissipation line will intersect with the
FOM hyperbola in two points, each
with a different mix of R
DS(ON)
and
Q
GD
. Ultimately, there is one constant-
power dissipation line with a tangent
to this FOM hyperbola that clearly
from the graph has the lowest power
dissipation and would have a single
pair of optimum values for Q
GD
and
R
DS(ON)
. Fig. 4 depicts this situation for
FOMs of 10 and 15 and constant-power
dissipation lines of 1.4 W and 1.7 W. It
is clear that for an FOM of 15, one can
never get a power dissipation of less
than 1.7 W (i.e., 1.4 W is unattainable
for an FOM of 15).
For synchronous rectiers, we need
a different chart because the loss
equations are different from those of the
high-side MOSFET. Fig. 5 depicts data
from this new chart as a set of constant-
power dissipation lines calculated at 15
A and 300-kHz switching frequency,
as well as a set of FOM hyperbolas for
the synchronous rectifier. Note that
the constant-power dissipation lines
are almost vertical, indicating that they
are mostly dependant on R
DS(ON)
and,
to a much lesser degree, on Q
GD
and
dynamic losses.
MOSFET Evaluation
To compare two MOSFETs:
Plot the values of R
DS(ON)
and Q
GD
on the graph.
Run a line parallel to the constant-
power dissipation line through each of
the points plotted.
Observe the value of the power
dissipation on the topside. Obviously,
the lower the power dissipation, the
better the MOSFET.
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47
Fig. 5. Constant-power dissipation lines plotted against FOM hyperbolas
for the synchronous rectier at 15 A and 300-kHz switching frequency.
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01
R
DS (ON)
Q
G
D
10 10
25 25
35 35
50 50
75 75
100 100 100
0
.
5

WW
0
.
7

0
.
7

W
0
.
8

0
.
8

W
0
.
9

0
.
9

WW
1
.
0

W
1
.
1

W
1
.
2

1
.
2

W
1
.
3

WW
1
.
4

W
1
.
5

W
1
.
6

WW
1
.
7

1
.
7

WW
1
.
9

1
.
9

W
2
.
0

WW
2
.
2

2
.
2

W
To determine the best mix between
the R
DS(ON)
and Q
GD
:
Determi ne the FOM of the
process.
Plot a curve R
DS(ON)
Q
GD
= FOM,
which is a hyperbola.
On the graph, draw a line parallel
to the constant-power line as a tangent
to this hyperbola.
Read the associated value of R
DS(ON)
and Q
GD
.
As an example, the table includes
three MOSFETs, M1, M2 and M3, and
using the typical values in the data
sheets, we get that M1 FOM is about
30% better than M3 and 42% better than
M2 (Fig. 2). This might cause the user to
expect at least that much improvement
in performance. However, according
to the graph, the differences between
the devices from the power dissipation,
and hence efciency, point of view is
minimal. These results are supported
by efciency tests that we performed on
all of these MOSFETs. Please remember
that in the graph I am using the typical
values of Q
GD
and R
DS(ON)
and not the not not
actual devices with their spreads in
parameters, which should account for
the difference. Still, remember that the
difference in the power dissipation is
about 0.1 W between M1, M2 and M3.
An implementation of this idea is
quite possible using the complete set
of switching equations together with
the package- and die-parasitics to get
a more accurate comparison. Such a
model will be so complex that the use
of an advanced mathematical sheet
such as Maple becomes mandatory.
This ambitious approach is probably
worthwhile, but it is
not likely to be easy
to fully understand
and use.
Based on the results
derived in this article,
I propose the use of
the more accurate
FOM, which is the
gate-drain charge
t i me s MOSFET
on-resistance (Q
GD
R
DS(ON)
). As you
can see, for a given
cons t ant new
FOM, the power dissipation on the high-
side MOSFET will vary significantly.
For example, with an FOM of 100,
the power dissipation can be as low as
1.3 W or as high as 2.2 W, depending on
the individual MOSFET value of R
DS(ON)
and Q
G
= FOM/ R
DS(ON).
It is clear now that FOM is not a
very precise tool to measure whether
a given MOSFET with a given FOM
will perform well or not in a given
topology and a given position (e.g. in a
synchronous buck converter, the high-
side MOSFET requires a different mix
of Q
GD
and R
DS(ON)
compared to the
synchronous rectier). We actually need
the individual value of R
DS(ON)
and Q
GD
for such a MOSFET to know how good
this MOSFET will perform by plotting
the point on the graph and reading the
value of the power dissipation.
Comparison between two given
MOSFETs is very easily achieved by
plotting both of them on the graph
and calculating the power dissipation.
A secondary benet is actually nding
the best combination of Q
GD
and R
DS(ON)
for a given FOM by nding the tangent
parallel to the constant-power lines of
FOM curve and directly reading the
combination of Q
GD
and R
DS(ON)
.
The use of a spreadsheet lends itself
to what-if analysis by allowing the
user to change the parameters in the
reference design and generating a new
graph. For example, one might examine
the effects of changing the frequency
on the performance of any given
MOSFET. A separate spreadsheet and
graph should be used for the low-side
MOSFET (Fig. 5). PETech
MOSFET EVALUATION