9/14/2010

EE4030 Power Electronics and Applications

Outline Syllabus
1.0 Power Switching Devices Overview of Thyristor, BJT, MOSFET, IGBT and other hybrid power devices, Basic structure, characteristic and application, comparison among power devices 2.0 Six Step Voltage Source Inverters Structure and operation, Output voltage, current, harmonics and total harmonic distortion (THD), Input output modelling, voltage and frequency control 3.0 PWM Voltage Source Inverters Square wave, sinusoidal and regular sampled PWM inverters, Harmonic elimination and distortion minimization, Voltage vector and current controlled PWM inverters , Voltage & frequency control, Implementation aspects 4.0 DC - DC Converters Structure and operation of buck, boost, buck/boost and full bridge dc-dc converters, Output characteristic and control, Application consideration 5.0 Thyristor Voltage Converters Single phase and three phase ac-dc converters, Current and voltage harmonics, Line notching and their minimization, Selected application area
1 2

References
Ned Mohan, Tore M. Undeland, and Willium P. Robbins, Power electronics converters, applications and design, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 3rd edition, 2006. Muhammed H. Rashid, Power electronics circuits, devices and applications, PrenticeHall of India Private Limited, 3rd edition, 2006.
3

Power switching devices

All power switching devices operate in ON and OFF states. This operation gives high energy efficiency for the converter permits flexibility in control

9/14/2010

Types of Devices
Devices currently in use are Power Diodes Standard Thyristors Gate Turn-Off Thyristors Power Transistors Power MOSFETs Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor

Power diode
i v characteristics

Power diode - Basic functions

Basic functions served by power diodes and its variants are rectification feedback freewheeling protection transient suppression

Freewheeling

Diode in this circuit serves freewheeling function. It allows inductive load current circulate after transistor T is switched off.
8

9/14/2010

Feedback

Grades of diodes
Rectifier: used in line frequency (50 Hz or 60 Hz) converters Fast-recovery: used in high switching frequency circuits for feedback and freewheeling functions Power zenor diode: used in transient suppression of voltage spikes Schottky diode: used in drive circuits and in low voltage power supplies
10

Diode in this circuit serves feedback function. It helps to send the inductive energy of the load back the source after switching off of transistors. Diode D2 provides the path to send the stored energy in the load back to the source after switching-off of transistor T1. 9

Diode during its switchswitch-off

Diode during its switchswitch-off

trr Reverse recovery time Irrm Maximum reverse recovery current
trr for a given diode is approximately a constant and Irrm depends on trr and di/dt during switch off. Diode is called a fast recovery diode if trr is very small, typically in ns period. Fast recovery diode has a slightly higher conduction drop (typically 1V) compared to rectifier diodes. 12

11

9/14/2010

Transient suppression diode

Schottky diode
These are diodes with low conduction drop, typically 0.3 V.

This is the power zenor diode. In low voltage circuits, it is possible to use power zenors to arrest transient voltage spikes.
13 14

Diode overover-voltage protection

Maximum reverse voltage acceptable to a diode is limited and provisions should be made to limit any possible over-voltages.

Diode overover-voltage protection

15

This type of over-voltage spikes can be arrested by using a parallel RC branch with the diode.

16

9/14/2010

Standard Thyristor
This has a PNPN structure.

i v characteristics

17

18

Modes of operation
Thyristor has 3 modes of operation. Reverse blocking mode Forward blocking mode conduction mode

Thyristor ratings
Thyristor has three basic ratings for voltage. VDSM,VRSM Direct/Reverse Single Maximum VDRM,VRRM Direct/Reverse Repetitive Maximum VDWM,VRWM Direct/Reverse Single Maximum

19

20

9/14/2010

Thyristor voltage ratings

Single maximum ratings give the maximum single voltage spike the thyristor can accept. This type of spikes occur when the converter is switched on to power. Repetitive maximum ratings give the maximum repetitive (in each cycle) spike the thyristor can accept. Working maximum ratings give the maximum continuous voltage the thyristor can accept.

Thyristor current ratings

There are two basic current ratings. IFSM Continuous rating IFSM Peak current of single half-sine pulse of 10 ms duration, the thyristor can accept when it is already operating at its maximum temperature limit. This rating is useful when designing over-current protection for the thyristor, e.g. Selection of fuses. Continuous rating gives maximum continuous current the thyristor can handle. Practical rating can be different to the specified rating and it is decided in a thermal design. 22

In practice we select thyristors for supply voltage crest VDWM

2 to 2.5
21

dv dv/ /dt and di/ di/dt ratings

dv/dt rating: This is the highest rate of change of voltage that the thyristor can accept between its anode and cathode without causing unintended switch-on. di/dt rating: This is the highest rate of change of anode current acceptable to the thyristor at the instant of switch-on without causing a permanent (thermal) failure of the thyristor.

TurnTurn -off time (tQ) rating:

This is the maximum time for which a thyristor has to be held in reverse bias for complete turn off.

23

24

9/14/2010

Two transistor model

Behaviour of a thyristor can be explained using its two transistor model.

Latching current
This is the minimum anode current to which the thyristor must build up before the gate pulse can be withdrawn. Typical latching current is about 50 mA.

If Ig is zero, Q1 and Q2 are off (i.e. anode to cathode is open). If Ig is given, then Q1 is turned on and in turn Q2 is also turned on (because IC1 now acts as base current for Q2). IC2 of Q2 then acts as base current for Q1 and Ig can now be withdrawn.
25 26

Gate pulses
Long signal gate pulses such as that are required by tyristors driving highly inductive loads are replaced by a train of pulses. This is done to reduce losses at the gate allow the pulses to be passed through pulse transformers

Holding current
This is the maximum anode current with which a conducting thyristor can continue to be in the ON state. Typically the holding current is about 40 mA.

27

28

9/14/2010

Switching ON
This is done with the aid of a gate drive circuit.

Switching OFF
Gate current Ig can only bring a thyristor into conduction and it cannot stop the thyristor afterwards. To stop the thyristor, the following conditions must be satisfied. Bring the anode current below its holding current Then hold the thyristor in the reverse blocking mode for a time not less than tQ (thyristor trun-off time)
29 30

D1 To circulate inductive energy after transistor T is off. D2 To stop reverse gate current D3 To stop reverse gate voltage S To suppress noise spikes

Switching OFF
In some circuits these conditions are satisfied automatically (naturally). But in some circuits we have to intervene and provide these conditions by force. Method of commutation means method of providing these conditions. There are three methods of commutation. Line commutation Load commutation Forced commutation

Line commutation
In this method the conditions are satisfied due to the natural reversal of line voltage.
For successful turn-off, T > tQ. At t = t1, the conditions of turn-off are satisfied.

31

32

9/14/2010

Load commutation
In this method, the conditions for turn-off are satisfied by the reversal of voltage induced by the load.
If Ig is given at t = 0, then for t > 0

Forced commutation
This method is chosen if other methods of commutation are not available.

After t = , thyristor is turned off successfully.

33

Assume the switch S to be closed at t = 0 to initiate commutation. Thyristor current i is reduced as load current is now diverted through the capacitor.
34

Thyristor protection
Thyristor is a delicate device and must be protected against all possible disturbances if it is to perform reliably and successfully. There are several types of protection.

dv/dt, di/dt and switching overovervoltage protection

If the dv/dt occurring at the anode is excessive, then the resulting displacement current across the reverse biased junction (described by the capacitor) can bring the thyristor into conduction automatically. This if happens, is a faulty condition.
35 36

9/14/2010

dv/dt, di/dt and switching overovervoltage protection

Initially only very small area in near the gate contact is available for conduction. This area propagates across the channel as time goes on. If anode current is applied at a rate in excess, there will be current crowding at the gate which can burn the gate. This is a permanent failure.

Snubber circuits for thyristor

This circuit limits di/dt at turn on limits dv/dt in the off state limits over-voltage spikes occurring at instance of turn-off. limits dv/dt across the thyristor when recovering inverse parallel diode, in case such a diode is part of the circuit

37

38

Behavior at turnturn-off without snubber

Behavior at turnturn-off with snubber

39

The waveform indicates that transient switching voltage spikes are eliminated by the LCR snubber.

40

10

9/14/2010

dv/dt across the thyristor when recovering inverse parallel diode

Recovering of inverse parallel diode

In this circuit there is no voltage spike problem at thyristor turn-off, because the diode does not allow any reverse voltage. However there may be spikes due to the recovery of the diode after its turn-off.

41

As the waveform indicates, the voltage felt by the thyristor during the diode recovery is damped down by the LCR snubber.

42

Modified snubber

Over current protection

Thyristors have excellent surge current capability and thus can be protected against over-current using fuses. Semiconductor fuses (which are extremely fast) can be used.

The initial R.Irrm jump has high dv/dt and to ensure that the thyristor wont mis-trigger on this, we can modify the snubber as shown below for still better reliability.
43 44

11

9/14/2010

Over current protection

A better choice of a fuse is one whose Ip for the given Im is less than (with adequate safety margin) the surge current IFSM for the thyristor.

Over-voltage (power line surges) Overprotection

Typical protection for power line surges is to use surge arrestors i.e. Metal Oxide Varistors (MOV). Often we use one arrestor at the supply intake and one for each expensive thyristor.

45

46

Crowbar protection

Gate turn off thyristor (GTO)

GTO is similar to the standard thyristor in most aspects and additionally it can be turned off by its gate control.

Crowbar thyristor is turned on automatically if overcurrent exceeds a preset level. This resulting current in the coil in the crowbar path signals the input breaker to be tripped off.
47 48

12

9/14/2010

Switch ON and OFF

To switch ON: give in a narrow Ig pulse of small current (e.g. 200 mA, 10 s) To switch OFF: withdraw a narrow Ig pulse of large current (e.g. 100 A, 20 s)
Turn off gain = Anode current prior to turn off Gate current to be drawn out from the gate to cause turn off

Mechanism of turnturn-off
To turn off we should grab Ic2 entirely and divert it away from the base of Q1. This is done by negative Ig. This causes the turn off of Q1 first and Q2 next.

For most GTOs turn-off gain is in the range of 3 to5.

49 50

Circuit support for turnturn-off

Turn off snubber to provide an alternative path for the anode current during the turn-off transient a means of suppressing dv/dt peaks during turnoff and other operating conditions
The purpose of R is to provide a path for the discharge of capacitor voltage during the ON state of the GTO.

Main features of GTO

its di/dt rating is much higher (in some cases di/dt inductor can be excluded) its turn-off can be initiated at the gate control.This permits to exclude bulky forced-commutation circuits and hence reduced converter size by about 60%) its turn-on is fast its conduction drop is slightly higher, about 1 V. its reverse voltage blocking feature is absent. GTOs must be used with inverse parallel diodes its dv/dt is some what lower. This requires the gate terminal to be held at a negative voltage throughout the OFF period to avoid dv/dt triggering its holding current is higher. This can cause partial turn-off at low anode currents, resulting in heavy heating of the GTO or sometimes unintended turn-off at too smalln anode current.To avoid this, we need to supply gate current throughout its ON period.

51

52

13

9/14/2010

Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)

This is one of the widely used devices in low and medium power industrial applications. It has switching frequency capability up to about 30 kHz (15 kHz is a good practical limit). They are available in 2 types, NPN and PNP.

i v characteristics

53

VRBD (reverse breakdown voltage) is very small; i.e. the transistor is not meant to block reverse voltages. It should be used with inverse parallel diodes. VFBO is large but not a fixed value. It depends on the base-circuit arrangement. 54

i v characteristics

Turn ON and OFF

It is very easy to turn on and turn off a transistor. To turn on: giving IB of sufficient magnitude and hold it continuously. To turn off: bring IB to zero and optionally hold the base at a slightly negative voltage.

55

56

14

9/14/2010

Selection of IB, ON
IB, ON is selected with the following considerations. 1.IB, ON should be large enough to saturate the transistor. i.e. Ic,max maximum likely collector current during the operation hFE transistor dc current gain hFE is not a constant and it varies with Ic. We select hFE corresponding to Ic,max.
57

Selection of IB, ON
2.

IB, ON should be as large as possible to keep VCE,ON at a lower value.

Overdrive giving base current in excess of the minimum needed

58

Selection of IB, ON
3.

Safe operating area (SOA)

This is area in the Ic vs VCE plane designated to be safe for operation. There are two such areas. Forward bias safe operating area (FBSOA) Reverse bias safe operating area (RBSOA) The circuit designer must ensure that the operating point of the BJT is always inside the relevant SOA. ON and OFF points must be placed inside SOA and also the transient variations (during switchover).

IB, ON should not be too large to avoid long delays at turn-off due to excessive stored charges.

59

60

15

9/14/2010

FBSOA

RBSOA

61

62

Power MOSFET
The power MOSFET is a strong competitor to the power BJT in medium power applications. In comparison to BJT, the power MOSFET is easy to drive because it is a voltage driven device has surge current capability has still higher switching frequency capability has wider safe operating area provides provisions to make modules by series/parallel combinations
63

Drawbacks
They are expensive They have higher conduction voltage drops High conduction voltage drop is the main drawback of MOSFET. This drop is increased with the voltage rating of the device. In practice, therefore we use MOSFETs only for low and medium voltage applications, e.g. below 600 V. Fortunately majority of industrial applications fall within this range.

64

16

9/14/2010

MOSFET types
There are two types, N-channel and Pchannel.

i v characteristics

In practice, only the N-channel type is used. The P-channel type gives still higher conduction voltage drop and hence not used for general applications.

65

66

Switch ON
To switch on we apply a voltage between gate and source; typically 1.2 V. Turn-on time depends on how quick the capacitor Cgs can be charged above the threshold which is 4 V typically. For short turnon time, we should use a drive circuit which has small output resistance.

Switch OFF
To switch off we apply Vgs=0, i.e. discharge Cgs. There are number of commercial MOSFET driver ICs including aditional features such as over-current protection etc.

67

68

17

9/14/2010

Protection
MOSFET is a rugged device and needs minimal protection. Basically over-voltage and gate protection are sufficient.

Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT)

This is perhaps the most popular power switching device at the moment. This is a hybrid of MOS and bipolar technology which combines the good attributes of the BJT and MOSFET.

Gate over voltage protection Possible over voltage protection

69

70

i v characteristics

The IGBT
has BJT like low conduction voltage drop handles high current density than BJT or MOSFET can operate at switching frequencies higher than that of BJT requires simpler gate drive similar to that of MOSFET is easier to protect and can operate sometimes without snubbers has good surge current capability (i.e. no secondary breakdown problems and has wider safe operating area) is more attractive than BJT or MOSFET in general 72 power electronic applications.

71

18

9/14/2010

Latching of IGBT
IGBTs can latch itself if it is subjected to severe over-current. If latched, the gate will have no control and the only way to stop the IGBT is by forcing the IGBT current to zero. If not detected early, a latched state can result in a destructive breakdown of the IGBT thermally. A good over-current limiter should be used to stop the IGBT on over-current. Modern IGBTs are however much improved and the latching problem is almost eliminated. They are called latch-free IGBTs.
73

19