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semiconductor
device
History
The first semiconductor device used in
power circuits was the electrolytic rectifier
- an early version was described by a
French experimenter, A. Nodon, in 1904.
These were briefly popular with early radio
experimenters as they could be improvised
from aluminum sheets, and household
chemicals. They had low withstand
voltages and limited efficiency. [1]
Common devices
Some common power devices are the
power diode, thyristor, power MOSFET,
and IGBT. The power diode and power
MOSFET operate on similar principles to
their low-power counterparts, but are able
to carry a larger amount of current and are
typically able to support a larger reverse-
bias voltage in the off-state.
Solid-state devices
Device Description Ratings
Up to
3000
amperes
and
5000
Uni-polar, uncontrolled, switching device used in applications such as volts in a
rectification and circuit directional current control. Reverse voltage single
blocking device, commonly modeled as a switch in series with a silicon
Diode
voltage source, usually 0.7 VDC. The model can be enhanced to device.
include a junction resistance, in order to accurately predict the diode High
voltage drop across the diode with respect to current flow. voltage
requires
multiple
series
silicon
devices.
Up to
This semi-controlled device turns on when a gate pulse is present and 3000
Silicon- the anode is positive compared to the cathode. When a gate pulse is amperes,
controlled present, the device operates like a standard diode. When the anode is 5000
rectifier negative compared to the cathode, the device turns off and blocks volts in a
(SCR) positive or negative voltages present. The gate voltage does not allow single
the device to turn off.[6] silicon
device.
Gate turn-off The gate turn-off thyristor, unlike an SCR, can be turned on and off with
thyristor a gate pulse. One issue with the device is that turn off gate voltages
(GTO) are usually larger and require more current than turn on levels. This
turn off voltage is a negative voltage from gate to source, usually it
only needs to be present for a short time, but the magnitude s on the
order of 1/3 of the anode current. A snubber circuit is required in order
to provide a usable switching curve for this device. Without the
snubber circuit, the GTO cannot be used for turning inductive loads off.
These devices, because of developments in IGCT technology are not
very popular in the power electronics realm. They are considered
controlled, uni-polar and bi-polar voltage blocking.[7]
The BJT cannot be used at high power; they are slower and have more
resistive losses when compared to MOSFET type devices. To carry
high current, BJTs must have relatively large base currents, thus these
devices have high power losses when compared to MOSFET devices.
BJTs along with MOSFETs, are also considered unipolar and do not
block reverse voltage very well, unless installed in pairs with protection
diodes. Generally, BJTs are not utilized in power electronics switching
Bipolar
circuits because of the I2R losses associated with on resistance and
junction
base current requirements.[6] BJTs have lower current gains in high
transistor
power packages, thus requiring them to be set up in Darlington
(BJT)
configurations in order to handle the currents required by power
electronic circuits. Because of these multiple transistor configurations,
switching times are in the hundreds of nanoseconds to microseconds.
Devices have voltage ratings which max out around 1500 V and fairly
high current ratings. They can also be paralleled in order to increase
power handling, but must be limited to around 5 devices for current
sharing.[7]
Power The main benefit of the power MOSFET is that the base current for BJT
MOSFET is large compared to almost zero for MOSFET gate current. Since the
MOSFET is a depletion channel device, voltage, not current, is
necessary to create a conduction path from drain to source. The gate
does not contribute to either drain or source current. Turn on gate
current is essentially zero with the only power dissipated at the gate
coming during switching. Losses in MOSFETs are largely attributed to
on-resistance. The calculations show a direct correlation to drain
source on-resistance and the device blocking voltage rating, BVdss.
Classifications
Diodes
Amplifiers
Parameters
Cooling performance.
Resistance to thermal cycling by closely
matching the Coefficient of thermal
expansion of the packaging to that of
the silicon.
The maximum operating temperature of
the packaging material.
Research is also ongoing on electrical
issues such as reducing the parasitic
inductance of packaging; this inductance
limits the operating frequency, because it
generates losses during commutation.
Improvement of structures
The IGBT design is still under development
and can be expected to provide increases
in operating voltages. At the high-power
end of the range, the MOS-controlled
thyristor is a promising device. Achieving a
major improvement over the conventional
MOSFET structure by employing the super
junction charge-balance principle:
essentially, it allows the thick drift region
of a power MOSFET to be heavily doped,
thereby reducing the electrical resistance
to electron flow without compromising the
breakdown voltage. This is juxtaposed
with a region that is similarly doped with
the opposite carrier polarity (holes); these
two similar, but oppositely doped regions
effectively cancel out their mobile charge
and develop a 'depleted region' that
supports the high voltage during the off-
state. On the other hand, during the on-
state, the higher doping of the drift region
allows for the easy flow of carriers, thereby
reducing on-resistance. Commercial
devices, based on this super junction
principle, have been developed by
companies like Infineon (CoolMOSTM
products) and International Rectifier (IR).
Wide band-gap
semiconductors
The major breakthrough in power
semiconductor devices is expected from
the replacement of silicon by a wide band-
gap semiconductor. At the moment, silicon
carbide (SiC) is considered to be the most
promising. A SiC Schottky diode with a
breakdown voltage of 1200 V is
commercially available, as is a 1200 V
JFET. As both are majority carrier devices,
they can operate at high speed. A bipolar
device is being developed for higher
voltages (up to 20 kV). Among its
advantages, silicon carbide can operate at
a higher temperature (up to 400 °C) and
has a lower thermal resistance than
silicon, allowing for better cooling.
Notes and references
Notes
References
External links
A review on Power Semiconductor
Devices
Interactive Power Electronics Seminar
(iPES)
Powerguru.org – power electronics
knowledge base with training material
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