EEE 121 Power Electronics I

Introduction

Carl Michael F. Odulio, PhD

 Outline

w Introduction
w Diode
 What is Power Electronics
SIMPLE DEFINITION:
CONTROLLING/PROCESSING OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY USING
SEMICONDUCTOR SWITCHES AND ENERGY STORAGE ELEMENTS (Inductors
and Capacitors)

• Power Electronics is an ENABLING technology – it enables

other technologies to function
• Power Electronics is a growth area
• Power Electronics has a vital role to play in energy efficiency
• Artesyn PEL is oldest industry academe partnership in the
institute
• 5 faculty members, 1 TA, 15 MS students, 30 to 40 undergrads
 Power Electronic Systems

Power Converter
SUPPLY Semiconductor switches, Magnetics, LOAD
Capacitors

Supply measurements Control feedback,

Control signals Health, Protection
Load Measurements

Controller- Microprocessors / DSPs/ FPGAs / VLSI/

digital/ analogue electronics

• Power converter matches “supply” characteristics to the “load” characteristics

• An appropriate power converter exists for all load and supply types (AC, DC, single phase, polyphase,
fixed freq, variable freq, fixed voltage, variable voltage etc)
• Power flow may be bidirectional (supply Û load) or unidirectional (supply Þ load)
• Switching technology gives very efficient power conversion
• Digital control gives sophisticated functionality, monitoring and protection capability for many
systems
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 Power Electronic Applications

• Applications are vast spanning a huge power range – some examples are given below
(see “Mohan” for more).
• < 1kW
• Small electronic power supplies (eg PCs), Lighting
• 1kW to 100kW (a 2 litre car engine is about 100kW)
• Industrial motor drives (pumps, fans, robots, elevators, etc), Transportation (eg electric
vehicles), Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS)
• 100kW to 1MW (MRT3 is about 500kW)
• Larger motor drives (paper mills, steel mills etc), Transportation (Trolleybuses, trams etc)
• 1MW to 10MW
• Very large industrial motor drives, industrial processes (furnaces etc), Transportation (eg
Railway locomotives)
• 10MW to 1000+MW
• Transportation (eg ships - 20MW), Control of electricity distribution - High Voltage DC links
(HVDC) – eg Leyte Luzon HVDC is 440MW at 350kV DC )
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 Some examples of where and why we use
Power Electronics

DC
Voltage

Adjustable Speed= Variable

AC Voltage &Frequency

Hybrid/Electric Car
- Smaller combustion engine for mean power
- Electrical motor for acceleration & braking
- Reduce fuel consumption/better efficiency
 Some examples of where and why we use
Power Electronics

Power supplies for TVs, PCs, Laptops, mobile phones

Washing machines, Vacuum cleaners, Air conditioning, Fridges
Interface with Renewables (photovoltaics) Max Power Point Tracking

Compact Fluorescent Lamps Different solar irradiation

Voltage
Connecting large power systems via DC
Levitated Trains/Electric Trains Current
All/More Electric Airplanes Power

Electric Railgun
Electric Catapult for Airplanes
 Power Semiconductor Devices

What is switching?

Switching
Source Converter Load

Ideally: Pin = VinIin = VoutIout = Pout

• there is no power loss in the semiconductor device

 Power Semiconductor Devices

ON State OFF State

V=0 I=0
- transition between states
- controllable
- instantaneous
- non-dissipative
 Power Semiconductor Devices

w Relevant ratings
n voltage – withstand reverse bias without failure
and negligible current
n current – handle required current levels with
good performance in terms of efficiency and
switching speed
n temperature – ensure desired performance,
prevent catastrophic failure, lifetime
 Power Semiconductor Devices

w Relevant characteristics
n controllability – low power control of transitions
from on to off and vice-versa; low power control
of both on and off states
n switching speed – fast, low dissipation
achievement of final states (either on or off)
n power dissipation – device/system efficiency,
thermal management (size, weight and cost),
reliability
 Power Semiconductor Devices

w diodes
w BJTs
w MOSFETs
w IGBTs
w thyristors
w optoisolators
 Power Semiconductor Devices

Diode
- an uncontrolled semiconductor device capable of
conducting current in only one direction
Schematic symbol: iD

A K
A – anode
K - cathode
VAK
VBR Vγ
 Diode

iD(t)

On – state model
trr

Important parameters:
If, VBR, trr - not ideal for parallel
operation
trr = reverse recovery time - NTC
 Diode

trr
IF

0.25IRR

IRR

Soft recovery Abrupt recovery

trr – reverse recovery time

- sum of ta and tb, time from the initial zero crossing of the
diode current to 25% of the peak reverse current IRR
 Diode

IF ta – zero crossing to the peak

ta tb reverse current
tb/ta – softness factor
0.25IRR

trr = ta + tb
IRR IRR = ta(di/dt)

- storage charge is the area enclosed

QRR = ½ IRRta + ½ IRRtb = ½ IRRtrr
IRR = 2QRR/trr
 Diode

Equating

for typical switching power diodes,

ta<<tb

- trr, IRR are dependent on the storage charge and the di/dt
 Diode

tfr - forward recovery time, transition from off to on state

- if the rate of rise of the forward current is high and is
concentrated only on a small part of the junction, diode
will fail
- tfr limits the rate of rise of the forward current and
switching speed

Ex. trr = 3𝜇s

falling di/dt = 30A/𝜇s
Find QRR and IRR
QRR = ½ (di/dt) trr2 = ½ (30)(3𝜇s)2 = 135 𝜇C
IRR = √(2QRRdi/dt) = √(2(135)(30)) = 90A
 Diode
Ratings
Type Maximum Maximum Forward Switching Applications
Breakdown Current/Power Voltage Drop Speed
Voltage Rating

High Voltage Rectifier 30kV ~500mA ~10V ~100ns HV Circuits

Diodes
General Purpose diodes ~5kV ~10kA 0.7-2.5V ~25us Line Frequency Rectifiers

Fast/Ultra Fast ~3kV ~2kA 0.7-1.5V <5us SMPS. Inverters, Resonant

Recovery ckts.

Schottky Diodes ~100V ~300A 0.2-0.9V ~30ns LV HF Rectification

Power Zener Diodes Operates in 75W - - References, Voltage Clamps

breakdown
~300V
 Diode

Parameters:
TJ – junction temperature
Tstg – storage temperature
Ta, Tc, Ts – ambient, case, sink
RthJC – effective thermal resistance from junction to case
- specified in ˚C/W
- RthJC = (TJ – TC) / PD where PD is the power dissipated in the
device
 Diode

Ex.
- forced air cooling without heatsink
RthJC = 50˚C/W
PD = 2W
Find TJ if Tc = 40˚
RthJC = (TJ– Tc) /PD
TJ = 50 x 2 + 40 = 140 ˚
- too hot, place a heatsink
 Diode

Parameters:
RthCS – dependent on mounting surface
RthSA
IF(AV), IF(RMS), IFRM, IFSM
VRRM, VRSM, VF, VFM, V(TD)
rf – forward resistance
IRRM – maximum reverse recovery current
i2t – maximum overcurrent capability at10ms duration
- for diode protection, i2t rating of fuse must be less than i2t
rating of diode
 Diode

Series – connected diodes

- normally used in high voltage applications to increase
reverse blocking capabilities

- voltages may not be equal, solution is to use resistors

 Diode

rf < R < rr
 Diode

Parallel – connected diodes

- used in high power applications to increase the current-
carrying capability
- NTC property – will not share properly
- solution:
- current – sharing resistors
- mount in same heatsink
 Diode

w Sample problem