EEE 332 / 413 (POWER ELECTRONICS AND DRIVES)

Lesson Outcomes
Lecture – 1

After completing this lecture, students will be able to

 gain knowledge on definition, applications & history of
Introduction to 
power electronics
explain power semiconductor devices and their

Power Electronics 
switching characteristic
explain power converter types

Prof. Abdur Razzak EEE 332/413 Lecture 1 Page 1/14

 What is power electronics?
Power electronics is defined as the applications of solid state electronics for the control
and conversion of electric power.
Power electronics circuits manage the flow of electrical energy between some sort of
source and a load. These circuits handle power flow at levels much higher than the
individual device ratings.
A basic power electronic system

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 Power converters

AC-DC converters (diode rectifiers & controlled rectifiers)

AC-AC converters (ac voltage controllers)

DC-DC converters (dc choppers) DC-DC converter

DC-AC converters (inverters)

AC-DC converter AC-AC converter DC-AC converter

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 History of power electronics

1900 – Mercury arc rectifier

1948 – Silicon transistor
1956 – Thyristor /
Silicon controlled rectifier (SCR)
1958 – Commercial thyristor
1980 -1990 – Modern power electronics

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 Applications
Aircraft power supplies RF amplifiers
Electric vehicles Servo systems
Electronic ignition Solar power supplies
High frequency lighting Static relays
High voltage dc (HVDC) Temperature control
Induction heating Traffic signal control
Electronic ballast Uninterruptible power
supply (UPS)
Linear induction motor control
VAR compensation
Nuclear reactor control rods
Voltage regulator
Radar power supplies
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 Classification of power semiconductor devices
Diodes
Schottky diode, PIN diode, Gun diode
Transistors
BJT, MOSFET, IGBT, SIT
Thyristors (SCR)
GTO, SITH, MCT, MTO

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 Classification of power semiconductor devices

Name V-I ratings Speed Operation Use

Diode 1 – >5000 A <20 ns – 100 ms conduct when anode voltage is rectifiers, dc-dc circuits
10V–10 kV more positive than cathode

BJT 0.5–500 A 0.5 – 100 ms conducts when sufficient base dc-dc circuits, inverters
30–1200 V current is applied

FET 1–100 A 50 – 200 ns conducts when sufficient gate dc-dc circuits, inverters
30–1000V voltage is applied

IGBT 10– > 600 A Faster than BJT similar to BJT with its base power electronics
600–1700 V driven by a FET

SCR 10– > 500 A 1 – 200 ms like a diode after a gate pulse controlled rectifiers
200V–5 kV is applied

GTO similar to SCR similar to SCR conducts with a negative pulse inverters >100 kW
to its gate terminal
TRIAC 2–50 A similar to SCR two SCRs connected in lamp dimmers
200–800 V reverse parallel

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 Switching characteristics of IGBT

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 Switching characteristics of MOSFET

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 Switching characteristics of Thyristor

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 Choice of power semiconductor devices

The choice of a
particular device
depends on the
voltage, current,
and speed
requirements of
the converter.

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 References

1. M. H. Rashid, Power Electronics – Circuits, Devices & Applications, 3rd Ed,

Pearson, pp. 1–30.

2. Power Electronics Handbook, M. H. Rashid (Editor-in-Chief), Academic Press,

pp. 1–12.

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 Any questions, comments?

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 Next lecture!

Generalized
Power Converters

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