Power Electronics Dr.

Mohammed Tawfeeq
Tutorial No.1

1. Are the following statements correct or wrong?

(a) Thyristors are used only for low voltage, low current applications.
(b) MOSFETs are used for high frequency applications.
(c) BJT is more efficient than IGBT in high power applications.
(d) GTO requires very low current applied to its gate to be turn off.
(e) IGBT is a voltage driven device.

2. Are the following statements correct or wrong?

(a) Thyristors are preferred to be used in the output stage of 10W 1MHz transmitter.
(b) MOSFETs are preferred to be used for 1000 kW motor control circuit.
(c) TRIAC is used for lighting dimmer circuits.
(d) IGBT in high voltage dc rectifier circuits (above 5kV level).
(e) BJT is the fastest switching device in power applications.

Choose the correct answer for the following questions (3 -7):

3. The conditions which must be satisfied to turn on the thyristor with its current is
more than its latching current are:
(a) The anode is more positive than the cathode and a positive current pulse is applied
to the gate.
(b) The anode is more negative than the cathode and a positive current pulse is
applied to the gate.
(c) The cathode is more positive than the anode and a negative current pulse is applied
to the gate.
(d) The cathode is more negative than the cathode and a negative current pulse is
applied to the gate.
(e) The anode is more positive than the cathode and a negative voltage pulse is
applied to the gate.

4. The latching and holding currents are terms applicable to:

(a) Thyristor (b) BJT ( c) IGBT Transistor ( d) MOSFET transistor

5. For a certain applications of power supply a power semiconductor switch is

required to operate with 3000V, 2000A load and switching frequency of 400Hz .The
power switching device suitable for this task is:
(a) Thyristor (b) Diode (c) IGBT (d) MOSFT

6. A thyristor (SCR) has a latching current of 100mA s connected between a DC

source of 200V and a purely inductive load of L= 0.2H. The minimum width of the
gate pulse current required to turn on this SCR is:

(a) 50 ms (b) 50 µS (c) 100 µS (d) 40mS (e) 60 µS

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 Power Electronics Dr.Mohammed Tawfeeq
Tutorial No.1

7. For certain applications of power supply a power semiconductor switch is required

to operate with 400V, 200A load and switching frequency of 100 kHz .The power
switching device suitable for this task is:
(a) GTO (b) IGBT (c) MOSFT (d) BJT (e) Triac

8. The latching current of an SCR used in a phase-control circuit, comprising an

inductive load of R= 10 ohms in series with L= 0.1H, is 10mA.The supply voltage is
325 sin 314 t volts. Obtain the minimum gate pulse width required for reliable
triggering of the SCR if it is gated at an angle of 45 º in every positive half – cycle.
The load current i(t) for the circuit is given by :

i(t) =[ Vm/√R2 + (ωt)2] [.sin (314t +45 º -φ) - sin( 45 º -φ)exp(-Rt/L)]

where Vm = 325 V , ω=314 , tan φ = 3.14

(ANS: Δt > 4.35 μS)

9. The gate-cathode junction of the SCR in problem (8) above has a voltage – current
characteristic which is a straight line passing through the origin with a gradient of
3000 volts/amp, calculate the minimum required gate source resistance ,given that
available gating voltage is 10 V and the maximum permissible gate dissipation is
12 mW.

( Ans: 2 kΩ)

10. A thyristor with a latching current of 40 mA is used in the circuit shown in Fig.1.
If a firing pulse of 50 μs is applied at the instant of maximum source voltage, show
that the thyristor will not be turned on. What value of resistance R connected as
shown to ensure triggering (turn-on).

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 Power Electronics Dr.Mohammed Tawfeeq
Tutorial No.1

0.4 H
Vs= 100sinwt
AC
R
F=50Hz
15 ohms

Fig.1

11. A transistor has the switching characteristics as shown in Fig .2. If the mean
power loss in the transistor is limited to 200W, what is the maximum switching rate
that can be achieved?

120V Turn on 80 A 80 A
120V

Turn off

0 40μs 75μs 0 50μs 60μs

Fig.2

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