POWER SEMICONDUCTOR

DEVICES
What is a Power Semiconductor
Device ?

 These are similar to the traditional p-n junction diodes (also known as signal
diodes), and the transistors (ex. npn and pnp transistors).
 Unlike the traditional semiconductor devices that are used, Power
Semiconductor Devices are designed to operate at higher power levels.
 To incorporate this, the design of power semiconductor devices is much
more complex than their low power counter parts.
 Ex. a power diode is constructed with a n- layer or the drift region between
the anode and cathode to support large blocking voltages.
Power Diode

 Its symbol (shown in figure 1) is the same as that of the signal diode. The
structure of the diode is shown in figure 2.
 If the anode experiences a higher potential compared to cathode, the device
is said to be forward biased and a forward current will flow from anode to
cathode.
 Similarly, when Cathode experiences a higher potential compared to anode,
the device is said to be reverse biased. Although, it doesn’t conduct in this
state there is a small current flowing from cathode to anode called leakage
current.
 When the potential difference between cathode and anode (when reverse
biased) reaches a particular value, avalanche breakdown occurs. Here the
current increases exponentially, while voltage remains constant (as shown in
figure 3).
Figure 1. Power Diode
Symbol
Figure 2. Power Diode
Structure
Figure 3. V-I
Characteristics
 Power Diode – Reverse Recovery

The characteristics shown in figure 4 help us understand the turn off characteristics of the
Power Diode. Here 𝑄𝑅 is the storage charge.

𝑑𝑖
𝐼𝑅𝑅 = 𝑡𝑎 𝑑𝑡 (1) 𝑑𝑖
𝐼𝑅𝑅 = 𝑡𝑟𝑟 (5)
𝑑𝑡
1
𝑄𝑅 = 𝐼𝑅𝑅 𝑡𝑟𝑟 2
2 2 𝑄𝑅
2 𝑄𝑅 𝑡𝑟𝑟 = (6)
𝐼𝑅𝑅 = (3) 𝑑𝑖 Τ𝑑𝑡
𝑡𝑟𝑟
𝑑𝑖
𝐼𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑟 ≅ 𝑡𝑎 (4) 𝐼𝑟𝑟 = 2 𝑄𝑟 (7)
𝑑𝑡
 Figure 4. Diode Reverse
Recovery Characteristics
Types of Power Diodes

 General Purpose Diode – These diodes have a relatively high reverse

recovery time of the order of 25 µs.
 Fast-recovery Diodes – These diodes have low reverse recovery time of
about 5 µs or less.
 Schottky Diodes – These diodes use metal-to-semiconductor junction for
rectification. They are characterised by very low reverse recovery time
and low forward voltage drop.
Power Transistor
References

1. Power Electronics by P. S. Bhimbra

2. http://www.completepowerelectronics.com/power-diode/