Application Note 18Issue 1 March 1996
Power MOSFET Gate Driver Circuits using HighCurrent Super-
β
Transistors
Neil Chadderton
The power MOSFET is commonlypresented and regarded as a voltagedriven device, and as such there is anatural expectation that it can be drivenfrom any pulse source, irrespective ofthat source’s energy, or currentcapability.This assumption is partly justified, if thesystem in question only pulses orswitches the MOSFET at a lowfrequency, or in pure DC circuits, wherethe transistor may only be used in atoggled state. However, for typicalswitching frequencies from several kHzupwards, attention must be paid to thegate drive requirements to ensureefficient and “saturated” switching ofthe MOSFET. This must be considered asthe gate-source (g-s) circuit is, to a firstapproximation, essentially a CRnetwork; comprising the g-scapacitance, and the resistance of themetallic/silicon interconnects. To thisnetwork must be added the effectiveresistance, or source impedance of thegate driver circuitry, and for trueassessments, consideration of thedrain-gate (d-g) capacitance and theMiller effect. Due to this network, the g-svoltage follows an exponential curve asthe C elements charge, and so, eithersufficient time must be given to allowthis voltage to reach it’s target value(thus limiting the operating frequencyand increasing the time spent in thelinear region thereby producing highswitching losses), or the “R” elementmust be minimised.As a guide, the input capacitance ofpower MOSFETs ranges from a fewhundred picofarads to tens ofnanofarads. This capacitance isincreased by the effective amplificationof the drain-gate capacitance by thevoltage gain of the circuit (Miller effect),such that the apparent capacitivecomponent of the CR network assumesa value of 2 to 5 times the value of thedatasheet stated C
iss
. As thisamplification effect is so circuit/biascondition dependent, a useful tool hasbeen developed that considers theamount of gate charge required to meeta certain condition. Figure 1 shows achart illustrating the gate chargerequired to switch the ZVN4306A (a220m
Ω
, 1A continuous TO92 part), andthis parameter’s dependence on theMiller effect as the drain voltageincreases.As the operating frequency of switchedmode power supplies increases, due tothe need for less weight and productvolume demands smaller inductors andcapacitors, the MOSFET’s required gate
6A Pulse Rated SOT23 Transistors for High Frequency MOSFETInterfacing
AN18 - 1
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