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AND THYRISTORS
Functionality of Gate/Base Drive
• Turn power switch from offstate to onstate Circuits
• Minimize turnon time through active region where power dissipation is large
• Provide adequate drive power to keep power switch in onstate
• Turn power switch from onstate to offstate
• Minimize turnoff time through active region wherepower dissipation is large
• Provide bias to insure that power switch remains off
• Control power switch to protect it when overvoltages or overcurrents are sensed
• Signal processing circuits which generate the logic control signals not considered part of the drive circuit
• Drive circuit amplifies control signals to levels required to drive power switch
• Drive circuit has significant power capabilities compared to logic level signal processing circuits
• Provide electrical isolation when needed between power switch and logic level signal processing/control circuits
Drive Circuit Design
Considerations
• Drive circuit topologies
• Output signal polarity unipolar or bipolar
• AC or DC coupled
• Connected in shunt or series with power switch
0 t
• Output current magnitude
• Large Ion shortens turnon time but lengthens turnoff delay time Unipolar
• Large Ioff shortens turnoff time but lengthens turnon delay time
• Provisions for power switch protection
• Overcurrents
• Blanking times for bridge circuit drives 0 t
• Waveshaping to improve switch performance Bipolar
• Controlled diB/dt for BJT turnoff
• Antisaturation diodes for BJT drives
• Speedup capacitors
• Frontporch/backporch currents
• Component layout to minimize stray inductance and shielding from switching
noise
Unipolar DCcoupled Drive Circuit BJT Example
• Circuit operation
• V control > Vreference - BJ T at comparator output on
which puts Qpnp and Qsw on
• V control < Vreference - BJ T at comparator output off
V
which turns Qpnp off and thus Qsw off BB V
d
• Design procedure
V BE,off
Io
• R2 =
IB,off
; IB,off based on desired turn-off time. Comparator Q pnp
V BE,on
• Ipnp = IB,on + ; IB,on value based on BJ T beta and R1
R2 Vcontrol
value of Io.
Q sw
• V BB = VCE,on(Qpnp) + R1 IC,pnp + VBE,on(Qsw) R
2
• V BB = 8 to 10 V ; compromise between larger values which
minimize effects of V BE variations and smaller values
which minimize power dissipation in drive circuit
Vreference
Unipolar DCcoupled Drive Circuits MOSFET examples
V V
BB d
• V control > V reference
Io comparator output
Comparator R1 high and Q sw on
R2
V control • V control < V reference
Q sw
-
comparator output
+ low and Q sw off
V reference
V
V d
GG
Io
• Vcontrol < Vreference comparator output
V V low, TB on and Qsw off.
BB+ d
Comparator R Io
B Df • Large reverse base current flows to
minimize turnoff time and baseemitter
Vcontrol CBB+ of Qsw reversed biased to insure off
T
+
B+ state.
Qsw
- T B-
• Vcontrol > Vreference comparator output
high, TB+ on and Qsw on.
C
BB-
V • Large forward base current to minimize
BB- turnon time and to insure saturation of
Qsw for low onstate losses
Bipolar DCcoupled Drive Circuit MOSFET Example
VGG+ V
d
Comparator Io
D
f
T
Vcontrol B+ C • Bipolar drive with substantial output
GG+
current capability
+
Qsw
R
- G
V reference T B-
C
GG-
V
GG-
V
V d
GG+
Io
C GG+
V
BB+
AC
power in
• Isolated dc power supplies
for drive circuits
V BB-
GATE DRIVE DESIGN
Qg 3 − Qg 2 Vgg
tdoff = Rg ⋅ n
Vgg − Vg 2 Vg 2
Thyristor Gate Drive Circuit
1 4
Line
Voltage
3 2
gate pulse
Control isolation
Logic transformers
Ground
Thyristor Gate Drive Circuit (cont.)
Transformer
Line Voltage
α α α Ramp
Control
voltage Thyristor gate drive waveforms
Control of
1&2
Control of
3&4
D1
15 V
D
f
R Gate pulse amplifier
G
T
Trigger signal G
GTO Gate Drive Circuit
R R
2 4
T T
G2 G1
R 10 A
1
pulse V
R GG+
R 6
5
2A
Lσ 1
• Turn on TG1and TG2 to get
Control R
3
large frontporch current
Circuit
L
G
Lσ 2
• Turn off TG1 after some
R
V
GG- specified time to reduce total
gate current to backporch
7
T
G3
turn-off value.
pulse
Auxilliary
power supply
for gate drive
circuit