Drive Circuits

Outline
Drive circuit design considerations
DC-coupled drive circuits
Isolated drive circuits
Protection measures in drive circuits
Component/circuit layout considerations

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 1

 Functionality of Gate/Base Drive Circuits
Turn power switch from off-state to on-state

Minimize turn-on time through active region where power dissipation is large

Provide adequate drive power to keep power switch in on-state

Turn power switch from on-state to off-state

Minimize turn-off 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

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 2

 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

Output current magnitude 0 t

Large Ion shortens turn-on time but lengthens turn-off delay time Unipolar
Large Ioff shortens turn-off time but lengthens turn-on 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 turn-off
Anti-saturation diodes for BJT drives
Speedup capacitors
Front-porch/backporch currents

Component layout to minimize stray inductance and shielding from switching noise

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 3

 Unipolar DC-coupled Drive Circuit - BJT Example

Circuit operation
Vcontrol > Vreference - BJT at comparator output on
which puts Qpnp and Qsw on
Vcontrol < Vreference - BJT at comparator output off
V
which turns Qpnp off and thus Qsw off BB V
d
Design procedure

VBE,off
Io
R2 =
IB,off
; IB,off based on desired turn-off time. Comparator Q pnp
VBE,on
Ipnp = IB,on + ; IB,on value based on BJT beta and R1
R2 Vcontrol
value of Io.
Q sw
VBB = VCE,on(Qpnp) + R1 IC,pnp + VBE,on(Qsw) R
2
VBB = 8 to 10 V ; compromise between larger values which
minimize effects of VBE variations and smaller values
which minimize power dissipation in drive circuit
Vreference

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 4

 Unipolar DC-coupled Drive Circuits- MOSFET examples
V V
BB d
Vcontrol > Vreference
Io comparator output
Comparator R1 high and Q sw on
R2
Vcontrol Vcontrol < Vreference
Q sw
-
comparator output
+ low and Q sw off
Vreference

V V Vcontrol > Vreference

GG d
comparator output
Io
high putting Q npn
Comparator R on and thus Q sw on
1
Vcontrol Vcontrol < Vreference
Q sw
+ R comparator output
G
low putting Q pnp on
- and thus Q sw off
Vreference

V
V d
GG
Io

Vcontrol IC buffer amp with R

G
totem pole output Q sw
DS0026 or UC1706/07

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 5

 Bipolar DC-coupled Drive Circuit- BJT Example

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 turn-off time and base-emitter
Vcontrol C BB+ of Qsw reversed biased to insure off-
T state.
+ B+
Q sw
- T
Vreference B- Vcontrol > Vreference - comparator output
high, TB+ on and Qsw on.
C
BB-
Large forward base current to minimize
V turn-on time and to insure saturation of
BB-
Qsw for low on-state losses

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 6

 Bipolar DC-coupled Drive Circuit- MOSFET Example
V V
GG+ d

Comparator Io
D
f
T B+
Vcontrol C Bipolar drive with substantial output
GG+
current capability
+
Q sw
R
- G
Vreference TB-

C
GG-
V
GG-
V
V d
GG+
Io
C GG+

Vcontrol IC buffer amp with

Simple bipolar drive circuit with
totem pole output Q sw
R moderate (1 amp)output current
DS0026 or UC1706/07 G
capability
C
GG-
V
GG-

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 7

 Need for Electrical Isolation of Drive Circuits

Isolated auxiliary
Negative half cycle of vs(t) - positive dc power to base
drive circuits
rail near safety ground potential. T-
emitter potential large and negative with
respect to safety and logic ground

base D
Signal T+ F+
Postive half cycle of vs(t) - negative dc drive
isolation circuit
rail near safety ground potential. T+ V Logic and
+ d
emitter substantially positive with espect Control
v Electronics
to safety ground if T- is off S
base D
- Signal T- F-
isolation drive
circuit
Control
Variation in emitter potentials with Inputs
respect to safety and logic ground means
that electrical isolation of emitters from
logic ground is needed.

Safety
Ground

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 8

 Methods of Control Signal Isolation
Input to remainder of
Logic level isolated drive circuit
control ckts Transformer isolation

Power switch reference node

(BJT emitter, MOSFET source)
Logic ground
Light- V Isolated
BB+
emitting dc supply
diode

Signal
Input to remainder of
from
isolated drive circuit Opto-coupler isolation
control
logic
Power switch
Control logic reference node
ground Photo-transistor

V
BB+

AC
power in
Isolated dc power supplies
for drive circuits
V BB-

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 9

 Opto-Coupler Isolated BJT Drive
V
BB+

Signal
from Opto-coupler
control
electronics
R
B C
BB+

T
B+

Q sw

TB-

C BB-

V
BB-

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 10

 Transformer-coupled BJT Drive
V
d
Fast
High signal R Io
B D
Oscillator frequency diodes f
C
transformer BB+
TB+
Q Q
Qsw
T
B-

C
BB-
V
control
V
BB+
AC
power
in

VBB-

Oscillator output
t

V
control
t

Transformer
t primary voltage

Input to
t comparator

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 11

 Opto-Coupler Isolated MOSFET Drives
Signal V V
Opto-coupler GG+ d
from control
electronics Io
D
f
T
B+ C
GG+
Q sw
R
G
T
B-
C
GG-
V
GG-

AC
power
in

V V
Signal GG+ d
Opto-coupler
from control
electronics Io
C GG+

IC buffer amp with

totem pole output
DS0026 or R Q sw
G
UC1706/07
C
GG-

V (Circuitry for isolated

GG-
dc supplies not shown)

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 12

 Isolated Drives Without Auxiliary DC Supplies
- Proportional Flyback BJT Example

Regenerative circuit operation

T1 on - current ip = VBB/Rp and Qsw off

V T1 turned off - stored energy in gapped transformer core

BB induces positive base current iB in Qsw causing it to go active
and collector current iC begins to flow
iC
R p Cp N
1 N2 Q sw Regenerative action of transformer connections supplies a
base current iB = N3iC/N2 which keeps Qsw on even with ip = 0
ip i
B
T1 turned on - positive current ip causes a base current
iB = N3iC/N2 - N1ip/N2 in Qsw

T1 Initially ip quite large (ip(0+) = biB1(0+)) so Qsw turned off

N3 Circuit design must insure turn-off iB has adequate negative

magnitude and duration

Best suited for high frequency operation - lower volt-second

requirements on transformer.

Also best suited for limited variations in duty cycle

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 13
 Isolated Drives Without Auxiliary DC Supplies
- MOSFET Example

V
DD v
+ C

Buffer
+
v
sec

Buffer
output v = V (1 - D)
voltage
C DD Most suitable for applications
where duty cycle D is 50% or
0
t duty
less. Positive-going secondary
v
ratio voltage decreases as D increases.
sec D= 0.5
t
0

Buffer output
v
voltage C

0
t
duty
v ratio
sec
D= 0.3
t
0

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 14

 Isolated Drive Without Auxiliary DC Supplies
- MOSFET Example

Vc o n t r o l

Inverting A
Buffer

v
sec vc a p

C Noninverting
Buffer B

Schmitt
Zener diode voltage VZ
trigger must be less than negative
Vc o n t r o l t
pulse out of transformer
secondary or pulse will not
v
A t
reach MOSFET gate to turn
v C t it off.
v t
B

v v
A B t

V
Z
V
v Z
sec t
(dotted) vc a p

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 15

 Isolated Drive Without Auxiliary DC Supplies
- MOSFET Example
4011

Q Buffer
4047 +
vc o n t r o l v
oscillator Q trans
-
(1 MHz) Buffer

C
R C 1
2 2
7555
+ R
G
+ v
v 2s
D 1s
B
- -

vc o n t r o l

v
Q
C1 charges up to a
positive voltage at
v power-up and remains
Q
there. D B prevents
discharge
v
trans

v Decay of
1s
voltage on C 2
via R
v 2
2s

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 16

 Emitter-Open Switching of BJTs
V i
BB+ C standard emitter open
RBSOA switching RBSOA

Power
BJT

T
E
control
v
CE
switching switching
locus with locus with
standard emitter open
base drive base drive
Circuit operation
Turn on power BJT by turning on MOSFET TE.
Turn off power BJT by turning off MOSFET TE.
Collector current flows out base as negative base current.
Greater iB(off) compared to standard drive circuits iC = b iB(off) removes stored charge much faster
Turn off times reduced (up to ten times).

On-state losses of series combination of MOSFET and BJT minimized.

Low voltage MOSFET which has low losses can be used. Maximum off-state MOSFET voltage limited by
Zener diode.
BJT base emitter junction reverse biased when TE off so breakdown rating of BJT given by BVCBO instead o
of BVCEO. With lower BVCEO rating, BJT losses in on-state reduced.

Circuit also useful for GTOs and FCTs.

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 17
 Thyristor Gate Drive Circuit

1 4
Line
Voltage

3 2

DC power supply for

gate trigger circuit
Delay angle block is
commercially available
integrated circuit -
zero crossing
detection gate pulse
TCA780 circuit family
isolation
transformers

Input Delay Pulse

Control Angle Amplifier
Signal Block

gate pulse
Control isolation
Logic transformers
Ground

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 18

 Thyristor Gate Drive Circuit (cont.)
Transformer
Line Voltage

a a a 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

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 19

 GTO Gate Drive Circuit

R R
2 4
T T
G2 G1

R
1 10 A
pulse V
R GG+
R 6
5
2 A

Ls 1 Turn on TG1and TG2 to get

R
large front-porch current
Control 3
Circuit

L
G
Ls 2 Turn off TG1 after some
V
GG-
specified time to reduce total
R
7 gate current to back-porch
T
G3 value.
turn-off
pulse

Auxilliary
power supply
for gate drive
circuit

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 20

 Overcurrent Protection With Drive Circuits
V
d
V
BB+
R R B I
1 R o
p
C

Dp

overcurrent
protection BJT
control

V BB-

Point C one diode drop above VCE(sat) when BJT is on. Overcurrent will increase
VCE and thus potential at C.

If C rises above a threshold value and control signal is biasing BJT on,
overcurrent protection block will turn off BJT. Conservate design would keep
BJT off until a manual reset had been done.

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 21

Limiting Overcurrents by Limiting On-state Base Current

+ D Io
F
Vd Stepdown converter with
Cd
short curcuit at t = t sc
-

i i
C C
I I
C,sc B,max
I
C(on)max

V v t sc t
in CE

Overcurrent limited to IC(on)max < IC,sc by keeping IB,max < IC,sc/b

IC,sc = maximum allowable instantaneous collector current

Same approach can be used with MOSFETs and IGBTs. VGS mustbe restricted to keep drain current to
safe values.

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 22

 Blanking Times in Bridge Circuit Drives
Optocoupler or
V transformer
1+
Vcontrol, T
+ T+ +
Turn off T+ before turning on
Vd T- in order to avoid cross signal ground
Io -conduction (shorting out of Vd)
T-
- Vcontrol, T
-
V
1- Optocoupler or
Control for
transformer
converter leg

V control,
bridge

V
1+

V
1-
dead
time
V control, T
+
blanking collector blanking
time current time

V control, T
- dead
time

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 23

 Drive Circuit Waveshaping for Improved Operation

V
BB+
R Anti-saturation diode Das keeps Qsw active.
B
VAE = VBE(on) + VD1 = VCE(on) + Vdas
TB+ Da s VCE(on) = VBE(on) > VCE(sat) because VD1 = Vdas
D1
Qsw
Ds provides path for negative base current at Qsw turn-off.
A

D
Storage delay time at turn-off reduced but on-state losses increase slightly.
T 2
B- E

V Speed-up capacitors
BB-
V i
BB+ B

R
B C on

T B+
t
i
B Transient overdrive
Qsw
provided via C on for
faster turn-on of switch
T
B-
Same concept can be applied to
MOSFET and IGBT drive circuits
V
BB-

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 24

 Drive Circuit Waveshaping (cont.)
V
BB+
R
B
Controlled rate of change of turn-off base current
T Excessively long collector current tailing time at BJT turn-off if
B+ i
B diB(off)/dt is too large.
Q sw
Inductor Loff restricts diB(off)/dt to - VBB/Loff
L off

TB-
V
BB-
Gate/base Back porch Front porch, back porch gate/base currents at
current V current
BB+ turn-on
Front Front
porch R R porch
B1 B2 Faster turn-on without putting device
current Back current
porch deeply into on-state where turn-off delay
Control
current T time will be substantially increased.
B+ i
B
Q
sw
T Applicable to BJTs, MOSFETs, IGBTs, and
B-
V GTOs.
BB-
t

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 25

 Circuit/Component Layout Considerations

V V Prime consideration is minimizing stray inductance

d d
Control Stray inductance in series with high-voltage side
D Io Signal Df Io
f of power device Qsw causes overvoltage at turn-
Drive off.
Control Q
Signal Circui sw
Ls
t Stray inductance in series with low-voltage side
Drive Q
Ls power device Qsw can cause oscill-ations at turn-
Circui sw
on and turn-off.
t

One cm of unshielded lead has about 5 nH of

series inductance.
V
d
Keep unshielded lead lengths to an absolute
Control Df minimum.
Twisted or Io
Signal
shielded
Drive conductors D
Q sw
Circui
t G Power terminals
Control terminals
S
S

Use shielded conductors to connect drive

circuit to power switch if there must be Some power devices provided with four leads, two input
any appreciable separation (few cm or leads and two power leads, to minimize stray inductance
more) between them in input circuit.

Copyright by John Wiley & Sons 2003 Drive Ckts - 26