AOUTTI Mounir – EEEA CERE

Semiconductor Components Thematic Day

04 January 2021 – Carroll Eric
In power electronics, power semiconductor devices can be divided into 3 categories: those
which are not controlled (eg : rectifying diode), those which are controlled by a control trigger
allowing only conduction (eg : thyristor), and components which can be auto switched (Turn-
Off Devices or ToDs) (eg: Transistors, GTOTs…).
Arguably, ToDs components are the most flexible because they can be used for interlocking
rectifications and they are controllable on opening and closing. Thus, these semiconductor
components can be utilizes in several industrial applications :
- For rectifying : semiconductor components are present in variety of uses such as electric
vehicles battery chargers or UPS emergency power supplies that are used in hospitals and
banks, industrial electrolyzes to refine chemicals (chlorine, zinc, aluminum,…).
- For inverters : they are commonly used in railway traction to control the speed of machines
and locomotives, industrial drives, UPS, etc.
- For the induction process (induction heating) : slitting, heating of metals, welding and
baking.
- For pulse power : used in medicine to form acoustic pulses or to create lasers, to form
metals and to weld.
- For renewable energies : wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, etc.
Indeed, all semiconductors produce losses which depend particularly on the type of
semiconductor, frequency and circuit topology. Here bellow some forms of losses :
- Diode recovery losses : for SiC and Schottky bipolar silicon diodes (low power), speed at
which we stop must be limited because there is an electrical charge QRR coming out of the
other direction of the current curve i (t) across the diode (di / dt is the switching ratio). The use
of an amplifier for transistors or an inductor for thyristors can limit these losses and adjust the
speed of di / dt.
𝐼 +𝐼
On state losses: they are given by the energy equation bellow: 𝐸𝑂𝑁−𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑖𝑡 = 𝑡𝑂𝑁 . 𝑉𝐷𝐶 . 𝐿𝑂𝐴𝐷2 𝑅𝑅
Most of the ON state losses in are determined by the circuit i.e. by the di / dt of the diode, this
energy is proportional to the DC voltage and to the square of the load current.
- Conductivity modulation losses : They are generated during transient when switching from
conduction to turn off, the carriers are injected into conduction before reaching equilibrium.
- Turn-off losses : also has a circuit
specific component, which can be
eliminated by the use of a voltage snubber.
However, voltage snubbers are not
generally used with ToDs because:
• They are not necessary (they increase
overall losses).
• One is needed per device (whereas
current snubber serves six devices).
AOUTTI Mounir – EEEA CERE

• The tail current is a large part of E OFF and cannot be

reduced by snubbers.
- Conduction losses : all semiconductors have a forward
voltage drop which depends on the temperature, and which
takes the following form: 𝑉𝑇 (𝑖) = 𝑉𝑇𝑂 + 𝑅𝐷 . 𝐼 The on-state
dissipation can be approximated to :
𝑃𝑇 = 𝑉𝑇𝑂 . 𝐼𝐴𝑉 + 𝑅𝐷 . 𝐼²
Many device types have both positive and negative
temperature coefficients above and below the crossover-point,
respectively; this must be considered for parallel connections.
Mainly, several semiconductor components can be found on the market, the most widely used:
- Diodes : they can be used in high power rectifiers (50 / 60Hz, 1-10kV) or fast point diodes
(1-10kHz, 100-600V, 2-7kA). Two types of manufacture are present, monolithic module or
monolithic press-pack.
- Thyristors : Several types of thyristor can be utilized :
• Line frequency thyristors: for 50 / 60Hz networks which are manufactured from 2 to 12
kV and up to 5kA, they are used in very large rectifiers (up to 300kA), and in HVDC for
transmission links energy (up to 5000A).
• Fast thyristors : which are manufactured in voltage ranges from 1 to 3 kV and for
operations up to 10kHz, they are mainly used in voltage or current inverters for induction
heaters.
- GTOs : they can be manufactured as asymmetric thyristors. This nomination refers to their
property of block high voltages. They can also conduct a reverse current and they are able to
block reverse voltages. Most of the time they are made in a press-pack. They are widely used
in rail traction and in high power industrial converters.
- IGBTs : are available for a voltage range (0.6-6.5kV) it is a trigger MOS hybrid combined
with a bipolar transistor capable of passing more current while having a low demand for control
current. They can be manufactured discretely in single-chip or multi-chip. They can be also
manufactured in module or multi-chip press-pack. IGBTs have several advantages :
• With a MOS gate, IGBT is voltage controlled and it draws very little current from the
gate drive unit.
• The MOS structure is distributed over the entire chip allowing full area conduction of
the bipolar transistor (as opposed to emitter edge conduction for conventional bipolar
transistors).
• Although large chips cannot be easily produced because of the fine cell structure (yield
problems) many chips can be parallel connected to produce large devices of over 3 kA.
- IGCTs : the most recent ToD and the most powerful, now available in applications from 300A
to 9000A and from 2.5kV to 10kV, they have an asymmetric structure with opposite conduction
and blocking, they are found in particular in wind turbines (greater than 3.5MW) and in network
applications up to 100MW and in the future for HVDC transmission up to 3GW. They are
manufactured in press-pack or in monolithic module.