To explain the characteristics, working principles of power MOSFETs.

One kind of MOSFET which handles high levels of power is known as Power MOSFET. As
compared to normal MOSFETs in the less voltage range, these MOSFETS works much better by
exhibiting high speed of switching. Its operating principle is the same as general MOSFETs.
The most widely used power MOSFETs are p-channel Enhancement-mode, n-channel
Enhancement-mode or n-channel depletion mode & p-channel depletion mode. The power
MOSFET frequency is high like up to 100 kiloHertz.

These are three-terminal silicon devices that work through applying a signal toward the gate
terminal so that it controls current conduction among source & drain terminals. The current
conduction capacities are equal to thousands of amperes including breakdown voltage ratings from
10Volts-1000Volts.

Working Principle
Similar to normal MOSFETs, these types of MOSFETs will switch & control the flow of current in
between the two terminals like source & drain through changing the voltage on the gate terminal.
Once the voltage is applied to the gate terminal, then a channel can be formed in between the source
& the gate terminals which allows the flow of current.

By enhancing the VGS voltage (gate-source), the channel will become superior & the ID (drain
current) will increase. Here, the main relationship among the two voltages like gate & drain will
depend on the below equation.
ID=K (VGS– VT)2
Where,
‘ID’ is a drain current
‘K’ is a device constant
‘VGS’ is a gate voltage
‘VT’ is a threshold voltage

Power MOSFET Characteristics

The VI characteristics of a power MOSFET are shown below. Here the characteristic curve is drawn
between the drain to source voltage and drain current which is denoted with VDS & Id. This curve
includes three regions namely cut-off, ohmic region & saturation.
When the MOSFET is used as a switch in any application then the device will work within the
regions of ohmic & cut off once switched ON/OFF correspondingly. In the saturation region, the
process can be avoided to decrease the dissipation of power within the active state.

Once the voltage of the gate-source is low as compared to the threshold voltage, then power
MOSFET will be in the cut-off region. To keep away from a breakdown, the breakdown voltage
from the drain to the source must be larger as compared to the voltage applied. So avalanche
breakdown will occur.
The power MOSFET moves into the ohmic state then the power dissipation is low in this region. In
the saturation state, the drain current is approximately independent of the voltage of drain to source.
It is simply dependent on the voltage of the gate to source terminals. The voltage of the gate
terminal is greater as compared to the threshold voltage. The drain current will increase when the
voltage from gate to source increases.

Applications

•UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supplies)

•Relay driver
•SMPS (Switch Mode Power Supplies)
•Industries
•High-frequency based inverters
•Used within power amplifiers
•In motor controlling
 To explain the characteristics, working principles of power IGBTs.

IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) is a three terminal power switch having high input
impedance like PMOSFET and low on-state power loss as in BJT (Bipolar Junction Transistor).
Thus, IGBT is a combined form of best qualities of both BJT and PMOSFET. This is the most
popular power switch among the power-electronics engineers and find a great variety of
applications.IGBT is a three-terminal device. The three terminals are Gate (G), Emitter (E) and
Collector (C). The circuit symbol of IGBT is shown below.

The two terminals of IGBT collector (C) and emitter (E) are used for the conduction of current
while the gate (G) is used for controlling the IGBT. Its working is based on the biasing between
Gate-Emitter terminals and Collector-Emitter terminals.The collector-emitter is connected to Vcc
such that the collector is kept at a positive voltage than the emitter. The junction j1 becomes
forward biased and j2 becomes reverse biased. At this point, there is no voltage at the gate. Due to
reverse j2, the IGBT remains switched off and no current will flow between collector and emitter.
Applying a gate voltage VG positive than the emitter, negative charges will accumulate right
beneath the SiO2 layer due to capacitance. Increasing the VG increases the number of charges
which eventually form a layer when the VG exceeds the threshold voltage, in the upper P-region.
This layer form N-channel that shorts N- drift region and N+ region.
The electrons from the emitter flow from N+ region into N- drift region. While the holes from the
collector are injected from the P+ region into the N- drift region. Due to the excess of both electrons
and holes in the drift region, its conductivity increase and starts the conduction of current. Hence
the IGBT switches ON.

V-I Characteristics of IGBT

Unlike BJT, IGBT is a voltage-controlled device that requires only a small voltage at its gate to
control the collector current. However, the gate-emitter voltage VGE needs to be greater than the
threshold voltage.
Transfer characteristics of the IGBT show the relation of input voltage VGE to output collector
current IC. When the VGE is 0v, there is no IC and the device remains switched off. When the
VGE is slightly increased but remains below threshold voltage VGET, the device remains switched
off but there is a leakage current. When the VGE exceeds the threshold limit, the IC starts to
increase and the device switches ON. Since it is a unidirectional device, the current only flows in
one direction.

The given graph shows the relation between the collector current IC and collector-emitter voltage
VCE at different levels of VGE. At VGE < VGET the IGBT is in cutoff mode and the IC = 0 at any
VCE. At VGE > VGET, the IGBT goes into active mode, where the IC increases with an increase in
VCE. Furthermore, for each VGE where VGE1 < VGE2 < VGE3, the IC is different.
The reverse voltage should not exceed the reverse breakdown limit. So does the forward voltage. If
they exceed their respective breakdown limit, uncontrolled current starts passing through it.

Applications of IGBT
•It is used in SMPS (Switched Mode Power Supply) to supply power to sensitive medical
equipment and computers.
•It is used in UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) system.
•It is used in AC and DC motor drives offering speed control.
•It is used in chopper and inverters.
•It is used in solar inverters