Semiconductor devices used in power electronics

By: Eng. Zeyad Abdulhamed

 1- Abstract:
Power semiconductor devices play a vital role in modern electrical and electronic systems by enabling efficient
conversion, control, and conditioning of electric power. These devices act as the core components in converters,
inverters, rectifiers, and motor drives, providing the interface between electrical sources and loads. Since the
invention of the diode which represents the cornerstone of semiconductor technology, these components have
been significantly developed over time. This report focuses on analyzing and comparing the main power
semiconductor devices, namely the diode, thyristor, and transistor. It highlights their respective advantages and
limitations, examines the ranges of voltage, current, and frequency they can withstand..

2- Introduction:
In the early 20th century, power electronics relied on vacuum diodes and vacuum triodes, as semiconductors had
not yet appeared. The first semiconductors emerged in the 1940s with the invention of the bipolar junction
transistor (BJT) at Bell Labs by Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockle [1]. In the early 1950s, the diode's ability to
handle high power loads was improved, increasing its reliability in power electronics. However, a drawback of
the diode is its lack of controllability. Later, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the thyristor family, represented by
Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) and TRIACs, emerged, enabling control of power [1,2]. One of the drawbacks
of thyristors is their inability to operate at high frequencies, making transistors a more suitable choice for
applications requiring higher frequencies. Towards the end of the 1970s, Power Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) emerged, offering simpler control compared to BJTs, but this came at the
cost of limiting their ability to handle high power demands. Then in the mid-1980s, the Insulated-Gate Bipolar
Transistor (IGBT) appeared, combining the advantages of MOSFETs and BJTs. It could operate at high
frequencies, was easy to control, and could handle higher power outputs than a MOSFET [3]. There are many
types of semiconductor devices, but those mentioned are among the most important, common, and widely used.
This research will identify these types in terms of their rating (voltage and current) , their frequency range and
their applications.

3- Power Semiconductors Devices:

3.1- Power Diodes:
A power diode is a two-terminal PN junction device as shown in figure (1-a) and the diode symbol is shown in
figure (1-b) [4].
 (a) (b)

Fig (1) The diode (a-) structure (b-) symbol [2]

When the anode potential is positive with respect to the cathode, the diode is said to be forward biased and the
diode conducts. A conducting diode has a relatively small forward voltage drop across it; the magnitude of this
drop depends on the manufacturing process and junction temperature. When the cathode potential is positive with
respect to the anode, the diode is said to be reverse biased. Under reverse-biased conditions, a small reverse
current (also known as leakage current) in the range of micro- or milliampere flows and this leakage current
increases slowly in magnitude with the reverse voltage until the avalanche or zero voltage is reached. Figure (2-
a) shows the steady-state v-i characteristics of a diode. For most practical purposes, a diode can be regarded as an
ideal switch, whose characteristics are shown in figure (2-b). Power diodes are available up to 6000 V, 4500 A
and 1KHz [4].

(a) (b)
Fig (2) v-i characteristics of a diode (a) practical (b) ideal
power diodes can be classified into the following three categories:

1. Standard or general-purpose diodes.

2. Fast-recovery diodes.

3. Schottky diodes.

General-purpose diodes are available up to 6000 V, 4500 A, the reverse recovery time about 25 µs and the rating
of fast recovery diodes can go up to 6000 V, 1100 A. The reverse recovery time varies between 0.1 µs and 5 µs.
The fast-recovery diodes are essential for high-frequency switching of power converters. Schottky diodes have a
low on-state voltage and a very small recovery time, typically in nanoseconds. The leakage current increases with
the voltage rating and their ratings are limited to 100 V, 300 A. A diode conducts when its anode voltage is higher
than that of the cathode; and the forward voltage drop of a power diode is very low, typically 0.5 V to 1.2 V [4].

3.2- Thyristors:
A thyristor is a four-layer semiconductor device of PNPN structure with three PN junctions. The thyristor is a
silicon-based semiconductor device having four layers (p–n–p– n); three junctions J1, J2, and J3; and three
terminals, anode (A), cathode (K), and gate (G) [2]. There are many types of semiconductors that fall under the
category of thyristors, the most important of which are conventional thyristor (SCR), TRIAC and Gate Turn-off
thyristor (GTO).

Figure (3) shows the SCR symbol and the sectional view of three PN junctions and the v-i characteristic is
shown in figure (4) [2].

(a) (b)

Fig (3) the thyristor (a) structure (b) symbol

 Fig (4) v-i characteristic of a thyristor

The SCR conduct current in one direction by inject positive pulse into the gate. The triac can conduct the current
in two directions by inject positive or negative pulse in to the gate. Figure (5) illustrate the TRIAC symbol and
figure (6) illustrate the triac v-i characteristic [5].

Fig (5) The triac symbol

 Fig (6) Triac characteristic.

SCR and triac can’t turn off by a gate pulse, so GTO can be turned of by a negative pulse. The rating of the SCR
is 10KV, 4KA and 500Hz. GTO rating is 5KV, 3KA and 2KHz [2]. For the triac the maximum voltage rating can
be as high as 6.5 kV at 1.8 kA and the maximum current rating can be as high as 3 kA at 1.8 kV [4]. Figure (7)
illustrate GTO symbol.

Fig (7) GTO symbol

3.3 Transistors:

Transistors can be classified into the following three categories:

1- BJTs.
2- MOSFETs.
3- IGBTs.

The first transistor used in the field of power electronics was the BJT, and figure (8) shows the symbol of the BJT.
The BJT is a semiconductor device that is controlled by passing a current to the base, and there is a relationship
between the value of this current and the current flowing from the collector to the emitter. To increase the value
of the current flowing from the collector to the emitter, the current flowing in the base must be increased, and this
makes controlling it difficult [4]. BJT can handle with 2KV, 1KA and the switching frequency can reach 10KHz
[2].

Fig (8) BJT

The MOSFETs symbol is illustrated in figure (9). MOSFETs considered as a Voltage-controlled devise [5].
MOSFETs are available up to 500 V, 200 A and hundreds of KHz [2].

Fig (9) MOSFET

IGBT is a semiconductor device that possesses advantages over BJT and MOSFET, and it is also considered as
a Voltage-controlled devis [5]. Figure (10) shows IGBT symbol. IGBTs are available up to 1200 V, 400 A and 10
KHz

Fig (10) IGBT

4- References:
[1]- Chat GPT.

[2]- Bose, B.K., 2010. Power electronics and motor drives: advances and trends.

[3]- Kumar, V., Behera, R.K., Joshi, D. and Bansal, R., 2020. Power electronics, drives, and advanced
applications. CRC Press.

[4]- Muhammad H. Rashid, Narendra Kumar, Ashish R. Kulkarni, 1988. Power Electronics Devices, Circuits,
and Applications.

[5]- Cyril W._Lander, 1981. Power Electronic.