Power Electronics

& Drives
Chapter 1
Introduction to
Power Electronics
College of Engineering and Technology
Adigrat University
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
ECEg4222/4312: Power Electronics
G/Tsadik Teklay (M.Sc. Electrical Power Engineering)
Outline

 What is power electronics?

 History, Applications and Trends of Power Electronics

 Types of Semiconductor Devices

 Simple Illustrations of Converters

Power Electronics Defined
 It has been said that people do not use electricity, but rather they use communication, light,
mechanical work, entertainment, and all the tangible benefits of both energy and electronics.

 In this sense, electrical engineering as a discipline is much involved in energy conversion and
information.

 In the general world of electronics engineering, the circuit engineers' design and use are
intended to convert information i.e. the dominant application of electronics today is to process
information. This is true of both analog and digital circuit design.

 The computer industry is the biggest user of semiconductor devices, and consumer electronics,
including cameras, is second.

 While all these applications require power (from a wall plug or a battery), their primary function is to
process information; to take the digital optical signal produced by a compact disk and transform it
into an analogue audio signal, for instance.
Cont’d

 What about the conversion and control of electrical energy itself? Energy is a
critical need in every human endeavor.

 The capabilities and flexibility of modern electronics must be brought to bear to meet
the challenges of reliable, efficient energy. It is essential to consider how
electronic circuits and systems can be applied to the challenges of energy
conversion and management. This is the framework of power electronics.

 Power electronics involves the study of electronic circuits intended to control

the flow of electrical energy. These circuits handle power flow at levels much higher
than the individual device ratings.
Cont’d
 The primary task of power electronics is to process and control the flow of electric
energy by supplying voltages and currents in a form that is optimally suited for
user loads.

 Modern power electronic converters are involved in a very broad spectrum of applications
like switched-mode power supplies, active power filters, electrical-machine-
motion-control, renewable energy conversion systems distributed power
generation, flexible AC transmission systems, and vehicular technology, etc.

 Power electronic converters can be found wherever there is a need to modify the
electrical energy form .

 With classical electronics in which electrical currents and voltage are used to carry
information, whereas with power electronics, they carry power.
Cont’d
 The dominant application of electronics today is to process information.

 The computer industry is the biggest user of semiconductor devices, and consumer electronics,
including cameras, is second.

 While all these applications require power (from a wall plug or a battery), their primary function is to
process information; to take the digital optical signal produced by a compact disk and transform it into
an analogue audio signal, for instance.

 Power electronic circuits are principally concerned with processing energy. For example, the part

of a computer that takes the ac mains voltage and changes it to the 5-V dc required by the

logic chips is a power electronic circuit (often abbreviated as power circuit).

 In many applications the conversion process concludes with mechanical motion. In these cases the
power circuit converts electric energy to the form required by the electromechanical transducer, such
as a dc motor.
Cont’d

 Some examples of uses for power electronic systems are DC/DC

converters used in many mobile devices, such as cell phones or
PDAs, and AC/DC converters in computers and televisions.

 Large scale power electronics are used to control hundreds of

megawatt of power flow.
Cont’d
 At least three current trends dictate that in spite of its slow rise to prominence, power
electronics will soon emerge as a discipline and profession of major importance:
1. The growing shortage of oil and gas and growing environmental concern will stimulate
the utilization of clean electrical power in countless new areas now predominantly served by
other forms of energy.
2. Efficiency in the manipulation and control of electrical power will have increasing priority as the
rising cost of power forces the abandonment of techniques which are short-term cheap but long-
term wasteful.
3. The evolution of present applications and the creation of new applications will cause
increasing demands for speed, precision, and reliability in power control that can be satisfied
by no other technology.
This course seeks to introduce power electronics in a way which emphasizes both the shared and the
unique aspects of a wide variety of circuits for power conversion and control. It also seeks to build on
elementary fundamentals with which all electrical engineers should be familiar.
 Power Electronics in relation to electronics, control, and power

The interdisciplinary nature

 For descriptive purposes, it is frequently useful to divide the
William E. Newell’s description
overall field of electrical engineering into three areas of
Electronics Power
specialization: electronics, power, and control.
学
Devices,circuits Static & rotating
power equipment

• The electronics area deals primarily with devices and circuits for Power
Electronics
the processing of information; 学
Continuous,
discrete
• the power area deals with both rotating and static equipment for 连Control
续、离
the generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization of vast 散
quantities of electrical power; and
Power electronics is the
• the control area deals with the stability and response interface between
characteristics of closed-loop systems using feedback on either a electronics and power.
continuous or sampled-data basis.
Cont’d
 Interstitial to all three of these areas is power electronics, which deals with the use of electronics for the

control and conversion of large amounts of electrical power.

 The main task of power electronics is the conversion of one form of electrical energy to another. This

process involves the conversion of voltage and current in terms of magnitude or RMS values, the change of

frequency, and the number of phases.

 Power electronic components doing such conversions are referred to as converters. Converters are used

in many different power and voltage ranges. The spectrum of converting electrical power ranges from a few mW

to several 100 MW even to GW, the voltage range extends from a few volts to several 10 kV or even 100

kV and even current ratings ranges from mA to kA.

A more exact explanation/definition of PE:

 The primary task of power electronics is to process and control the flow of electric energy by supplying voltages

and currents in a form that is optimally suited for user loads.

Cont’d
 Power electronics involves the study of electronic circuits intended to control the flow of
electrical energy. These circuits handle power flow at levels much higher than the
individual device ratings.

 A power electronic system converts electrical energy from one form to another
and ensures the following is achieved-

• Maximum efficiency

• Maximum reliability

• Maximum availability

• Minimum cost

• Least weight

• Small size
Cont’d
 A basic power electronic system.
 Conversion of electric power
Other names for electric power converter: Power
Electric
Power
Power
input output
-Power converter Converter

-Converter Control
input
-Switching converter
-Power electronic circuit
-Power electronic converter

Power Electronics is used to change the characteristics (voltage and current magnitude and/or
frequency) of electrical power to suit a particular application. It is an interdisciplinary
technology.
Power Electronics is a branch of electrical / electronics engineering that is concerned with the
conversion and control of electrical power for various applications.
 Power electronic system
Generic/Typical structure of a power electronic system

Power Power Power Electric Motor

Source input Converter output Load light
heating
other electric equipment
Electric utility power converter
Control input
battery Feedforward Feedback
other electric energy ( measurements Controller (measurements
source
of input signals ) of output signals )
Reference

Control is invariably required. Power converter along with its controller including the
corresponding measurement and interface circuits, is also called power electronic system.
Cont’d
 Utility systems usually generate, transmit, and
distribute power at a fixed frequency (50 or 60 Hz),
and a fixed voltage is maintained at the consumer
terminals.
 A consumer, however, may need power at DC or AC,
at the same, higher or lower or variable frequency.
Frequently, the power is to be controlled with
precision Frequently, the power is to be controlled
with precision.
 A power electronics system interfaces between the
utility system and consumer load to satisfy this need.

Power electronics may be defined as the applications of

solid-state electronics for the control and conversion of
electrical power.
Cont’d

 The goals of Power Electronics:

• To process, and control the flow of electrical power by supplying voltages

and currents in a form that is optimally suited for user loads.

• To convert electrical energy from one form to another with highest

efficiency, high availability, and high reliability, with the lowest cost,
smallest size, and weight.
Cont’d

 Power Conversion Dictates Change in Current and/or Voltage:

• Voltage/Current form ac or dc

• Voltage/Current level (magnitude)

• Voltage frequency (line or otherwise)

• Voltage/Current wave shape (sinusoidal or nonsinusoidal such as square,

triangle, sawtooth, etc.)

• Voltage phase(single or three-phase).

Types of Converters

 Power Electronic systems perform one or more of the following

conversion functions:
• Rectification (ac-to-dc) …. AC to DC Converter

• Conversion (dc-to-dc)…DC to DC Converter (DC Chopper)

• Cycloconversion (ac-to-ac different frequencies) or (ac-to-ac same

frequency)…. AC to AC Converter (AC voltage regulator)

• Inversion (dc-to-ac)…DC to AC Converter (Inverter)

Power or energy processing through power
electronics converters.
Types Of Power Conversion
Cont’d
A. Rectifiers — circuits for changing ac voltage to dc voltage or transfer of power from an alternating current (ac) supply to
direct current (dc) form. These circuits can be of two main types:
• AC - DC (uncontrolled)
• AC - DC (controlled)
B. DC - DC Converters — Circuits which change a fixed d.c. voltage into a variable dc supply, i.e., transfer of
power from a direct current supply directly into a direct current load of different voltage level. These types of converters
are usually called DC choppers.

C. Inverters — Circuits for changing a d.c. voltage to an alternating one or transfer of power from a direct current
supply to alternating current form. This type of converter is usually called DC – AC converter or inverter.

D. AC-AC Converters (AC voltage regulators) - Circuits which change a fixed a.c. voltage into a variable a.c.
supply, i.e., transfer of power from an alternating current supply directly into an alternating current load of different
voltage level at fixed frequency or variable frequency. These converters are usually of two types:

i. AC choppers: change the a.c. supply voltage magnitude only keeping the frequency unchanged

ii. Cycloconverters or matrix converters: change the a.c. supply directly to a variable a.c. supply both in
magnitude and frequency (also called frequency changers).
Cont’d
A. Inverters — Circuits for changing a d.c. voltage to an alternating one or transfer of power from a
direct current supply to alternating current form. This type of converter is usually called DC – AC converter or
inverter.

B. AC-AC Converters (AC voltage regulators) - Circuits which change a fixed a.c. voltage into a
variable a.c. supply, i.e., transfer of power from an alternating current supply directly into an
alternating current load of different voltage level at fixed frequency or variable frequency. These converters
are usually of two types:

i. AC choppers: change the a.c. supply voltage magnitude only keeping the frequency unchanged

ii. Cycloconverters or matrix converters: change the a.c. supply directly to a variable a.c.
supply both in magnitude and frequency (also called frequency changers).
Cont’d
 In a dc–dc converter, the dc input voltage is converted to a dc output voltage
having a larger or smaller magnitude, possibly with opposite polarity or with
isolation of the input and output ground references.

 In an ac–dc rectifier, an ac input voltage is rectified, producing a dc output voltage.

The dc output voltage and/or ac input current waveform may be controlled.

 The inverse process, dc–ac inversion, involves transforming a dc input voltage into
an ac output voltage of controllable magnitude and frequency.

 Ac–ac cycloconversion involves converting an ac input voltage to a given ac output

voltage of controllable magnitude and frequency.
Relation with multiple disciplines
The interdisciplinary nature Relation with multiple disciplines

Systems & Signal

Control theory processing
Circuit
Simulation &
theory
computing

Electric machines (Static & Power

Rotating Equipment) electronics Electronics

Power Solid state

systems physics
Electromagnetics

Power electronics is currently the most active discipline in electric

power engineering worldwide.
Position and significance in the human society
 Electric power is used in almost every part and everywhere of modern human
society.

 Electric power is the major form of energy source used in modern human society.

 The objective of power electronics is right on how to use electric power, and how
to use it effectively and efficiently, and how to improve the quality and utilization of
electric power.

 Power electronics and information electronics make two poles of modern

technology and human society: information electronics is the brain, and
power electronics is the muscle.
History, Applications and Trends of Power Electronics
 The origins of power electronics can be traced back many years, at which time mercury-arc devices were

utilized for the rectification of AC to DC or the inversion of DC to AC.

 However, today’s rapidly growing usage of power electronics has resulted from the development of solid-

state power devices.

 Power electronics (PE) experienced tremendous growth after the introduction of the first solid-state

power switch, the silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) or thyristor in 1957 (the year modern PE era

began) by General Electric Company. Today, almost all of the technologies that require control of power

utilize PE technology.

 The SCR, started replacing the mercury arc rectifiers, invented in 1902, and the later developed thyratron

(invented in 1923) and ignitron (invented in 1931), allowed the commercialization of several industrial

circuits conceived during the 1920s and 1940s (like the cycloconverter, the chopper, and the parallel inverter)

as well as the Graetz bridge conceived in 1897.

The history

Application of
fast-switching
Invention of fully-controlled
Thyristor semiconductor
devices GTO
GTR IGBT
Mercury arc rectifier Power diode Power MOSFET Power MOSFET
Vacuum-tube rectifier Thyristor Thyristor Thyristor
Thyratron (microprocessor) (DSP)
1900 1957 mid 1970s late 1980s

Pre-history 1st phase 2nd phase 3rd phase

The thread of the power electronics history precisely follows and

matches the break-through and evolution of power electronic devices
 The SCR was the only available power device for more than 25 years after its invention (and still is very useful
for extremely high power applications).

 Since it is very difficult to impose turn-off conditions for SCR’s, faster devices, with higher voltage and
current capabilities, with better controllability were developed, including the bipolar junction transistor
(BJT) invented in 1970. The BJT was used in applications from low to medium power and frequency and now is
considered obsolete.

 The metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) was invented in 1978 and is used for
power electronic switching applications of low power and high frequencies.
 The gate turn-off thyristor (GTO), is used in applications from medium to high power and from low to
medium frequencies.

 The insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) developed in 1983 is used in applications from low to medium
power and frequency. The integrated gate commutated thyristor (IGCT) invented in 1997 is used in
applications from medium to high power and from low to medium frequencies.
 Power semiconductor devices (Power switches)

 Power semiconductor switches are the work-horses of power electronics (PE).

 There are several power semiconductors devices currently involved in several industrial
applications. PE switches works in two states only: Fully on (conducting, and Fully off (blocking).

 Switches are very important and crucial components in power electronic systems

• What is a good power switch:

» No power loss when ON or OFF
» No power loss during turning ON or OFF
» Little power required to turn it ON or OFF
»Adequate voltage and current ratings
» Low Turn-on and Turn-off times
Cont’d

 Basic ratings:

» carrying current, blocking voltage.

»Speed. Any real device requires a definite time to switch.
»Second-order ratings: di/dt, dv/dt, momentary capabilities.
»Power loss
»Thermal ratings –from power switching devices to heat sink
»Control ratings: how to operate the switch
TYPES OF POWER SEMICONDUCTOR SWITCHES
 The main types of power semiconductor switches in common use are
1. Power Diodes
2. Thyristor devices
a. Silicon controlled rectifier (SCR)
b. Static induction thyristor (SITH)
c. Triac (Triode ac switch)
d. Gate turn-off thyristor (GTO)
e. Mos- controlled thyristor (MCT)
f. integrated gated-commutated thyristor (IGCTs)
3. Power transistors
a. Bipolar junction transistor (BJT)
b. Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET)
c. Insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)
d. Static induction transistor (SIT)
Diode MOSFET

IGBT
SCR
Classification of power semiconductor switches
 Power devices is divided into terms of their number of terminals:
– The two-terminal devices (diodes) whose state is completely dependent on the external
power circuit they are connected to.
– The three-terminal devices, whose state is not only dependent on their external power
circuit, but also on the signal on their driving terminal (gate or base).
 A second classification has to do with the type of charge carriers they use:
– Some devices are majority carrier devices (Schottky diode, MOSFET, JFET) - use only one
type of charge carriers (i.e., either electrons or holes)
– Others are minority carrier devices (p-n diode, Thyristor, BJT, IGBT) - use both charge
carriers (i.e. electrons and holes).
 A third classification is based on the degree of controllability:
• uncontrollable switches (diodes): uncontrolled turn on and off
• semi-controllable switches (thyristors): Latched on by control signal but turned off by power
circuit (Controlled turn on uncontrolled turn off) and
• fully-controllable switches (BJT, MOSFET, JFET, IGBT, GTO, MCT) … turned on & off by control
signal (Controlled turn on and off characteristic)
Power Diodes:
 Among all the static switching devices used in power electronics (PE), the power diode is perhaps
the simplest.
 These are two terminal switches, as shown in Fig. 2.1 -a, formed of a pn junction. It is
not controllable and its operating states are determined by the circuit operating point.
 When diode is forward biased, it conducts current, i.e a forward positive voltage Vo will turn it on.
When it reversed biased (a reverse negative current from Cathode to Anode) will turn it off. With
forward biasing a
 small forward voltage (VF) will appear across it (0.2-0.3V). Practically, the
 diode characteristic consists of two regions, as shown in Fig. 2.1 -b; a forward bias region (ON
state) where both vD and iD are positive and the current in this region increases exponentially
with the increase in the voltage, and a reversed bias region (OFF state) where both vD
and iD, are negative and very small leakage current (μA to mA) flows through the diode until
the applied reverse voltage reaches the diode’s breakdown voltage limit VBR.
 Ideally, the diode is represented by a short circuit when forward biased and as an open circuit
when reversed biased with the ideal characteristic shown in Fig. 2.1-c.
When the potential of the cathode increases such that the voltage across the
diode is negative and big in magnitude, the width of the depletion region
increases and the junction breaks down since the diode is unable to control the
reverse flow of current and is known to be in the Breakdown region.
Graphical
PN-Junction Diode V-I Characteristic

Forward Bias Region

Reverse Bias Region

Reverse
breakdown

ECE 442 Power Electronics 39

Practical Power Diode
Ideal PN Junction Diode V-I Characteristic

Forward Bias – Short Circuit

Reverse Bias – Open Circuit

ECE 442 Power Electronics 41

 Cont’d

 In the forward-biased condition, the diode can be represented by a junction offset drop and a series-
equivalent resistance that gives a positive slope in the V-I characteristics.

 The typical forward conduction drop is 1.0 V. This drop will cause conduction loss, and the device must be
cooled by the appropriate heat sink to limit the junction temperature.

 In the reverse-biased condition, a small leakage current flows due to minority carriers, which gradually
increase with voltage.

 If the reverse voltage exceeds a threshold value, called the breakdown voltage, the device goes
through avalanche breakdown, which is when reverse current becomes large and the diode is
destroyed by heating due to large power dissipation in the junction.
Diode Performance Parameters
 DC (Static) diode parameters. The most important parameters are the followings:
• Forward voltage, VF is the voltage drop of a diode across A and K at a defined
current level when it is forward biased.
• Breakdown voltage, VB is the voltage drop across the diode at a defined current
level when it is beyond reverse biased level. This is popularly known as avalanche.
• Reverse current IR is the current at a particular voltage, which is below the
breakdown voltage.

 Dynamic (AC) diode parameters. The commonly used parameters are the followings:
• Forward recovery time, tFR is the time required for the diode voltage to drop to a
particular value after the forward current starts to flow.
• Reverse recovery time trr is the time interval between the application of reverse
voltage and the reverse current dropped to a particular value as shown in Fig. 2.3.
Switching Characteristics of Power Diodes
 Power Diodes take finite time to make transition from reverse bias to forward bias condition (switch
ON) and vice versa (switch OFF).
 Power PN diodes have a “memory” effect due to the storage of minority carriers. If the voltage
across a diode which has been conducting in the forward direction is suddenly reversed, the p and n
regions of the diode are still full of minority carriers, which can cause the diode to behave like a
short circuit for a short period of time until the minority carrier density falls. The reverse current
due to this effect can cause problems: current spikes, noise, overvoltages, and supplementary
switching losses.
 Behavior of the diode current and voltage during these switching periods are important due to the
following reasons.
• Severe over voltage / over current may be caused by a diode switching at different points in the
circuit using the diode.
• Voltage and current exist simultaneously during switching operation of a diode. Therefore,
every switching of the diode is associated with some energy loss. At high switching frequency
this may contribute significantly to the overall power loss in the diode.
 Observed Turn ON behavior of a power Diode:
• It is observed that the forward diode voltage during turn
ON may transiently reach a significantly higher value Vfr
compared to the steady slate voltage drop at the steady
current IF.
• In some power converter circuits (e.g voltage source
inverter) this transient over voltage may be high enough
to destroy the main power switch.
• Vfr (called forward recovery voltage) is given as a
function of the forward di/dt in the manufacturer’s data
sheet. Typical values lie within the range of 10-30V.
Forward current and voltage
waveforms of a power diode during Forward recovery time (tfr) is typically within 10 us.
Turn On operation.
turn-off voltage and current characteristics
 The turn-off voltage and current
characteristics as functions of time, which are
indicated in Figure 1.2, are particularly
important for a diode.

 When a diode is in forward conduction

mode, a sudden reversal of the polarity of
the applied voltage would not stop the
diode current at once. But the diode
continues to conduct in the opposite
direction due to minority carriers that
remain stored in pn-junction and the bulk
semiconductor material. Fig.2 shows the
effect of minority carriers on the turn off
characteristics of the power diode.
 The charge carriers (holes & electrons) require a certain time to
recombine with opposite charges and to be neutralized; this time is called the
reverse recovery time trr of the diode.
 From Fig.2, one can find the following relationships:
 There are two types of reverse recovery characteristics of junction diodes:
Soft recovery and Fast recovery where, the softness factor, SF is the ratio of
t2/t3.
• Parameter ta is the interval between the
zero crossing of the diode current to when it
becomes IRR . On the other hand, tb is the
time interval from the maximum reverse
recovery current to approximately 0.25 of
IRR .
• The ratio of the two parameters ta and tb is
known as the softness factor (SF). Diodes
with abrupt recovery characteristics are
used for high frequency switching.
 The fast decay of negative current creates an
inductive drop that adds with the reverse
blocking voltage VR as illustrate in Fig.3.

 Hence, the blocking voltage across the diode

increases to:
Types of Power Diodes:

 Power diodes can be classified as follows:

1. General purpose diode (Standard
or slow-recovery diode) or Line
Frequency Diode
• on state voltage very low (below 1 V)
• large reverse recovery time trr
(about 25μs) .
• very high current (up to 6 kA) and
voltage (8 kV) ratings
• used in line-frequency (50/60Hz)
applications such as rectifiers.
• Slow recovery (Fig.2.2)
2. Fast-recovery diode
• very low trr (<1 μs).
• power levels at several hundred volts and
several hundred amps.
• normally used in high frequency circuits.

3. Schottky diode
• very low forward voltage drop (typical 0.3V )
• limited blocking voltage (50-100V)
• used in low voltage, high current application
such as switched mode power supplies.
III. Applications

 Applications of power electronics are expanding exponentially.

 It is not possible to build practical computers, cell phones, cars, airplanes, industrial
processes, and a host of other everyday products without power electronics.

 Alternative energy systems such as wind generators, solar power,

 fuel cells, and others require power electronics to function.

 Technology advances such as hybrid vehicles, laptop computers, microwave ovens, plasma
displays, and hundreds of other innovations were not possible until advances in power
electronics enabled their implementation.

 While no one can predict the future, it is certain that power electronics will be at the heart
of fundamental energy innovations.
A Computer Power Supply System
 Industrial
 Transportation
 Utility systems
 Power supplies for all kinds of electronic
equipment
 Residential and home appliances
 Space technology
 Other applications
Applications of Power Devices
 III. Applications

• Industrial applications
Motor drives
Electrolysis
Electroplating
Induction heating
Welding
Arc furnaces and ovens
Lighting
 Transportation applications
Trains & locomotives
Subways
Trolley buses
Magnetic levitation
Electric vehicles
Automotive electronics
Ship power systems
Aircraft power systems
 Utility stems applications
High- voltage dc transmission(HVDC)
Flexible ac transmission(FACTS)
Static var compensation & harmonics
suppression: TCR, TSC, SVG, APF
Custom power & power quality control
Supplemental energy sources :
wind, photovoltaic, fuel cells
Energy storage systems
Power electronics and electrical energy
generation transmission, storage, and
distribution
 Figure 2.3 shows how electrical energy generation is distributed for the end-user,
 showing transmission, distribution, storage, renewable energy sources and users.
 In fact, nowadays PE is a key technology for all those sub-systems, and has spread
 in many applications, examples including:
 • Residential: heaters, home appliances, electronic lighting, equipment sources;
 • Commercial: heaters, fans, elevators Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), AC
 and DC breakers, battery chargers;
 • Industrial: pumps, blowers, robots, inductive heaters, welding, machine drive,
 portable sources;
 • Transportation: electrical and hybrid vehicles, battery chargers, railroad electric
 system;
 • Utility systems: high voltage direct current, generators, reactive compensators,
 interface for photovoltaic, wind, fuel cells systems, Flexible AC Transmission
 System (FACTS) equipment;
 • Aerospace: sources for spacecrafts, satellites, planes;
 • Communication: sources, RF amplifiers, audio-amplifiers.
 Power supplies for electronic equipment
Telecommunications
Computers
Office equipment
Electronic instruments
Portable or mobile
electronics
 Residential and home appliances
Lighting
Heating
Air conditioning
Refrigeration & freezers
Cooking
Cleaning
Entertaining
 Applications in space technology
Spaceship power systems
Satellite power systems
Space vehicle power systems
 Other aplications
Nuclear reactor control
Power systems for particle accelerators
Environmental engineering
 Example: Fluorescent Lighting

The line-frequency AC is converted to DC, then to high-

frequency AC.
Example: Switch-Mode Power Supply

• Transistor is operated in switch mode (either fully ON

or fully OFF) at high switching frequency.
• Electrical isolation achieved by high-frequency
transformer (smaller, lighter and more efficient)
• Result: compact and efficient power supply
Application in Adjustable Speed Drives

 Conventional drive wastes energy across the

throttling valve to adjust flow rate
 Using power electronics, motor-pump speed is
adjusted efficiently to deliver the required flow rate
AC Motor Drive

• Converter 1 rectifies line-frequency AC into DC

• Capacitor acts as a filter; stores energy and decouples
the two converters.
• Converter 2 inverts dc to variable frequency AC – as
needed by the motor.
Pure Electric and Plug-In Hybrid
Vehicles
Example: Renewable Power Generation (PV)
Example: Renewable Power Generation (Wind)
Example: HVDC Transmission
 Trends
It is estimated that in developed countries now 60% of the electric energy goes through some kind of
power electronics converters before it is finally used.
Power electronics has been making major contributions to:
--better performance of power supplies and better control of electric equipment
--energy saving
--environment protection
reduction of energy consumption leads to less pollution
reduction of pollution produced by power converters
direct applications to environment protection technology
IV. A simple example
A simple dc-dc converter example

I
10A
+
Vg
+
Dc-dc R V
100V - converter 5Ω 50V
Input source:100V
-
Output load:50V, 10A, 500W
How can this converter be realized?
 Dissipative realization
Resistive voltage divider

I
10A
+
Vg + 50V -

+ Ploss=500W R V
100V - 5Ω 50V
-
Pin=1000W Pout=500W
Series pass regulator:
transistor operates in active region

I
+ 50V - 10A
+
Vg linear amplifier Vref
-
+ R V
+ And base driver
100V - 5Ω 50V
Ploss≈500W -
Pin≈1000W Pout=500W
 Use of a SPDT switch

I
10A
1 + +
Vg 2
Vs(t) R V(t)
+
100V - 50V
- -

Vs(t)
Vg
Vs=DVg
0
switch t
DTs (1-D)Ts
position:
1 2 1
The switch changes the dc voltage level

Vs(t)
Vg
D=switch duty cycle
Vs=DVg
0
- -
0<D<1

t Ts=switching period
switch DTs (1-D)Ts
position:
1 2 1 fs=switching frequency

DC component of Vs(t)=average value: =1/ Ts

∫
Ts
Vs = Vs(t) dt =DVg
0
 Addition of low pass filter
Addition of (ideally lossless) L- C low- pass filter, for removal of switching
harmonics:

I
1 10A
+ +
Vg 2 L
Vs(t) C R V(t)
+
100V - 50V
- -
Pin≈500W
Ploss small Pout=500W

Choose filter cutoff frequency f0 much smaller than switching frequency fs.
This circuit is known as the “buck converter”.
 Addition of control system for regulation of output voltage

Power Switching converter Load

input
+ i
Vg
+ sensor
V
- gain
H(s)
-
error
transistor
signal
gate driver
δ(t) Pulse-width Vc Ve -
δ modulator Gc(s) +
compensator
Reference Vref
dTs Ts t input
 Major issues in power electronics
How to meet the requirement of the load or gain better control of the load
How to improve the efficiency
-- for reliable operation of power semiconductor devices
-- for energy saving
How to realize power conversion with less volume, less weight, and less cost.
How to reduce negative influence to other equipment in the electric power system and to the
electromagnetic environment.
Summary

 Generally, power electronics is the process of using semiconductor

switching devices to control and convert electrical power flow from one
form to another to meet a specific need.

 In other words, power electronics enables the control of the power flow as
well as its form (ac or dc and the magnitude of currents and voltages). Figure
1.1 illustrates a block diagram of a power electronic system. The hardware
that performs the power processing is called a “converter.”

 Converters can perform the function of rectifying (ac to dc), inverting (dc to
ac), “bucking” or “boosting” (dc to dc), and frequency conversion (ac to ac).
V. About this course
Three parts of the content

Power electronic devices: Chapter 1

Power electronic circuits: Chapter 2, 3, 4, 5, 8
Control techniques: Chapter 6 and 7
 The period of 1956−1975 can be considered as the era of thyristors (SCR) or the era of first
the generation power devices. Thyristors were called controlled rectifiers because they were
mainly applied in rectifiers. The use of thyristors in inverters is relatively complicated because
the current carrying thyristor cannot be turned off by a control signal. A thyristor turns off after
the main current drops under the threshold level close to zero. Therefore the forced
commutation circuit with additional energy carrying components (capacitors) must be used. As
a result, thyrsitor inverters were very complicated and unreliable.
 During the second generation power devices (1975−1990), the power MOSFETs (metal-oxide-
semiconductor field-effect transistor, 1980), bipolar npn and pnp transistors and power bipolar
junction transistors (BJT), the power gate turn-off (GTO) thyristors were developed.
 The automatic control system of drives is composed of microprocessors; application specified
integral circuits (ASIC), and power integral circuits (PIC). Often the advanced control
 methods (e.g., the model based control) were used, instead of the feedback control
 Introduction of the third generation of power devices began at the end of the
20th century.
 The insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) was established as the most
common power switch in electrical drives. In some applications the MCT or MOS
controlled thyristors, or MOS controlled GTOs are used. A new trend in power
electronics is the use of intelligent power devices (IPD) or intelligent power
modules (IPM). The automatic control systems of drives are often based on
principles of sensor-less model based control, expert systems, fuzzy
 logic, or neural networks.
 When extra valence electrons are introduced into a material such as
silicon an n-type material is produced. The extra valence electrons
are introduced by putting impurities or dopants into the silicon. The
dopants used to create an n-type material are Group V elements.
The most commonly used dopants from Group V are arsenic,
antimony and phosphorus.
 The 2D diagram to the left shows the extra electron that will be
present when a Group V dopant is introduced to a material such as
silicon. This extra electron is very mobile
 When forward voltage is applied to a diode, a short turn-on
time elapses before the charges at the PN junction reach
equilibrium to carry full forward current. This time is
measured in nanoseconds.
 Of greater practical importance is the transient which
occurs when reverse voltage is applied to turn off a diode
which has been conducting forward current.
 The charges which had been carrying this current must be
“swept out” from the junction region before the reverse
non-conducting state can be established.
 These charges are called “stored charge”, and depend on
the internal design of the diode and on the forward current
which has been flowing. The instantaneous reverse current
which flows is usually limited by the circuit external to the
diode, but the amp-seconds of the reverse current transient
depend on the stored charge. The duration of this transient
is called the reverse recovery time or turn-off time.