IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS,VOL. 28, NO.

2, MARCHJAPRIL 1992

403

Evaluation of Modern Power Semiconductor

Devices and Future Trends of Converters
Bimal K. Bose, Fellow, ZEEE
Abstract-Power semiconductor devices that constitute the
heart of modern power electronics have been undergoing dynamic evolution in recent years. Never before in the history of
power semiconductor devices have we seen the emergence of so
many exotic devices in such a short span of time. This paper
reviews the modern power semiconductor devices that appeared
in 1980s, i.e., the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT),
static induction transistor (SIT), static induction thyristor
(SITH), and the recently introduced MOS-controlled thyristor
(MCT). The characteristics of these devices have been discussed
and compared from the viewpoint of power electronics applications. Although the IGBT is well known, the power electronics
community is somewhat unfamiliar with the latter three devices.
For completeness, a brief review of other power devices, such as
the thyristor, triac, gate turn-off thyristor (GTO), bipolar transistor (BJT), and power MOSFET has also been incorporated.
Finally, a perspective of future converter trends has been outlined.

I. INTRODUCTION

OWER electronics is often said to have brought in the

second electronics revolution. The first electronics revolution made the modern microelectronics ICs available. At
the root of both revolutions was the historic invention of the
transistor by Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley in 1948. During the recent years, we have seen widespread application of
power electronics in industrial, commercial, residential,
aerospace, and military applications. As the size and cost of
power electronics decrease along with the improvement of
performance and reliability, power electronics applications
will spread practically everywhere. It has been projected that
by the early twenty-first century, 60% of electrical power in
the United States will flow through power electronics, and it
will eventually extend to nearly 100% in the future.
Power semiconductor device is the heart of modern power
electronics. In the general classification of electronics, i.e.,
signal electronics and power electronics, the area of power
electronics incorporates not only switching mode power conversion and control but also includes linear mode class A and
class B power amplifiers. A power semiconductor device is
indeed the most complex, delicate, and fragile element in
a converter. A power electronics engineer needs to understand the device thoroughly for efficient, reliable, and costPaper IPCSD 91-96, approved by the Industrial Power Converter Commitee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society for presentation at the 1989
Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, October
1-5.
The author is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-2100 and is the Chief Scientist of the
Power Electronics Applications Center, Knoxville.
IEEE Log Number 9104081.

effective design of converter. Although the cost of power

semiconductor device in a typical power electronics equipment may not exceed typically 20 to 30%, the total equipment cost is highly influenced by the price and performance
of the power devices. One important trend in power electronics is that the cost of silicon-based power and control devices
is continuously falling along with the improvement of performance, whereas the same for passive circuit components,
such as inductor, capacitor, transformer etc. are essentially
constant, and, in fact, the price is gradually increasing.
Again, the bulk of size and cost of a power electronics
equipment is due to passive components. Power electronics
engineers are therefore searching for silicon solution of
passive components. A good example is the use of resonant
and quasi-resonant link principles in the modem switching
mode power supplies. The advent of high-power highfrequency devices at economical price will eventually permit
application of these techniques to high-power applications,
such as motor drives, UPS systems, and active power line
conditioners.
The age of modern power electronics began by the invention of thyristor or silicon controlled rectifier by Bell Laboratory in 1956, and it was later commercially introduced by
General Electric in 1958. Since then, we have seen the
gradual emergence of other power semiconductor devices.
Historically, the evolution of power electronics has generally
followed the evolution of power semiconductor devices, although it is true that some generic converter topologies have
been in existence from the early gas tube age. The advent of
a new type of device, or quantum improvement of performance of an existing device, did create surge of R&D
activities in power electronics. Fortunately, power electronics systems today incorporate power semiconductor devices
as well as microelectronics ICs, both of which are digital in
nature (one provides the muscle and the other gives the
intelligence). The ultimate goal is to put all the silicon on the
same chip.
The researchers in solid-state electronics have worked
relentlessly for a long period of time to improve semiconductor processing, device fabrication, and packaging techniques,
and, as a result, todays high-density high-performance
high-reliability high-yield microelectronics are being available at such an economical price. All of these technologies
have been extremely useful for the evolution of power semiconductor devices. Power electronics, or power device technology, would have been stalled in the primitive stage if it
did not get the spinoff benefits from the solid-state research
focused for todays very large-scale integration (VLSI) elec-

003-9994/92$03.00

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 28, NO. 2, MARCHIAPRIL 1992

tronics. In fact, it will be shown later that the latest power

semiconductor device (MOS-controlled thyristor, MCT) is
basically a cluster of large number of microcells in parallel.
Power electronics engineers have always dreamed of using
ideal switching devices in converters. Such devices should
have large voltage and current ratings, zero conduction drop,
zero leakage current in blocking condition, high temperature
and radiation withstand capability, high mean time between
failures (MTBF), and instant turn-on and turn-off characteristics. Of course, with all these ideal features, the device
should be available at economical price. This dream will
never materialize, but historically we have moved step by
step in that direction. Let us now discuss qualitatively the
benefits we get by improving the device parameters. High
voltage and current ratings permit device applications in large
motor drives, high-voltage (HVDC) converters, static VAR
compensators (SVCs), etc., without series-parallel combination. Matching devices for series-parallel operation is always
a difficult problem. The voltage rating of a power device is
generally cheaper than current rating for a specified power
requirement of a converter, but these parameters are normally determined by the load and source constraints. Lowconduction drop and small leakage current contribute to high
efficiency of a converter, and thus the cooling requirement is
small. This consideration is often more important than the
energy saving aspect, especially for computer and aerospace
power electronics. Again, higher junction temperature reduces the heatsink size and therefore contributes to lower size
and cost of the converter. Military and aerospace applications
are always looking for high-temperature power and signal
electronics. The junction temperature is often derated in
favor of reliability improvement of a converter. The switching speed is perhaps the most important property of a power
semiconductor device. High-speed, i.e., high-frequency, devices permit size, cost, and performance improvement of the
total power electronics system. At each turn-on and turn-off,
a pulse of energy is dissipated in the device and therefore
contributes to high average power dissipation at high switching frequency. Use of a snubber reduces the device switching
loss, but the total switching loss may be increased. Moreover, snubbers add to size, cost, and voltage overshoot
penalties. Higher switching speed of a device gives lower
switching loss and, consequently, the snubber size can be
reduced. Often snubberless operation is satisfactory within
the constraints of second breakdown effect and/or safe junction temperature. The device switching loss can be practically
eliminated by zero voltage (ZVS) or zero current switching
(ZCS) in a resonant or quasi-resonant converter. This class of
converters therefore permits higher efficiency, reduced
heatsink size, improved reliability, and snubberless operation. The advent of high-frequency self-controlled power
devices is creating a tremendous impact on modern converter
technology. The transition from the conventional phase-control (or linear)-to-PWM-to-resonant-link conversion technology has already been evident in the low end of converter
applications, such as switching mode power supply. This
trend is expected to continue for medium- to high-power
applications also in future.

11. CONVENTIONAL
POWER
DEVICES
In this paper, power semiconductor devices have been
grouped into two categories: the old or conventional devices
that appeared before 1980, i.e., thyristor, GTO, triac, BJT,
and power MOSFET and the second category of modern
devices that appeared in 1980s, i.e., IGBT, SIT, SITH, and
MCT. Although IGBT is well known and should have been
strictly under the conventional category, the latter three
devices are practically unknown to the professional community. The power diode which is universally used is excluded
from the discussion.

A . Thyristor
The modem age of power electronics began by the introduction of thyristor slightly more than three decades ago, and
it reigned almost supreme for the first two decades. Since its
introduction, the thyristor has been widely applied in phasecontrolled and chopper-fed dc drives, power supplies in
electrochemical processes, lighting and heating control, welding control, HVDC conversion, static VAR compensation
(SVC), solid-state circuit breakers, and ac machine drives.
A thyristor is basically a three-junction pnpn device where
pnp- and npn-component transistors are connected in regenerative feedback mode. The device can be triggered into conduction by a short gate current pulse, but once the device is
conducting, the gate loses its control to turn off the device.
The thyristor basically has two classifications: the slow-speed
phase-control type that is commutated by ac line voltage (line
commutation), and the fast inverter type that is commutated
by the transient of a resonant circuit (forced commutation).
The speed of the inverter-type thyristor is enhanced in asymmetrical (ASCR) and reverse conduction (RCT) devices where
reverse voltage blocking capability is intentionally suppressed. A forward voltage-biased device can spuriously be
turned on by excessive dv / dt-generated displacement current or junction temperature (T,)-generated leakage current.
Shorted emitter geometry can improve these effects considerably. A conducting device carries current almost with uniform density, and the inner p and n regions become staturated with minority carriers. The device can regain the
voltage blocking capability after clearing these minority carriers by the process of recovery and recombination. The
recovery is enhanced by voltage reversal across the device,
but the recombination effect is influenced by the life time of
minority carriers. The lifetime can be reduced by
gold/platinum doping or electron/proton irradiation, but the
process adversely affects the conduction drop. The turn-on
time of a device is limited by the di / dt effect, which can be
improved by interdigitated gate-emitter construction. The
junction temperature T, is a very crucial parameter that is
usually limited to 125C in normal operating condition. The
low thermal capacitance of the junction causes wide fluctuation of junction temperature. Within the constraint of
the device can carry large current by improved cooling or at
short duty cycle. For a temporary fault condition, the T,,,,
can be permitted to exceed far above 125C. Since its
introduction, the power ratings and characteristics of thyris-

BOSE: EVALUATION OF MODERN POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

tors have continually improved over a long number of years.

For example, the modern light-triggered thyristors are available with ratings up to 6000 V, 3500 A.

B. Triac
A triac is essentially an integration of a pair of phase-controlled thyristors connected in inverse-parallel on the same
chip. The three-terminal device can be triggered into conduction in both positive and negative half cycles of supply
voltage by applying positive and negative gate trigger pulses,
respectively. A triac is less expensive than a pair of inverseparallel thyristors, and the gate control circuit is somewhat
simpler. However, there are a few disadvantages because of
complex integration of two devices in a chip. The gate
current sensitivity of a triac is poor and the turn-off time is
longer due to storage charge effect. For the same reason, the
reapplied d u / d t rating is lower, thus making it difficult to
apply with inductive load. Triac is used in the control of
incandescent lamp dimming, heating, appliance-type motor
drives, and solid-state relays with a supply frequency up to
400 Hz. The state-of-the-art devices are available with ratings up to 800 V, 40 A.

C. GTO
A gate turn-off thyristor (GTO), as the name indicates, is
basically a thyristor-type device that can be turned on by a
positive gate current pulse but, in addition, has the capability
of being turned off by a negative gate current pulse. The
turn-off capability of a GTO is due to highly interdigitated
gate-emitter geometry that permits diversion of pnp collector
current by the gate and thus break the pnp-npn regenerative
feedback effect. Historically, GTO was introduced slightly
after the thyristor, but the modern high-power GTOs with
improved characteristics could be possible due to pioneering
work of several Japanese corporations. GTOs are available
with asymmetric and symmetric voltage blocking capabilities,
but common GTO application is in voltage-fed converters
that use asymmetric devices. A GTO has poor turn-off current gain (typically 4 or 3, and a 2000-A peak current device
may need as high as 500 A negative gate current pulse.
However, the energy associated with the gate current and the
corresponding average power is small and can easily be
absorbed by power MOSFET. The turn-off phenomena of a
GTO is somewhat complex and can be explained as follows.
As the anode current begins to fall sharply by negative gate
current, an anode spike voltage is introduced due to finite
snubber circuit leakage inductance. This spike is extremely
harmful because current concentration may create hot spots,
causing second breakdown failure. Moreover, during reapplied du / dt and minority carrier recombination, the anode
circuit shows a long tail current that can cause large switching loss. Therefore, a well-designed snubber with large capacitor is necessary. Because of the large switching loss, the
PWM frequency is usually limited within 1 to 2 KHz. In spite
of these disadvantages, GTOs have practically replaced inverter-type thyristors in force-commutated voltage-fed converter applications because of overall advantages of reduced
size and cost and improved efficiency. The GTOs are now

405

popular in ac machine drives, UPS systems, static VAR

compensators, and photovoltaic and fuel cell inverters between a few hundred kilowatts to several megawatts, and this
boundary is continuously improving. The state-of-the-art devices are available up to 4500 V, 3000 A ratings.

D. BJT
A bipolar junction transistor (BJT), unlike thyristorlike
devices, is a continuously current-controlled bipolar twojunction device. Since the 1970s, the power ratings and
characteristics of BJTs have improved dramatically, and
these devices have found increasing popularity in industrial
applications. An npn transistor is more common than pnp
transistor because of higher mobility of electrons. Again,
Darlington transistors are more popular because of higher
current gain, but the disadvantages are higher leakage current, higher conduction drop, and reduced switching frequency. An important property of transistor is that its current
gain varies with collector current and junction temperature.
The current in a device can be increased with a lower duty
cycle within the constraints of peak junction temperature,
wire bond melting, and second breakdown effect. During
switching, the reverse-biased collector junction may show
hotspot second breakdown effects that are specified by reverse-bias safe operating area (RBSOA) and forward-bias
safe operating area (FBSOA). Modern device with highly
interdigitated emitter-base geometry forces more uniform
current distribution and therefore considerably improves second breakdown effects. Normally, a well-designed polarized
snubber constrains the device operation well within the safe
operating areas (SOA). The BJT switching speed is considerably faster than thyristor-type devices because excess minority carriers in the base are almost entirely removed by
negative base current (for an npn transistor). Modern highpower transistors are normally comprised of multiple matched
devices in parallel within a package. Power transistor applications in industry range from a few kilowatts to several
hundred kilowatts size in voltage-fed choppers and inverters
with switching frequency up to 10 to 15 kHz. The state-ofthe-art modules are available with ratings up to 1200 V, 800
A.

E. Power MOSFET
A power MOSFET is a unipolar, majority carrier, zero
junction, voltage-controlled device. During the last decade,
the power ratings and characteristics of power MOSFETs
have improved dramatically with a sharp fall in prices, and it
is now a key competitor to other power devices. The n-channe1 enhancement mode device is common because of higher
mobility of electrons. Originally, devices with surface groove
technology, known as V-groove MOS (VMOS), were used
but today planar diffised metal oxide semiconductor (DMOS)
structure is very common. Because it is a voltage-controlled
device, the gate circuit impedance is extremely high. However, during fast turn-on and turn-off, the gate needs a
current pulse to charge and discharge, respectively, the effective gate-source capacitance. Being a majority carrier device, there is no inherent delay and storage switching time as

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 28, NO. 2, MARCHIAPRIL 1992

406

that of BJT. The MOSFET devices, therefore, are extremely

fast compared to other devices. The high switching speed
causes low switching loss, and therefore snubber requirement
is very minimal. Power MOSFETs have been used in converters with hundreds of kilohertz switching frequency.
However, the device has a reverse body diode that is slow
due to large storage charge. Although the body diode has full
bypass-current capability, high-speed applications often require bypassing this diode with external fast recovery diodes.
The on-resistance of a device is a key parameter that determines the conduction drop. The on-resistance increases with
making the device very lossy at high
voltage rating (a Y2.5),
current. The resistance has a positive temperature coefficient
and therefore permits easy paralleling of a large number of
devices. The second breakdown effect of MOSFET is negligible due to this positive temperature coefficient effect. If
localized heating occurs for any reason, an increase of resistance forces the current distribution to be uniform. The peak
current of a device can, therefore, be increased on duty cycle
basis. Power MOSFETs are generally used in high-frequency
switching applications within the ratings of a few watts to a
few kilowatts. The device is very popular in switching mode
power supplies. The state-of-the-art modules are available
with 500 V, 140 A ratings.

III. MODERN
POWER
DEVICES
A . IGBTs

coLL,;ToR

Pt

,c;--,;

N+

N+

GATE

EMITTER

Fig. 1.

T<

Basic structure of IGBT.

TC

5 NpNp-l
PNP

tc

SHUNT
RESISTANCE

(b)

AE

An IGBT is basically a hybrid MOS-gated turn on/off

bipolar transistor that combines the attributes of a MOSFET,
BJT, and thyristor. The device is also known as a metal oxide
semiconductor insulated gate transistor (MOSIGT), conductivity-modulated FET (COMFET), or gain-modulated FET
(GEMFET), and was originally called insulated gate transistor (IGT) or insulated gate rectifier (IGR). Fig. 1 shows the
basic structure of IGBT and Fig. 2 shows the equivalent
circuit with the device symbol. The device was commercially
introduced in 1983, and since then the ratings and characteristics have improved significantly. IGBT offers significant
advantages over BJT and power MOSFET in medium-power
(a few kilowatts to a few hundred kilowatts) mediumfrequency (up to 50 kHz) power converter applications.
The device architecture seen in Fig. 1 is similar to that of a
MOSFET except the n+ layer at the drain has been substituted by a p+ layer at the collector. It is essentially identical
to MOSFET in the processes after substrate fabrication. The
device has the high-input impedance of a MOSFET but
BJT-like conduction characteristics. If the gate is positive
with respect to the emitter and the voltage is beyond the
threshold value, an n channel is induced in the p region. This
forward biases the base-emitter junction of the pnp transistor
and holes are injected in the n- region. The holes cross the
reverse-biased collector junction (p - n- ) and constitute the
pnp transistor collector current. The minority carrier injection causes conductivity modulation of the n - region, giving
significant improvement of conduction drop over that of a
MOSFET. The device can be used as a power switch or in a

(a)
Fig. 2. Equivalent circuit and device symbol: (a) Equivalent circuit; (b)
device symbol.

linear amplifier. Large emitter current flow gives drop in the

lower p+ region, which forward biases the npn transistor and
thus tends to cause thyristorlike latching action. The latching
problem in a modern IGBT has been solved by proper p+
impurity concentration. In fact, the short-circuit current, if
unprotected, will pull the device into an active mode where
excessive dissipation will destroy the device. While the device is turned on by 10 to 15 V at the gate, it is turned
off by zero gate voltage, which removes the conducting
channel in the p region. In the reverse direction, the device
does not have a conducting body diode (like a MOSFET) but
gives blocking (5-10 V) due to a reverse-biased p+- njunction. Therefore, in voltage-fed converter applications, an
antiparallel diode is to be connected externally. The device
has a higher current density compared to BJT and MOSFET
and needs an approximately 30% die size of a MOSFET. The
conduction drop is comparable to a BJT but is significantly
lower than that of a MOSFET. The drop curve with current
is slightly negative or flat but becomes positive at high
current.
Fig. 3 shows the typical turn-on and turn-off characteristics
of an IGBT where the gate is driven by a square voltage
pulse through a series resistor. The device turns on very fast
and the phenomena are similar to MOSFET, except that a
slightly longer time is taken for the minority carriers to build

BOSE: EVALUATION OF MODERN POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

407

inverter using an IR2110 gate driver [16] developed by

International Rectifier. The chip is a high-speed dual driver
with independent floating rail high-side and fixed rail lowside-referenced output channels and can be used for both
power MOSFET and IGBT circuits. The input signals are
CMOS/LSTTL compatible, and the driver outputs with 2 A
peak current capability to a device whose emitter voltage can
be up to 500 V above the common pin. Both the high-side
and low-side logic input signals are processed through
Schmitt triggers. The high-side signal goes through a pulse
generator to level-shifted outputs. The voltage V,, is booted
by external diode and capacitor, and the resistor in series
limits rate of voltage rise on the capacitor. If V,, is below
the undervoltage limit, the uv detect will send a shutdown
signal to both the channels.
Recently, IGBTs are widely popular in medium-power
applications, such as dc and ac motor drives, UPS systems,
power supplies, and drivers for solenoids, relays, and contactors. Although IGBTs are slightly more expensive than
BJTs, lower gate drive requirements, along with smaller
snubber and lower switching loss, make the IGBT converter
TIME
t
more efficient with less size and cost. Recently, IGBT inFig. 3. IGBT turn-on and turn-off characteristics.
verter induction motor drives using 15-20 kHz switching
frequency are finding favor where audio noise is objectionup and complete the conductivity modulation effect. The able. It is expected that IGBTs will eventually oust BJTs in
turn-off process is somewhat complex and comprises of three most applications. The state-of-the-art modules are available
intervals: 1) the delay time (t,,,,), during which the gate up to 600 V, 400 A or 1200 V, 300 A ratings, and these will
voltage falls to a threshold level at which the collector be extended to 1200 V, 500 A in the near future [24].
current begins to fall, 2) the initial fall time (t,,), during
which the gate drive circuit removes the charge from the B. SIT
A SIT is a high-power high-frequency device and is essengate-to-source capacitance, after which V,, builds up (the
t f , is defined as the time during which the collector current tially the solid-state version of a triode vacuum tube. The
falls from 90 to 20%), and 3) the fall time (t,,), during device was proposed in the mid-1970s [21], but the power
which excess minority carriers in n- base decay by the SIT in modern form was commercially introduced by Tokin
recombination process. This tail current in a modem Corp. of Japan in 1987. Fig. 5(a) shows the basic structure of
IGBT has been significantly reduced by proton-irradiated SIT and (b) shows the device symbol. It is a short n-channel
minority carrier lifetime control and by adding the extra n+ vertical device where the gate electrodes are buried with the
buffer layer at the collector. The reduction of carrier lifetime drain and source n-type epi layers. The device is normally
causes the adverse effect of higher conduction drop. For on-type (A-SIT), i.e., if V,, = 0, the majority carrier FETexample, commercial devices are available from the IXYS like drift current will flow between the source and the drain,
Corp. in two versions: the standard version with V,,,
= 2.5 and the channel resistance will cause conduction drop in the
tf,) = 2.0 p s , and the high-speed version device. If V,, is negative, the depletion layer of the
V and t f (t,,
reverse-biased p+ n junction will inhibit the drain current
with VcECs)= 3.0 V and t f = 0.5 p s .
An important property of IGBT compared to MOSFET is flow, and with higher bias the channel will be cut off
the significant reduction of input capacitance (Cis,).In addi- completely. The device is almost identical to a junction field
tion, the ratio of gate-collector capacitance to gate-emitter effect transistor (JFET) except vertical and buried-gate concapacitance is lower at least by a factor of three. This struction gives lower channel resistance causing a lower
improves the Miller feedback effect during high d v / d t turn- drop. Moreover, a lower gate-source channel resistance gives
on and turn-off. The FBSOA and RBSOA of the IGBT are a lower gate-to-source negative feedback effect. In the active
thermally limited by q. and the device does not show any region, the device I-V characteristics are nonsaturating vacsecond breakdown phenomena. However, very high reap- uum triodelike instead of vacuum pentode or JFET-like. The
plied du / dt condition during turn-off induces lateral dis- triodelike characteristics make the device useful both in
placement current that can force the parasitic npn transistor active and switching modes. The device has been used in
to conduct a resulting loss of control and potential device audio, VHF/UHF, and microwave amplifiers. The reliabilfailure. A well-designed polarized snubber should be used ity, noise, and radiation hardness of SIT are claimed to be
superior to MOSFET. Although the device conduction drop
especially with inductive load.
An IGBT converter can use integrated gate drive circuits is lower than that of equivalent series parallel operation of
that are currently available. Fig. 4 shows a half-bridge MOSFETs, the excessively large drop of the device makes it

408

IEEE TRANSACTIONSON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 28, NO. 2, MARCH/APIUL 1992

+5v

HIGH SIDE

+5v

LOW SIDE

SWRCE

PASSIVATION
LAYER

(b)

DRAIN

(a)
Fig. 5 . Basic structure of SIT and device symbol: (a) Basic structure of
SIT; (b) device symbol.

unsuitable for general power electronics applications unless

justified by the need of a FET-like switching frequency. For
example, a 1500-V 180-A (peak) SIT (TS300V-Tokin) has a
channel resistance of 0.5 Q giving a 90-V conduction drop at
180 A. An equivalent thyristor or GTO drop may be around
2 V. Although conduction drop is abnormally high, the
turn-on and turn-off times of the device are very low. A
faster than MOSFET switching speed is possible because of a
lower equivalent gate-to-source capacitance and resistance.
For the example device, the typical tonand to, are equal
to 0.35 ps. All the other essential MOSFET characteristics
are retained. Because it is a majority carrier device, SOAs
are limited by junction temperature (no second breakdown
problem). The positive temperature coefficient characteristic
of channel resistance forces current equalization across the
junction area, therefore permitting easy paralleling of devices. Besides a large conduction drop, the normally on
characteristic is a definite disadvantage (normally off device
is under development in Tokin). Normally, a negative bias
holds the device off until a positive overdrive saturates the
device. Japanese universities and industries have built promotional equipment using SITs. These include AM/FM transmitters, induction heaters, high-voltage low-current (loo0 V,
5 A) power supplies, ultrasonic generators, and linear power
amplifiers. Fig. 6 shows a voltage-fed full-bridge resonant
inverter circuit for induction heating and melting of iron [22].

.I.
Fig. 6. SIT resonant inverter for induction heating application [22].

The 12-KW 100-kHz inverter uses a pair of 2SK183 SITs

(800 V, 60 A, Ron = 1.0 Q , ton= 0.25 ps, toE= 0.3 ps) in
parallel for each branch, and efficiency up to 92% has been
claimed. The gate drive circuit has been designed such that
V,, = -40 V at the off condition and + 5 V at the on
condition.
C. SITH
A SITH or SI thyristor is a self-controlled GTO-like
on-off device that was commercially introduced by Toyo
Electric Co. (Toyo Denki) of Japan in 1988. A similar
device, known as a field-controlled thyristor (FCT) or fieldcontrolled diode (FCD), were developed early by General
Electric, but no attempt was made for commercial introduction.
Fig. 7 shows the basic structure of a SITH and the device
symbol. It is essentially a p+nn+ diode with a buried p+
gridlike gate structure. The device structure is analogous to
SIT except that a p+ layer has been added to the anode side.
The on-off conditions of the device are explained by simplified geometry in Fig. 8. Similar to SIT, it is a normally on
device, i.e., if the anode is positive and the gate voltage is
zero, the device will behave like a diode, and anode current
will flow freely. The forward biasing of the p+n junction will
cause a hole injection into the n region and its conductivity

BOSE: EVALUATION OF MODERN POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

409

CATHODE

GATE

ANODE

(a)
(b)
Fig. 8. On and off conditions of basic SITH: (a) On condition; (b) off
condition.

(a)
Fig. 7. Basic structure of SITH and device symbol: (a) Basic structure of
SITH; (b) device symbol.

will be modulated. If the gate is reverse biased with respect

to the cathode, a depletion layer will block the anode current
flow shown in Fig. 8(b). The device does not have reverse
blocking capability due to emitter shorting (see Fig. 7(a)),
which is needed for high-speed operation. Evidently, it is not
a thyristorlike trigger-into-conduction device but shows
somewhat SIT-like I-V characteristics with varying negative
gate bias. The switching behavior of a SITH is explained in
Fig. 9. If the negative gate voltage ( VG)is removed, and, in
fact, the gate is made slightly positive, the device will turn on
with delay time (td) and rise time ( t , ) as shown in Fig. 9(a).
During turn-on, the gate circuit draws a pulse of capacitorcharging current. The turn-off behavior of a SITH is similar
to that of a GTO, i.e., the negative gate current is large and a
tail current flows in the anode circuit. If the gate voltage is
negative, the minority carriers (holes) sweep out of the gate
and help establish the depletion layer after storage time ( t , )
and fall time (t,). The residual holes in the n region escape
through the gate slowly, causing a long tail time ( t t ) .For
high-switching frequency operation, the tail time is reduced
(with the penalty of higher conduction drop) by platinum
diffusion. For example, the 1200-V 300-A (rms) device (TSI
802H-12) has a typical to, = 2 . 0 p s and to, = 9.0 p s (with
t , = 5.9 p s ) and conduction drop vd = 4.0 V . The general
comparison with GTO can be summarized as follows:

1) It is a normally on device unlike a GTO.

ZypV,

300A
I

--'
1,

,
t,+tf

2 ops

31ps

VG

ft

59ps

(a)
(b)
Fie. 9. Turn-on and turn-off characteristics of SITH 1271: (a) Turn-on

' SITH

7
I

ON
CONTROL

SIGNAL

2) The conduction drop is higher.

3) The turn-off current gain is lower, typically 1 to 3

instead of 4 to 5 for GTO.
4) Both devices show a long tail current.
5) The switching frequency is higher.
6) The d v l d t and d i l d t ratings are higher. There is no
spurious turn-on possibility by reapplied du 1dt-induced displacement current and no plasma spreading
problem as in GTO.
7) The SOA is improved.
Although a negative gate current of a SITH is large, the
average gate power is small because of very low duty cycle;
but it tends to increase with higher switching frequency. A
general-power MOSFET, which has high-peak current capability, is well suited for this type of drive. Fig. 10 shows a
typical gate-drive circuit recommended by Toyo Denki. The

Fig. 10. SITH with gate driver [9].

primary logic signal (0 to

15 V) is coupled to the gate
driver through an opt0 coupler. At turn-on, a p-channel
MOSFET is switched on that establishes a +5 V forward
bias to the gate through a series resistance. The turn-off
negative gate current is taken by a pair of n-channel MOSFET's in parallel from the - 2 4 V supply. The gate circuit
reverse voltage is clamped by a zener diode.
The SITH is an evolutionary device, and it is expected to
appear with higher power ratings, symmetrical voltage blocking, and normally off characteristic in the near future. So far,
these devices have been used by Japanese universities and
industries for promotional applications, such as induction

410

IEEE TRANSACTIONSON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS,VOL. 28, NO. 2, MARCHIAPIUL 1992

heating, high-frequency-link dc-dc converter, active power

line conditioners, and noiseless PWM inverter drives. Fig.
11 shows a simplified diagram of a SITH-based active power
line conditioner where the APLC bridge absorbs the harmonics and lagging VAR generated by the rectifier load.

NONLINEAR AND LAGGING

VAR LOAD

3+
AC
LINE

D. MCT
An MCT, as the name indicates, is a thyristorlike triggerinto-conduction device that can be turned on or off by a short
pulse on the MOS gate. It is more of a GTO-like switching
device except that the turn-off current gain is very high. An
MCT is a high-power high-frequency low conduction dropswitching device. In switching speed, it is comparable to an
IGBT but has lower conduction drop. At present, the device
is not available commercially (at the time of this writing, it
appears that Harris will commercially release 600 V/1200 V,
30 A (rms) and 600 V/1200 V, 60 A (rms) devices in 1992),
but developmental devices were released by General Electric
Co. (500 V/1000 V, 50 A / l W A) and Harris Semiconductor
(900 V, 15 A).
Unlike other power-switching devices (except power
MOSFET), an MCT is basically a parallel connection of
thousands of microcells on the same chip. For example, a
50-A 500-V device contains 100000 cells in parallel. The
basic structure of a cell MCT is somewhat complex, and it is
shown in Fig. 12. Fig. 13 shows the equivalent circuit and
symbol of the device. It is turned on by a negative voltage
pulse at the gate with respect to the anode and is turned off by
a positive voltage pulse. The MCT has thyristorlike p-n-p-n
layers between the anode and cathode, and the three junctions
are labeled in Fig. 12. The pnp-npn regenerative feedback
equivalent circuit with the gating MOSFET's are indicated in
Fig. 13. The forward voltage on the anode is essentially
blocked by the p wide base layer. In the reverse direction,
the device has low voltage-blocking capability that is limited
by the J3 junction.
If the gate of an MCT is negative with respect to anode, a
p-channel is induced in the p-FET that causes forward biasing to the npn transistor. The resulting electron flow from the
n+ layer forward biases the J , junction and the device
eventually goes into saturation by positive feedback effect.
The device turns on fast (typically 1.0 ps), and with a large
number of devices in parallel the & / d t is high (typically
800 A/ps). At conduction, the n and p- layers are heavily
saturated with minority carriers and the conduction drop is
slightly more than a volt. In spite of complex geometry, the
current density of an MCT is high compared to power
MOSFET, BJT, and IGBT and therefore needs a smaller die
area.
If the gate voltage is positive with respect to the anode, the
induced n-channel of an n-FET will short circuit the emitterbase junction of the pnp transistor. This will break the
positive feedback loop for thyristor operation and the device
will turn off. The turn-off occurs purely by recombination of
minority carriers in the n and p- layers with a typical storage
time of 0.6 ps and fall time of 1.5 ps. The recombinationtailing effect is carefully controlled by proton irradiation so
that the conduction drop remains small. The device has a

C'

Fig. 1 1 . Active power line conditioner using SITH [lo]

ANODE

_ON- FET
CHANNEL
_P (ON- FET
SOURCE)

OFF-FET DRAIN)

P(NPN BASE, ON-FET DRAIN)

P BUFFER

I
I

N+ SUBSTRATE

CATHODE

Fig. 12. Basic structure of MCT.

large SOA capability, and snubberless operation within the

constraint of T j may be permissible. Note that because the
n-FET is a very low voltage device, its on-channel resistance
is very small, and therefore emitter-base short circuiting
effect of the pnp transistor is very effective. The property is
important for successful operation of the device at high
temperature because of the increase of channel resistance.

BOSE: EVALUATION OF MODERN POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

TA

TABLE I
SUMMARY
COMPARISON
OF DEVICES
(ONLY TYPICAL PARAMETERS

-7v
N-FET

411

JA

(a)
Fig. 13. MCT equivalent circuit and device symbol: (a) Equivalent circuit;
(b) device symbol.

Although an MCT is a voltage-controlled device, the gate

circuit carries a short current pulse during turn-on and turn-off
because of charging and discharging of the FET capacitors.
However, unlike MOSFET, the input capacitances are fixed
because of the absence of Miller effects. With the off n-FET
normally on, the device is very insensitive to d u / d t (typically 5000 V/ps) and T j triggering. Although commercial
MCT is being rated for the Ti range of - 55 to + 150, it
has been successfully operated in higher temperature ranges.
Of course, at high temperature, the leakage current may be
excessive and the turn-off current capability will be reduced
(due to higher channel resistance of the off-FET). Moreover,
the device reliability may be adversely affected. MCTs can
be easily connected in series or parallel combination for
higher power requirement. The typical parameters of a 60-A
600-V device are given in Table I.
The MCT, although a brand new device, shows tremendous possibility for widespread applications that include dc
and ac motor drives, UPS systems, induction heating, dc-dc
converters, active power line conditioners, etc. Its superior
characteristics give evidence that it will challenge majority of
the present devices, such as thyristors, GTOs, BJTs,
IGBTs, and SITHs.

1. Voltage rating
(repetitive) (V)
2. Current rating (A)
3. No. of junctions in
forward path
4. Linear/trigger device
5. Voltage blocking
6. Voltage/current gating
7. Operating TJ (C)
8. Conduction drop (V,)
9. V, sensitivity with TJ

10. Tumoff current gain

11. Safe operating area
12. Reapplied d v l d f
(V/CS)
13. Tumon d i l d f (Alps)
14. Delay time f ,( p s )
15. Rise time 1, ( p s )
16. to, = t d t , ( p ~ )
17. Storage time ts ( p s )
18. Fall time f f (ps)
19. Tail time t, ( p s )
20. to, = t, t,
t,

+ +

(as)

The discussion on modem power semiconductor devices in

Section ILI will now be summarized. Although not included
in the comparison, readers should try to visualize this summary in the background of the other devices, i.e., thyristor,
triac, GTO, BJT, and power MOSFET. Obviously, SITH is
the largest power device and SIT is the highest frequency
device in the present state of technology. Table I summarizes
comparison of the devices where typical parameter values are
shown. It is almost impossible to make apple to apple
comparison because devices with compatible power ratings
are not simply available, and the criteria for characterization
may not be identical among the vendors. Besides, the devices, especially the MCT, are in the early stage of evolution
and may show significant changes several years from now.
The table highlights SIT as a very-high-frequency high-power
device, but it has the serious problem of a large conduction
drop. For this reason, it should be excluded from the majority of power electronics applications. SITH is the only cur-

SHOWN)

SIT

600

800
60 (dc)

50 (dc)
2
Linear
Asymmetric
Voltage
- 20 to 150
3 .O
Negative
(slightly positive)
at high current)
7j limited

0
Linear
Asymmetric
Voltage
- 50 to 150
70
Positive

2000
600
0.05
0.3
0.35
0.25
0.3
-

Very high
Very high

0.55

0.3

50
ac motor drives
UPS systems

70
Induction heating
Ultrasonic
generators

TJ limited
-

0.25

2 1. Switching frequency

p)

22. Applications

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
I.
8.

9.
OF MODERN
DEVICES
IV. COMPARISON

ARE

IGBT

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.

Static VAR and

Harmonic Compensators
Switching Mode Power
Supplies

AM/FM
Generators

SITH

MPT

1200
800 (peak)
1
Linear
Asymmetric
Current
-40 to 125
4.0
Negative
3
7j limited
2000
900
0.4
1.6
2.0
2.5
0.6
5.9
9.0
4.0
Induction heating
Static VAR
compensation

600

60 0)
3
Trigger
Asymmetric
Voltage
-55 to 150
1.1
Negative
TJ limited
5000
800
0.6
0.4
1.o
0.6
1.5
2.1
20
AC motor drives
UPS systems
Static VAR and

rent-controlled device with very poor turn-off current gain,

and is also slow compared to other devices. All devices
presently have asymmetric voltage-blocking capability. Although IGBT, SIT, and SITH have somewhat linear characteristics in the active region, only IGBT will pull into a high

412

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 28, NO. 2, MARCHfAPRIL 1992

dissipation active mode for fault condition, whereas the other

devices will remain saturated due to nearly vertical I-V
characteristics. Apparently, MCT shows the best combination of conduction drop, junction temperature, dv l d t , di / d t ,
and the switching speed is only next to SIT.

oped, are expected to heavily challenge all the devices

except power MOSFETs. It appears to be the most
dominating power device in the next generation power
electronics.
VI. CONCLUSION

V. CONVERTER
TRENDS
The recent evolution of power semiconductor technology is
already creating tremendous impact in the trend of modern
power converters, and this trend is expected to be very
dominant as new and improved devices appear in the market
and their prices continue to fall. In the 34-year history of
power semiconductors, the technological achievement in the
last decade has been especially spectacular. Based on the
present trends of power devices and converters, we can make
realistic visualization of certain future converter trends, summarized as follows:
Voltage-fed converters using force-commutated thyristors are already obsolete. Nobody should plan building
these now. This means that inverter-grade thyristors
have no future.
Most of the BJT converters are expected to gradually
yield to IGBT converters.
Power MOSFETs will remain as viable devices in
low-voltage low-power high-frequency applications.
Phase-controlled-type converters that now dominate
utility systems are expected to be gradually replaced by
PWM-type converters, and voltage-fed class appears to
be of maximum promise. This will ultimately include
large HVDC converters. More stringent power quality
standards on utility systems will discourage harmonics
and VAR loading by phase-controlled converters. As
high-frequency high-power devices become cheaper,
active power line conditioners will find favor principally in retrofit applications. The new converter systems will be designed with a PWM rectifier in the front
end, solving the power quality problems. Of course, in
low-power ranges, the front-end diode rectifier-boost
chopper method of power line conditioning will be
favored.
Phase-controlled cycloconverters are expected to be
gradually replaced by dual voltage-fed PWM converters. This includes the presently popular cycloconverterfed multimegawatt ac drives. The future of phase control thyristors which dominated so long in power electronics appears to be bleak.
Force-commutated current-fed inverters (such as autosequential inverters, four-legged neutral-commutated
inverters, etc .) are being rendered practically obsolete.
Single or dual GTO current-fed PWM converters are
their viable replacements. The load-commutated current-fed inverter for large wound-field synchronous machine drives will also be replaced by PWM-type converters (possibly with induction machine).
SIT will dominate in very-high-frequency high-power
applications where other devices cannot compete.
8) MCTs, when available commercially and well devel

The evolution of power semiconductor devices and their

general impact on modern power electronic converters was
discussed in the beginning of this paper. Then, a general
review of present generation power devices that includes the
thyristor, triac, GTO, BJT, power MOSFET, IGBT, SIT,
SITH, and MCT was given. Particularly, the last four devices (which are defined as modem devices) were highlighted
in the discussion. Although the IGBT is somewhat well
known, the latter three devices are practically unknown to the
power electronics community. It is the objective of this paper
to familiarize the readers with these modem devices in the
perspective of the other existing devices. Finally, the general
trend of power converters was outlined.
The paper will remain incomplete without some comments
about the next generation materials for power semiconductor
devices. Silicon material has enjoyed a monopoly over a long
period of time, and this will possibly remain so in the near
future. However, the new type of materials, such as gallium
arsenide, silicon carbide, and diamond, shows tremendous
promise in the future, in spite of processing difficulties.
These materials are superior to silicon in carrier speed, band
gap, and heat conduction properties. High-power highfrequency power MOSFET-like devices that can operate at
higher temperatures with a lower conduction drop will have a
far greater impact in future power electronics. In addition,
the superconductive power control device based oh the
Josephson effect also shows future promise. For this, it is
indispensable to develop a new concept device technology
such as three-terminal circuits with stress on the development
of high-temperature superconductive materials and high critical current density.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author acknowledges the help of S. Y . Sotoudeh, who
is a graduate student in electrical engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
REFERENCES
B. K. Bose, Power Electronics and AC Drives. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1986.
B. R. Pelly, Power semiconductor devices-A status summary, in
Proc. Int. Semiconductor Power Conv. Conf., 1982, pp. 1-19.
B. J. Baliga et al., The insulated gate transistor, a new three-terminal MOS-controlled bipolar power device, IEEE Trans. Electron
Devices, vol. ED-31, pp. 821-828, 1984.
V. A. K. Temple, MOS-controlled thyristors, in IEDM Proc.,
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J. Nishizawa, Application of the power static induction (SI) devices,
in Proc. Int. PCIM (Tokyo, Japan), 1988, pp. 1-12.
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thyristor, in Proc. PCI Cony., 1987, pp. 1-14.
Y. Nakamura et al., Very high speed static induction thyristor,
IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, vol. IA-22, pp. 1OOO- 1006,
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type voltage-controlled series resonant inverter for induction heating,

in Proc. 18th Ann. IEEE-PESC Conf., 1987, pp. 508-515.
[lo] M. Kohata et al., Compensator for harmonics and reactive power
using static induction thyristors, in Proc. ENE, 1987, pp.
1265-1270.
[I11 F. Goodenough, MOS-controlled thyristor turns off 1 MW in 2 p,
Electron. Des., pp. 57-66, Nov. 10, 1988.
[12] MCT workshop proceeding sponsored by GE CR&D, GE Solid State,
and PEACIEPRI, Nov. 30, 1988.
[13] V. A. K. Temple, Power device evolution and MOS-controlled
thyristor, in Proc. PCIM, Nov. 1987, pp. 23-29.
Search for the perfect switch, in Proc. PCIM, June 1988,
[I41 -,
pp. 324-335.
[I51 B. K. Bose, Power electronics-An emerging technology, in
Proc. IEEE-IECON, Oct. 1988, pp. 501-508.
[16] S. Young, High speed high voltage IC driver for HEXFET or IGBT
circuits, IR Application Note (AN-978), 1988.
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[18] B. J. Baliga et al., The insulated gate transistor, IEEE Trans.
Electron Devices, vol. ED-31, pp. 821-828, 1983.
[19] B. J. Baliga, Modern Power Devices. New York: Wiley, 1987.
[20] SIT Handbook, Tohoku Metal Ind., 1987.
[21] J. Nishizawa et al., Recent development of the power static induction transistors in Japan, in Proc. PCI87, 1987, pp. 118-132.
[22] H. Ogiwara et al., Development of SIT high frequency resonant
inverter for metal melting uses, in Proc. PCI87, 1987, pp.
146- 155.
[23] J. Nishizawa, New exploitation of the power semiconductor devices
in Japan-Power SITS and SI thyristors, in Proc. PCI87, 1987,
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[24] High Power Transistor (GTR modules), Toshiba Appl. Note NO.
1987-12-01, 1987.
[25] J. P. Russel et al., The COMFET-A new high conductance
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63-65, Mar. 1983.
[26] L. Reinehart, The use of MOSIGTs and MOSFETs in motor drive
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[27] SI Thyristor Appl. Note, Toyo Denki Seizo K. K., 1988.
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413

[36] B. K. Bose, Recent advances in power electronics, in Conf. Rec.

IEEEIIECON90, 1990, pp. 829-838.

Bimal K. Bose (S59-M6O-SM78-F89) received the B. E. degree from Calcutta University,

Calcutta, India, in 1956, the M.S. degree from the
University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1960, and
the Ph.D. degree from Calcutta University in 1966.
He was a Member of the Faculty at Calcutta
University (Bengal Engineering College), where he
was awarded the Premchand Roychand Scholarship
and the Mouat gold medal for outstanding research
contributions. In 1971, he joined Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, as a member of the
faculty in the Electrical Engineering Department, where he was responsible
for organizing the undergraduate and graduate programs in power electronics
for five years. He served as a consultant for several industries, which
included General Electric Research and Development Center, Bendix Corporation, Lutron Electronics, and PCI Ozone Corporation. From 1976 to 1987,
he was with General Electric Research and Development Center, Schenectady, NY. In 1987, he joined the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as
Professor of Electrical Engineering (Condra Chair of Excellence). He is also
working as Chief Scientist of the Power Electronic Application Center
(PEAC). His research interests are power converters, drive systems, and
microcomputer-based performance optimization of power electronics and
drives. He has published and presented over 90 papers and holds 16 U.S.
patents. He edited the IEEE books Adjustable Speed AC Drive Systems
(1981) and Microcomputer Control of Power Electronics and Drives
(1987), which were sponsored by the IEEE Industry Applications Society,
and contributed the article on ac drives in Systems and Control Encyclopedia (New York: Pergamon, 1987). He also wrote the book Power Electronics and Drives (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1986). Currently, an
IEEE Press Book on Modem Power Electronics is in progress, and It is
sponsored by the Industrial Electronics Society.
Dr. Bose was Chairman of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS
REVIEWof the Static
Power Converter Committee for eight years and is now Chairman of the
ON
same committee. He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS
INDUSTRIAL
ELECTRONICS
and is Power Electronics Committee Chairman of
the Industrial Electronics Society. He has served as a member on a number
of national and international professional committees, which include the
Power Electronics and Microcomputer Control Committees of the IEEE
Industrial Electronics Society, Scientific Committee of the International
Conference on Numerical Control of Electrical Machines, Program Committees of IEEE International Static Power Converter Conference, Tokyo
International Power Electronics Conference, and International Conference
on Microcomputer Control of Small Machines. He is a member of the
Editorial Board of the International Electrosoft Journal. He is listed in Whos
Who in Technology, International Whos Who in Engineering, Personalities
in America, Biography International, Directory of World Researchers, and
Leading Consultants in Technology. The Institute of Electronics and
Telecommunication Engineers, India, has established the Bimal Bose Award
in Power Electronics, which is awarded annually to an Indian engineer for
outstanding contributions to power electronics. He is a recipient of the GE
publication award and the silver patent medal.