Power Electronics Devices

ENG3022M
Lesson 1
Switching dissipation
Causes, determination and reduction
© D.T.W. Liang
Semester 1, Final Year

Ideal switch

Switch should have the following properties:

1. Zero switching time
2. Zero voltage drop when turn on
3. Block infinite bi-directional voltage when turn
off
4. Conduct infinite current when turn on
5. Zero current when turn off
 Ideal switch
Cannot be realised due to the following reasons:
1. Transfer of charges (holes and electronics)
during switching instants require finite time
2. Resistive components across silicon constitutes
resistive voltage drop
3. Dielectric breakdown when subjected to voltage
beyond the maximum breakdown voltage for the
device

Ideal switch
Cannot be realised due to the following reasons:
4. Thermal overheating will destroy the device,
especially the wire linking the silicon from the
bond pad to the external pin
5. Leakage current at cut-off state, though it is
negligible in most cases
 TYPICAL SWITCHING WAVEFORM
toff Vbus ton
Iload Iload

t t
SWITCH OFF SWITCH ON

Vbus I max toff

Woff  [J]
6
Vbus I max ton
Woff  [J]
6
Therefore, total switching dissipation = (Won + Woff )  fs [W]
Vbus I max
Maximum power =
4

RL load: Simplified Waveform p. 5 SHL

Vbus
Imax

toff ton

Vbus I max toff

W off  2
[J]

V I t
W  bus max on
on
[J]
2
Vbus I max
Maximum power =
4
 Comparison between R and RL
loads
R load RL load

Switching Vbus I load (ton + toff ) f Vbus I load (ton + toff ) f

Loss 6 2
Peak 0.25 Vbus Iload Vbus Iload
power

Inherent Voltage spike in RL load - as a result of switching

At turn off, the switch cuts the inductive load current at a

certain di/dt rate, resulting in
di
Vspike = L
dt
Energy absorbed by the switch = energy stored in L
= 0.5 L Iload2
To limit di/dt,
1. Add free-wheeling diode in parallel with load L
[expensive option]
2. Add RC snubber to overdamp v L R
R - to absorb the transfer energy
C
 Example 1: Calculate the switching energy loss during turn-on
and turn-off periods as shown. Calculate the average power
loss if the switching frequency is 10 kHz. What is the max.
instantaneous power dissipated?
V
200
I 100
100 100 100
50

toff = 5s ton = 2 s

Turn-off Aid : C inserted to delay rate of rise of v

P 9-11 SHL
Vbus I V
RL Vbus
I off  4 RL C
V C off
D IC k= 1
OFF toff toff
off
ON C
Note: R
1. RCD - to dissipate capacitor charged energy when switch
is switched back on
2. Power rating of R = (0.5 C Vbus2) f
3. Minimum switch on-time = 4 RC (to ensure capacitor
has completely discharged)
4. Ic (max)  20% Imax(diode)
 Example 2: A power switch has a turn-off time of 0.5 s when
switching a 20A load on a 200 V d.c. rail. Design an RCD
switching aid if the desired action is as shown in Fig 1. The
maximum switching frequency is 2 kHz, and the on-time duty
cycle varies between 4% and 96%. 200V
i V L 20A o
a
20A 200V d
t(s) i
0.5 1 V R
iC iC C

Turn-off lose with aid

Total loss (for k>1):
1 V Io t fi  τ 1VI t  1VI t
Woff  WC     o fi   k   o fi
6(2k - 1) 2  t fi 2  2  2 2
 2 1
k k VI t
WC  Woff   3  o fi
 k  2
1
 
 2 
Total loss (for k<1):
VS Io t fi  4 k 2   k2  V I t
Woff  WC    S o fi
1  k  
2  3 2 2 2
VS Io t fi  4 2
WC  Woff  1  k  k
2  3 
To determine optimum C for minimum total loss:
Set dWtotal/dk = 0 and solve for k

2 I o t fi
Optimum C 
9 VS

Optimal
C
p. 161 BWW
Example 3: A power switch with a 10% to 90% on-state
duty cycle controls a 20 A, 600V d.c. inductive load at 10
kHz. A load free-wheeling diode is incorporated in parallel .
i. Calculate the maximum incidental dissipation losses if
voltage and current fall times (tfv , tfi ) are each 1s
respectively and the on-state volt-drop, Von-state = 1V.
ii. Design a RCD turn-off switching aid such that it
completes its function in 2s (i.e. 1s after the current
has completed its switching action). Specify all
associated power and voltage ratings for the resistive
and capacitive components.

Tutorial 4: A MOSFET power switch with a 5% to 95% duty-

cycle controls a 100A, 600V inductive load at 2.5 kHz.
A free-wheeling diode is connected in parallel with the load
to ensure constant load current. For the switch with the
following specification, show that a turn-off protection
snubber is needed for the safe operation of the switch:
VDS(max) = 800V, IDM = 150A, dVDS/dt < 800V/s, ton = 0.3 s,
toff = 0.7 s
Hence, design a suitable turn-off RCD snubber which can
provide a safety factor of 2 for dVDS/dt.
Tutorial 5: A circuit designer has to decide which of the following two
devices is suitable for his chosen application described as follows:
Supply voltage 400 V d.c. rail
Maximum load current 8A
Duty Cycle 50%
Switching frequency 20 kHz
Typical rise/fall time 100 ns
Maximum junction temp. 150°C
Typical Casing temp. 110ºC
Typical ambient temp.40 ºC
Device available : 1. MOSFET -IRFP450 2. IGBT - IRGP430U
i. Using the data sheets provided, calculated the conduction loss for
each of the two devices. Show which figures you have consulted
to come up with your answers
ii. Determine the switching losses for each of the two devices. Also
determine the total incidental dissipation for each device, neglect
other minor losses.
In view of the results calculated, which device would you recommend
for this particular application. Justify your answer.

Tutorial: A circuit designer has to decide which of the following two

devices is suitable for his chosen application described as follows:
Supply voltage 400 V d.c. rail
Maximum load current 8A
Duty Cycle 50%
Switching frequency 20 kHz
Typical rise/fall time 100 ns
Maximum junction temp. 150°C
Typical Casing temp. 110ºC
Typical ambient temp.40 ºC
Device available : 1. MOSFET -IRFP460 2. IGBT - IRGP440UD2
i. Using the data sheets provided, calculated the conduction loss for
each of the two devices. Show which figures you have consulted
to come up with your answers
ii. Determine the switching losses for each of the two devices. Also
determine the total incidental dissipation for each device, neglect
other minor losses.
In view of the results calculated, which device would you recommend
for this particular application. Justify your answer.
Losses (W)
40
30
20 Switching
Switching
10 Conduction
Conductio
MOSFET n IGBT

Fig. 1: Power losses in IRFP460 MOSFET and

a IRGPC440UD2 IGBT at 8.0A @ 20 kHz