BASIC ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS:

[1] A diode can be used as a frequency multiplier because of its

A. Non linearity
[2] Which of the following is not a common form of data transmission
A. Polarization modulation
[3] A very brief, high voltage spike on an ac power line is called as
A. A transient
[4] Which of the following is not characteristic of an oscillator?
A. Negative feedback
[5] The other name for beta of BJT is
A. Current amplification factor
[6] You can find the zener diode in
A. The voltage regulator in a power supply
[7] When the bias in an FET stops the flow of current, the condition is called
A. Pinch off
[8] The VA rating of a transformer is an expression of
A. The maximum frequency at which it can function
B. The type of core material it has
C. The voltage step-up or step-down ratio
D. The impedance transfer ratio
E. None of the above Ans: E
[9] In N-type semiconductor, the minority carriers are
A. Holes
[10] A disadvantage of a half wave rectifier is the fact that
A. The output waveform is harder to filter than is the case with a full wave rectifier
[11] A power gain of 30dB is equivalent to which amplification factor?
A. 1000

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS FROM POWER ELECTRONICS CIRCUITS

[1] Thermal runaway is not possible in FET because as the temperature of FET increases
A. The mobility decreases
[2] The ripple frequency from a full wave rectifier
A. twice that from a half wave circuit
B. the same as that from a half wave circuit
[3] In a full-wave rectifier using two ideal diodes,Vdc & Vm are the dc & peak values of
the voltage respectively across a resistive load. If PIV is the peak inverse voltage of the
diode,then the appropriate relationships for the rectifier is
A Vdc=2Vm/π,PIV=2Vm
B. Vdc=2Vm/π,PIV=2Vm

[4] The output of a rectifier circuit without filter is

A. pulsating DC

[5] An advantage of full wave bridge rectification is

A. it uses the whole transformer secondary for the entire ac input cycle
[6] The best rectifier circuit for the power supply designed to provide high power at low
voltage is
A. full wave, center tap arrangement
[7] If a half wave rectifier is used with 165Vpk AC input, the effective dc output voltage
is
A. considerably less than 165V
[8] If a full wave bridge circuit is used with a transformer whose secondary provides
50Vrms, the peak voltage that occurs across the diodes in the reverse direction is
approximately
A70 Vpk
[9] The main disadvantage of voltage doubler power supply circuit is
A. Poor regulation under heavy loads
[10] A source follower using an FET usually has a voltage gain which is
A. Greater than +100

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS FROM TRANSFORMERS:

[1] The ordinary two winding transformer's primary and secondary windings always have
A. a common magnetic circuit
[2] No load test on a transformer is carried out to find
A. . magnetising current and no load loss
[3] Transformers are rated in KVA instead of KW because
A. Total transformer loss depends on volt ampere
[4] Transformer cores are laminated in order to
A. minimise eddy current loss
[5] A step up transformer increases
A. voltage
[6] In a two winding transformer, the primary and secondary induced emf E1 & E2 are
always
A. in phase with each other
[7] In a transformer, the leakage flux of each winding is proportional to the current in
that winding because
A. Leakage paths do no saturate
[8] In a two winding transformer, the emf /turn in secondary winding is always......the
induced emf power turn in primary
A. equal
[9] In transformer terminology, the ratio 20:1 indicates that
A. secondary voltage is 1/20th of the primary
[10] In performing the short circuit test of a transformer
A. low voltage side is usually short circuited
OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS FROM TRANSFORMERS:
[1] The ordinary two winding transformer's primary and secondary windings always have
A. a common magnetic circuit
[2] No load test on a transformer is carried out to find
A. magnetising current and no load loss
[3] Transformers are rated in KVA instead of KW because
A. Total transformer loss depends on volt ampere
[4] Transformer cores are laminated in order to
A. minimise eddy current loss
[5] A step up transformer increases
A. voltage
[6] In a two winding transformer, the primary and secondary induced emf E1 & E2 are
always
A. in phase with each other
[7] In a transformer, the leakage flux of each winding is proportional to the current in
that winding because
A. Leakage paths do no saturate
OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS FROM OPAMP

[1] An ideal OP-AMP is an ideal

A. Current controlled Voltage source

[2] A 741-Type OP-AMP has a gain-band with product of 1MHz. A non-inverting

amplifier using this op amp & having a voltage gain of 20db will exhibit -3db bandwidth
of
A. 50KHz

[3] Which of the following amplifier is used in a digital to analog converter?

A. summer

[4] Differential amplifiers are used in

A. instrumentation amplifiers
[5] For an ideal op-amp, which of the following is true?
A. The current from output terminal is zero
[6] The two input terminals of an op amp are labeled as
A. Inverting and non inverting
[7] When a step-input is given to an op-amp integrator, the output will be
A. a ramp.
Power Electronics Interview Questions and Answers

Page:1

In this page, we had collected Various Power Electronics and Drives related
Interview questions, Viva Questions from various people mostly from India and
USA.
We are appending the new Q & A whenever we are getting from readers. Some
of the questions are asked to Experienced candidates based on their previous
experience. If it is not related to your field, just ignore it.
[Q] What is holding current in SCR?
It is the minimum current required to hold the SCR in forward conduction state.
When the forward current becomes less than holding current, SCR turns from
forward conduction state to forward blocking state.

[Q]What is latching current in SCR?

It is the minimum current required to latch(turn on) the SCR from forward blocking
state to forward conduction state.

[Q] What are the different turn on methods of SCR?

Forward voltage triggering
Gate Triggering
dv/dt triggering
Temperature triggering
Light triggering

[Q] What is snubber circuit?

The snubber circuit is used for the dv/dt protection of the SCR. It is a series
combination of a resistor and a capacitor in parallel with the SCR.

[Q] What is hard switching of the thyristor?

When gate current is several times higher than the required gate current, the
SCR is said to be hard fired.It reduces the turn on time. and enhances the di/dt
capability.

[Q] What is firing angle?

The angle between the zero crossing of the input voltage and the instant the SCR
is fired is called as delay angle or firing angle.
[Q] What is meant by commutation?
The process of changing the direction of current flow in a particular path of the
circuit. It is used to turn off the SCR.

[Q] What are the advantages of free wheeling diode in rectifier circuit?
The input power factor is improved.It prevents the output voltage from becoming
negative.Load current waveform is improved.

[Q] What is meant by cyclo-converter?

It is also known as frequency changer. It converts input power at one frequency
to output power at another frequency with one stage conversion.

[Q] What are the types of cyclo-converters?

Step up cyclo-converter
Step down cyclo-converter.

[Q] What is step up cyclo-converter?

It is the converter whose output frequency is less than the input frequency.

[Q] What is step down cyclo-converter ?

It is the converter whose output frequency is more than the input frequency.

[Q] What is AC voltage controller?

It is the one which converts fixed alternating voltage to a variable voltage without
change in frequency.

[Q] What is inverter?

A device which converts dc power into ac power at desired output voltage and
frequency is called as Inverter.

[Q] What are the types of inverter?

Voltage Source Inverter
Current Source Inverter

[Q] What is duty cycle?

It is the ratio of the on time of the chopper to total time period of the chopper.
D = Ton / [Ton + Toff]
[Q] Can fuses with an AC voltage rating be used in a DC applications?
Fuses must be rated for the voltage AC or DC in which they will be used.
Generally, fuses have a DC voltage rating that is half of the maximum AC voltage
rating.

[Q] Tell me some new advanced power semiconductor devices

Share your interview experiences...

[Q] What is chopper?

A dc Chopper is equivalent to the transformer in ac circuit. It is a static switch
used to get the variable dc voltage from a constant dc voltage.

[Q] What are the types of commutation?

Natural commutation
Forced commutation

[Q] What are the types of commutation with respect to commutation

process?
Voltage commutated chopper
Current commutated chopper
Load commutated chopper

[Q] What is natural commutation?

The process of the current flowing through the thyristor goes through a natural
zero and enable the thyristor to turn off is called as natural commutation.

[Q] What is forced commutation?

The process of the current flowing through the thyristor is forced to become zero
by external circuitry is called as forced commutation.

[Q] What is step down chopper?

In step down chopper, the average output voltage is less than the input supply
voltage. It is also known as Buck converter.
The average output voltage VO = D . VS

[Q] What is step up chopper?

In step up chopper, the average output voltage is more than the input supply
voltage. It is also known as Boost converter.
The average output voltage VO = VS / 1 - D

[Q] What is voltage commutation?

The process of a charged capacitor momentarily reverse biases the conducting
SCR and turns it off is called as voltage commutation.

[Q] What is current commutation?

The process of a current pulse is made to flow in the reverse direction through
the conducting SCR and thus made the net SCR current becomes zero,
consequently turn off the SCR is called as current commutation.

[Q] What are the advantages of current commuted chopper?

The advantages of current commutated chopper is;
1. Commutation is reliable as load current is less than the peak commutation
current
2. The auxiliary SCR is naturally commutated as its current passes through zero
value.
3. The capacitor always remains charged with the correct polarity.

[Q] What is load commutation?

In load commutation, the load current flowing through the thyristor either
becomes zero or is transferred to another device from the conducting SCR.

Share your interview experiences...

Power Semiconductor Devices:
[Q] Name some of the current controlled (current driven) devices...
SCR
GTO
GTR

[Q] Name some of the voltage driven ( Voltage controlled) devices

IGBT
MCT
IGCT
SIT
[Q] What is meant by pulse triggered devices?
To turn on these kind of devices single pulse of short duration is sufficient.
Continuous gate voltage of entire on time is not required. It will avoid the hard
triggering. Ex. Thyristor, GTO

[Q] What is meant by level-sensitive devices?

In order to maintain these kind of devices in on-state, we need to apply
continuous gate current/voltage. Some of the level sensitive devices are
MOSFET
IGBT
MCT
IGCT

[Q] What is meant by GTO?

It is a three terminal, four layer PNPN Power Semiconductor device that can be
turned on by a positive gate current and can be turned off by a reverse gate
current.

[Q] What are the types of GTO?

Asymmetrical GTO
Symmetrical GTO

[Q]What does 10V AC mean? Is it the RMS voltage or Peak voltage or

Average voltage?
In general, AC voltages and currents are mentioned in RMS values only. It is
sensible to compare with steady DC voltages and currents.
For example 230V AC supply means, 230Vrms AC Supply.

[Q] What does the Voltmeter in AC mode show? Is it RMS value or peak
value?
Multimeter in AC mode shows RMS value of the voltage or current. Also when it
is DC mode it will show the RMS value only.

[Q]What is the necessity to use the special machines?

General purpose motors (Induction motors, synchronous motors) are neither
precision speed nor precision position motors. For many automated systems
require high precise speed and high precise positioning motors. In such cases
special purpose motors like stepper motors, PMDC motors etc. are used.
[Q] What are the advantages of IGBT over BJT, MOSFET?
IGBT has

 Lower turn on and turn off times than BJT

 lower on state conduction losses than MOSFET

 Excellent safe operating area

[Q] What is meant by SOA?

SOA - Safe Operating Area determines the voltage and current boundary within
which the Power Device can be operated without destructive failure.

[Q] What are the main components used for isolating the Power Circuits,
Power Semiconductor from the low-power circuit?
Opto-Couplers
Transformers

Share your interview experiences...

IGBT Switching Characteristics

The Switching Characteristics of IGBT is explained in this post.

With the help of the above mentioned simplified circuit, we can understand the
turn-on and turn-off process of IGBT. It is recommended to know about Basics of
IGBT and Structure of IGBT before proceeding further
Introduction:-

IGCT is the newest member of the power semiconductor family (1997). It was
introduced by ABB.
It is a special type of GTO thyristor.

 Similar to GTO, it is a fully controllable power switch. ie, It can be

turned-On and turned-Off by applying a gate signal.It has lower
conduction losses as compared to GTO thyristors.

What is Zener Diode?

The characteristics of a regular

junction diode will show that it is designed primarily for operation in the forward
direction. Forward biasing will cause a large IF with a rather small value of VF.
Reverse biasing will generally not cause current conduction until higher values of
reverse voltage are reached. If VR is great enough, however, breakdown will
occur and cause a reverse current flow. Junctions diodes are usually damaged
when this occurs.

Special diodes like zener diodes are designed, manufactured to operate in the
reverse direction without being damaged.

Methods of Turning OFF SCR:

  It is recommended to know about SCR-Basics, Structure, Characteristics

before proceeding further.

 The process of turning OFF SCR is defined as "Commutation".

 In all commutation techniques, a reverse voltage is applied across the

thyristor during the turn OFF process.

 By turning OFF a thyristor we bring it from forward conducting to the

forward blocking mode.

 The condition to be satisfied in order to turn OFF an SCR

Methods of Turning OFF SCR:

 It is recommended to know about SCR-Basics, Structure, Characteristics

before proceeding further.

 The process of turning OFF SCR is defined as "Commutation".

 In all commutation techniques, a reverse voltage is applied across the

thyristor during the turn OFF process.

 By turning OFF a thyristor we bring it from forward conducting to the

forward blocking mode.

 The condition to be satisfied in order to turn OFF an SCR are:

i. IA < IH ( Anode current must be less than holding current)

ii. A reverse voltage is applied to SCR for sufficient time enabling it to
recover its blocking state.

 There are two methods by which a thyristor can be turned OFF.

i. Natural Commutation
ii. Forced Commutation

Natural Commutation:-

 In AC circuit, the current always passes through zero for every half
cycle.
  As the current passes through natural zero, a reverse Voltage will
simultaneously appear across the device.
 This will turn OFF the device immediately.

Role of Bleeder Resistors in Power Electronics Circuit:

 In high voltage DC power supply, capacitors are used to smooth out the

fluctuations in the output side.In AC to DC rectifiers, the DC link

capacitors are used to maintain the smooth DC waveform.
 These capacitors store an electric charge for a while. In some power

supplies, these filter capacitors hold the full output voltage of the supply,
like 600V even after the supply has been turned off.

Fuse Terminology:

Fuse:
An overcurrent protective device having fusible link that opens the circuit on an
overcurrent condition.
Fast Acting Fuse:
A fuse which opens on overload and short circuits very quickly.

Cartidge Fuse:
A fuse consisting of a current responsive element inside a fuse tube with
terminals on both end of the fuse.
Dual Element Fuse:
It is the fuse with a special design that will utilize two individual elements in series
inside the fuse tube. One element, the spring actuated trigger assembly, operates
on overloads up to 5-6 times the fuse current rating. The other element, the short-
circuit section operates on short circuits up to their interruption rating.
High speed fuses:
These are the fuses with no intentional time delay in the over load range and
designed to open as fast as possible in the short circuits. It is mostly used to
protect solid state devices.
Time Delay Fuse:
A fuse with a built-in delay that allows temporary and harmless inrush currents to
pass without opening, but is so designed to open on sustained overloads and
short circuits.
Arcing Time:
The amount of time from the instant the fuse link has melted until the overcurrent
is interrupted. ie cleared.
Melting Time:
The time required to melt the fuse link during a specified over current.
Clearing Time:
The total time between the beginning of the overcurrent and the final opening of
the circuit at rated voltage by fuse. It is the sum of melting time and arcing time.

UPS - Introduction:

The Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is used in applications where loss of the
mains supply could be disastrous, as in the case of hospital operating theatres or
intensive care units, computer installations, production systems, alarms and
signalling equipment.

UPS: Courtesy sanyo-denki

The UPS can be on-line or off-line. Both systems use a dc link inverter with a
battery bank and trickle-charger.

Off-line UPS:
  In the case of the off-line system, in normal operation power is supplied

directly from ac mains.

 In the event of mains failure, a transfer switch disconnects the power line

and connects the inverter to the load.

 When the mains power is restored, the load is reconnected to the power

line.

On-line UPS:

 In the case of on-line systems, the rectifier-inverter combination supplies

the load power from the ac mains during normal operation.

 In the event of mains failure, the battery automatically supplies the dc link

to the inverter and there is no time delay involved.

 When the rectifier-inverter system fail, the load could be transferred to ac

mains using a transfer switch.

TRIAC:

TRIAC = TRIode for Alternating Current

The TRIAC is a five layer, three terminal Power semiconductor device which has
a pair of phase controlled SCRs connected in inverse parallel manner on the
same chip. It is a bidirectional device, means it can conduct current in both the
directions.
Symbol & Structure:

 Remember that Thyristor looks like two PNP transistor connected in a

back to back manner.

 But it is clear from the structure that physically the triac does not comprise

two thyristors connected in parallel.

 It only functions as two inverse parallel connected thyristors on alternating

current.
 The triac is not designed for work on DC and unlike a pair of inverse

parallel connected thyristors, does not operate very stably on DC

Operation:
This three terminal device can be triggered into conduction in both positive
and negative half cycles of supply voltage by applying gate trigger pulses.

In mode-I, the terminal T2 is positive and

the device is switched on by positive gate current pulse.
In mode-II, the terminal T1 is positive and it is switched on by negative gate
current pulse.
A triac is more economical than a pair of SCRs in anti parallel and its control is
simpler.

Disadvantages of Triac:

 Well designed RC snubber is required for protection.

 The reapplied dv/dt rating is lower, so it is difficult to use with inductive

load.
 The gate current sensitivity is poorer.

 The turn off time is longer due to the minority carrier storage effect.

Applications of Triac:

 Light dimming

 Heating control

 Appliance type motor drives

 Solid state relays with typically 50/60Hz supply frequency

What is GTO? How does GTO work?

The Gate turn off thyristor (GTO) is a four layer PNPN power
semiconductor switching device that can be turned on by a short pulse of gate
current and can be turned off by a reverse gate pulse.

 This reverse gate current amplitude is dependent on the anode current to

be turned off.
 There is no need for an external commutation circuit to turn it off.
  The device is turned on by a positive gate current and it is turned off by a

negative gate cathode voltage.

GTO symbol :

As shown the Symbol has three terminals namely Anode(A), Cathode(K) and
Gate(G).
The two-way arrow convention on the gate lead distinguishes the GTO from the
conventional thyristor.

GTOs are of two types 1-Asymmetrical 2-Symmetrical

Asymmetrical GTO:

 The Asymmetrical type GTOs are the most common type on the market.

 This type of GTOs are normally used with a anti-parallel diode.

 They do not have high reverse blocking capability.

 They are used in Voltage Fed Converters.

Symmetrical GTO:

 The symmetrical type GTOs have an equal forward and reverse blocking

capability.
 They are used in Current Fed Converters.

 The Turn Off Current Gain of a GTO is defined as the ratio of anode

current prior to turn off to the negative gate current required for turn off.
It is typically very low (4 or 5).
  It means a 6000A rating GTO requires 1500A gate current pulse.

However, the gate pulse duration and the power loss due to the gate
pulse is small. It can be supplied by low voltage power MOSFETs.
 This gate turn off capability is advantageous because it provides

increased flexibility in circuit application. Now it becomes possible to

control power in DC circuits without use of elaborated commutation
circuitry.
 Applications of GTO:
They are used in motor drives, static VAR compensators (SVCs) and
AC/DC power supplies with high power ratings.

What are the advantages of GTO?

The prime design goal of GTO devices are to achieve fast turn off time
and high current turn off capability and to enhance the safe operating area during
turn off. The GTO's turn off occurs by removal of excess holes in the cathode
base region by reversing the current through the gate terminal. Compare to BJT
the GTO has the following advantages:

 High blocking voltage capabilities

 High over current capabilities

 exhibits low gate currents

 fast and efficient turn off

 better static and dynamic dv/dt capabilities

Introduction:

The Conventional planar MOSFET has the restriction of handling the high power.
In high power applications, the Double-diffused vertical MOSFET or VMOS is
used which is simply known as Power MOSFET.

What is Power MOSFET?

The Power MOSFET is the three terminal (Gate, Drain and Source), four layer
(n+pn-n+),Unipolar ( only majority carriers in conduction) semiconductor device.

 The MOSFET is a majority carrier device, and as the majority carriers

have no recombination delays, the MOSFET achieves extremely high

bandwidths and switching times.
 The gate is electrically isolated from the source, and while this provides

the MOSFET with its high input impedance, it also forms a good
capacitor.
 MOSFETs do not have secondary breakdown area, their drain to source

resistance has a positive temperature coefficient, so they tend to be self

protective.
 It has very low ON resistance and no junction voltage drop when forward

biased. These features make MOSFET an extremely attractive power

supply switching device.

Symbol:
The symbol for n-channel MOSFET is given below. The direction of the arrow on
the lead that goes to the body region indicates the direction of current flow. As
this is the symbol for n channel MOSFET, the arrow is inwards. For p-channel
MOSFET, the arrow will be towards outside.

Structure:

 The Power MOSFET has a vertically oriented four layer structure of

alternating P and N type(n+pn-n+) layers.

 The P type middle layer is called as body of MOSFET. In this region , the

channel is formed between source and drain.

 The n- layer is called as drift region,which determines the breakdown

voltage of the device. This n- region is present only in Power MOSFETs

not in signal level MOSFET.
 The gate terminal is isolated from body by silicon dioxide layer.

 When the positive gate voltage is applied with respect to source, the n-

type channel is formed between source to drain.

  As shown in the figure, there is a parasitic npn BJT between source and

drain.
 To avoid this BJT turns on, the p-type body region is shorted to source

region by overlapping the source metallization on to the p type body.

 The result is a parasitic diode which is formed between drain to source

terminals. This integral diode plays an important role in half and full
bridge converter circuits.

Characteristics:
The VI characteristics of n-channel enhancement mode MOSFET.

Know More about MOSFET

Safe Operating Area -SOA of Power MOSFET

Methods of Turning OFF SCR:

  It is recommended to know about SCR-Basics, Structure, Characteristics

before proceeding further.

 The process of turning OFF SCR is defined as "Commutation".

 In all commutation techniques, a reverse voltage is applied across the

thyristor during the turn OFF process.

 By turning OFF a thyristor we bring it from forward conducting to the

forward blocking mode.

 The condition to be satisfied in order to turn OFF an SCR are:

i. IA < IH ( Anode current must be less than holding current)

ii. A reverse voltage is applied to SCR for sufficient time enabling it to
recover its blocking state.

 There are two methods by which a thyristor can be turned OFF.

i. Natural Commutation
ii. Forced Commutation

Natural Commutation:-

 In AC circuit, the current always passes through zero for every half
cycle.
 As the current passes through natural zero, a reverse Voltage will
simultaneously appear across the device.
 This will turn OFF the device immediately.

Introduction: Diode is a two terminal P-N junction semiconductor device, with

terminals anode (A) and cathode (C).
Symbol: The symbol of the Power diode is same as signal level diode.

If terminal A experiences a higher potential compared to terminal K, the device is

said to be forward biased and a forward current will flow from anode to cathode.
This causes a small voltage drop across the device (<1V) called as forward
voltage drop(Vf), which under ideal conditions is usually ignored.
By contrast, when a diode is reverse biased, it does not conduct and the diode
then experiences a small current flowing in the reverse direction called the
leakage current. It is shown below in the VI characteristics of the diode.

is different from the low power signal diode.The Structure of Power Diode

Power Diode Characteristics:

The reverse recovery characteristics of the Power diode is shown in the following
figure. From the figure, we can understand the turn off characteristic of the diode.
The Reverse recovery time tRR is the time interval between the application of
reverse voltage and the reverse current dropped to 0.25 of I RR.
Parameter ta is the interval
between the zero crossing of the diode current to it reaches IRR. Parameter tb is
the time interval from the maximum reverse recovery current to 0:25 of IRR .

The lower trr means fast diode switching.

The ratio of the two parameters ta and tb is known as the softness factor SF.

Datasheet Parameters:
For power diodes, a data sheet will give two voltage ratings. One is the repetitive
peak inverse voltage (VRRM) and the other is the non repetitive peak inverse
voltage.
The non repetitive voltage (VRM) is the diode’s capability to block a reverse voltage
that may occur occasionally due to over voltage surge.
The data sheet of a diode normally specifies three different current ratings. They
are: (1) Average current; (2) RMS current; and (3) Peak current. A design
engineer must ensure that each of these values are never exceeded.

Diode Selection: A power diode is chosen primarily based on forward current (IF
) and the peak inverse (VRRM) voltage.

Diode Protection: Snubber circuits are essential for diodes used in switching
circuits. It can save a diode from overvoltage spikes, which may arise during the
reverse recovery process. A very common snubber circuit for a power diode
consists of a capacitor and a resistor connected in parallel with the diode as
shown

Power Diode Applications:

As a rectifier Diode
For Voltage Clamping
As a Voltage Multiplier
As a freewheeling Diode

Types of Power Diode:

Schottky diodes: These diodes are used where a low forward voltage drop
(usually 0.3V) is needed in low output voltage circuits. These diodes are limited in
their blocking voltage capabilities to 50 – 100V.

Fast Recovery diodes: These are used in high frequency circuits in combination
with controllable switches where a small reverse recovery time is needed. At
power levels of several hundred volts and several hundred amperes, these
diodes have trr ratings of less than a few microsecond.

Line - frequency diodes: The on state voltage of these diodes is designed to be

as low as possible and as a consequence have larger trr, which are acceptable for
line frequency applications. These diodes are available with blocking voltage
ratings of several kilovolts and current ratings of several kilo amperes. Moreover,
they can be connected in series and parallel to satisfy any voltage and current
requirement.

Introduction:
Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) is a three terminal, three layer, two junction
semiconductor device. Emitter(E), Base(B) and Collector(C) are the three
terminals of the device.
Note:
(1) This page discuss about the Power BJT.
(2) Signal level Transistor configurations, operation, characteristics are not the
scope of this page.

Symbol: The symbol of the Power BJT is same as signal level transistor.
Structure:
The construction of the Power Transistor is different from the signal transistor as
shown in the following figure. The n- layer is added in the power BJT which is
known as drift region.

 A Power BJT has a four layer structure of alternating P and N type doping

as shown in above npn transistor.

 It has three terminals labeled as Collector, Base, Emitter.

 In most of Power Electronic applications, the Power Transistor works in

Common Emitter configuration.

 ie, Base is the input terminal, the Collector is the output terminal and the

Emitter is common between input and output.

 In power switches npn transistors are most widely used than pnp

transistors.
 The characteristics of the device is determined by the doping level in each

of the layers and the thickness of the layers.

  The thickness of the dirft region determines the breakdown voltage of the

Power transistor.

VI Characteristics:

 The VI characteristics of the Power BJT is different from signal level

transistor.
 The major differences are Quasi saturation region & secondary

breakdown region.
 The Quasi saturation region is available only in Power transistor

characteristic not in signal transistors. It is because of the lightly doped

collector drift region present in Power BJT.
 The primary breakdown is similar to the signal transistor's avalanche

breakdown.
 Operation of device at primary and secondary breakdown regions should

be avoided as it will lead to the catastrophic failure of the device.

What is IGBT?:

 IGBT is a three terminal power semiconductor switch used to control the

electrical energy.
 Both Power BJT and Power MOSFET have their own advantages and

disadvantages.
 BJTs have lower conduction losses in on state condition, but have longer

turn off time.

 MOSFETs have higher on state conduction losses and have lower turn on

and turn off times.

 The combination of BJT and MOSFET monolithically leads to a new

device called Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor.

 The other names of this device are GEMFET (Conductivity Modulated

FET), COMFET (Conductivity Modulated Field Effect Transistor), IGT

(Insulated Gate Transistor), bipolar mode MOSFET, bipolar MOS
Transistor.
 It has superior on-state characteristics, good switching speed and

excellent safe operating area.

Symbol:

 The symbol of IGBT is shown below. As shown, it has three terminals

namely Emitter, Collector and Gate.

  There is a disagreement in the engineering community over the proper

symbol and nomenclature of the IGBT symbol.

 Some prefer to consider the IGBT as basically a BJT with a MOSFET gate

input and thus to use the modified BJT symbol for the IGBT as shown
above.
 Some prefer to consider drain and source rather than collector and emitter

as shown below.

Read Further:
Structure of IGBT
V-I Characteristics:

 The V-I characteristics curves are drawn for different values of VGE.

 When VGE > VGE(threshold) the IGBT turns-On.

 By keeping VGE constant, the value of VCE is varied and corresponding

values of IC is noted down.

 As shown, the V-I characteristics of IGBT is similar to BJT

Transfer Characteristics:
  The transfer characteristics of IGBT and MOSFET are similar.

 The IGBT is in the Off-state if the gate-emitter potential(VGE) is below the

threshold voltage(VGE(threshold)).
 For gate voltages greater than the threshold voltage, the transfer curve is

linear.
 The maximum drain current is limit by the maximum gate-emitter voltage.

Summary
The main advantages of the IGBT are:

 Good Power handling capabilities

 Low forward conduction voltage drop of 2V to 3V, which is higher than for

a BJT but lower than for a MOSFET of similar rating.

This voltage will increase with the temperature. This property makes

Methods of Turning OFF SCR:

 It is recommended to know about SCR-Basics, Structure, Characteristics

before proceeding further.

 The process of turning OFF SCR is defined as "Commutation".

 In all commutation techniques, a reverse voltage is applied across the

thyristor during the turn OFF process.

 By turning OFF a thyristor we bring it from forward conducting to the

forward blocking mode.

 The condition to be satisfied in order to turn OFF an SCR are:
 i. IA < IH ( Anode current must be less than holding current)
ii. A reverse voltage is applied to SCR for sufficient time enabling it to
recover its blocking state.

 There are two methods by which a thyristor can be turned OFF.

i. Natural Commutation
ii. Forced Commutation

Natural Commutation:-

 In AC circuit, the current always passes through zero for every half
cycle.
 As the current passes through natural zero, a reverse Voltage will
simultaneously appear across the device.
 This will turn OFF the device immediately.

Triggering (Turn on) Methods of Thyristor:

Triggering:-
The turning on Process of the SCR is known as Triggering. In other words,
turning the SCR from Forward-Blocking state to Forward-Conduction state is
known as Triggering.The various methods of SCR triggering are discussed here.

It is recommended to read The Basics, Structure and VI characteristics of Power

Thyristor before proceeding further.

The various SCR triggering methods are

 Forward Voltage Triggering

 Thermal or Temperature Triggering

  Radiation or Light triggering

 dv/dt Triggering

 Gate Triggering

(a) Forward Voltage Triggering:-

 In this mode, an additional forward voltage is applied between anode and

cathode.
 When the anode terminal is positive with respect to cathode(V AK) , Junction

J1 and J3 is forward biased and junction J2 is reverse biased.

 No current flows due to depletion region in J2 is reverse biased (except

leakage current).
 As VAK is further increased, at a voltage VBO (Forward Break Over Voltage)

the junction J2 undergoes avalanche breakdown and so a current flows

and the device tends to turn ON(even when gate is open)

(b) Thermal (or) Temperature Triggering:-

 The width of depletion layer of SCR decreases with increase in junction

temperature.
 Therefore in SCR when VAR is very near its breakdown voltage, the device

is triggered by increasing the junction temperature.

 By increasing the junction temperature the reverse biased junction

collapses thus the device starts to conduct.

(c) Radiation Triggering (or) Light Triggering:-

 For light triggered SCRs a special terminal niche is made inside the
inner P layer instead of gate terminal.
 When light is allowed to strike this terminal, free charge carriers are
generated.
  When intensity of light becomes more than a normal value, the thyristor

starts conducting.
 This type of SCRs are called as LASCR

(d) dv/dt Triggering:-

 When the device is forward biased, J1 and J3 are forward biased, J2 is

reverse biased.
 Junction J2 behaves as a capacitor, due to the charges existing across

the junction.
 If voltage across the device is V, the charge by Q and capacitance by C

then,
ic = dQ/dt
Q = CV
ic = d(CV) / dt
= C. dV/dt + V. dC/dt
as dC/dt = 0
ic = C.dV/dt
 Therefore when the rate of change of voltage across the device becomes

large, the device may turn ON, even if the voltage across the device is
small.

(e) Gate Triggering:-

 Applying a positive voltage between gate and cathode can Turn ON a

forward biased thyristor.

 When a positive voltage is applied at the gate terminal, charge carriers are

injected in the inner P-layer, thereby reducing the depletion layer

thickness.
  As the applied voltage increases, the carrier injection increases, therefore

the voltage at which forward break-over occurs

decreases.
 Three types of signals are used for gate triggering.

1. DC gate triggering:-

 A DC voltage of proper polarity is applied between gate and cathode (

Gate terminal is positive with respect to Cathode).

 When applied voltage is sufficient to produce the required gate Current,

the device starts conducting.

 One drawback of this scheme is that both power and control circuits are

DC and there is no isolation between the two.

 Another disadvantages is that a continuous DC signal has to be applied.

So gate power loss is high.

2. AC Gate Triggering:-

 Here AC source is used for gate signals.

 This scheme provides proper isolation between power and control circuit.
  Drawback of this scheme is that a separate transformer is required to step

down ac supply.

3. Pulse Gate Triggering:-

 In this method the gate drive consists of a single pulse appearing

periodically (or) a sequence of high frequency pulses.

 This is known as carrier frequency gating.

 A pulse transformer is used for isolation.

 The main advantage is that there is no need of applying continuous

signals, so the gate losses are reduced.

Thyristor Protection:-

 For reliable operation of SCR, it should be operated within the specific

ratings.
 SCRs are very delicate devices and so they must be protected against

abnormal operating conditions. Various protection of SCR are

A. di/dt Protection
B. dv/dt Protection
C. Over voltage Protection
D. Over Current Protection

It is recommended to read Thyristor- Basics to understand various Protections of

Thyristor.

di/dt Protection:-

 di/dt is the rate of change of current in a device.

 When SCR is forward biased and is turned ON by the gate signal, the

anode current flows.

  The anode current requires some time to spread inside the device.

(Spreading of charge carriers)

 But if the rate of rise of anode current(di/dt) is greater than the spread

velocity of charge carriers then local hot spots is created near the gate
due to increased current density. This localised heating may damage the
device.
 Local spot heating is avoided by ensuring that the conduction spreads to

the whole area very rapidly. (OR) The di/dt value must be maintained
below a threshold (limiting) value.
 This is done by means of connecting an inductor in series with the

thyristor.

 The inductance L opposes the high di/dt variations.

 When the current variation is high, the inductor smooths it and protects the

SCR from damage. (Though di/dt variation is high, the inductor 'L'
smooths it because it takes some time to charge). L ≥ [Vs / (di/dt)]

dv/dt Protection:-

 dv/dt is the rate of charge of voltage in SCR.

 We know that iC=C.dv/dt. ie, when dv/dt is high, iC is high.

 This high current(iC) may turn ON SCR even when gate current is zero.

This is called as dv/dt turn ON or false turn ON of SCR.

 To protect the thyristor against false turn ON or against high dv/dt a

"Snubber Circuit" is used.

SNUBBER CIRCUIT:-

 The snubber Circuit is a series combination of resistor 'R' and capacitor

'C'.
 They are connected across the thyristor to be protected.

 The capacitor 'C' is used to limit the dv/dt across the SCR.

 The resistor 'R' is used to limit high discharging current through the SCR.

 When switch S is closed, the capacitor 'C' behaves as a short-circuit.

 Therefore voltage across SCR is zero.

 As time increases, voltage across 'C' increases at a slow rate.

 Therefore dv/dt across 'C' and SCR is less than maximum dv/dt rating of

the device.
 The capacitor charges to full voltage Vs; after which the gate is triggered,

and SCR is turned ON and high current flows through SCR.

 As di/dt is high, it may damage the SCR.To avoid this, the resistor R in

series with 'C' will limit the magnitude of di/dt.

 The technique of 'snubbing' can apply to any switching circuit, not only to

thyristor/triac circuits.
 The rate of rise of turn-off voltage is determined by the time constant

RLC. Where RL is the circuit minimum load resistance, for instance the
cold resistance of a heater or lamp, the winding resistance of a motor or
the primary resistance of a transformer.

Overvoltage Protection:-
  Overvoltage may result in false turn ON of the device (or) damage the

device.
 SCR is subjected to internal and external over voltage.

Internal Overvoltage:

 The reverse recovery current of the SCR decays at a very fast rate. ie,

high di/dt.
 So a voltage surge is produced whose magnitude is L(di/dt).

External Overvoltage:

 These are caused by the interruption of current flow in the inductive circuit

and also due to lightning strokes on the lines feeding the SCR systems.
 The effect of overvoltage is reduced by using Snubber circuits and Non-

Linear Resistors called Voltage Clamping Devices.

Voltage Clamping Device:

 It is a non-linear resistor called as VARISTOR (VARIable resiSTOR)

connected across the SCR.

 The resistance of varistor will decrease with increase in voltage.

 During normal operation, varistor has high Resistance and draws only

small leakage current.

 When high voltage appears, it operates in low resistance region and the

surge energy is dissipated across the resistance by producing a virtual

short-circuit across the SCR.

Over Current Protection:

 In an SCR due to over-current, the junction temperature exceeds the rated

value and the device gets damaged.

 Over-current is interrupted by conventional fuses and circuit breakers.
  The fault current must be interrupted before the SCR gets damaged and

only the faulty branches of the network should be isolated.

 Circuit breaker has long tripping time. So it is used for protecting SCR

against continuous over loads (or) against surge currents of long

duration.
 Fast acting current limiting fuse is used to protect SCR against large surge

currents of very short duration.

Electronic Crowbar Protection:

 SCR has high surge current ability.

 SCR is used in electronic crowbar circuit for overcurrent protection of

power converter.
 In this protection, an additional SCR is connected across the supply which

is known as 'Crowbar SCR'.

 Current sensing resistor detects the value of converter current.

 If it exceeds preset value, then gate trigger circuits turn ON the crowbar

SCR.
 So the input terminals are short-circuit by SCR and thus it bypass the

converter over current.

 After some time the main fuse interrupts the fault current.
Special Purpose Motors: An Introduction
Industrial Motors are used to convert electrical
energy to mechanical energy. They are neither precision speed nor precision
positioning devices. For many automated systems, precise speed and/or precise
positioning are required.
Normal Industrial Motors can not be used in these situations, in such cases
special purpose motors are used. The stepper motor is one of the special
purpose machine widely used in various automated systems.

Stepper Motor:
Stepper_Motors- Courtesy:NI

The stepper motor is also called as stepping motor or step motor. This motor
rotates through a fixed angular step in response to each input current pulse
received by its controller. So it is named as stepper motor.
It becomes very popular because of its major advantage that it can be controlled
directly by computers, microprocessors and programmable controllers.

 The stepper motors develop torques ranging from 1 µN-m upto 40 N-m in

a motor of 15 cm diameter suitable for machine tool applications. Their

power output ranges from about 1W to maximum of 2500W.
 The only moving part in a stepper motor is its rotor. The rotor has no

windings, commutator or brushes. Because of these feature the motor is

quite robust and reliable.

Step angle:
The angle through which the motor shaft rotates for each command pulse is
called the step angle. The relationship between steps per revolution and step
angle is given by the following formula:
Step angle = 360° / [No. of steps per revolution]
Smaller the step angle, greater the number of steps per revolution and higher the
resolution or accuracy of positioning obtained. The step angles can be as small
as 0.72° or as large as 90°. But the most common step sizes are 1.8°, 2.5°, 7.5°
and 15°.

Slewing:
Some stepping motor operates upto 20,000 steps per second. Still it remain fully
in synchronism with the command pulses. When the pulse rate is high, the shaft
rotation looks like continuous. Such an operation of stepper motor at high speed
is called 'slewing'.

Types:
1. Variable Reluctance Stepper Motor
2. Permanent Magnet Stepper Motor
3. Hybrid Stepper Motor

Applications:
 Stepper Motors are used in a variety of automation applications in which a

relatively small amount of torque is needed.

 Typical applications include rotary table control, wire-harness assembly,

laser or pen positioning, and office peripheral equipment control.

 These motors can be used for precise positioning, without the need for a

complicated position indicating feedback system.