Introduction To Power MOSFETs And Their Applications AN 0558

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INTRODUCTION
The high voltage power MOSFETs that are available today
are N-channel, enhancement-mode, double diffused, MetalOxide-Silicon, Field Effect Transistors. They perform the
same function as NPN, bipolar junction transistors except
the former are voltage controlled in contrast to the current
controlled bi-polar devices. Today MOSFETs owe their
ever-increasing popularity to their high input impedance and
to the fact that being a majority carrier device, they do not
suffer from minority carrier storage time effects, thermal runaway, or second breakdown.
MOSFET OPERATION
An understanding of the operation of MOSFETs can best be
gleaned by first considering the later MOSFET shown in
Figure 1 .

National Semiconductor
Application Note 558
Ralph Locher
December 1988

With no electrical bias applied to the gate G, no current can
flow in either direction underneath the gate because there
will always be a blocking PN junction. When the gate is
forward biased with respect to the source S, as shown in
Figure 2 , the free hole carriers in the p-epitaxial layer are
repelled away from the gate area creating a channel, which
allows electrons to flow from the source to the drain. Note
that since the holes have been repelled from the gate channel, the electrons are the ‘‘majority carriers’’ by default. This
mode of operation is called ‘‘enhancement’’ but it is easier
to think of enhancement mode of operation as the device
being ‘‘normally off’’, i.e., the switch blocks current until it
receives a signal to turn on. The opposite is depletion mode,
which is a normally ‘‘on’’ device.

Introduction to Power MOSFETs and Their Applications

Introduction to Power
MOSFETs
and Their Applications

TL/G/10063 – 1

FIGURE 1. Lateral N-Channel MOSFET Cross-Section

AN-558

C1995 National Semiconductor Corporation

TL/G/10063

RRD-B30M115/Printed in U. S. A.

The advantages of the lateral MOSFET are:

The major disadvantages are:

1. Low gate signal power requirement. No gate current can
flow into the gate after the small gate oxide capacitance
has been charged.

1. High resistance channels. In normal operation, the
source is electrically connected to the substrate. With no
gate bias, the depletion region extends out from the N a
drain in a pseudo-hemispherical shape. The channel
length L cannot be made shorter than the minimum depletion width required to support the rated voltage of the
device.
2. Channel resistance may be decreased by creating wider
channels but this is costly since it uses up valuable silicon
real estate. It also slows down the switching speed of the
device by increasing its gate capacitance.
Enter vertical MOSFETs!
The high voltage MOSFET structure (also known as DMOS)
is shown in Figure 3 .

2. Fast switching speeds because electrons can start to
flow from drain to source as soon as the channel opens.
The channel depth is proportional to the gate volage and
pinches closed as soon as the gate voltage is removed,
so there is no storage time effect as occurs in bipolar
transistors.

TL/G/10063 – 2

FIGURE 2. Lateral MOSFET Transistor Biased for Forward Current Conduction

TL/G/10063 – 3

FIGURE 3. Vertical DMOS Cross-Sectional View

2

The current path is created by inverting the p-layer underneath the gate by the identical method in the lateral FETs.
Source current flows underneath this gate area and then
vertically through the drain, spreading out as it flows down.
A typical MOSFET consists of many thousands of N a
sources conducting in parallel. This vertical geometry
makes possible lower on-state resistances (RDS(on)) for the
same blocking voltage and faster switching than the lateral
FET.
There are many vertical construction designs possible, e.g.,
V-groove and U-groove, and many source geometries, e.g.,
squares, triangles, hexagons, etc. All commercially available
power MOSFETs with blocking voltages greater than 300V
are manufactured similarly to Figure 3 . The many considerations that determine the source geometry are RDS(on), input
capacitance, switching times and transconductance.

TL/G/10063 – 41

a. MOSFET Transistor Construction
Showing Location of the
Parasitic NPN Transistor

PARASITIC DIODE
Early versions of MOSFETs were very susceptible to voltage breakdown due to voltage transients and also had a
tendency to turn on under high rates of rise of drain-tosource voltage (dV/dt), both resulting in catastrophic failures. The dV/dt turn-on was due to the inherent parasitic
NPN transistor incorporated within the MOSFET, shown
schematically in Figure 4a . Current flow needed to charge
up junction capacitance CDG acts like base current to turn
on the parasitic NPN.
The parasitic NPN action is suppressed by shorting the N a
source to the P a body using the source metallization. This
now creates an inherent PN diode in anti-parallel to the
MOSFET transistor (see Figure 4b ). Because of its extensive junction area, the current ratings and thermal resistance of this diode are the same as the power MOSFET.
This parasitic diode does exhibit a very long reverse recovery time and large reverse recovery current due to the long
minority carrier lifetimes in the N-drain layer, which precludes the use of this diode except for very low frequency
applications, e.g., motor control circuit shown in Figure 5 .
However in high frequency applications, the parasitic diode
must be paralleled externally by an ultra-fast rectifier to ensure that the parasitic diode does not turn on. Allowing it to
turn on will substantially increase the device power dissipation due to the reverse recovery losses within the diode and
also leads to higher voltage transients due to the larger reverse recovery current.

TL/G/10063 – 42

b. Parastic Diode

CONTROLLING THE MOSFET
A major advantage of the power MOSFET is its very fast
switching speeds. The drain current is strictly proportional to
gate voltage so that the theoretically perfect device could
switch in 50 ps–200 ps, the time it takes the carriers to flow
from source to drain. Since the MOSFET is a majority carrier
device, a second reason why it can outperform the bipolar
junction transistor is that its turn-off is not delayed by minority carrier storage time in the base. A MOSFET begins to
turn off as soon as its gate voltage drops down to its threshold voltage.

TL/G/10063 – 43

c. Circuit Symbol
FIGURE 4

TL/G/10063 – 4

FIGURE 5. Full-Wave Motor Control Circuit

3

SWITCHING BEHAVIOR
Figure 6 illustrates a simplified model for the parasitic capacitances of a power MOSFET and switching voltage
waveforms with a resistive load.
There are several different phenomena occurring during
turn-on. Referring to the same figure:
Time interval t1 k t k t2:
The initial turn-on delay time td(on) is due to the length of
time it takes VGS to rise exponentially to the threshold voltage VGS(th). From Figure 6 , the time constant can be seen
to be RS x CGS. Typical turn-on delay times for the National
Semiconductor IRF330 are:
td(on) e RS c CGS c In (1 b VGS(th)/VPK)
For an assumed gate signal generator impedance of RS of
50X and CGS of 600 pF, td comes to 11 ns. Note that since
the signal source impedance appears in the td equation, it is
very important to pay attention to the test conditions used in
measuring switching times.
Physically one can only measure input capacitance Ciss,
which consists of CGS in parallel with CDG. Even though
CGS ll CDG, the latter capacitance undergoes a much
larger voltage excursion so its effect on switching time cannot be neglected.
Plots of Ciss, Crss and Coss for the National Semiconductor
IRF330 are shown in Figure 7 below. The charging and discharging of CDG is analogous to the ‘‘Miller’’ effect that was
first discovered with electron tubes and dominates the next
switching interval.
Time interval t2 k t k t3:
Since VGS has now achieved the threshold value, the
MOSFET begins to draw increasing load current and VDS
decreases. CDG must not only discharge but its capacitance
value also increases since it is inversely proportional to
VDG, namely:
CDG e CDG(0)/(VDG)n
(2)
Unless the gate driver can quickly supply the current required to discharge CDG, voltage fall will be slowed with the
attendant increase in turn-on time.
Time interval t3 k t k t4:
The MOSFET is now on so the gate voltage can rise to the
overdrive level.
Turn-off interval t4 k t k t6:
Turn-off occurs in reverse order. VGS must drop back close
to the threshold value before RDS(on) will start to increase.
As VDS starts to rise, the Miller effect due to CDG re-occurs
and impedes the rise of VDS as CDG recharges to VCC.
Specific gate drive circuits for different applications are discussed and illustrated below.

TL/G/10063 – 5

a. MOSFET Capacitance Model for Power MOSFET

TL/G/10063 – 6

b. Switching Waveforms for Resistive Load
FIGURE 6

TL/G/10063 – 7

FIGURE 7. Typical Capacitances of the National IRF330

4

MOSFET CHARACTERIZATION
The output characteristics (ID vs VDS) of the National Semiconductor IRF330 are illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 .
The two distinct regions of operation in Figure 8 have been
labeled ‘‘linear’’ and ‘‘saturated’’. To understand the difference, recall that the actual current path in a MOSFET is
horizontal through the channel created under the gate oxide
and then vertical through the drain. In the linear region of
operation, the voltage across the MOSFET channel is not
sufficient for the carriers to reach their maximum drift velocity or their maximum current density. The static RDS(on), defined simply as VDS/IDS, is a constant.
As VDS is increased, the carriers reach their maximum drift
velocity and the current amplitude cannot increase. Since
the device is behaving like a current generator, it is said to
have high output impedance. This is the so-called ‘‘saturation’’ region. One should also note that in comparing
MOSFET operation to a bipolar transistor, the linear and
saturated regions of the bipolar are just the opposite to the
MOSFET. The equal spacing between the output ID curves
for constant steps in VGS indicates that the transfer characteristic in Figure 9 will be linear in the saturated region.

TL/G/10063 – 9

FIGURE 9. Transfer Characteristics
POWER MOSFET THERMAL MODEL
Like all other power semiconductor devices, MOSFETs operate at elevated junction temperatures. It is important to
observe their thermal limitations in order to achieve acceptable performance and reliability. Specification sheets contain information on maximum junction temperature (TJ(max)),
safe areas of operation, current ratings and electrical characteristics as a function of TJ where appropriate. However,
since it is still not possible to cover all contingencies, it is
still important that the designer perform some junction calculations to ensure that the device operate within its specifications.

IMPORTANCE OF THRESHOLD VOLTAGE
Threshold voltage VGS(th) is the minimum gate voltage that
initiates drain current flow. VGS(th) can be easily measured
on a Tektronix 576 curve tracer by connecting the gate to
the drain and recording the required drain voltage for a
specified drain current, typically 250 mA or 1 mA. (VGS(th) in
Figure 9 is 3.5V. While a high value of VGS(th), can apparently lengthen turn-on delay time, a low value for power
MOSFET is undesirable for the following reasons:
1. VGS(th) has a negative temperature coefficient
b 7 mV/§ C.
2. The high gate impedance of a MOSFET makes it susceptible to spurious turn-on due to gate noise.
3. One of the more common modes of failure is gate-oxide
voltage punch-through. Low VGS(th) requires thinner oxides, which lowers the gate oxide voltage rating.

Figure 10 shows an elementary, stead-state, thermal model
for any power semiconductor and the electrical analogue.
The heat generated at the junction flows through the silicon
pellet to the case or tab and then to the heat sink. The
junction temperature rise above the surrounding environment is directly proportional to this heat flow and the junction-to-ambient thermal resistance. The following equation
defines the steady state thermal resistance R(th)JC between
any two points x and y:
R(th)JC e (Ty b Tx)/P
(3)
where:
Tx e average temperature at point x (§ C)
Ty e average temperature at point y (§ C)
e average heat flow in watts.
P
Note that for thermal resistance to be meaningful, two temperature reference points must be specified. Units for
R(th)JC are § C/W.
The thermal model show symbolically the locations for the
reference points of junction temperature, case temperature,
sink temperature and ambient temperature. These temperature reference define the following thermal references:
R(th)JC: Junction-to-Case thermal resistance.
R(th)CS: Case-to-Sink thermal resistance.
R(th)SA: Sink-to-Ambient thermal resistance.
Since the thermal resistances are in series:
R(th)JA e R(th)JC a R(th)CS a R(th)SA.
(4)

TL/G/10063 – 8

FIGURE 8. Output Characteristics

5

TL/G/10063 – 10

FIGURE 10. MOSFET Steady State Thermal Resistance Model
and CS. This simplification assumes current is evenly distributed across the silicon chip and that the only significant
power losses occur in the junction. When a step pulse of
heating power P is introduced at the junction, Figure 12a
shows that TJ will rise at an exponential rate to some steady
state value dependent upon the response of the thermal
network. When the power input is terminated at time t2, TJ
will decrease along the curve indicated by Tcool in Figure
12a back to its initial value. Transient thermal resistance at
time t is thus defined as:

The design and manufacture of the device determines
R(th)JC so that while R(th)JC will vary somewhat from device
to device, it is the sole responsibility of the manufacturer to
guarantee a maximum value for R(th)JC. Both the user and
manufacturer must cooperate in keeping R(th)CS to an acceptable maximum and finally the user has sole responsibility for the external heat sinking.
By inspection of Figure 10 , one can write an expression for
TJ:
(5)
TJ e TA a Px [R(th)JC a R(th)CS a R(th)SA]
While this appears to be a very simple formula, the major
problem in using it is due to the fact that the power dissipated by the MOSFET depends upon TJ. Consequently one
must use either an iterative or graphical solution to find the
maximum R(th)SA to ensure stability. But an explanation of
transient thermal resistance is in order to handle the case of
pulsed applications.
Use of steady state thermal resistance is not satisfactory for
finding peak junction temperatures for pulsed applications.
Plugging in the peak power value results in overestimating
the actual junction temperature while using the average
power value underestimates the peak junction temperature
value at the end of the power pulse. The reason for the
discrepancy lies in the thermal capacity of the semiconductor and its housing, i.e., its ability to store heat and to cool
down before the next pulse.
The modified thermal model for the MOSFET is shown in
Figure 11 . The normally distributed thermal capacitances
have been lumped into single capacitors labeled CJ, CC,

DTJC(t)
(6)
P
The transient thermal resistance curve approaches the
steady state vaule at long times and the slope of the curve
for short times is inversely proportional to CJ. In order that
this curve can be used with confidence, it must represent
the highest values of Z(th)JC for each time interval that can
be expected from the manufacturing distribution of products.
While predicting TJ in response to a series of power pulses
becomes very complex, superposition of power pulses offers a rigorous numerical method of using the transient thermal resistance curve to secure a solution. Superposition
tests the response of a network to any input function by
replacing the input with an equivalent series of superimposed positive and negative step functions. Each step function must start from zero and continue to the time for which
TJ is to be computed. For example, Figure 13 illustrates a
typical train of heating pulses.
Z(th)JC e

6

TL/G/10063 – 14

a. Heat Input
TL/G/10063 – 11

FIGURE 11. Transient Thermal Resistance Model

TL/G/10063 – 15

b. Equivalent Heat Input by
Superposition of Power Pulses

TL/G/10063 – 16
TL/G/10063 – 12

c. Junction Temperature Response
to Individual Power Pulses of b

a. Junction Temperature Response to a
Step Pulse of Heating Power

TL/G/10063 – 17

d. Actual TJ
FIGURE 13. Use of Superposition to Determine Peak TJ

TL/G/10063 – 13

b. Transient Thermal Resistance Curve
for National Semiconductor IRF330 MOSFET
FIGURE 12

7

TJ at time t is given by:

SAFE AREA OF OPERATION

h

TJ(t) e TJ(0) a

& Pi

The power MOSFET is not subject to forward or reverse
bias second breakdown, which can easily occur in bipolar
junction transistors. Second breakdown is a potentially catastrophic condition in bi-polar transistors caused by thermal
hot spots in the silicon as the transistor turns on or off.
However in the MOSFET, the carriers travel through the
device much as if it were a bulk semiconductor, which exhibits a positive temperature coefficient of 0.6%/§ C. If current attempts to self-constrict to a localized area, the increasing temperature of the spot will raise the spot resistance due to the positive temperature coefficient of the bulk
silicon. The ensuing higher voltage drop will tend to redistribute the current away from the hot spot. Figure 15 delineates the safe areas of operation of the National Semiconductor IRF330 device.
Note that the safe area boundaries are only thermally limited and exhibit no derating for second breakdown. This
shows that while the MOSFET transistor is very rugged, it
may still be destroyed thermally by forcing it to dissipate too
much power.

(7)

ie0

[Z(th)JC (tn b ti) b Z(th)JC (tn b ti a 1)]
The usual use condition is to compute the peak junction
temperature at thermal equilibrium for a train of equal amplitude power pulses as shown in Figure 14 .
To further simplify this calculation, the bracketed expression
in equation (G) has been plotted for all National Semiconductor power MOSFETs, as exemplified by the plot of
Z(th)JC in Figure 14b . From this curve, one can readily calculate TJ if one knows PM, Z(th)JC and TC using the expression:
TJ e TC a PM c Z(th)JC
(8)
Example: Compute the maximum junction temperature for a
train of 25W, 200 ms wide heating pulses repeated every
2 ms. Assume a case temperature of 95§ C.
Duty factor e 0.1
From Figure 14b: Z(th)JC e 0.55§ C/W
Substituting into Equation (H):
TJ(Max) e 95 a 25 c 0.55 e 108.75 § C

TL/G/10063–18

a. Train of Power Pulses
TL/G/10063 – 20

FIGURE 15. Safe Area of Operation of the
National Semiconductor IRF330 MOSFET Transistor
ON-RESISTANCE RDS(on)
The on-resistance of a power MOSFET is a very important
parameter because it determines how much current the device can carry for low to medium frequency (less than
200 kHz) applications. After being turned on, the on-state
voltage of the MOSFET falls to a low value and its RDS(on)
is defined simply as its on-state voltage divided by on-state
current. When conducting current as a switch, the conduction losses PC are:
PC e I2D(RMS) x RDS(on)
(9)
To minimize RDS(on), the applied gate signal should be large
enough to maintain operation in the linear or ohmic region
as shown in Figure 8 . All National Semiconductor MOSFETs
will conduct their rated current for VGS e 10V, which is also
the value used to generate the curves of RDS(on) vs ID and
TJ that are shown in Figure 16 for the National Semiconductor IRF330. Since RDS(on) increases with TJ, Figure 16 plots
this parameter as a function of current for room ambient and
elevated temperatures.

TL/G/10063–19

b. Normalized Z(th)JC for National Semiconductor
IRF330 for Power Pulses Typified in Figure 14a
FIGURE 14

8

200 kHz or more will affect the power dissipation since
switching losses are a significant part of the total power
dissipation.
Compare to a bi-polar junction transistor, the switching losses in a MOSFET can be made much smaller but these losses must still be taken into consideration. Examples of several typical loads along with the idealized switching waveforms and expressions for power dissipation are given in
Figures 17 to 19 .
Their power losses can be calculated from the general expression:
PD e

u

# u # I (t) # V
1

o

D

DS(t)dt

J #f

(11)

s

where: fs e Switching frequency.
For the idealized waveforms shown in the figures, the integration can be approximated by the calculating areas of triangles:
Resistive load:

TL/G/10063 – 21

FIGURE 16. RDS(on) of the
National Semiconductor IRF330
Note that as the drain current rises, RDS(on) increases once
ID exceeds the rated current value. Because the MOSFET is
a majority carrier device, the component of RDS(on) due to
the bulk resistance of the N b silicon in the drain region
increases with temperature as well. While this must be taken into account to avoid thermal runaway, it does facilitate
parallel operation of MOSFETs. Any inbalance between
MOSFETs does not result in current hogging because the
device with the most current will heat up and the ensuing
higher on-voltage will divert some current to the other devices in parallel.

V2DD t(on) a t(off)
a RDS(on) # T # fs
R
6
Inductive load:
VCL Im t(off)fs
a Pc
PD e
2
where:
PC e conduction loss during period T.
Capacitive load:
CV2DD
V2DDRDS(on)
a
T fs
PD e
2
R2
Gate losses and blocking losses can usually be neglected.
Using these equations, the circuit designer is able to estimate the required heat sink. A final heat run in a controlled
temperature environment is necessary to ensure thermal
stability.

Ð

PD e

#

TRANSCONDUCTANCE
Since MOSFETs are voltage controlled, it has become necessary to resurrect the term transconductance gfs, commonly used in the past with electron tubes. Referring to Figure 8 , gfs equals the change in drain current divided by the
change in gate voltage for a constant drain voltage. Mathematically:

(

J

dID(A)
dVGS(V)
(10)
Transconductance varies with operating conditions, starting
at 0 for VGS k VGS(th) and peaking at a finite value when
the device is fully saturated. It is very small in the ohmic
region because the device cannot conduct any more current. Typically gfs is specified at half the rated current and
for VDS e 20V. Transconductance is useful in designing
linear amplifiers and does not have any significance in
switching power supplies.
gfs (Siemens) e

GATE DRIVE CIRCUITS FOR POWER MOSFETs
The drive circuit for a power MOSFET will affect its switching behavior and its power dissipation. Consequently the
type of drive circuitry depends upon the application. If onstate power losses due to RDS(on), will predominate, there is
little point in designing a costly drive circuit. This power dissipation is relatively independent of gate drive as long as
the gate-source voltage exceeds the threshold voltage by
several volts and an elaborate drive circuit to decrease
switching times will only create additional EMI and voltage
ringing. In contrast, the drive circuit for a device switching at

TL/G/10063 – 23

FIGURE 17. Resistive Load Switching Waveforms

9

Since a MOSFET is essentially voltage controlled, the only
gate current required is that necessary to charge the input
capacitance Ciss. In contrast to a 10A bipolar transistor,
which may require a base current of 2A to ensure saturation,
a power MOSFET can be driven directly by CMOS or opencollector TTL logic circuit similar to that in Figure 20 .
Turn-on speed depends upon the selection of resistor R1,
whose minimum value will be determined by the current
sinking rating of the IC. It is essential that an open collector
TTL buffer be used since the voltage applied to the gate
must exceed the MOSFET threshold voltage of 5V. CMOS
devices can be used to drive the power device directly since
they are capable of operating off 15V supplies.
Interface ICs, originally intended for other applications, can
also be used to drive power MOSFETs, as shown below in
Figure 21 .
Most frequently switching power supply applications employ
a pulse width modulator IC with an NPN transistor output
stage. This output transistor is ON when the MOSFET
should be ON, hence the type of drive used with open-collector TTL devices cannot be used. Figures 22 and 23 give
examples of typical drive circuits used with PWM ICs.
TL/G/10063–24

FIGURE 18. Clamped Inductive
Load Switching Waveforms

TL/G/10063 – 26

FIGURE 20. Open Collector TTL Drive Circuit

TL/G/10063–25

FIGURE 19. Capacitive Load Switching Waveforms

10

TL/G/10063 – 27

FIGURE 21. Interface ICs Used to
Drive Power MOSFETs

TL/G/10063 – 28

FIGURE 22. Circuit for PWM IC Driving MOSFET.
The PNP Transistor Speeds Up Turn-Off

TL/G/10063 – 29

FIGURE 23. Emitter Follower with Speed-Up Capacitor

11

Isolation: Off-line switching power supplies use power MOSFETs in a half-bridge configuration because inexpensive,
high voltage devices with low RDS(on) are not available.
Since one of the power devices is connected to the positive
rail, its drive circuitry is also floating at a high potential. The
most versatile method of coupling the drive circuitry is to
use a pulse transformer. Pulse transformers are also normally used to isolate the logic circuitry from the MOSFETs
operating at high voltage to protect it from a MOSFET failure.
The zener diode shown in Figure 25 is included to reset the
pulse transformer quickly. The duty cycle can approach
50% with a 12V zener diode. For better performance at
turn-off, a PNP transistor can be added as shown in Figure
26 .
Figure 27 illustrates an alternate method to reverse bias the
MOSFET during turn-off by inserting a capacitor in series
with the pulse transformer. The capacitor also ensures that
the pulse transformer will not saturate due to DC bias.
TL/G/10063 – 32

FIGURE 26. Improved Performance at Turn-Off
with a Transistor

TL/G/10063–30

FIGURE 24. Half-Bridge Configuration
TL/G/10063 – 33

FIGURE 27. Emitter Follower Driver
with Speed-Up Capacitor
Opto-isolators may also be used to drive power MOSFETs
but their long switching times make them suitable only for
low frequency applications.
SELECTING A DRIVE CIRCUIT
Any of the circuits shown are capable of turning a power
MOSFET on and off. The type of circuit depends upon the
application. The current sinking and sourcing capabilities of
the drive circuit will determine the switching time and switching losses of the power device. As a rule, the higher the
gate current at turn-on and turn-off, the lower the switching
losses will be. However, fast drive circuits may produce ringing in the gate and drain circuits. At turn-on, ringing in the
gate circuit may produce a voltage transient in excess of the
maximum VGS rating, which will puncture the gate oxide and
destroy it. To prevent this occurrence, a zener diode of the
appropriate value may be added to the circuit as shown in
Figure 28 . Note that the zener should be mounted as close
as possible to the device.
At turn-off, the gate voltage may ring back up to the threshold voltage and turn on the device for a short period. There
is also the possibility that the drain-source voltage will exceed its maximum rated voltage due to ringing in the drain
circuit. A protective RC snubber circuit or zener diode may
be added to limit drain voltage to a safe level.

TL/G/10063–31

FIGURE 25. Simple Pulse Transformer Drive
Circuit. The Transistor May Be a
Part of a PWM IC if Applicable.

12

Figures 29–34 give typical turn-on and turn-off times of various drive circuits for the following test circuit:
Device: National Semiconductor IRF450, VDD e 200V,
Load e 33X resistor.

DRIVE CIRCUIT TURN-ON/TURN-OFF TIMES

TL/G/10063 – 35

Note: Voltage Fall Time e 17 ns, Voltage Rise Time e 20 ns

FIGURE 29. Emitter Follower PWM
TL/G/10063 – 34

FIGURE 28. Zener Diode to Prevent Excessive
Gate-Source Voltages

TL/G/10063 – 36

Note: Voltage Fall Time e 50 ns, Voltage Rise Time e 112 ns

FIGURE 30. Simple Pulse Transformer

TL/G/10063 – 37

Note: Voltage Fall Time e 50 ns, Voltage Rise Time e 16 ns

FIGURE 31. Pulse Width Modulator

13

TL/G/10063 – 38

Note: Voltage Fall Time e 63 ns, Voltage Rise Time e 74 ns

FIGURE 32. Pulse Transformer with Speed-Up Capacitor

TL/G/10063 – 39

Note: Voltage Fall Time e 200 ns, Voltage Rise Time e 84 ns

FIGURE 33. Interface Drive

TL/G/10063 – 40

Note: Voltage Fall Time e 70 ns, Voltage Rise Time e 30 ns

FIGURE 34. Interface Drive

14

15

Introduction to Power MOSFETs and Their Applications
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AN-558

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Fax: (852) 2736-9960

National Semiconductor
Japan Ltd.
Tel: 81-043-299-2309
Fax: 81-043-299-2408

National does not assume any responsibility for use of any circuitry described, no circuit patent licenses are implied and National reserves the right at any time without notice to change said circuitry and specifications.



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File Type Extension             : pdf
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PDF Version                     : 1.3
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Create Date                     : 1995:10:17 18:46:45
Producer                        : Acrobat Distiller 2.0 for Windows
Title                           : Introduction to Power MOSFETs and Their Applications
Subject                         : AN-558
Author                          : 
Keywords                        : Application Notes, Power MOSFETs
Modify Date                     : 2001:11:23 11:45:19+05:30
Page Count                      : 16

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