PE 304 Lect 1.pdf - Curtin University

Power Semiconductor Devices
• Because of the high conversion efficiency, semiconductor switching
devices are considered the heart of power electronic circuits
• Today, semiconductor switching devices have achieved
unprecedented power-handling capabilities and switching speeds.
• The devices include
– Power diodes
– Bipolar junction transistors (BJTs)
– Metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs)
– Thyristors or silicon-controlled rectifiers such as triacs, diacs,
gate turn-off (GTO) thyristors, static induction transistors (SITs),
static induction thyristors (SITHs), and MOS-controlled thyristors
(MCTs) are, in one way or another, from the same families of
these five basic devices.