PowerGuru - Power Electronics Information Portal

              Rectifier diodes are components with two terminals and are used to rectify alternating currents. Today, the semiconductor diodes used to rectify line voltages are produced mainly on the basis of monocrystalline silicon. Rectifier diodes have an asymmetric current-voltage characteristic (Figure 1). Figure 1. Current-voltage characteristic of a rectifier [...]

  A P-N junction diode is a semiconductor diode constructed by joining p-type and n-type doped semiconductor materials to form a P-N junction.  A P-N junction diode has two basic connections, or terminals: Cathode - terminal is located on the n-type material Anode - terminal is located on the p-type material Within the P-N junction [...]

              The basis of any software tool used for component design and dimensioning is mathematical equations, diagrams and characteristics. The maximum permissible current load for rectifier diodes is determined by balancing power losses caused by the current flow P = IF×VF and the maximum power dissipation for a given [...]

              Avalanche diodes can cope with reverse current pulses resulting in power dissipation in the low kW range. At a particular value of reverse voltage, an avalanche diode experiences avalanche breakdown, a process where normally good insulators are abe to conduct large currents. In high-voltage applications, avalanche rectifier diodes [...]

              Thyristor and Rectifier Dimensioning and Selection The general guidelines given in the article "Criteria for Successful Selection of IGBT and MOSFET Modules" are to be applied by analogy to the selection of thyristors, rectifier diodes and thyristor/diode modules. For operation at a line frequency of 50/60 Hz, any additional [...]

The new 1200V CAL diode provides 30% more power yet is still the same size as the previous chip generation, leaving more space in the power module. What’s more, the new fourth generation of CAL freewheeling diodes is suitable for high application temperatures up to 175°C. These benefits mean that IGBT modules now take up [...]

  Paralleling is a fundamental concept in power electronics application. To estimate the unbalance caused by the variation of parameters of the paralleled elements, a ‘worst case’ consideration is often performed by assuming the combination of elements at the upper and lower specification limit. This approach neglects the probability of the occurrence of such a [...]