dm00061867

AN4150
Application note
Power MOSFET technology gate current needs in a synchronous
buck converter
Introduction
High frequency converters and applications require the best driver-MOSFET trade-off in
terms of dynamic parameters to optimize the turn-on and turn-off transients. Power
MOSFET technology also plays an important role in minimizing dynamic losses and
improving system efficiency.
In this document, the full characterization of Power MOSFET gate current is realized by
bench tests and OrCAD® simulation results, focusing on the impact of Power MOSFET
technology on gate current behavior.
Ever increasing system switching frequency pushes designers and converter engineers to
optimize semiconductor technology, improving device switching behavior and system
efficiency. In fact, the higher the switching frequency, the larger the switching and dynamic
losses; in these conditions, the best trade-off between the driver and Power MOSFET is
mandatory to enhance the overall converter performance.
Power MOSFET gate current behavior during switching transients plays an important role in
establishing a good trade-off between Power MOSFET and driver performance.
In this document, Power MOSFET gate current characterization is performed through bench
tests and simulations (by Cadence® OrCAD Capture) on a single-phase synchronous buck
converter, allowing a full understanding of the impact of the silicon technology on device
gate current.
October 2012
Doc ID 023526 Rev 1
1/20
www.st.com
Contents
AN4150
Contents
1
2
Synchronous buck converter description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.1
Topology and theory of operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2
Low-side switching transients analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Synchronous buck converter testing demonstration board . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1
Power MOSFET selection for comparative tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3
Bench tests and simulation results overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6
Revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
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List of figures
List of figures
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
Figure 4.
Figure 5.
Figure 6.
Figure 7.
Figure 8.
Figure 9.
Figure 10.
Figure 11.
Figure 12.
Figure 13.
Figure 14.
Figure 15.
Figure 16.
Figure 17.
Single phase synchronous buck converter topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
HS/LS waveforms during LS turn-off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Shoot-through event caused by dv/dt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
HS/LS waveforms during LS turn-on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Testing demonstration board schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Rogowski coil package for Igate measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Device A (left) and device B (right) cross sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Device A (left) and device B (right) cross sections with geometrical details . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Gate charge comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Device A gate waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Device B gate waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Device A vs. device B (experimental results) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Device A gate waveforms @ LS turn-off (simulated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Device A gate waveforms @ LS turn-on (simulated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Device B gate waveforms @ LS turn-off (simulated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Device B gate waveforms @ LS turn-on (simulated) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Device A vs. device B (simulation results) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
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Synchronous buck converter description
AN4150
1
Synchronous buck converter description
1.1
Topology and theory of operation
The platform used for the gate current characterization is a single-phase synchronous buck
converter. In Figure 1, the basic schematic is depicted, where S1 is the control FET (or highside FET) and S2 is the synchronous FET (or low-side FET). In the same image, it is also
shown that the Power MOSFET gate signals are provided by the “control unit” in a
synchronous way: S1 and S2 cannot be in an ON state simultaneously, avoiding the creation
of a low-resistance path between the input voltage (VIN) and GND (shoot-through or crossconduction), generating a spurious power dissipation worsening overall efficiency. L and CO
form the output filter (low-pass filter), which generates a DC voltage from a square-wave
signal on the low-side drain (so-called phase node).
Figure 1.
Single phase synchronous buck converter topology
L
Vin
Co
S2
Load
S1
Control Unit
S1 gate
signal
S2 gate
signal
deadme
deadme
AM14938v1
The synchronous buck converter is a closed-loop topology as the output voltage is
compared firstly with a reference voltage, producing an error signal; this voltage is then
compared to a sawtooth signal, at the desired switching frequency (fSW) (integrated in the
control unit) to switch on and off the Power MOSFETs. In this way, the output voltage is
regulated when line or load changes occur.
Together with the output voltage regulation, the control unit provides complete logic control
and protection (overcurrent, overvoltage, undervoltage, etc.…).
When S1 is on, the current in the output coil increases linearly:
dl- = V
IN – V OUT⎞
⎛ -------------------------------⎝ dt
⎠
L
and VL = VIN-VOUT. During the deadtime (tdf), the energy store in L discharges through the
body-drain diode of S2 till its gate-source signal becomes high. Therefore, the load current
diverts from the body-drain diode to the channel (VDS,ON << VF,DIODE). Finally, both gate
signals are low and the body-drain diode is forward-biased, allowing the load current flow.
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Synchronous buck converter description
During the deadtime and before the HS turn-on, the LS device must remove the charge
stored in the LS body-drain diode (reverse recovery charge process) before sustaining
drain-source voltage. Therefore, the body-drain characteristics, in terms of reverse recovery
current and charge, seriously impact the Power MOSFET switching behavior and converter
power losses, especially when the converter switching frequency rises up.
In a synchronous buck converter, the low-side drain is subjected to fast positive/negative
slopes and high voltage spikes, which can exceed the low-side absolute maximum voltage,
degrading the Power MOSFET reliability up unto its failure. Therefore, the right Power
MOSFET choice and system configuration, device placement on the board, and the
optimization of the stray inductances and parasitic, allow an important phase node spike
reduction, improving the converter performance.
If tON is the HS conduction time and TS the switching period, the converter duty cycle is
defined as:
Equation 1
t ON
D = -------TS
So, the input-output relationship of a buck converter is given by:
Equation 2
VOUT = D • V IN
1.2
Low-side switching transients analysis
The low-side device works as a “synchronous rectifier” because its on-time interval is
synchronized to the high-side FET on-time; moreover, it works alternatively in an OFF state
(body-drain diode forward biased during deadtime) or in third quadrant (VDS < 0, ID < 0), as
the load current flows from source to drain.
Figure 2.
HS/LS waveforms during LS turn-off
HS waveforms
LS wavef
efor
wavefor
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
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Synchronous buck converter description
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In these conditions, it is interesting to analyze the switching transients.
In Figure 2, the HS and LS waveforms during LS turn-off are reported. The top half of the
image shows HS VGS (purple trace) and ID (grey trace), while the bottom half shows LS VGS
(red trace), VDS (blue trace), IG (light blue trace) and ID (light green trace).
The main LS turn-on steps are analyzed in detail, as follows:
1.
Low-side FET is in an ON state (in this case, VGG = 5 V), with load current flowing from
source to drain (green trace). At the end of (1), the driver begins to turn off the FET.
2.
VGS goes down from VGG to Vth and the gate current becomes negative and starts to
remove the charge stored in the device intrinsic capacitances. At the end of (2), the
gate-source voltage becomes equal to the threshold voltage (VGS = Vth): so, the gate
current is dropped to low values (intrinsic caps are discharged) and the load current
diverts from the Power MOSFET channel to the body-drain diode.
3.
During deadtime, the LS FET is in an OFF state (VGS = 0), VDS becomes negative (VDS
= -VF,DIODE) and the load current flows through the body-drain diode. As a
consequence, minority excess charge in both diode regions is created.
4.
The LS current decreases linearly, while the HS current increases linearly in direct
proportion to the fall of the LS FET current. To completely turn off the LS device, the
excess stored charge in its body diode must be removed: so, the reverse recovery
process generates an extra-current (IRR), which adds to the HS current. The maximum
HS current peak is, therefore, given by:
ID,HS = ILOAD + IRR
The spurious bouncing on the LS gate signal is caused by the voltage drop across
package parasitic inductances (especially, source inductance), related to negative dl/dt
(the current is falling to zero). Obviously, the bigger the parasitic inductance (package,
wire bonding and layout) the higher the bouncing amplitude. At the same time, the lowside VDS is fixed by the parasitic inductance and dlD,LS/dt.
During device turn-off, the gate current is negative, because of the Power MOSFET intrinsic
capacitances discharge process. The current is sunk by the driver, with a speed linked to the
gate voltage level and overall gate resistance (RG,TOT = RG,INT + RDR,SINK).
It is important to underline that, at LS turn-off, the driver, external and intrinsic FET gate
resistance should be as low as possible in order to minimize the device shoot-through risks,
caused by high dv/dt across drain-source, coupled to the gate signals through Miller
capacitance in Figure 3.
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Synchronous buck converter description
Figure 3.
Shoot-through event caused by dv/dt
Cgd
Rg,int
Rdr+Rg,ext
Cgs
AM14940v1
For reference, in Figure 4 the relevant waveforms for the LS turn-on process are reported.
Figure 4.
HS/LS waveforms during LS turn-on
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Synchronous buck converter testing demonstration board
2
AN4150
Synchronous buck converter testing demonstration
board
The test vehicle is a synchronous buck converter, which lowers the input voltage (12 V) in
1.25 V as output; the converter switching frequency is 300 kHz, fixed by an internal
oscillator, while the maximum output current is 20 A.
Figure 5.
Testing demonstration board schematic
VCC
VIN
RBST
CHF
CDEC
CB
DBST
RGD
VCC
BOOT
PGOOD
CBST
HS
RG,HS
CP
RF
L
RPH
VOUT
PHASE
RSNUB
LS
CSNUB
COUT
LOAD
COMP
CF
CTR+DRV
UGATE
RG,LS
LGATE
FB
ROC
VSEN
ROS
GND
RFB
ROS
RFB
AM14942v1
The converter has a single device both for high-side and low-side positions. The Power
MOSFET gate drive voltage is 12 V for both devices; HS and LS external gate resistances
are 2.2 Ω .
The Power MOSFETs are driven by a single-phase PWM controller with integrated driver
(IHS,SRC = 2 A, RHS,SINK = 2 Ω, ILS,SRC = 3 A, RLS,SINK = 1 Ω). The controller shows very low
LS sink resistance value in order to prevent any spurious gate-source bouncing and crossconduction phenomenon during device turn-off.
The main advantage of this analysis is the availability of both the physical board and the full
Cadence OrCAD Capture model of the converter (including driver and Power MOSFETs).
Based on the same schematic, with identical passive and semiconductor devices, it is
possible to use the converter Cadence OrCAD Capture model for testing various operating
conditions, validating and explaining the experimental results. Moreover, the simulation data
are very helpful to evaluate the Power MOSFET currents (especially drain current), as in the
real board they cannot be measured easily by standard current probes, due to SMD
packages and high switching frequency.
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Synchronous buck converter testing demonstration board
To overcome these difficulties, in the real board, the Power MOSFET gate current
measurement is made by using a “Rogowski coil” current probe (CWT ultra mini), properly
connected to the Power MOSFET gate pin. The features of this device are interesting,
because it is flexible and open-ended and can be wrapped around a conductor without
disturbing it. Moreover, it is able to respond correctly to fast-changing currents and it is
highly linear even at very high current levels.
In Figure 6, the Rogowski coil probe end placing on a Power MOSFET DPAK gate pin is
shown.
Figure 6.
Rogowski coil package for Igate measurement
AM14943v1
2.1
Power MOSFET selection for comparative tests
The aim of this document is to evaluate and explain the MOSFET technology gate current
relationship; the analysis starts by choosing two different low-side devices, with the same
die size, to be tested on the board:
a)
Device A - “planar” technology
b)
Device B - “trench” technology
All the devices are 30 V logic level FETs (1 V < Vth < 2.5 V). In the following table, the main
Power MOSFET dynamic parameters (intrinsic capacitances and resistances) are reported:
Table 1.
Power MOSFET electrical parameters
Device
QG @ 4.5 V
(nC)
QGS
(nC)
QGD
(nC)
Ciss @ 25 V
Crss @ 25 V
Coss @ 25 V
RG
(Ω)
A
14
6.8
4.7
1850
58
380
1.2
B
20
8.2
7.5
2200
280
400
1.1
Figure 7 gives the cross sections of the two above mentioned devices.
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Synchronous buck converter testing demonstration board
Figure 7.
AN4150
Device A (left) and device B (right) cross sections
SOURCE
SOURCE
Al
Al
N - ( drift region
gat e
gate
N+
P-
P (body )
N - (drift region
)
)
N + ( sub )
N + ( sub )
DRAIN
DRAIN
AM14944v1
In a Power MOSFET with planar technology, the gate structure is on the device surface,
realized by a planar poly-silicon electrode, a gate oxide layer and the silicon; these three
layers form the “MOS” capacitor. The gate oxide isolates the metal contact and its thickness
is in the range of a few or several hundreds of angstroms. The drain current flows from the
source (n+region), through the conductive channel, in the vertical direction to the drain.
Considering now the trench technology, some relevant differences are immediately visible.
The gate structure is realized by a deeply dug poly-silicon electrode (highly doped), isolated
by a gate oxide layer. The trench depth is one of the most important process parameters,
affecting device static (RDS(on)) and dynamic (QGD) performance (it can vary in the range 12 µm). The drain current flows vertically along the trench sidewall towards the drain contact.
Figure 8 shows the same device structures highlighting the geometrical aspects that affect
the Power MOSFET switching performance.
Figure 8.
Device A (left) and device B (right) cross sections with geometrical
details
SOURCE
SOURCE
Al
Al
N+
P-
P- (body)
L
gate
gate
N+
h
L*
N- (dri region)
N+ (sub)
DRAIN
N- (dri region)
N+ (sub)
DRAIN
AM14945v1
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Synchronous buck converter testing demonstration board
For a planar structure, L is the gate electrode width while the pitch is the cell-to-cell
distance. In a trench device, L* is the trench width and h is the trench depth. Qg/A (gate
charge per area) links the Power MOSFET dynamic performance to the device geometry,
providing a good tool for a technology comparison:
Equation 3
Qg
L
------- ∝ ---------------------( pitch ) A
A
Equation 4
Qg
L*+ 2h
------- ∝ --------------------( pitch ) A
A
Equation 3 is valid for a planar device, while 4 is valid for trench. For modern silicon
technology, the following considerations are valid:
Equation 5
L*<< 2 h
Equation 6
L<2h
So, merging Equation 3, 4, 5 and 6 and considering that (pitch)A > (pitch)B:
Equation 7
Q
⎛Q
------g-⎞ ⎛ ------g-⎞
⎝ A ⎠< ⎝ A ⎠
planar
trench
Equation 8
C xx⎞
C xx⎞
⎛ -------⎛ -------⎝ A ⎠< ⎝ A ⎠
planar
trench
In other words, the intrinsic capacitive contribution of planar technology is lower than that of
trench. This is of basic importance when the system/application requires switching
performance improvement.
The specific capacitance difference between devices A and B shown in Figure 8 is reflected
into dissimilar gate charge curves: all the components of the gate charge are much larger for
dev.B (red curve).
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Synchronous buck converter testing demonstration board
Figure 9.
AN4150
Gate charge comparison
12
10
Vgs (V)
8
6
4
2
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
Qg (nC)
Planar
Trench
AM14946v1
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3
Bench tests and simulation results overview
Bench tests and simulation results overview
By an external DC electronic load, the converter output current is fixed at IOUT = 15 A. Lowside turn-on and turn-off transients are captured. For a complete comparison in terms of
gate current performance, the following parameters are measured for both devices:
–
Igate,max: maximum peak during turn-on;
–
Igate,min: minimum value during turn-off;
–
Δt(I>0): time interval duration with Igate > 0;
–
Δt(I<0): time interval duration with Igate < 0;
–
Igate,avg(ON): average gate current during turn-on;
–
Igate,avg(OFF): average gate current during turn-off;
–
Imaint: gate current value when the device is fully ON;
–
tf: low-side VGS fall time, measured from 90% to 10% of VGS;
–
tr: low-side VGS rise time, measured from 10% to 90% of VGS.
In Figure 10 and Figure 11 the low-side waveforms for device A and device B, respectively,
are reported; the green trace is the LS gate current (1 A/div) whereas the yellow trace is
VGS,LS (5 V/div).
Figure 10. Device A gate waveforms
Figure 11. Device B gate waveforms
AM14947v1
AM14948v1
In the above images the turn-on and turn-off transients are clearly visible, with the relative
gate current. During low-side turn-off, the gate current is negative, sunk by the driver to
discharge Power MOSFET intrinsic capacitance. On the other hand, a positive gate current
is needed to provide the right QG (total gate charge) to fully turn on the FET.
The following chart summarizes the parameter measurements performed on device A and
device B:
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Bench tests and simulation results overview
AN4150
Figure 12. Device A vs. device B (experimental results)
Δ t (I<0) [ns]
Δ t (I>0) [ns]
rise time [ns]
fall time [ns]
Imaint [A]
Igate,avg (ON) [A]
Igate,avg (OFF) [A]
Igate,min [A]
Igate,max [A]
0
10
20
30
40
Dev. B
50
60
70
80
90
100
Dev. A
AM14949v1
In Table 2 the percentage variations (device B vs. device A) of the measured parameters are
reported and defined as:
( parameter ) B – ( parameter ) A
Δ ( parameter ) B – A = ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------( parameter ) B
Table 2.
Percentage variation (experimental results)
Device B vs. device A
ΔIgate, max (A)
29.03%
ΔIgate, min (A)
13.70%
ΔIgate, avg(OFF) (A)
31.93%
ΔIgate, avg(ON) (A)
29.41%
ΔImaint (A)
31.58%
Δtf (ns)
18.24%
Δtr (ns)
18.05%
Δt(I>0) (ns)
18.49%
Δt(I<0) (ns)
-2.16%
As shown in Figure 12 and Table 2, device B shows higher values for almost all measured
parameters; in particular, the gap becomes wide for maximum peak, average values at turnon and off and maintenance current.
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Bench tests and simulation results overview
Consider now the Cadence OrCAD Capture simulator, performing a transient analysis to
capture LS waveforms, at a fixed output current level (IOUT = 15 A). In Figure 13 and
Figure 14 device A low-side gate signals are shown:
Figure 13. Device A gate waveforms @ LS
turn-off (simulated)
Figure 14. Device A gate waveforms @ LS
turn-on (simulated)
11. 9
11. 8
8. 0
8. 0
4. 0
4. 0
0
0
- 2. 4
194. 86us
194. 88us
I ( R2)
V( L GATE)
194. 90us
194. 92us
194. 94us
194. 96us
194. 98us
195. 00us
Ti me
- 2. 4
195. 42us
I ( R2)
195. 44us
V( LGATE)
195. 46us
195. 48us
195. 50us
195. 52us
195. 54us
195. 56us
Ti me
AM14950v1
AM14951v1
The red trace is the LS gate-source signal, while the green trace is the Power MOSFET gate
current.
Comparing Figure 10, Figure 13 and Figure 14, it is noticeable that the good accuracy of
simulation results matches well with experimental ones in terms of waveform behavior.
In Figure 15 and Figure 16 the LS turn-off and on waveforms of device B are reported:
Figure 15. Device B gate waveforms @ LS
turn-off (simulated)
Figure 16. Device B gate waveforms @ LS
turn-on (simulated)
12
12. 0
8. 0
8
4. 0
4
0
0
- 1. 6
194. 86us
V( LGATE)
194. 88us
I ( R2)
194. 90us
194. 92us
194. 94us
Ti me
194. 96us
194. 98us
195. 00us
195. 44us
195. 46us
V( LGATE)
I ( R2)
AM14952v1
195. 48us
195. 50us
195. 52us
195. 54us
195. 56us
195. 58us
Ti me
195. 60us
AM14953v1
Finally, in Figure 17 the measurements given by Cadence OrCAD Capture simulations are
shown. Experimental and simulation results are strictly aligned; in fact, comparing Figure 13
- Figure 14 and Figure 15 - Figure 16, some important observations can be made:
a)
Device B shows higher maximum and minimum gate current peaks, as reported in
Table 3;
b)
Device B LS gate waveforms have slower rising and falling edges, with
consequently longer rise and fall times;
c)
Device B gate current, at device turn-on, shows much higher peak and stays
above the zero level for a longer time than device A.
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Bench tests and simulation results overview
AN4150
Figure 17. Device A vs. device B (simulation results)
Δt(I<0) [ns]
Δt(I>0) [ns]
tr [ns]
[ns]
Imaint [A]
Igate,avg(ON) [A]
Igate,avg(OFF) [A]
Igate,min [A]
Igate,max [A]
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Dev. B
70
80
90
100
Dev. A
AM14954v1
Starting from the simulation results, Table 3 reports the switching parameters’ percentage
variations:
Table 3.
Percentage variation (simulation results)
Device B vs. device A
ΔIgate, max (A)
30.43%
ΔIgate, min (A)
18.75%
Δtf (ns)
15.38%
Δtr (ns)
28.57%
Δt(I>0) (ns)
57.82%
Δt(I<0) (ns)
7.10%
Table 2 and Table 3 give very good matching between experimental and simulation results,
particularly for Igate,max and Igate,min (maximum and minimum gate current) and for VGS fall
time. Furthermore, the trend is confirmed also for the other switching values.
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4
Conclusion
Conclusion
Starting from a single-phase synchronous buck converter topology, the impact of silicon
technology on low-side Power MOSFET gate current has been thoroughly analyzed, by
bench tests and Cadence OrCAD Capture simulations. Trench technologies, which are
preferable in high efficiency DC-DC converters due to their very competitive figure of merit
(FOM = RDS(on) * QG) values, have higher specific capacitance values (Cxx/A) compared to
planar ones; this affects the overall device switching performance. This also means different
gate current behavior, with bigger maximum and minimum gate current peaks and longer
rise/fall times.
These different device characteristics should be monitored particularly when application
features (switching frequency, number of paralleled devices, etc.…) are more critical for
switching behavior, making driver-MOSFET matching optimization mandatory.
Two examples can be given to enforce the previous statements. When more FETs are
paralleled, to minimize the overall RDS(on) and the conduction losses, the driver must charge
and discharge a bigger equivalent capacitance to switch on and off the devices. So, to
minimize the gate drive losses, the driver must have special features, in terms of sink/source
current and resistance, particularly when driving trench Power MOSFETs.
Similarly, in hard-switching applications, where larger losses occur during switching
transients, proper driver choice is needed when higher (Cxx/A) Power MOSFETs must be
turned on and off, improving gate current source and sink and reducing the switching losses.
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References
5
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AN4150
References
●
Power Electronics Handbook, M. H. Rashid, 2001
●
Fundamentals of Power Electronics, R. W. Erickson, 2000
Doc ID 023526 Rev 1
AN4150
6
Revision history
Revision history
Table 4.
Document revision history
Date
Revision
12-Oct-2012
1
Changes
Initial release.
Doc ID 023526 Rev 1
19/20
AN4150
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