Types of power diodes | Power electronics

Types of Power Diodes

The power diodes are mainly classified into following three categories:

General purpose diode

The value of t_rrfor these diodes are vey high, and it is about 25µs.
The current rating for general purpose diode is from 1A to several thousand amperes.
The voltage rating of general purpose diodes are from 50V to 5kV.

Uses

The general purpose diodes are used in battery charger.
These diodes are also used in electric traction.
The general purpose diodes are also used in electroplating.
In welding works, the general purpose diodes are very useful.
These diodes are used in uninterruptible power supply (UPS) too.

Fast recovery diode

The value of t_rr of fast recovery diode is low and it about 5µs or less.
Its current rating is from 1A to several thousand amperes.
The voltage rating of fast recovery diodes are from 50V to 3kV.
If we require the voltage rating of fast recovery diode below 400V, then the epitaxial process is used for diode fabrication and for such diode t_rr ≈ 50ns.
And for voltage rating of fast recovery diode above 400V, the diffusion process is used for diode fabrication.

Uses

The fast recovery didoes are used in choppers.
The fast recovery diodes are also used in communication circuits.
The switched mode power supplies (SMPS) also uses fast recovery diodes.
The fast recovery diodes are used in induction heating also.

Schottky diode

In schottky diodes metal-to-semiconductor junction is used for rectification purpose instead of pn-junction.

The schottky diodes have very fast recovery time and low forward voltage drop.

The reverse voltage rating of schottky diodes is about 100V.

Also the forward current rating of schottky diodes are from 1A to 300A.

Uses

The schottky diodes are used in high frequency instrumentation.
These diodes are also used in switching power supplies.

To know about this lecture in more detail please visit on https://youtu.be/BD8wa_o_31U

Comments