What is the best way to choose and use components in power electronic circuits?

1 Switches and diodes

Switches and diodes are the main components that determine the topology and operation of power electronic circuits. Switches can be either uncontrolled (such as thyristors) or controlled (such as MOSFETs, IGBTs, and GaN devices). Diodes can be either conventional (such as silicon diodes) or reverse-blocking (such as Schottky diodes and SiC diodes). When choosing switches and diodes, you should consider their voltage and current ratings, switching speed and losses, conduction losses, reverse recovery behavior, and thermal management. You should also match the switches and diodes to the switching frequency, load characteristics, and power level of your circuit.

2 Capacitors and inductors

Capacitors and inductors are the main components that store and transfer energy in power electronic circuits. Capacitors can be either polarized (such as electrolytic capacitors) or non-polarized (such as ceramic capacitors and film capacitors). Inductors can be either air-core (such as toroids) or magnetic-core (such as E-cores and pot cores). When choosing capacitors and inductors, you should consider their capacitance and inductance values, equivalent series resistance (ESR) and equivalent series inductance (ESL), ripple current and voltage ratings, self-resonant frequency, and parasitic effects. You should also design the capacitors and inductors to minimize the size, weight, and cost of your circuit.

4 Sensors and drivers

Sensors and drivers are the main components that interface power electronic circuits with external signals and devices. Sensors can be either passive (such as thermistors and shunt resistors) or active (such as Hall-effect sensors and optocouplers). Drivers can be either isolated (such as gate drivers and transformer drivers) or non-isolated (such as push-pull drivers and bootstrap drivers). When choosing sensors and drivers, you should consider their input and output characteristics, signal conditioning and processing, isolation and noise immunity, propagation delay and rise time, and power consumption and supply. You should also optimize the sensors and drivers to ensure the proper feedback, control, and switching of your circuit.

5 PCBs and connectors

PCBs and connectors are the main components that support and connect power electronic circuits. PCBs can be either single-sided (with one layer of copper traces), double-sided (with two layers of copper traces), or multilayer (with more than two layers of copper traces). Connectors can be either board-to-board (such as headers and sockets), wire-to-board (such as terminal blocks and screw terminals), or wire-to-wire (such as spade terminals and crimp terminals). When choosing PCBs and connectors, you should consider their layout and routing, copper thickness and width, soldering and plating, clearance and creepage, and mechanical and environmental stability. You should also design the PCBs and connectors to reduce the parasitic effects, electromagnetic interference, and thermal stress of your circuit.