IRF540 MOSFET

IRF540 MOSFET specification

• IRF540 is an N-channel POWER MOSFET device
• Drain to source voltage (V _DS) is 100V
• Gate to source voltage (V_gs) is +/- 20V
• Gate to the threshold voltage (V_{g (th)}) is 2 to 4V
• Drain current (I_d) is 20A to 28A
• Pulsed drain current (I_DM) is 110A
• Power dissipation is (P_D) is 150W
• Drain to source on-state resistance (R_{DS (ON)}) 077Ω
• Gate to source leakage current (I_GSS) is 100nA
• Total gate charge (Q_g) is 72nC
• Zero gate voltage drain current (I_DSS) is 25 to 250uA
• Reverse recovery time (trr) is 180 to 360ns
• Peak diode recovery (dv/dt) is 5V/ns
• Rise time (tr) is 44ns
• Thermal resistance junction to case (R_th j-c) is 1℃/W
• Junction temperature (T_J) is between -55 to 175℃

IRF540 MOSFET Pinout

Pin Number	Pin Name	Description
1	Gate	Gate will trigger the MOSFET device
2	Drain	In the drain terminal were current flows into the MOSFET
3	Source	In the source, terminal current flows out from the MOSFET

 

IRF540 MOSFET package

IRF540 MOSFET had a TO-220AB device package, we know it is a power MOSFET used for power electronic applications.

TO-220AB package is made with a mixture of epoxy and plastic, it had a high-temperature capacity as an electronic component.

The TO-220AB had a provision to attach a heat sink with it, this is useful for power applications such as inverter and buck converter circuits.

IRF540 MOSFET electrical specification/application description

We try to explain the electrical specifications with its applications description of IRF540 MOSFET.

Voltage specs

The voltage specs of IRF540 are a drain to source voltage is 100v, the gate to source voltage is 20v, and gate to source threshold voltage is 2 to 4v, it had high voltage specs.

Current specs

The IRF540 MOSFET had a drain current is 20 to 28A, which is the maximum load capacity of the MOSFET under normal conditions.

The pulsed drain current value is 110A, at the pulsed signal condition, the IRF540 acts power device.

Dissipation specs

The power dissipation value of IRF540 MOSFET is 150W, the dissipation value is mainly dependent on the package used.

Peak diode recovery

The peak diode recovery dv/dt value is 5.5 V/ns, it is the imagery diode inside MOSFET switching time.

Drain to source on-state resistance

The drain to source on-state resistance is 0.077Ω, which is the resistance value shown by the MOSFET, and so the IRF540 had a low on-state resistance value.

Junction temperature

The junction temperature of the IRF540 MOSFET is -55 to +175℃.

Reverse recovery time (trr)

The reverse recovery time of the IRF540 MOSFET is 180 to 360ns, it is the amount of time needed to discharge before starting conducting.

Total gate charge (Q_g)

The total gate charge of IRF540 MOSFET is 72nC, the total gate charge needed to inject towards the gate to turn ON the MOSFET.

IRF540 MOSFET DATASHEET

If you need the datasheet in pdf please click this link

IRF540 MOSFET EQUIVALENT

The MOSFET devices such as IRF540PBF, RFP30NO6, IRFZ44, IRF3205, IRF5540, RFP2210, and BUZ21 are equivalent to IRF540 MOSFET.

The electrical specifications of these MOSFETs are the same, this is why we can easily replace IRF540 with such MOSFET devices.

But we need to be cautious on the pin-out details at the time of network connection because we need to deal with high power.

IRF540 Complementary

The IRF9540 MOSFET is the P-channel complementary for the IRF540 n-channel MOSFET device.

These particular complementary MOSFET devices had many applications on different circuits.

IRF540 vs IRFZ44 vs BUZ21

In this table we try to compare the electrical specifications of each MOSFET device such as IRF540 vs IRFZ44 vs BUZ21, this comparison will be really helpful for the replacement process.

Characteristics	IRF540	IRFZ44	BUZ21
Drain to source  voltage (VDS))	100V	60V	100V
Gate to source voltage (Vgs)	20V	20V	20V
Gate threshold voltage (Vg(th))	2 to 4V	2 to 4V	3 to 4V
Drain current (Id)	20A to 28A	36A to 50A	19A
Total gate charge (Qg)	72nC	67nC	-
Power dissipation (PD)	200W	150W	75W
Junction temperature (TJ)	-55 to +175°C	-55 to +175°C	-55 to +175°C
Drain to source on-state resistance (RDS)	0.007Ω	0.028Ω	0.09 to 0.1Ω
Rise time (tr)	44ns	110ns	50 to 75ns
Reverse recovery time (trr)	180 to 360ns	120 to 180ns	200ns
Package	TO-220AB	TO-220AB	TO-220AB

The electrical specification comparison of IRF540 vs IRFZ44 vs BUZ21 shows that each of these MOSFETs had almost the same specs, so we can use them as the replacement for each other.

Characteristics curves of IRF540 MOSFET

The figures show the output characteristics of IRF540 MOSFET, the characteristics variations are been made at the fixed gate to source voltage and the graph is plotted with drain current vs drain to source voltage.

At the different gates to the source voltage range, the current value starts zero and attains a fixed rate, and becomes constant.

At the maximum gate to source voltage, the drain current value reaches the peak limit along with the drain to source voltage.

The figure shows the transfer characteristics of IRF540 MOSFET, the graph is plotted with drain current vs gate to source voltage.

At a fixed drain to source voltage, the drain current starts at a low rate and reaches a higher limit with respect to the gate to source voltage.

The figure shows the on-state resistance characteristics of IRF540 MOSFET, the graph is plotted with on-state resistance vs drain current.

At the fixed gate to source voltage, the on-state resistance value of IRF540 MOSFET will be increased from a certain limit toward the maximum value, with respect to drain current.

Motor driver circuit using IRF540

The figure shows the motor driver circuit using IRF540 MOSFET, the circuit consists of IRF540 MOSFET and 1N4148 diode to drive the MOSFET.

As when the switch closes, a high current will be flowing towards the MOSFET, and a combined working of IRF540 with 1N4148 will handle the current to control the motor.

Relay driver circuit using IRF540 MOSFET

The figure shows the relay driver circuit using IRF540 MOSFET, the circuit consists of a 2n3904 transistor, IRF540 MOSFET, and 1N4001 diode.

When the relay switches from normally open to normally close or wise versa, a higher amount of current will be produced at the relay coil.

Applications of IRF540 MOSFET

• High-efficiency DC-DC converter
• UPS
• Motor control driver
• Power inverter
• Buck converter circuits