Peter Streit

Design, test and characteristics of 10 kV IGCTs

This paper describes the design, experimental investigations and the characteristics of 10 kV IGCTs for 6 kV-7.2 kV applications. Compared to a series connection of two or three IGCTs and inverse diodes in a three level neutral point clamped voltage source converter 10 kV IGCTs and diodes offer several attractive characteristics such as drastically increased reliability due to a substantially reduced component count, a simpler and more compact mechanical and thermal design and thus reduced converter costs. The design of 10 kV IGCTs as well as the test set up are discussed. Measurements of the blocking-, on-state- and switching behaviour are the basis for a detailed description of the device performance. The technology trade off of 10 kV IGCTs is addressed to enable an application specific optimization of the IGCT design for low and high switching frequency applications (e.g. railway interties and medium voltage drives).

Design and characteristics of reverse conducting 10-kV-IGCTs

The integration of a 10-kV-IGCT and a fast diode in one press pack is a very attractive solution for medium voltage converters in a voltage range of 6 kV - 7.2 kV if the converter power rating does not exceed about 5 - 6 MVA. This paper describes the design and characterization of the world first reverse conducting 68 mm 10-kV-IGCTs. On-state-, blocking and switching behaviour of different IGCT and diode samples are investigated experimentally. The experimental results clearly show, that 10-kV-RC-IGCTs are an attractive power semiconductor for 6 - 7.2 kV medium voltage converters.