On the Potential of IGCTs in HVDC

In today´s voltage source converter HVDC solutions, insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) are used exclusively, generally in module form where the modular multilevel converter is concerned; this entails a number of protective measures that increase complexity and cost. As we move to higher transmitted powers, the use of integrated gate-commutated thyristors (IGCTs) would allow both higher voltages and currents while simultaneously reducing losses, failure rates, and costs, as this paper tries to demonstrate by comparing current production IGCTs with both current module and press-pack IGBTs.