Optimized Gate Drivers for Internally Commutated Thyristors (ICTs)

Author

Köllensperger, Peter ; De Doncker, Rik W.

Author_Institution

Inst. for Power Electron. & Electr. Drives, RWTH Aachen Univ.

Volume

5

fYear

2006

fDate

8-12 Oct. 2006

Firstpage

2269

Lastpage

2275

Abstract

Today, gate commutated thyristors (GCTs) are commonly used for high-power voltage source inverters, due to their superior electrical performance compared to GTOs and HV-IGBTs. However, the gate drive of GCTs is more complex than an IGBT driver and has to be attached closely to the GCT, which implies several constructional disadvantages. The internally commutated thyristor (ICT), a GCT with integrated turn-off unit, enables the use of a simplified and more reliable gate drive, maintaining the electrical advantages of the GCT. In this paper, the ICT concept is discussed in relation to standard GCTs. Additionally, an optimized gate drive for the ICT is presented. Close attention is paid to improved reliability and easy adaption to different ICT current ratings

Keywords

driver circuits; integrated circuit reliability; thyristors; gate commutated thyristors; internally commutated thyristors; optimized gate drivers; Anodes; Capacitors; Cathodes; Driver circuits; Impedance; Insulated gate bipolar transistors; MOSFETs; Temperature; Thyristors; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Industry Applications Conference, 2006. 41st IAS Annual Meeting. Conference Record of the 2006 IEEE

Conference_Location

Tampa, FL

ISSN

0197-2618

Print_ISBN

1-4244-0364-2

Electronic_ISBN

0197-2618

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IAS.2006.256858

Filename

4025547