SiC power device design and fabrication, and insertion in novel MV power converters
• The U.S Department of Energy launched the PowerAmerica Institute under the initiative of “National Network of Manufacturing Institutes (NNMI)” to Accelerate Adoption Wide Band Gap (WBG) power devices • PowerAmerica started operations in 2015 with $140M funds over 5 years, and is managed by North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC USA • PowerAmerica addresses gaps in technology to enable manufacturing that contributes to its mission of realizing manufacturing jobs creation and energy savings through accelerated large-scale adoption of WBG semiconductor devices in power electronic systems.
Characterization of IGCTs for series connected operation
This paper describes the series connection of integrated gate commutated thyristors (IGCTs) using RC-snubbers. An experimental setup with a power rating of 6 kV, 4 kA is used to analyze the dynamic and static behavior of the series connected IGCTs in detail. The mechanism of thermal stabilization of series connected IGCTs is discussed. It is shown that a good voltage balancing can be achieved by small RC-snubbers due to the fast switching IGCTs.
HARD DRIVE - A RADICAL IMPROVEMENT FOR THE SERIES CONNECTION OF GTO'S
A new technique for series connection, called Hard Drive is presented in this paper, which is expected to take multiMVA converters to new levels of performance in terms of PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control and power handling per device. Hard Drive is compatible with PWM with reasonable losses at switching frequencies of several hundred Hz. By applying gate pulses with higher |di/dt| than for conventional gating, the series connection of many GTO’s is greatly facitilitated. The dominating problem for series connection, variation in storage time between individuals and with parameters like temperature and current, is essentially eliminated. The GTO and FACTS applications Although established technologies like HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) and SVC (Static var Compensation), which use conventional PCT’s (phase commutated thyristors), can provide much of the functionality now discussed under the label FACTS, most of the attention is focussed on applications based on VSC’s (Voltage Source Converters). These include the STATCOM, the UPFC (Unified Power Flow Controller), and active filters, to mention a few. In contrast to the established technologies, the VSC requires semiconductor switches with turn-off capability. The GTO (Gate Turn-Off thyristor) is, so far, the only device with power handling capability high enough for the applications in question. Devices with maximum voltage/turn-off current ratings of 4.5 kV/4 kA have been available for some time, and 6 kV/6 kA devices have recently been presented by several manufacturers. Even though the product of the maximum voltage and current values gives impressing numbers, the compound effect of deratings, safety margins, redundancy requirements, and converter topology typically result in a power handling per device around 0.3-0.4 MW 1-3