The ETO-IGBT-A Dual-Concept of Thyristor and Transistor Power Devices

The performance of inverters strongly depends on the characteristics of the employed semiconductor devices. Bound to a tradeoff between conduction- and switching-optimization, these devices require a decision for the optimal loss balance. In this work, a new medium-voltage semiconductor device consisting of both thyristor-based and transistor-based components is proposed. The goal is reduction of losses in both conduction and switching domain. The circuitry and switching pattern is described and the improvement of overall losses is investigated by finite element method-simulation to give an theoretical outlook on the benefits of the device. A selection of parameters is adapted to analyze the impact on the performance. It is shown that the overall losses can be significantly reduced by combining a gate-commutated thyristor (GCT) with an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) [1] while keeping the silicon area constant, in comparison to a GCT-only device. The work is concluded by characterization results of a constructed prototype, which confirm the simulation results that significant efficiency benefits can be achieved by introducing a turn-off delay between the GCT and IGBT.

Automated summary

The performance of inverters greatly depends on the characteristics of semiconductor devices, and a new medium-voltage semiconductor device is proposed in this work to reduce losses in both conduction and switching domains. It is shown that combining a GCT with an IGBT can significantly reduce overall losses.