10 kV IGCTs

This article describes the requirements, semiconductor design, and the characteristics of the first 10-kV integrated gate commutated thyristors (IGCT) for 6- to 7.2 kV, three-level NPC voltage source converters. It is shown that the use of 10-kV IGCTs enables the reduction of the total number of the main power components and also the reliability of the converter is increased. Finally the tradeoff curve and concept specifications of 10-kV IGCTs are presented.