Design and characteristics of reverse conducting 10-kV-IGCTs

The integration of a 10-kV-IGCT and a fast diode in one press pack is a very attractive solution for Medium Voltage Converters in a voltage range of 6 kV – 7.2 kV if the converter power rating does not exceed about 5 – 6 MVA. This paper describes the design and characterization of the world first reverse conducting 68mm 10-kV-IGCTs. On-state-, blocking and switching behaviour of different IGCT and diode samples are investigated experimentally. The experimental results clearly show, that 10-kV-RC-IGCTs are an attractive power semiconductor for 6 – 7.2 kV Medium Voltage Converters.