Recent Progress in Silicon Devices for Ultra-High Power Applications

Silicon based high-voltage power devices dominate the megawatt to gigawatt power conversion necessary for generation, transmission and distribution grid systems. This goes together with the renewable and storage energy systems integrated into the grid with sufficient power quality to secure its stability and interoperability. The development of phase control thyristors, integrated gate commutated thyristors, and insulated gate bipolar transistors has always focused on increasing the power density via reduced losses and growing electro-thermal robustness with a special focus on reliable operation under normal and fault conditions. Recent advancements in the design and performance of Bipolar and BiMOS device concepts are presented to show how they can support the power conversion also in the coming years.