Light-triggered thyristor features integrated protection

21st May 2015

Siobhan O'Gorman

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An optically triggered thyristor that can improve the reliability, lower the system cost and simplify the design of ultra-high-power applications has been introduced by Infineon Technologies. The 6” thyristor incorporates reliable optical triggering, eliminating the requirement for an external electrical trigger circuit. In addition, on-board safety features such as overvoltage protection, dv/dt protection and protection against forward voltage transients during recovery time further reduce component count and design complexity.

Thyristors are the technology of choice for controlling ultra-high currents and voltages because they deliver better performance than IGBT-based voltage source converters in terms of on-state losses and symmetric blocking capability. The introduction of a highly integrated light-triggered thyristor that, for the first time, integrates forward recovery protection is in line with the Infineon strategy to deliver system solutions that minimise design overheads, improve reliability and drive down BOM costs.

Ideal for HVDC transmission implementations, the Light-Triggered Thyristor (LTT) will also suit designs requiring interconnection of large electrical grid systems with differing frequencies. The 6” LTT has a reverse blocking voltage capability of 9.5kV and is designed for steady state DC currents of up to 6.250A. Maximum surge current that can be handled by the device is higher than 140kA. These high voltage, current and surge ratings allow designers to address a variety of different applications using a single device. Infineon also plans to further improve choice and design flexibility by introducing 4 and 5” LTT thyristors with 9.5kV blocking voltages instead of 8.5kV.