S-073N 3BHB009884R0021 ABB IGCT Cabinet

S-073N  cost-effective realisation of the IGCT (press-pack GCT device with integrated gate driver) is shown in Fig. 1. To reach the needed high di/dt-values of several 1000A/us in the gate current a low-inductive housing of the GCT is the key innovation (Grüning [4]). The turn-off of the IGCT is a a very fast transient. In about 1µs the gate current is increased on the level of themaximum turn-off current Itgqm. The cathode current is reduced to zero before the anode voltage raises. The turn-off of the device happens completely in a transistor mode, which guarantees a completely controlled and homogenous turn-off. No current filamentation phenom– ena, as known from GTO technology, exists with the IGCT technology. The turn-off happens so fast, that the device realizes too late that it is in fact a four layer thy– ristor device and stays in the transistor mode during turn-off. Therefore the only limitations experienced are in the silicon. The device can be operated directly at the phyis– cal limits defined by this material