Infineon’s new 6-inch 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 (VSCs) 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 FRP (forward recovery protection) is in line with the Infineon strategy to deliver system solutions that minimize design overheads, improve reliability and drive down bill of material (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-inch LTT has a reverse blocking voltage capability of 9.5 kV and is designed for steady state DC currents of up to 6.250 A. Maximum surge current that can be handled by the device is higher than 140 kA.

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-inch LTT thyristors with 9.5 kV blocking voltages instead of 8.5 kV.