Application of IGBT, MCT and EST in hard- and soft-switching power converters

The performance of power insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), MOS-controlled thyristor (MCT) and emitter switched thyristor (EST) in hard- and soft-switching conditions are studied in detail using extensive measurements and device and circuit simulations. Simulated results are in excellent agreement with the measured data under a variety of stress conditions. Simulation results were obtained from a novel mixed device and circuit simulator in which plasma switching dynamics are studied under boundary conditions imposed by the circuit operation. Based on these results, a critical study is made on the performance of MCT and EST in hard- and soft-switching converter applications. The results of simulation are compared with IGBT operated under identical conditions.