Losses calculation for medium voltage PWM current source rectifiers using different semiconductor devices

In this paper, a comparison of losses and size for three semiconductor devices suitable for medium voltage (2.4 kV, 3.3 kV and 6.6 kV) high power applications is presented. The comparison is made for medium voltage PWM current source rectifiers using a selective harmonic elimination technique. The devices compared are high voltage insulated gate bipolar transistor (HVIGBT) and two types of hard-driven thyristors, namely, the symmetrical gate commutated thyristor (SGCT) and the asymmetrical gate commutated thyristor (AGCT). The study depends on practical devices, data sheets from well known semiconductor vendors, taking into account accurate discrimination between turn-off and recovery states.