Medium-voltage pulse width modulated current source rectifiers using different semiconductors: loss and size comparison

In this study, a comparison of losses and physical size is presented for three semiconductor devices suitable for medium-voltage high-power applications. The comparison is made for medium-voltage pulse width modulated (PWM) current source rectifiers (CSRs) using a selective harmonic elimination technique. The devices are high-voltage insulated gate bipolar transistors and two types of hard-driven thyristors, namely the symmetrical gate commutated thyristor and the asymmetrical gate commutated thyristor. The study is based on practical devices using data sheets from semiconductor device vendors, taking into account accurate discrimination between turn-off and recovery states. The constant-voltage switching energy data sheet curves for voltage source converters are adapted to suit varying voltage applications like the PWM-CSR, with emphasis on how voltage is shared between series devices during each commutation instant.