SOFTGATE – An IGCT Gate Unit for Soft Switching

This paper presents an IGCT unit that has been tailored for emerging soft-switching high-power applications. Redefining the state-of-the-art design and driving concepts, the size and consumption of the proposed unit can be reduced significantly. The paper investigates the operation of the IGCT with this gate unit at a ground-breaking 5 kHz continuous switching frequency. The experiments reveal the operation specifics and conclude a reliable operation.