Measuring System for Dynamic Characteristics of Semiconductor Switching Elements and Switching Loss of Thyristors

Thyristors today are used in various electrical apparatus where high operational reliability is of prime importance. For better operational reliability, it is essential that thyristors be used most effectively. It especially is important to predict quantitatively the thyristor's internal impedance (dynamic impedance) which varies by time and by switching loss as transiential stress is applied to the thyristor when it is turned-on and -off, and to design a thyristor circuit basing on the predicted dynamic impedance. This article introduces an outline of a measuring system which can be used for quantitative determination of dynamic characteristics of thyristors and discusses switching loss determined with the measuring system. The measuring system consists primarily of two A/D converters. Dynamic characteristics of a thyristor, either of a normal type or high-speed type, can be quantitatively measured in one turn-on or turn-off operation. This article also discusses the effect of variation of the element area of the thyristor on the switching loss.