Abstract
The gate turn-off (GTO) thyristor, which has very high voltage and high current ratings compared with other power semiconductor devices, is especially competitive in high-power applications; however, the GTO requires relatively complicated gate drive circuit, has slow switching frequency, and suffers from reverse-bias second breakdown. These factors hinder its popular use. Cascode configuration promises to free the GTO from its drawbacks, especially through the use of a readily available high-voltage insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) with a simple gate drive circuit. Consisting of two separate kinds of power switches, the cascode switch combines the best characteristics of both technologies. This switch proves to be a better candidate for high-power applications. In general, MOSFETs have advantages over BJTs and GTOs in driving simplicity, switching speed, and second breakdown ruggedness. Thus, MOSFETs are popular for use in cascode switches with BJTs or GTOs, simplifying the drive requirement or increasing switching speed. This paper documents the switching performance of the different power semiconductor devices used in an IGBT-gated GTO-cascode switch. The cascode switch was tested and simulated using SPICE. Experimental waveforms are presented and show good agreement with simulation results.
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