MOSFETs, Thyristors and diodes matrixes for high voltage and pulse power

D. Chatroux (1)

1 CEA - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives

For the high voltage tubes replacement in pulsed laser applications, CEA developed a technology of matrixes of small standard components for kilo-Amps and kilo-Volts commutation. MOSFET matrix switches are used for microsecond and sub microsecond pulses. Small thyristors matrix switches are used for tens of micro-second pulses, up to milliseconds. Standard ultrafast diodes matrixes are used for freewheeling or blocking the current. This technology proved to be cost effective and a very high reliability. For laser, the MOSFETs matrix switch has the same cost than the gas tube (thyratron) one and the reliability is 200 times higher. The tube lifetime is 1000 hours. The matrix switch lifetime is 200 000 hours. The matrix is failure tolerant. So it's not a random failure with MTBF specification, but a full lifetime without risk of failure for the switch for years. This technology has been used in a large area of applications. An industrial society has a licence to develop this technology with the necessary technical and EMC know-how. The purpose of the presentation is to give an overview of the applications and of the technical performances.

Domains: Electric power

D. Chatroux. MOSFETs, Thyristors and diodes matrixes for high voltage and pulse power. PCIM 2008 - Power Conversion and Intelligent Motion Europe, Jun 2008, Nuremberg, France. ⟨cea-03293234⟩