Design and Reliability of a High Voltage, High Current Solid State Switch for Magnetic Forming Applications |
| A. Welleman, R. Leutwyler and S. Gekenidis
ABB Switzerland Ltd, Semiconductors, Fabrikstrasse 3, CH-5600, Lenzburg, Switzerland |
| Full Text PDF |
| The presentation will give an overview of the design, construction, test and reliability of a solid state switch assembly used for magnetic forming applications. In 2005 a prototype of a reverse conducting semiconductor switch for 210 kA at 100 μs damped sine wave discharge and 21 kV dc was designed to be used in an experimental system at the Fraunhofer Institute at Chemnitz (Germany). The aim was to show the industry that semiconductors can be used for this type of applications. Precautions in the design stage have to be taken to reach high operational lifetime. The presented prototype switch was designed for an expected lifetime of 20,000 shots under nominal and 1,000 shots under short circuit conditions of 420 kA. After successful commissioning, further tests were done on separate semiconductor devices to verify under which conditions the lifetime could be increased to several million shots for the given application. For this verification, ABB has done extended device tests over more than one million shots and the wafers were analysed. The results of the reliability test are part of this presentation. It will be concluded that proper designed solid state switches are economically feasible, free from maintenance and despite higher initial cost are more reliable and superior to any other technology existing today. |
| DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.115.986 PACS numbers: 84.30.Jc, 84.32.Dd |