Control Power Self-Generation and Sensor Integration in Emitter Turn-Off Thyristor

This paper highlights the design and demonstration of control power self-generation and integration in the emerging new power semiconductor switch emitter turn-off (ETO). It also discusses a method that is utilized to achieve complete sensor integrations in the ETO. Conventional high-power devices require dedicated external power supplies with isolation capability to operate. An isolation transformer lowers the system reliability and increases the cost of the power converter. At the same time, conventional converters rely on expensive external sensors to gather the voltage, current, and temperature information. The emerging ETO is a fully optically controlled power switch: The internal control power is self-generated; voltage, current, and temperature sensors are also integrated in the device.