Converter Topologies and Power Semiconductors for Industrial Medium Voltage Converters

Today there are numerous different converter topologies and power semiconductor devices used in medium- voltage drive systems. This paper provides a general overview of the common converter topologies available on the market and their corresponding major characteristics. The different topologies are compared and evaluated with respect to their semiconductor effort. Due to the available power semiconductor devices with maximum blocking voltages of 6.5 kV, the drive market with power ratings up to 25 MW is dominated by voltage source inverters in IGBT as well as in IGCT technology. For higher power demands and special applications, thyristor converters are still frequently used.