Light-Fired Thyristor Development

摘要

A light-fired thyristor switch was demonstrated in one phase of a static volts amperes-reactive generator and is presently under extended test at Minnesota Power and Light Company.nThe building of this 13.8-kV, bidirectional, 1200-A rms, solid-state switch required the development of the thyristor element and its special package, a light system consisting of laser diodes and a light distribution harness, and a special monitoring and protecting control circuit to protect the switch against various conditions under which it might not function safely.nThe switch is entirely self-contained and replaces the electrically gated version with no need for changes in the circuit to which it is connected.nThe report gives details on the development of each of the novel parts of the system;on the testing of each part of the system;and on the building, installation, and early evaluation of the switch.