Selecting Fuses for Power Semiconductor Devices

State-of-the-art thyristors at the high power end utilizing 77 mm-100 mm diameter silicon and associated fuses should require more precise coordination, particularly because of safety, reliability, and the high cost of these upscale components. For these reasons, any enhancement in the subcycle surge ratings of thyristors is very desirable but should be well verified through supporting tests. It becomes necessary to combine testing with computer modeling that can be used to explore higher ratings potential for specific thyristor and rectifier diode designs while limiting the number of destroyed devices. The testing will be paramount for the purpose of exploring potential secondary failures that may limit reaching the fundamental thermal limitation of devices under test that are not included in the computer model. The authors discuss subcycle surge rating, fuse coordination, semiconductor device evolution, package rupture, and surge testing.