5. Conclusion

This article presents a synthesis of the control principles of bipolar conduction power semiconductor components. It focuses on the shaping and amplification of gate currents (thyristors, triacs and IGCTs) and base currents (bipolar transistors, BJTs), and describes some close-up control circuits for these different categories. Some of these components are now obsolete (GTO) or dedicated to very specific applications (silicon BJT). However, when it comes to very high power, or again for very specific applications, thyristors and IGCTs offer robustness and performance in the on-state, making them a must-have today. Finally, although industrial development is not yet fully mature, the particularly interesting electrical performance of the SiC BJT has prompted us to present the control principles of this particular component.

In specific fields of application (consumer),...