IXYS Announces Wespack™ Phase Control Thyristors

IXYS Corp. (Santa Clara, CA) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Westcode Semiconductors Limited, has launched a new line of Phase Control Thyristors called Wespack™. According to IXYS, Wespack represents the first of a new range of low-profile, fully hermetic press-pack capsule devices that are compatible with existing mechanical designs for high power applications. Wespack is claimed to increase power density, while reducing the weight and cost versus conventional ceramic thyristor packaging.

The first Wespack devices, the N2593MK180 and N2367MK220 are 1800V and 2200V rated thyristors, with current ratings of 2593A and 2367A, respectively. The thyristors are encapsulated in a hermetic, 50mm (2") diameter pole face, press-pack package, while incorporating design features that diverge from conventional ceramic package design. For those applications within equipment enclosures with line voltages up to 690V, traditional design specifications for creep and strike distance are redundant, according to IXYS, adding cost and weight to system components such as thyristors. By optimizing the thyristor package design in Wespack for these applications, Westcode claims it offers a thyristor requiring 25% less space with 25% of the weight of traditional components by optimizing assembly and maximizing the silicon content.

The Wespack outline is capable of meeting the requirements of clearances and creepage distances for all electrical equipment, according to the company, and is said to offer over three times the power-to-weight ratio of a traditional TO-200 style housing of the same current rating. The N2593MK180 and N2367MK220 weigh 260 grams (0.57 lbs) compared to 1kg (2.2 lbs) for a similarly rated device in a TO-200 type outline, which can reduce the weight of a typical 3 phase bridge by 4.4kg (9.68 lbs).

The new Wespack thyristor slim line package is 14mm (0.55") thick, optimising the thermal path from silicon to cooling system. The hermetic ceramic package is suitable for all cooling options including forced air, liquid, plus total immersion systems such as oil and fluoroinert.

The Wespack thyristors are intended for use in all phase control applications such as soft starts, industrial drives and controls, wind power converters, electrochemical power supplies, and welding. Future devices in the line will include a 1400V device in the same 50mm (2") pole face housing. Two further packages sizes of 38mm (1.5") and 68mm (2.7") diameter pole faces and a slim line 14mm thick profile are also planned for later this year in three voltage classes -- 1400V, 1800V and 2200V.