LAUSR

This article presents the diode-assisted gate-commutated thyristor (DAGCT), a power electronic device designed and optimized for hybrid dc circuit-breaker applications employing a fast mechanical circuit breaker. Detailed topology and operation of the DAGCT are illustrated in this article. A package and a gate drive unit (GDU) were developed. The device and the GDU were tested for a fault current of 550 A. The device turned off within ${3.2} ~{\mu }\text{s}$ . The performance of the DAGCT-GDU is compared with other GDUs of similar thyristor-based devices. Test setup and test results are presented and discussed.