A GTO thyristor can be turned on by a single pulse of positive gate current like conventional thyristor, but in addition it can be turned off by a pulse of negative gate current. The gate current therefore controls both ON state and OFF state operation of the device. GTO V-I characteristics is shown in Figure 2. The GTO has many advantages and disadvantages with respect to conventional thyristor among which few are discussed here.
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Figure1: Schematic Symbol of GTO
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Figure2: V-I characteristics of GTO
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ADVANTAGE OF GTO OVER THYRISTOR
1- Elimination of commutating components in forced commutation resulting in reduction in cost, weight and volume,
2- Reduction in acoustic and electromagnetic noise due to the elimination of commutation chokes,
3- Faster turn OFF permitting high switching frequency,
4- Improved converters efficiency, and,
5- It has more di/dt rating at turn ON.
ADVANTAGE OF THYRISTOR OVER GTO
1- ON state voltage drop and associated losses are higher in GTO than thyristor,
2- Triggering gate current required for GTOs is more than those of thyristor,
3- Latching and holding current is more in GTO than those of thyristor,
4- Gate drive circuit loss is more than those of thyristor,
5- Its reverse voltage block capability is less than its forward blocking capability.
