Friday, September 7, 2018

Important Features Of A High Voltage Contactor

By Robert Hughes


Developments in semiconductor technology have led to the innovation of solid state switches that can replace thyratrons, ignition and spark gaps that were being used before. Older electronics used drivers that are being replaced by TTL input. These advances have improved the efficiency of switches over time. A high voltage contactor has the flow features that make them one of the best inventions.

The switches have been developed in a way that there is very low input power loss. Power losses have been a major cause for concern when developing switches. These switches are developed with MOSFET technology. This technology involves the use of small total gate charge. This means that losses due to the gate charge, switching frequency, and the drive voltage are very minimal. This is not the case when switches use bipolar transistors such as BJT.

These are the most reliable and efficient switches when it comes to current equipment. Most of this equipment requires a steady saturation even when short circuited. In switch mode supplies, these contactors use smaller inductors because switching is done at fast speeds. This greatly improves the overall efficiency of the contactors. The reliability they offer has made them the best choice for high current equipment such as medical test equipment.

These contactors can be customized in a number of ways to suit where they are being used. The customization is mostly done with the housing and the footprint. Another area that customization can be done is sensitivity. These innovations help the switches to run effectively with the equipment.

The switches are designed to prevent against overload or voltage reversal. Cases of voltage reversal are common and they lead to catastrophic events. The technologies used in these switches make them safe for everyday use. The technologies include MOSFET, IGBT, SCR, and thyristor. With such technology, these contactors are highly recommended.

Little current is required during switching which is essential in preventing heating, especially when handling high loads. This is mostly because the contactors are power controlled. Other contactors require a fair amount of current to switch. This causes a lot of heating when handling a lot of power. This may cause such switches to operate on linear mode because the level of the drain current affects the gate-source voltage. This is not the case with the power switches, level of drain current has no effect on gate-source voltage.

Faster switching is guaranteed with these switches. This is because they are able to handle high frequencies. The switching losses are incredibly low compared to other switches. The gate of transistors used in these contactors is insulated with a thin oxide layer which means they do not need to draw current when switching. This has an advantage in speed and the time taken to switch.

These power contactors are effectively used with both high and low power equipment. The few discussed features have been the reasons why they have become common. The factors mentioned above are very important and make considerable impacts on the performance of any equipment.




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