Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Benefits Of A High Voltage Contactor

By Robert Hughes


When it comes to semiconductor technology, remarkable developments have been made. These developments have led to efficiency in switches and overall running if electronic devices. Solid state switches were built to replace thyratrons and spark gaps. Also use of TTL input has become common and it makes it easy to use switches. There are important factors that should be noted when it comes to a high voltage contactor.

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.

The contactors are reliable when it comes to high current applications. Even when short circuited, they guarantee steady hard saturation which is very necessary when running high current applications such as medical test equipment. The fact that they are able to switch faster also make them efficient for use in these applications. The switching speeds generally increase the efficiency of the 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.

When designing the switches, one important factor considered is prevention against voltage reversal and overload. Chances of voltage reversal are very low with these switches. This prevents cases that would have been otherwise catastrophic. There are different technologies used when making the switches including MOSFET and SCR. These ensure safety and security whenever the switch is in use. Especially during switching.

These contactors are voltage controlled unlike those controlled by current. This helps them to switch using very little current which means they can handle high loads without heating. On the other hand, other switches require a fair amount of current to switch which makes them create a lot of heat when handling high loads. The possibility of these switches operating in linear mode is very minimal. This is because the level of drain current does affect the gate-source voltage.

These type of switches ensures that there is a faster switching. This is made possible because the switches are able to handle high frequencies. The faster switching also does not leave a chance for much loss. The transistors are insulated with a thin oxide layer which prevents drawing of current during switching. This advantage has a lot of effect on the overall performance of the contactors and the power losses.

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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