A semi-controllable device driving method and apparatus and a hybrid device of the present disclosure belong to the electrical field, and are particularly a driving method, with no driving dead zone or with an extremely small driving dead zone, that is applicable to a semi-controllable device such as a thyristor; a semi-controllable driving apparatus, with no conduction dead zone or with an extremely small conduction dead zone, that is applicable to a driving loop of a semi-controllable device such as a thyristor; and a hybrid device with no conduction dead zone or with an extremely small conduction dead zone. In the semi-controllable device driving method, a voltage detection switch is used; an input end of the voltage detection switch is connected to two ends of a semi-controllable device that needs to be driven; the voltage detection switch is connected, in series, in a driving loop of the semi-controllable device; the voltage detection switch is turned on when a potential difference at the two ends of the semi-controllable device is not greater than an on-state voltage of the semi-controllable device; and the voltage detection switch is turned off after detecting that the semi-controllable device is turned on. The present disclosure has an advantage of no driving dead zone or an extremely small driving dead zone.

A thyristor switch is constituted of a pair of arms connected in anti-parallel, each of the arms including a plurality of thyristors connected in series. A controller includes a phase detecting unit configured to detect a phase of a power supply voltage supplied from an alternating-current power supply, and a gate signal generating unit configured to interrupt a gate signal when an open command is provided to the static switch and the phase of the power supply voltage detected by the phase detecting unit matches a target phase. The target phase is set outside of a phase range where interruption of the gate signal is prohibited, the phase range being set so as to include a zero crossing point at which a load current is switched in polarity.

The invention relates to a gate unit (22) for controlling a gate commutated thyristor (21), comprising: a voltage selector (26) for selectively applying a high supply potential (V.sub.pos), a middle supply potential (V.sub.mid), and a low supply potential (V.sub.neg); a nonlinear inductor (27) serially coupled between the output of the voltage selector (26); a gate control unit (23) configured to control the voltage selector (26) to control switching of the gate commutated thyristor (21) in its turn-on state comprising a turn-on pulse generation, a positive-gate-voltage backporch operation, a negative-gate-voltage backporch operation and a retrigger pulse generation; wherein the nonlinear inductor (27) has a nonlinearity to have a high inductance during any of the backporch operations and to have a low inductance during the turn-on pulse generation and retrigger pulse generation.

A semiconductor switching device for switching high voltage and high current. The semiconductor switching device includes a control-triggered stage and one or more auto-triggered stages. The control-triggered stage includes a plurality of semiconductor switches, a breakover switch, a control switch, a turn-off circuit, and a capacitor. The control-triggered stage is connected in series to the one or more auto-triggered stages. Each auto-triggered stage includes a plurality of semiconductor switches connected in parallel, a breakover switch, and a capacitor. The control switch provides for selective turn-on of the control-triggered stage. When the control-triggered stage turns on, the capacitor of the control-triggered stage discharges into the gates of the plurality of semiconductor switches of the next highest stage to turn it on. Each auto-triggered stage turns on in a cascade fashion as the capacitor of the adjacent lower stage discharges or as the breakover switches of the auto-triggered stages turn on.