Utility applications of power electronics in Japan

Since the late 1950s, power electronics has been developing by leaps and bounds without saturation into the key technology essential to modern society and human life, as well as to electrical engineering. This paper is focused on utility applications of power electronics technology in Japan, and on the state of the art of power semiconductor devices for high power applications. For instance, attention is paid to a /spl plusmn/500 kV, 2.8 GW high-voltage DC transmission system under construction, and to 8 kV, 3.5 kA light-triggered thyristors used for constituting its thyristor valves. This paper also presents future prospects and directions of power electronics technology in the 21st century, including the personal views and expectations of the author.