There is also a special product in the fuse category called High Speed Fuses, also known as Semiconductor Fuses. Semiconductor fuses are devices developed for application in overcurrent protection of semiconductor circuits, with specially designed element profile and body structure to limit the allowable through energy, peak current, arc voltage, etc. in the circuit. Unlike ordinary industrial fuses, semiconductor fuses do not have an added time-delay function, and are able to respond in 10ms or even less, thus providing more reliable protection.

High-speed fuses are further divided into full-range gR high-speed fuses and aR partial-range high-speed fuses. Full-range fuses provide protection against overloads and short circuits, while partial-range fuses provide protection against short circuits only.

Principle of Operation

Semiconductor fuses work by allowing current to be supplied from a power source to a circuit. When an overcurrent or short circuit occurs, the amount of heat generated exceeds the amount of heat dissipated, causing the temperature of the fuse to rise and when it reaches the melting point of the fuse, the weak link begins to melt and break, thus cutting off the circuit current.

The differences between Semiconductor Fuses and HRC fuses

Semiconductor fuse elements are made of semiconductor materials and have a lower current rating, so they can be used to protect SCRs, IGBTs, diodes, etc. They melt very quickly.
HRC fuse elements are made of metal. It has a high current rating and is therefore used to protect motors and other heavy loads. The melting time is relatively slow compared to semiconductor fuses.

Main Applications

Semiconductor fuses are used in the following applications.
1.Main applications include protection of semiconductor devices in power rectifiers, AC and DC motor drives, converters, soft starters, photovoltaic inverters, solid state relays, welding inverters etc.

2.Widely used in power electronics applications such as inverter drives, thyristor DC drives and uninterruptible power supplies. Used to protect devices from high currents.

3.Used in different applications such as short circuit protection, overvoltage, overcurrent, conversion rate control, TSD (thermal shutdown) and RCB (reverse current blocking).

This is the introduction of the basic content related to semiconductor fuses. Semiconductor fuses have fast blowing characteristics and are developed specifically for semiconductor power device protection and are typically used in larger semiconductor devices with rated switching currents of 100A or more. Semiconductor fuses help protect semiconductor devices from damage.