Patent ID: 8159848

Claim:
A power conversion circuit comprising: at least one bidirectional switch, wherein the bidirectional switch has a first gate terminal, a second gate terminal, a first ohmic terminal and a second ohmic terminal, by causing the first gate terminal to be in the ON state and the second gate terminal to be in the OFF state, the bidirectional switch is caused to be in a first state in which the bidirectional switch operates as a diode having a cathode as the first ohmic terminal and an anode as the second ohmic terminal, by causing the first gate terminal to be in the OFF state and the second gate terminal to be in the ON state, the bidirectional switch is caused to be in a second state in which the bidirectional switch operates as a diode having an anode as the first ohmic terminal e and a cathode as the second ohmic terminal, by causing the first and second gate terminals to be in the ON state, the bidirectional switch is caused to be in a third state in which the bidirectional switch is bidirectionally conductive without via a diode between the first and second ohmic terminals, and by causing the first and second gate terminals to be in the OFF state, the bidirectional switch is caused to be in a fourth state in which a bidirectional current is cut off between the first and second ohmic terminals.