Dielectric and partial discharge investigations on high power insulated gate bipolar transistor modules

Abstract

This paper investigates on dielectric condition assessment of high power Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) modules through modern dielectric and diagnostic test methods. Two groups of IGBT samples (new and aged) are selected for this purpose. The new IGBT samples are grouped as 'set-1/virgin' and marked as 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D' and 'E' respectively. Amongst all, a fault (electric puncture) is introduced into the sample 'E'. The samples 'A' and 'B' are maintained virgin while samples 'C', 'D' and 'E' are subjected to partial discharge measurements as recommended by IEC60270.The samples are qualitatively ranked based on their PD level. Subsequently, the dielectric condition of each sample is measured and analyzed over a wide span and frequency. Following this, similar experiments are carried out on IGBT samples that were aged under service and their behaviour over a wide frequency is analyzed. In conclusion, the present study might provide an opportunity in improvement of diagnostic and quality control test methods that are currently exercised on IGBT modules and power conversion devices. Also, these findings enable discrimination of electrical discharges caused by IGBT modules in power conversion equipments which might help in accurate determination of their dielectric condition and reliability.

Research Progress in Failure Mechanism and Health State Evaluation Index System of Welded IGBT Power Modules

“…Arumugam et al obtained the broadband dielectric response spectra of solder-type IGBT modules under different aging states and found that the information of device capacitance and dielectric loss spectra in the frequency band from 0.1 Hz to 1000 Hz can reflect the dielectric aging state [80]; therefore, the dielectric spectrum information can be used to detect the device silica dielectric insulation defects. The idea of using the dielectric spectrum to assess the power device insulation defects and the degree of state deterioration is relatively new, but the current research on the method is not deep enough, and further research is needed to study the evolution mechanism of device capacitance and dielectric loss as well as the testing error.…”

PD measurements, failure analysis, and control in high‐power IGBT modules

“…It was shown in [29, 30] that besides PRPD measurements, time‐dependent dielectric response measurements such as insulation resistance and polarisation index, and frequency‐dependent dielectric response measurements such as loss factor and frequency response analysis (FRA) can also be used as diagnostic and quality control test methods to discriminate the dielectric condition between new and aged IGBT samples and reveal the influence of moisture on dielectric condition of IGBT modules. Humidity as a result of the condensation caused by the difference in the interior and exterior temperatures may impact on the dielectric integrity of IGBT modules.…”

Understanding partial discharges in low-power relay and silicone cable modified to suit high-voltage requirement of deep sea electrical system

“…Moisture and occurrence of PD in any high‐voltage apparatus indicate the incipient fault and help in estimation the life time and reliability . Naturally, they are considered as the reliability index of any electrical equipment . At present, even the reliability level of sensitive electronic devices irrespective of being high power or low power is assessed by measuring the moisture and PD levels .…”

“…Naturally, they are considered as the reliability index of any electrical equipment . At present, even the reliability level of sensitive electronic devices irrespective of being high power or low power is assessed by measuring the moisture and PD levels . It is reported that the moisture and internal PDs on the degradation of metal oxide varistor have significant influence in the in high‐voltage surge arresters .…”