Evaluation of Fatigue Life of Semiconductor Power Device by Power Cycle Test and Thermal Cycle Test Using Finite Element Analysis

Abstract

To accurately predict the fatigue life of a power device, a fatigue life evaluation method that is based on the power cycle is presented in terms of an algorithm based on a combination of electrical analysis, heat analysis, and stress analysis. In literature, the fatigue life of power devices has been evaluated on the basis of the thermal cycle. This cycle is alternately repeated within a range from a high temperature to a low temperature. In an actual operating environment, however, a power device works in a power cycle that consists of being switched ON and OFF. To accurately predict the fatigue life cycle of a device, then, the evaluation should take account of this important aspect of the power cycle. To verify the utility of the evaluation method presented in this study, the results for a power cycle based on the combined use of electrical analysis, heat analysis, and stress analysis are compared to the results based on the thermal cycle, as found in the literature. Our conclusion is that the fatigue life cycle as estimated by the thermal cycle test is higher than that estimated by the power cycle

Application of nonlinear fatigue damage models in power electronic module wirebond structure under various amplitude loadings

“…This load profile is applied for five times, then the accumulated damage (D) of the aluminium wire and aluminium plate interface is predicted using the four cumulative fatigue damage methods (Eqs. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. The results are summarized in Tables 6 and 7.…”

“…This paper focuses on analyzing the accumulated fatigue life of wirebond structure under variable amplitude electric loading profiles using electro-thermo-mechanical analysis in FEM setup. Some literatures [10,11] discussing wirebond model under the random loading condition have the same principle as applying a cycle counting algorithm and linear damage model. In this paper a comparison study using nonlinear damage models as well as linear damage model is utilized by using cycle counting algorithm and physics of failure [12,13] for wirebond structure failure mode in electro-thermo-mechanical finite element simulation.…”

A Probabilistic Approach for Reliability and Life Prediction of Electronics in Drilling and Evaluation Tools

“…White & Bernstein (2008) present the state of the art methods for PoF modeling. Finite element analysis was used to model fatigue damage growth during cyclic loading (thermal, mechanical and combination of both) by Barker et al (1992), Bailey et al (2007), Dasgupta (1993), Duffek (2004), Shinohara &Yu (2010), andVijayaragavan (2003). Material modeling to predict degradation of solder joints in the circuit board as results of thermo mechanical fatigue was developed by Nasser & Curtin (2006).…”