Fast power cycling test of IGBT modules in traction application

Abstract

The numerous advantages of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) power modules and their ongoing development for higher voltage and current ratings make them interesting for traction applications. These applications imply high reliability requirements. One important requirement is the ability to withstand power cycles. Power cycles cause temperature changes which lead to a mechanical stress that can result in a failure. Lifting of bond wires is thereby the predominant failure mechanism. A fast power cycling test method activating the main failure mechanism has been developed which allows reproduction of millions of temperature changes in a short time. The applicability of fast testing is supported by a mechanical analysis. Test results show the number of cycles to failure as a function of temperature changes for an IGBT single switch. A descriptive model is deduced from the results

Thermal Analysis and Balancing for Modular Multilevel Converters in HVDC Applications

“…The impact of active thermal balancing is particularly strong in OP2. The corresponding lifetime expectations under this profile are calculated based on (10), (11) and illustrated in Fig. 15 for all semiconductors whereas unrealistic long lifetimes have been set to 100 years.…”

“…With respect to reliability, in power converters the power semiconductors have been found to be among the most sensitive components and are prone to fail because of applied thermal stress. Their expected lifetime is evaluated based on thermal cycle's magnitude and the related average junction temperatures [11]. For increasing the lifetime, active thermal control can regulate the junction temperature profile by adjusting the power losses [12], [13].…”

Simultaneous On-State Voltage and Bond-Wire Resistance Monitoring of Silicon Carbide MOSFETs

“…The majority of research has focused on monitoring an electrical parameter that indicates degradation. Examples of the most commonly monitored parameters are: the forward voltage in IGBTs (or the on-state resistance in MOSFETs) [9][10][11] and the evolution of a module's thermal resistance (Rth) [12][13][14][15][16]. These parameters have been studied since the 1990s.…”

Comparison of voltage control methods of CHB converters for power routing in smart transformer

“…The aging and wear out of semiconductor switches is dependent on the junction temperature fluctuations as shown in (1), which expresses the number of thermal cycles to failure N f in dependence of the junction temperature's thermal swing ∆T , the average junction temperature T j,av and the device dependent parameters a 1 , n and a 3 . Remarkably, the parameter a 3 ≈ 5, which makes the number of cycles to failure, consequent the lifetime of the power semiconductors very sensitive to variations [6].…”