High-Voltage Temperature Humidity Bias Test (HV-THB): Overview of Current Test Methodologies and Reliability Performances

Abstract

The high voltage temperature humidity bias test (HV-THB) has become increasingly popular for evaluating the performances of power semiconductor devices. Given the new challenges of the power semiconductor industry, several applications and devices need to be designed to withstand harsh environments during working operations, with a remarkable focus on high-humidity conditions. The HV-THB test allows one to activate and study different failure mechanisms which were not highlighted by the standard low voltage THB test, enabling new designs in several energy conversion fields, such as energy harvesting, industry and automotive applications. After a brief introduction of current test standards, this work goes through the current methodologies and state-of-the-art of the HV-THB test. The following sections are then dedicated to the knowledge about the failure mechanisms and the models for accelerated testing. Eventually, there is a section devoted to the main passivation materials in order to understand their effects on the HV-THB capabilities of the devices.

Edge Terminations for 4H-SiC Power Devices: A Critical Issue

“…In this case, solutions pass through a proper packaging technology, for instance using organic passivant like GlobTop. Stability and reliability evaluation of the termination can be done using High Temperature Reverse Bias test (HTRB) [12], including Humidity (H3TRB) [13][14], if a proper evaluation of the passivation is to be done. It is also relevant to test the termination under Unclamped Inductive Switching (UIS) to check the avalanche capability of the device [1].…”

Evaluation of GaN HEMTs in H3TRB Reliability Testing

“…There have also been works focused on accelerated aging due to thermal stresses from thermal power cycling between 25 and 125 • C [10]. S. Song et al observed electrical cracks in the degraded devices, corresponding to increased leakage current, while the threshold voltage and on-state resistance have been unaffected [11]. These works have not included a combination of humidity, high temperature, and blocking voltage in their testing, as they can accelerate power devices' failure mechanisms [12].…”