Characterization and aging test methodology for power electronic devices at high temperature
Résumé
Power electronic modules are key elements in the chain of power conversion. The application areas include aerospace, aviation, railway, electrical distribution, automotive, home automation, oil industry ... But the use of power electronics in high temperature environments is a major strategic issue in the coming years especially in transport. However, the active components based on silicon are limited in their applications and not suitable for those require both high voltages and high ambient temperatures. The materials with wide energy gap like SiC, GaN and diamond, have the advantage of being able to exceed these limits [1,2]. These materials seem adequate to extremely harsh temperature environments and allow the reduction of cooling systems, but also the increasing of switching frequency. However, the use of wide band gap components is not a simple substitution of silicon component by these components and a new technology of converters using wide band gap components is needed. Researches should be undertaken concerning materials and assembly technologies and interconnections which are still non-existent today for temperatures between 200°C and 300°C, which is not however yet satisfactory on the temperature range of 150-200°C. The modes and mechanisms of failures on these levels of temperatures must also be highlighted, including those concerning the SiC dies themselves, in order to improve technologies. We thus envisage extending work on the physics of the failures towards the components containing SiC.