Reliability design of direct liquid cooled power semiconductor module for hybrid and electric vehicles

With the global interests and efforts in popularizing low carbon vehicles, automotive power module has been becoming one of the fastest growing sectors in power semiconductor industry. As working in a harsh environment, the performance and reliability requirements of automotive module are stringent than industrial products. In this work, an integrated direct liquid cooled power module with enhanced reliability for hybrid and electric vehicles (HEV/EV) is developed. The design and assembly of the module were optimized in terms of performance, weight, cost and reliability. The module is integrated Al direct liquid cooling structure, leading to about 40% reduction of weight and cost and almost 50% reduction of junction to heat sink thermal resistance. Therefore, the junction temperature stays below the upper limit at the worst operation case which enhances the thermal reliability and lifetime. By incorporating advanced die lead bonding, the parasitics can be reduced by 50%, which is beneficial to efficiency and reliability. Furthermore, the die and terminal attach technologies are investigated to improve reliability. The lifetime prediction under a typical driving cycle shows that the proposed module is capable of working in the whole vehicle service period.     

Thermal lifetime estimation method of IGBT module considering solder fatigue damage feedback loop

The accurate thermal damage assessment and lifetime estimation are essential for ensuring the safety and reliability of semiconductor power devices. This study presents a thermal fatigue feedback loop method for evaluating the lifetime of an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) module considering the accumulated effect of solder layer fatigue. First, a three-dimension (3D) finite element method (FEM) model for an IGBT module is established and, combined with the accelerated aging experiments resulting in that the accumulated thermal resistance increment could not be neglected when conducting thermal network modeling and lifetime consumption assessment. Then, the Cauer thermal network is improved for establishing the fatigue feedback loop model, which takes the influence of accumulated solder layer fatigue into account when estimating the power module lifetime. The effectively of this method is validated by experimental results and resisting models. Finally, the lifetime consumption of the IGBT module utilized in a practical wind energy conversion system, is investigated by using the multi-scale feedback loop method. It is found that the Miner model would exaggerate the lifetime of power modules and, the lifetime consumption under low frequency thermal loading is faster than that under a fundamental frequency condition.     

Boundary element analysis of thermal fatigue effects on high power IGBT modules

The technology of high power IGBT modules has been significantly improved these last years against thermal fatigue. The most frequently observed failure modes, due to thermal fatigue, are the solder cracks between the copper base plate and the direct copper bonding (DCB) substrate and bond wire lift-off. Specific simulation tools are needed to carry out reliability researches and to develop device lifetime models. In other respects, accurate temperature and flux distributions are essential when computing thermo-mechanical stresses in order to assess the lifetime of high power modules in real operating conditions. This study presents an analysis method based on the boundary element method (BEM) to investigate thermal behavior of high power semiconductor packages subjected to power cycling loads. The paper describes the boundary integral equation which has been solved using the BEM and applied to the case of a high power IGBT module package (3.3 kV–1.2 kA). A validation of the numerical tool is presented by comparison with experimental measurements. Finally, the paper points out the effect on the thermal stress of the IGBT chips position on the DCB substrate. In particular, a light shifting of the silicon chips may be sufficient to delay significantly the initiation and the propagation of the cracks, allowing a higher device lifetime of the studied module.     

Reliability and lifetime evaluation of different wire bonding technologies for high power IGBT modules

IGBT modules for power transmission, industrial and traction applications are operated under severe working conditions and in harsh environments. Therefore, a consequent design, focused on quality, performance and reliability is essential in order to satisfy the high customer requirements. One of the main failure mechanisms encountered in high power IGBT modules subjected to thermal cycles is wire bond lift-off, which is due to the large thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between the aluminum wires and the silicon chips. The paper describes various bonding technologies using different wire materials directly bonded onto chip metallisation as well as the ABB solution where the wire is bonded on a thin molybdenum strain buffer soldered onto the chip. We assess in the present paper the potential of these technologies to enhance module reliability and lifetime through a power cycling test. Failure analysis results are presented and the failure mechanisms related to each technology are explained in detail.     

Lifetime modeling and simulation of power modules for hybrid electrical/electrical vehicles

In hybrid electrical vehicles (HEV) and electric vehicles (EV) power semiconductors, packaged in a module, are used. Packaging technologies are suffering several wear out mechanisms, that are typically induced by thermal or power cycling. The type of wear out mechanism is affected by the connection technology but also by the load type. In the design of the inverter the mission profile simulation of the power module is an important step to ensure operation of the power module over the complete vehicle lifetime. Influences of application parameters are presented. Physics of failure based FEM simulation can help to develop appropriate lifetime models which are basis for the mission profile simulation. Available power module technology achieves the lifetime requirement for hybrid electric vehicles/electric vehicles, if the described method is applied in the design phase of the inverter.     

Double-sided cooling for high power IGBT modules using flip chiptechnology

A new technique for the packaging of IGBT modules has been developed. The components are sandwiched between two direct bond copper (DBC) substrates with aluminum nitride. Wire bonds are replaced with flip chip solder bumps, which allows cooling of components on both sides. Microchannel heat sinks are directly integrated in the package to decrease the thermal resistance of the module. Thus, a very compact module with high thermal performance is obtained. A prototype with two insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and four diodes associated in parallel was realized and tested. In this paper, the innovative packaging technique is described, and results of thermal tests are presented     

IGBT junction and coolant temperature estimation by thermal model

The capability of IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) to handle heat is one of its main limitations of high power application. This paper aims to study an IGBT thermal model under flow cooling condition and estimate the IGBT module junction and coolant temperature. Firstly, this paper studies the IGBT module internal sandwich structure and calculates the thermal resistance and thermal capacitor for each layer using a 1D physical model. Then a Cauer electric model is built for the IGBT module to evaluate the thermal constant time of the model. The liquid cooling method is applied in this project for fast cooling and the thermal parameters are studied and measured since this cooling method involves both solid and liquid. In order to estimate the junction temperature, the sensing temperature from NTC (Negative temperature coefficient) resistor inside the module is used as reference temperature. The equivalent thermal models, also named Foster model, from both junction to NTC and NTC to coolant are built, respectively. With these thermal models, the junction and coolant temperature estimation methods are derived. For the purpose of making the estimation accurate, the thermal coupling effect is carefully studied. Finally, the thermal model is verified by inverter application with current steps sweeping; the estimated temperature is compared with thermal camera measurement result which demonstrates good accuracy of the thermal model. The estimated coolant temperature is also well matched with thermocouple measurement result.     

Statistical analysis of characteristic of ageing precursor of IGBT based on synthetic effect of multi-physical fields

The IGBT power modules are widely used in photovoltaic power generation, high-voltage direct current transmission and other fields. Due to the need for high reliability in the application fields, the industry is very concerned about the reliability of IGBT power modules. Based on the two different working conditions of the three-level NPC photovoltaic inverter, this paper has monitored the health status of bonding wires of the IGBT modules inside the inverter. In addition, for the experimental results of monitoring, theoretical analysis and experimental demonstration from the perspective of multi-physics (temperature field, electromagnetic field, etc.) are innovatively introduced, which provides a new perspective for the research of power module reliability.     

Power electronics cooling effectiveness versus thermal inertia

Today, the popularity of power electronics integration is increasing. Despite the prospect of fully integrated module, including features like driving and control electronics, protection, power integration has not taken-off for medium to high power electronics applications. Manufacturing issues such as yield, reliability and return-on-investment for a new fabrication line are the major blocking points. As a first step toward integrated modules, integration of the cooling system appears realistic and cost effective. Increasing the cooling effectiveness could double the output current of an inverter while using the same amount of silicon. On the other hand, integrated cooling leads to small thermal inertia, which can generate high temperature variation under load cycling condition. This paper highlights the relationship between cooling effectiveness and thermal inertia. Typical performances of several cooling systems are compared under load cycling condition to explain how to take into account the variation of the losses in the choice of a cooling technique at the design stage. As an example, a standard liquid cooled plate performed similar to an integrated microchannel network for specific load variation frequencies.     

An analysis of the reliability and design optimization of aluminium ribbon bonds in power electronics modules using computer simulation method

Ribbon bonding technique has recently been used as an alternative to wire bonding in order to improve the reliability, performance and reduce cost of power modules. In this work, the reliability of aluminium and copper ribbon bonds for an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) power module under power cycling is compared with that of wire bonds under power and thermal cycling loading conditions. The results show that a single ribbon with a cross section of 2000 μm × 200 μm can be used to replace three wire bonds of 400 μm in diameter to achieve similar module temperature distribution under the same power loading and ribbon bonds have longer lifetime than wire bonds under cyclic power and thermal cycling conditions. In order to find the optimal ribbon bond design for both power cycling and thermal cycling conditions, multi-objective optimization method has been used and the Pareto optimal solutions have been obtained for trade off analysis.     

Thermal component model for electrothermal analysis of IGBT modulesystems

The insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules are getting more accepted and increasingly used in power electronic systems as high power and high voltage switching components. However, IGBT technology with high speed and greater packaging density leads to higher power densities on the chips and increases higher operating temperatures. These operating temperatures in turn lead to an increase of the failure rate and a reduction of the reliability. In this paper, the static and dynamic thermal behavior of IGBT module system mounted on a water-cooled heat sink is analyzed. Although three-dimensional finite element method (3-D FEM) delivers very accurate results, its usage is limited by an imposed computation time in arbitrary load cycles. Therefore, an RC component model (RCCM) is investigated to extract thermal resistances and time constants for a thermal network. The uniqueness of the RCCM is an introduction of the time constants based on the Elmore delay, which represents the propagation delay of the heat flux through the physical geometry of each layer. The dynamic behavior predicted by the thermal network is equivalent to numerical solutions of the 3-D FEM. The RCCM quickly offers insight into the physical layers of the components and provides useful information in a few minutes for the arbitrary or periodic power waveforms. This approach enables a system designer to couple the thermal prediction with a circuit simulator to analyze the electrothermal behavior of IGBT module system, simultaneously     

Design optimization of an integrated liquid-cooled IGBT powermodule using CFD technique

This paper presents a novel approach to optimize pin array design of an integrated, liquid-cooled, insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) power module. With the aid of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, the fluid field and heat transfer inside the module were analyzed, and several design options on pin arrays were examined. For IGBT die circuitry, the uniformity of temperature distribution among dies is as critical as the magnitude of the die temperature. A noticeable variation in temperature among dies can accelerate the thermal runaway and reduce the reliability of the devices. With geometrically-optimized-pin designs located both upstream and downstream of the channel, a total power dissipation of 1200 W was achieved. The maximum junction temperature was maintained at 100°C and the maximum variation among dies was controlled within 1°C. The results from this study indicated that the device junction temperatures were not only reduced in magnitude but were equalized as well. In addition, the maximum power dissipation of the module was enhanced. Comparison with other direct- (pool boiling) and indirect- (cold plate) liquid cooling techniques was also discussed     

Junction temperature management of IGBT module in power electronic converters

IGBT power module is the key component of the power electronic converter, but it has the lowest reliability. The junction temperature is the crucial factor which affects power module’s reliability. To some extent, the power handling capability of the converter depends on the thermal stress of the power module. Thermal management is an effective method to improve the reliability of power device, as well as enhance the power capability. For this purpose, this paper introduces the reliability design to the power converter’s traditional compensation controller design for the first time. A new concept of generalized dual-loop controller, which includes temperature control loop and electric power control loop, is proposed. The reliability and stability of the system are both considered, with the help of the hybrid controller, the power converter can operate steadily with higher reliability. The novelty of this paper is to improve the thermal control method of carrier frequency adjustment through experimental implementation during the full life cycle of the converter. The target is to control the temperature variation to be almost a constant value as well as extend the lifetime of the converter. IR sensor is used to measure the chip temperature of the unpackaged IGBT module. The temperature variation and the average temperature are all considered in thermal management, from the reliability improvement point of view. At last, the idea is digital implemented based on a varying load of power inverter system with real-time measurement of the chip’s surface temperature.     

160mW大功率固态调制器的设计与实验

为提高脉冲调制器的可靠性,设计了基于大功率绝缘栅双极性晶体管模块为开关的大功率固态调制器系统.调制器采用加法器结构,设计输出脉冲功率160 mW,脉冲电压80 kV,脉冲电流2kA.详细介绍了大功率调制器的电路拓扑和系统参数,重点阐述了大功率调制器的组件电路.介绍了绝缘栅双极性晶体管的驱动电路,给出了组件的输出波形,进...     

Failure-relevant abnormal events in power inverters considering measured IGBT module temperature inhomogeneities

In this work, temperature inhomogeneities inside IGBT modules are measured to assess their relevance for the component reliability. Such issue has not been considered in many previous studies, since it is often assumed that the electro-thermal characteristics of IGBTs compensate for such temperature differences. Starting from real temperature measurements, this work discusses such aspect aided by electro-thermal simulations. This method provides useful information for the reliable thermal design of power modules, also considering the actual cooling system.     

Substrate-to-base solder joint reliability in high power IGBT modules

Acoustic microscope imaging proved to be an excellent tool to detect and quantify solder fatigue of the substrate to base interface of high power IGBT modules. This technique was used to establish the dependence of the thermal cycling capability on the temperature swing of the module base for a A1N/Cu system. Results from temperature cycling tests were combined with results from power cycling tests to predict the solder joint reliability over a wide range of temperature excursions.     

Analysis on the difference of the characteristic between high power IGBT modules and press pack IGBTs

The insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) has been widely employed in such applications as alternate current motors and inverters for its lower driving power and lower on-state voltage. IGBT modules and press pack IGBTs are the most commonly used packaging for high-voltage and high-power-density applications. The difference in the packaging style and working conditions between IGBT modules and press pack IGBTs creates distinctions in, for instance, the thermal characteristics and reliability. Those distinctions lead to different applications and working conditions. In this paper, the development of IGBT devices has been reviewed, including the distinction of IGBT modules and press pack IGBTs in packaging style. Most importantly, the thermal and reliability characteristics have been compared in detail and the applications that are most suitable for IGBT modules and press pack IGBTs were outlined. The comparison of the thermal characteristics, reliability and applications provides guidance for users to take full advantage of the devices according to their requirements.     

Power cycling test and failure analysis of molded Intelligent Power IGBT Module under different temperature swing durations

Molded IGBT modules are widely used in low power motor drive applications due to their advantage like compactness, low cost, and high reliability. Thermo-mechanical stress is generally the main cause of degradation of IGBT modules and thus much research has been performed to investigate the effect of temperature stresses on IGBT modules such as temperature swing and steady-state temperature. The temperature swing duration is also an important factor from a real application point of view, but there is a still lack of quantitative study. In this paper, the impact of temperature swing duration on the lifetime of 600 V, 30 A, 3-phase molded Intelligent Power Modules (IPM) and their failure mechanisms are investigated. The study is based on the accelerated power cycling test results of 36 samples under 6 different conditions and tests are performed under realistic electrical conditions by an advanced power cycling test setup. The results show that the temperature swing duration has a significant effect on the lifetime of IGBT modules. Longer temperature swing duration leads to the smaller number of cycles to failure. Further, it also shows that the bond-wire crack is the main failure mechanism of the tested IGBT modules.     

A Four-Quadrant Operation Diagram for Thermoelectric Modules in Heating–Cooling Mode and Generating Mode

The operation of a thermoelectric module in heating–cooling mode, generating mode, and regenerating mode can be discussed in terms of power, cooling load, and current. A direct current machine in motoring mode and generating mode and an induction motor in motoring mode and regenerating mode are analogous to thermoelectric modules. Therefore, the first objective of this work is to present the four-quadrant (4-Q) operation diagram and the 4-Q equivalent circuits of thermoelectric modules in heating–cooling mode and generating mode. The second objective is to present the cooling and regenerating curves of a thermoelectric module in cooling mode and regenerating mode. The curves are composed from the cooling powers and the generating powers, the input and output current, the thermal resistance of the heat exchanger, and the different temperatures that exist between the hot and cold sides of the thermoelectric module. The methodology used to present the data involved drawing analogies between the mechanical system, the electrical system, and the thermal system; an experimental setup was also used. The experimental setup was built to test a thermoelectric module (TE₂) in cooling mode and regenerating mode under conditions in which it was necessary to control the different temperatures on the hot and cold sides of TE₂. Two thermoelectric modules were used to control the temperature. The cold side was controlled by a thermoelectric module labeled TE₁, whereas the hot side was controlled by a second thermoelectric module labeled TE₃. The results include the power, the cooling load, and the current of the thermoelectric module, which are analogous to the torque, the power, the speed, and the slip speed of a direct current machine and an induction motor. This 4-Q operation diagram, the 4-Q equivalent circuits, and the cooling and regenerating curves of the thermoelectric module can be used to analyze the bidirectional current and to select appropriate operating conditions in the cooling and regenerating modes.     

Performance Improvement of a Power Conversion Module by Liquid Micro-Jet Impingement Cooling

Liquid micro-jet array impingement cooling of a power conversion module with 12 power switching devices (six insulated gate bipolar transistors and six diodes) is investigated. The 1200-V/150-A module converts dc input power to variable frequency, variable voltage three-phase ac output to drive a 50HP three-phase induction motor. The silicon devices are attached to a packaging layer [direct bonded copper (DBC)], which in turn is soldered to a metal base plate. DI water micro-jet array impinges on the base plate of the module targeted at the footprint area of the devices. Although the high heat flux cooling capability of liquid impingement is a well-established finding, the impact of its practical implementation in power systems has never been addressed. This paper presents the first one-to-one comparison of liquid micro-jet array impingement cooling (JAIC) with the traditional methods, such as air-cooling over finned heat sink or liquid flow in multi-pass cold plate. Results show that compared to the conventional cooling methods, JAIC can significantly enhance the module output power. If the output power is maintained constant, the device temperature can be reduced drastically by JAIC. Furthermore, jet impingement provides uniform cooling for multiple devices placed over a large area, thereby reducing non-uniformity of temperature among the devices. The reduction in device temperature, both its absolute value and the non-uniformity, implies multi-fold increase in module reliability. The results thus illustrate the importance of efficient thermal management technique for compact and reliable power conversion application