Reliability and Lifetime Analysis for Electronic Components

The power electronic components are constantly improving – both in terms of performance driven by processing technique and also due to new device structures. Power electronic designs are done with the use of mathematical models to be applied in circuit simulations – in some cases they are simplified in order to be able to simulate faster for longer term operation analysis, e.g., done in PLECS. As the devices are changing all the time there is a constant need also to be updated on the life-time models of the power electronic devices – some of the phenomenon which are impacting the reliability are due to the interconnections which are typically not so dependent on the device technology while other phenomena are very device dependent. This project studies the reliability of power electronic components including SiC transistors, GaN transistors, Silicon transistors, SiC diodes, Si diodes, Film capacitors, Electrolytic capacitors, Ceramic capacitors, inductors and also PCB’s. The analysis gives an overview according to stressors like temperature and its cycling, humidity, vibration, cosmic ray, voltage level and other relevant parameters for the life-time models.