Comparison of different power cycling strategies for accelerated lifetime testing of power devices

Abstract

Power cycling is a widely used accelerated lifetime testing method to evaluate the reliability of power modules and discrete components. Based on the accelerated test results one can deduce the lifetime of these devices in normal operation conditions. Although, we have to be careful, because not only the initial parameters, but the control strategy used during the cycling tests may also affect the measured lifetime. In this paper we present the results of a power cycling experiment, which was carried out using three different cycling strategies. Several electrical parameters were measured in each cycle and thermal transient results were captured at regular intervals to enable evaluating how the failures evolve in the different cycling strategies.