Failure and Reliability Analysis of a SiC Power Module Based on Stress Comparison to a Si Device

Failure Modes and Reliability Oriented System Design for Aerospace Power Electronic Converters

“…Lifetime models and parameters for SiC modules are not widely available in literature. One of the available lifetime studies on SiC devices highlight lower lifetime figures of SiC modules compared to Si [19]. The above work concludes that as the Young's Modulus of SiC material is higher than Si, the solder layer in a SiC module experiences higher fatigue stresses than in a Si module for the same junction temperature profile.…”

Power Electronics Reliability: State of the Art and Outlook

“…On the other hand, unique reliability issues compared to Si devices give a lower cycling capability with conventional packaging and reduced shortcircuit withstand time [24]. The power cycling capability of SiC MOSFETs has been reported to be lower than IGBTs with the same current rating and package technology in [25] by testing and in [26] by simulation. New packaging technologies [9] are likely to overcome the challenges of power cycling capability.…”

Trade-offs Between Gate Oxide Protection and Performance in SiC MOSFETs

“…Different parameters will influence the impact of VGG reduction on the efficiency of the converter, including the load current ILOAD and the switching frequency fSW. Increased losses from VGG reduction will cause increased junction temperature (TJ) and larger junction temperature swings (ΔTJ) during losses [19] operation, which can cause a reduction of the lifetime of the converter due to higher thermomechanical stresses [22,23]. However, accelerated stress tests show that reducing the gate voltage extends the lifetime of the gate oxide [24][25][26], hence the importance of evaluating the trade-offs of using a lower VGG.…”