A review of prognostics and health management for power semiconductor modules

Abstract

In this paper, a review of current techniques used in the prognostics and state-of-health monitoring for power semiconductor modules is provided. Given the increasing trend in power modules having a larger share of the power electronic market, understanding their lifetime limitations is critical to improving the life-cycle cost of the power electronic product. Hence, this paper reviews common failure mechanisms in power modules and the state-of-art in predicting the lifetime of the module based on a given mission profile. Prognostics are reviewed in terms of stress-based and condition monitoring-based methods, while the potential of prognostics is presented for applications that utilize power modules.