Experimental investigation of transient electrical, thermal and mechanical behavior of IGBT inverter modules during operation

Abstract

This study comprises the electrical analysis of an experimental investigation on thermo-mechanical vibration measurements on an IGBT inverter structure under operating conditions and shows a new way how to experience reliability relevant phenomena. In order to perform transient temperature measurements with IR thermography and optical vibration measurements one sub-system of the inverter module was extracted and operated at equivalent conditions. Necessary circuit modifications including parasitic impedances and their most important influences are discussed. The investigation revealed a strong dependence of the thermo-mechanical bonding wire vibrations on the inverter output frequency. At 1 Hz an amplitude of more than 4 μm was measured at the loop peak of a short bonding wire.