Thermal path integrity monitoring for IGBT power electronics modules

Conference: CIPS 2014 - 8th International Conference on Integrated Power Electronics Systems
02/25/2014 - 02/27/2014 at Nuremberg, Germany

Proceedings: CIPS 2014

Pages: 7Language: englishTyp: PDF

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Authors:
Eleffendi, Mohd. Amir; Johnson, C. Mark (University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK)

Abstract:
The heat dissipation path in a power module degrades over time due to solder fatigue. Estimating level of that degradation requires accurate measurements of junction temperature in real-time. Temperature sensitive electrical parameters (TSEPs) and model estimates are two techniques to estimate junction temperature but they suffer from large inaccuracies and uncertainties during measurement and model identification process. This paper presents a non-invasive technique which incorporates model estimates with real-time measurements of VCE(ON) to accurately track junction temperature of an IGBT and to monitor the health state of the thermal path in a power module. The technique is built upon the algorithm of Kalman filter which gives optimal estimates of system states in the presence of inaccurate and corrupted measurements. The adaptive property of Kalman filter allows consistent estimate of junction temperature under time-varying conditions of the thermal path due to solder fatigue.