Experience from 226 billion operating hours of eGaN components in the field is now available as a Phase 12 reliability report. It serves as a service life forecast based on physical models and confirms that eGaN components achieve a service life and robustness that exceeds that of silicon power semiconductors.
Power electronics specialist Finepower has presented a Phase 12 Reliability Report on the eGaN components from the manufacturer EPC. These have been manufactured as series products for over 11 years and have proven very high reliability under harsh operating conditions in more than 226 billion operating hours - for example in vehicles, LTE base stations and satellites. The report now supplements the extensive knowledge base of the first eleven reports and describes in detail how intrinsic failure mechanisms can be detected using a test-to-fail methodology and used to develop physical models. The aim is to precisely predict the safe operating life of the products.
The Phase 12 reliability report contains the test results of eGaN components up to their failure. Based on this information, serial failure mechanisms of the components can be identified and extensive knowledge about their behavior over time, temperature and electrical or mechanical stress can be derived. On this basis, physical models can be created that accurately reflect the safe lifetime of power semiconductors over a more general set of operating parameters.
The report is divided into nine sections, each dealing with different failure mechanisms:
- Section 1: Series failure mechanisms affecting the gate electrode of eGaN devices
- Section 2: Series failure mechanisms underlying the dynamic RDS(on)
- Section 3: Safe operating area (SOA)
- Section 4: Testing components to destruction (under short-circuit conditions)
- Section 5: Customer-specific test to evaluate reliability via long-term lidar pulse loading
- Section 6: Testing the mechanical load capacity
- Section 7: Solderability of the components
- Section 8: Thermo-mechanical stress
- Section 9: Reliability in the field.
Dr. Alex Lidow, CEO and co-founder of EPC, says: "The publication of our 12th reliability report represents the accumulated knowledge of millions of devices and five generations of technology." These reliability tests are designed to better understand the behavior of GaN devices under a variety of stress conditions. "Standard qualification tests for power semiconductors are insufficient, as only components that pass a very specific test condition are approved," Lidow continues. "Thanks to our test-to-fail method, we can consistently offer more robust, higher performing and more cost-effective power conversion products. This allows us to achieve reliability beyond what is achievable with conventional silicon MOSFETs."
"The publication ... represents the accumulated knowledge of millions of devices and five generations of technology"
Finepower webinars explain the advances in GaN device reliability modeling, prediction and measurement that contribute to the Phase-12 Reliability Report findings(www.finepower.com/finepower-webinar-epc-design-tips-fuer-gan).-dir/vti-
