Monitoring Solder Fatigue in a Power Module Using Case-Above-Ambient Temperature Rise

Condition monitoring is needed in power electronic systems as a cost-effective means of improving reliability. Packaging-related solder fatigue has been identified as one of the main root causes of power electronic module failures. This paper presents a method to monitor solder fatigue inside a module by identifying the increase of internal thermal resistance due to that solder fatigue, taking account of the masking effect of the variable operating point. It is assumed that the total loss in the module increases as junction temperature rises, causing an increase in case-above-ambient temperature rise, which can be measured. A dynamic thermal model of the heat sink is utilized to estimate the power loss from temperature measurements, while a device power loss model is developed to estimate the internal thermal resistance by considering the converter electrical loading. Experiment and simulation are used to demonstrate the concept and verify the method.