Reliability evaluation of power semiconductor devices using coupled analysis simulation

There is an increasing need to fabricate power devices that are lightweight and compact. However, reducing the weight of power devices would result in reduced stiffness, and greater compactness would result in increased current density, which, in turn, would increase the temperature of the device and cause deterioration. Thus, to realize lightweight, compact power devices with sufficient reliability, multiphysics fatigue analysis techniques that simultaneously consider electricity, heat, and stress should be developed. In the present paper, to accurately predict the fatigue properties of power devices, evaluation techniques based on multiphysics analysis are proposed. By using a multiphysics algorithm and comparing lead frame bonding to wire bonding found in literature, the reliability of lead frame bonding is estimated.