FE-Modeling and Physical Testing of IGBTs for Press-Packaging

The reliability of press-packed IGBTs strongly depends on the solutions adopted in terms of heat dissipation and thermo-mechanical stress management so as to guarantee satisfactory electrical and thermal contact conditions throughout the service life. In this paper, two aspects concerning the design process of a single-chip press-pack IGBT are outlined: i) cyclic stresses and strains occurring in the package and in the chip are discussed on the basis of finite element (FE) simulations, ii) a testing rig developed for accelerated testing of single IGBT chips under controlled contact pressure conditions is presented