• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.811-820
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• 2017

The reliability issue of IGBT is a concern for researchers given the critical role the device plays in the safety of operations of the converter system. The reliability of power devices can be estimated from the intermittent life test, which aims to simulate typical applications in power electronics in an accelerated manner to obtain lifetime data. However, the test is time-consuming, as testing conditions are not well considered and only rough provisions have been made in the current standards. Acceleration of the test by changing critical test conditions is controversial due to the activation of unexpected failure mechanisms. Therefore, full investigations were conducted on critical test conditions of intermittent life test. A design optimization process for IGBT intermittent life testing program was developed to save on test times without imposing additional failure mechanisms. The applicability of the process has been supported by a number of tests and failure analysis of the test results. The process proposed in this paper can guide the test process for other power semiconductors.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.603-609
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• 2013

In this paper, we present a 600-V reverse conducting insulated gate bipolar transistor (RC-IGBT) for soft and hard switching applications, such as general purpose inverters. The newly developed RC-IGBT uses the deep reactive-ion etching trench technology without the thin wafer process technology. Therefore, a freewheeling diode (FWD) is monolithically integrated in an IGBT chip. The proposed RC-IGBT operates as an IGBT in forward conducting mode and as an FWD in reverse conducting mode. Also, to avoid the destructive failure of the gate oxide under the surge current and abnormal conditions, a protective Zener diode is successfully integrated in the gate electrode without compromising the operation performance of the IGBT.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1272-1280
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• 2014

This paper presents solutions for fault detection and diagnosis of two-level, three phase voltage-source inverter (VSI) topologies with IGBT devices. The proposed solutions combine redundant standby VSI structures and contactors (or relays) to improve the fault-tolerant capabilities of power electronics in applications with safety requirements. The suitable combination of these elements gives the inverter the ability to maintain energy processing in the occurrence of several failure modes, including short-circuit in IGBT devices, thus extending its reliability and availability. A survey of previously developed fault-tolerant VSI structures and several aspects of failure modes, detection and isolation mechanisms within VSI is first discussed. Hardware solutions for the protection of power semiconductors with fault detection and diagnosis mechanisms are then proposed to provide conditions to isolate and replace damaged power devices (or branches) in real time. Experimental results from a prototype are included to validate the proposed solutions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.1-7
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• 2018

This paper is analyzed for the thermal characteristics(1 year) of the 6 components(DC breaker, DC filter(including capacitor and discharge resistance), IGBT(Insulated gate bipolar mode transistor), AC filter, AC breaker, etc.) of a photovoltaic power generation-based PCS(Power conditioning system) below 20 kW. Among the modules, the discharge resistance included in the DC filter indicated the highest heat at $125^{\circ}C$, and such heat resulting from the discharge resistance had an influence on the IGBT installed on the rear side the board. Therefore, risk priority through risk priority number(RPN) of FMEA(Failure modes and effects analysis) sheet is conducted for classification into top 10 %. According to thermal characteristics and FMEA, it is necessary to pay attention to not only the in-house defects found in the IGBT, but also the conductive heat caused by the discharge resistance. Since it is possible that animal, dust and others can be accumulated within the PCS, it is possible that the heat resulting from the discharge resistance may cause fire. Accordingly, there are two options that can be used: installing a heat sink while designing the discharge resistance, and designing the discharge resistance in a structure capable of avoiding heat conduction through setting a separation distance between discharge resistance and IGBT. This data can be used as the data for conducting a comparative analysis of abnormal signals in the process of developing a safety device for solar electricity-based photovoltaic power generation systems, as the data for examining the fire accidents caused by each module, and as the field data for setting component management priorities.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.205-208
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• 2002

Thermal design is required with considering thermal stability to verify the reliability of electric power device with using IGBT. Numerical analysis is performed to analyzed the change in thermal resistance with respect to the various thermal density of heating element. Correlations between thermal resistance and heat generation density are established. With using these correlations, performance curve is composed with respect to the change in thermal resistance of cooling conditions for natural convection and forced convection. Thermal fatigue is occurred at the Inside and outside of IGBT by repeated heat load. The crack is occurred between base plate and ceramic substrate for the inside. When the crack length is 4mm, the failure is occurred. Therefore, Thermal design method considering thermal density, thermal fatigue resistance is presented on this study and it is expected to thermal design with considering life prediction.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1843-1850
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• 2016

This study focused on predicting the fatigue life of an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) power module for electric locomotives. The effects of different wiring technologies, including aluminum wires, copper wires, aluminum ribbons, and copper ribbons, on solder fatigue life were investigated to meet the high power requirement of the IGBT module. The module's temperature distribution and solder fatigue behavior were investigated through coupled electro-thermo-mechanical analysis based on the finite element method. The ribbons attained a chip junction temperature that was 30℃ lower than that attained with conventional round wires. The ribbons also exhibited a lower plastic strain in comparison with the wires. However, the difference in plastic strain and junction temperature among the different ribbon materials was relatively small. The ribbons also exhibited different crack propagation behaviors relative to the wires. For the wires, the cracks initiated at the outmost edge of the solder, whereas for the ribbons, the cracks grew in the solder layer beneath the ribbons. Comparison of fatigue failure areas indicated that ribbon bonding technology could substantially enhance the fatigue life of IGBT modules and be a potential candidate for high power modules.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.7-17
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• 2014

Power electronics modules are semiconductor components that are widely used in airplanes, trains, automobiles, and energy generation and conversion facilities. In particular, insulated gate bipolar transistors(IGBT) have been widely utilized in high power and fast switching applications for power management including power supplies, uninterruptible power systems, and AC/DC converters. In these days, IGBT are the predominant power semiconductors for high current applications in electrical and hybrid vehicles application. In these application environments, the physical conditions are often severe with strong electric currents, high voltage, high temperature, high humidity, and vibrations. Therefore, IGBT module packages involves a number of challenges for the design engineer in terms of reliability. Thermal and thermal-mechanical management are critical for power electronics modules. The failure mechanisms that limit the number of power cycles are caused by the coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch between the materials used in the IGBT modules. All interfaces in the module could be locations for potential failures. Therefore, a proper thermal design where the temperature does not exceed an allowable limit of the devices has been a key factor in developing IGBT modules. In this paper, we discussed the effects of various package materials on heat dissipation and thermal management, as well as recent technology of the new package materials.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2005.11c
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• pp.131-135
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• 2005

Stabilization of electric power is the most important thing is such place as computing center having business critical equipment. However, ability to cope with electrical quality shift and power failure is very weak from UPS output side to load in those electricity system, though UPS is generally used for power stabilization. this problem can be solved by duplication of power source using newly configured UPS and small sized transfer switch even in case of UPS failure.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.10-17
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• 2021

This paper presents the robust design of each component used in the development of an induction bolt heating system for dismantling the high-temperature high-pressure casing heating bolts of turbines in power plants. The induction bolt heating system comprises seven assemblies, namely AC breaker, AC filter, inverter, transformer, work coil, cable, and CT/PT. For each of these assemblies, the various failure modes are identified by the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) method, and the causes and effects of these failure modes are presented. In addition, the risk priority numbers are deduced for the individual parts. To ensure robust design, the insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), switched-mode power supply (SMPS), C/T (adjusting current), capacitor, and coupling are selected. The IGBT is changed to a field-effect transistor (FET) to enhance the voltage applied to the induction heating system, and a dual-safety device is added to the SMPS. For C/T (adjusting current), the turns ratio is adjusted to ensure an appropriate amount of induced current. The capacitor is replaced by a product with heat resistance and durability; further, coupling with a water-resistant structure is improved such that the connecting parts are not easily destroyed. The ground connection is chosen for management priority.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.470-474
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• 2001

IGBT inverters have switching rise times of 0.2-2 $\mu$ sec, and have been believed to cause insulation stresses and premature motor failures. Inverter driven induction motors with high speed switching and advanced PWM techniques are widely used for variable speed applications. Recently, the insulation failures of stator winding have attracted many concerns due to high dv/dt of IGBT PWM inverter output. In this paper, the detailed insulation test results of 19 low-voltage induction motors are presented. Different types of insulation techniques are applied to 19 motors. The insulation characteristics are analyzed with partial discharge, discharge inception voltage, and dissipation factor tests. Also, breakdown tests by high voltage pulses are performed, and the corresponding breakdown voltages are obtained.