Method for electrical detection of bond wire lift-off for power semiconductors

摘要

A novel approach is presented for detecting bond wire lift-off in power semiconductor devices while they are in operation. The aim is to improve the reliability of power electronic systems. The method comprises a specific bond assembly and an integrated subcircuit as part of the gate driver, and serves to detect bond wire lift-off in parallel switched power devices, a typical end-of-life phenomenon encountered in modules, which results in loss of contact and therefore of controllability. The former is detected and the system is prevented from going abruptly into failure mode, so that the destruction of devices is safely avoided.