Mentor Graphics has announced its next-generation MicReD Industrial Power Tester 1500A product, which provides electronic-component power-cycling and thermal testing for up to 12 devices simultaneously. The MicReD Industrial Power Tester 1500A is the industry’s only commercially available thermal testing product combining both power cycling and thermal-transient structure-function analysis for real-time failure-in-progress data for diagnostics. Based on market feedback and the success of the MicReD Power Tester 1500A three-channel product, Mentor Graphics has enhanced the product to accommodate more device testing for greater productivity and lifecycle performance, which will benefit industries such as automotive systems, hybrid and electrical vehicles, trains, power generation and converters, and renewable energy products.
Reliability is a key concern in these industries that use high-power electronics, so accelerated testing of these modules through a lifetime of cycles (tens of thousands, potentially millions) is critical for the component supplier, the system supplier, and the OEM. Power components are used for applications where electrical energy is generated, converted, or controlled and where very high reliability is required during many years of constant operation.
“Advanced thermal management is crucial for the design of power modules and power electronics packages” said Chang-Sheng Chen, manager, power devices packaging technology department, Advanced Package Technology Division, Electronics and Opto-Electronics Research Laboratories, at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). “Our partners use thinner and thermally more conductive TIMs, new substrate materials, and new interconnect technologies to decrease thermal resistance and increase the lifetime of their products. Power-cycling tests are required to gather information about the lifetime and possible failure modes of these new devices; however, in order to have reliable data, statistical analysis is important. The new MicReD Power Tester 1500A with 12 channels can increase the throughput of our power tester by four times, allowing us to finish our projects significantly faster.”
The MicReD Industrial Power Tester 1500A can perform power-cycling tests of metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), and power diodes. Both power cycling and thermal transient measurements are conducted without needing to remove the components from the test environment. Measurements of both top and bottom transistors in half-bridge structures can be achieved at the same time. The MicReD Power Tester 1500A provides a user-friendly touch-screen interface and can record a broad range of information during test, such as current, voltage, and die temperature sensing, as well as detailed structure function analysis to record changes in the package’s thermal structure. A technician or engineer is able to see the failure as it progresses and determine the exact time/cycle and cause. This makes it a suitable platform for package development and quality checking of incoming parts before production.
“We are committed to serving the needs of our customers, particularly automotive and transportation customers, who have asked us to expand the productivity of the MicReD Industrial Power Tester 1500A,” stated Roland Feldhinkel, general manager of the Mechanical Analysis Division at Mentor Graphics. “Knowing that their electronic components will perform to optimum standards is crucial for their success. Using the MicReD Power Tester gives our customers added confidence by helping them develop and validate both electronic parts and batches of parts for manufacturing with greater performance reliability.”
http://www.mentor.com/products/mechanical/micred/power-tester-1500a/
