An Improved Evaluation Method for the Short-Circuit Withstand Capability of Press-Pack IGBT Modules

The short-circuit withstand capability (SCWC) of the press-pack insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module (PP-IGBT) was investigated, and its evaluation method was proposed, taking into account the effects of clamping force and temperature on the SCWC. First, macroscopic and mesoscopic finite element (FE) models were established based on the press-pack package structure. Second, an SCWC test platform was developed, and the PP-IGBTs were tested. The short-circuit (SC) process was simulated based on the test data, macroscopic, and mesoscopic models, and the weak region of SCWC was identified. Third, the effects of the clamping force and temperature on SCWC were obtained by SCWC test and FE simulation. Fourth, an SCWC evaluation method for the PP-IGBT was proposed based on the effects, and its accuracy was experimentally verified using parallel single-chip PP-IGBTs. The results indicate that SCWC is negatively correlated with clamping force and temperature, and the evaluation error of the proposed evaluation method is less than 3%.