@article{e4f33e4e1c07434faf39447e8b5138de,
title = "A humidity-induced novel failure mechanism in power semiconductor diodes",
abstract = "Power electronics reliability in a high humidity environment has recently been considered an important aspect of power converters. In this article boost stage power semiconductor modules from two vendors with varying device technologies were exposed to high humidity, high temperature and high voltage reverse bias direct current (H3TRB-HVDC) test conditions. The exposed modules were monitored with in situ leakage current measurement during the test. The in situ monitoring revealed that all samples from one vendor using a glass passivation technique failed while the samples from the second vendor with a polyimide passivation survived. After the test, electrical breakdown and associated thermal hotspots were consistently observed using lock-in thermography on top of the glass passivation covering the high voltage edge termination structure. It was concluded with microstructural and material analysis that the treelike structures that were observed right beneath the surface of the glass passivation were associated with the failure mechanism. The analysis revealed that the formed structures were amorphous and could not be caused by the electrochemical migration of metallic species. The failures were caused by the localised partial dissolution of lead from the glass passivation. The failure mechanism seems to be associated with water treeing.",
keywords = "EoL, FIB, H3TRB, IGBT, LiT, PoF, STEM, THB",
author = "J. Lepp{\"a}nen and G. Ross and V. Vuorinen and J. Ingman and J. Jormanainen and M. Paulasto-Kr{\"o}ckel",
note = "Funding Information: This work has been carried out at ABB Drives and Aalto-University in Finland. The work has been partially funded by the Power2Power project, which is a European co-funded innovation project of the semiconductor industry. The project receives grants from the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020 , ECSEL Joint Undertaking , and national funding authorities from eight involved countries under grant agreement No. 826417 . The participating countries are Austria, Finland, Germany (including the Free States of Saxony and Thuringia), Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland. Funding Information: This work has been carried out at ABB Drives and Aalto-University in Finland. The work has been partially funded by the Power2Power project, which is a European co-funded innovation project of the semiconductor industry. The project receives grants from the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020, ECSEL Joint Undertaking, and national funding authorities from eight involved countries under grant agreement No. 826417. The participating countries are Austria, Finland, Germany (including the Free States of Saxony and Thuringia), Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors",
year = "2021",
month = aug,
doi = "10.1016/j.microrel.2021.114207",
language = "English",
volume = "123",
journal = "Microelectronics Reliability",
issn = "0026-2714",
publisher = "Elsevier Ltd",
}