JP2003169462A - Power element - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Corrected) [Problem] To reliably collect the usage history information of power elements at low cost and use it as analysis of the cause of failure, prediction of remaining life, reliability information, etc. Perform preventive maintenance. SOLUTION: In an envelope 9 containing a power element, a means for recording a use history of the power element and a storage read terminal 11 of the means are further provided, and if necessary, the read terminal 11 and the power element are provided. The use history information of the electronic element is read out by electrically connecting the control terminal 8 of the electronic device and performing serial transmission.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a power device used in a power converter or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A power converter using a power element as a switching element is steadily expanding its application range as the capacity and speed of the power element are increased. Among such applied devices, there is an increasing demand for high reliability in power applications and the like. It is known that many of the causes of failure of a power converter are caused by power elements. Power elements are the heart of power converters, but they are vulnerable to electrical, mechanical, and thermal stress because they are finely processed to improve performance. Due to this, it is not possible to give a large margin to the rating. Therefore, in order to improve the reliability of the power converter, it is most necessary to improve the reliability of the power element, and what is important therefor is the collection of usage history information when the power element fails.

[0003]

Conventionally, the use history information of the power element is hardly collected except for the maximum temperature. The operation information of the power converter is collected as traceback data, but no information is collected for each power element forming the power converter. This is because the conventional relatively small-capacity power converters need to avoid cost increases as much as possible, so there was no room to collect the usage history information of the power elements, and the demand for improved reliability was so great. It was because there was not.

As described above, in order to collect and store the use history information of the power element which has not been collected in the past, a considerable amount of data collecting circuit is required in the conventional technology, and for that purpose, Equipment cost and equipment size increase.

The present invention has been made in view of the above,
Reliable usage history information of power devices can be easily collected at low cost and can be fully useful as failure cause analysis, remaining life prediction, reliability information, etc., and preventive maintenance before failure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a power device that can perform

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that, in a power device packaged in an envelope, a recording means for recording a use history is provided in the envelope. Having it is the gist. With this configuration, the use history record of the power element is surely left in the recording means in the envelope, and therefore, after the power element is damaged, the recording means is taken out of the envelope and a reading operation is performed, so that a failure occurs. It is possible to obtain a record of usage history of the power element. Then, based on the read / collected usage history information of the power element, it becomes possible to analyze the cause of the failure of the power element and predict the remaining life of the power line offline.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a power device packaged in an envelope, a recording means for recording a usage history is provided outside the envelope, and the recording means is attached to or detached from the envelope. The point is that it becomes possible. With this configuration, it becomes possible to remove the recording means from the envelope and check the use history record of the power element at regular intervals of use time, and it becomes possible to more effectively predict the remaining life.

A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the power element according to the first or second aspect, a nonvolatile memory is used as the recording means. With this configuration,
Even after the power is turned off or after the failure of the power element, the usage history record of the power element is surely left in the recording means. Here, as the non-volatile memory, a ferroelectric thin film recording medium, a magnetic thin film recording medium, or a phase change recording medium preferably integrated on an integrated circuit can be used.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the power element according to the first aspect, there is provided a reading means for reading the recorded contents of the recording means from the outside of the envelope. With this configuration, it is possible to read the usage history record of the power element at any time without removing the recording means from the envelope. Here, the reading means may preferably use wireless transmission or optical fiber cable or optical wireless transmission.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the power element according to the first aspect, a predicting means for predicting an element life based on a diagnostic index obtained by referring to the recorded contents of the recording means is provided in the envelope. And the communication means for outputting the prediction information from the prediction means to the outside. With this configuration, the remaining life is predicted on the power element side, and when it is determined that the life is approaching, the fact that the life of the power element is approaching is notified to the outside via the communication means. This enables preventive maintenance before the power device fails.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the power element according to the first or second aspect, at least one of a main voltage applied to the element as the usage history information, a control voltage, a main current flowing through the element, and an element internal temperature. The point is to record that. With this configuration, it is possible to comprehensively record substantially all information that is important as the usage history of the power element.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are views showing a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the structure, and FIG. 2 is
It is a circuit diagram. The present embodiment is configured as a module-type element by the constituent elements including a plurality of power elements forming a power conversion element. In FIG. 1, the power elements 3a to 3d and the diodes 4a, 4 that constitute the power conversion element
b is a DBC (Direct Bonding C) for insulation from the structure.
opper) mounted on a substrate 2 and fixed on the base plate 1 in a form insulated by the DBC substrate 2. Each of the power elements 3a to 3d is connected to the DBC by a bonding wire.
It is connected to the copper foil pattern on the substrate 2 and has a connection to an external electrode (not shown) of the module type device. Furthermore D
On the BC board 2, a voltage detection integrated circuit 5 for detecting Vce of the power elements 3a to 3d and a recording integrated circuit 6 as a recording means are mounted. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the power devices 3a to 3d, the diodes 4a and 4b, the voltage detection integrated circuit 5, the recording integrated circuit 6 and the like constitute a module type device, which is packaged in one envelope. Is being used.

As shown in FIG. 2, an integrated circuit 5 for voltage detection is used.
Is an integrated circuit 5a for Vce detection and an integrated circuit 5 for Vge detection
b, the Vce and Vge of the power element 3 are detected by the detection integrated circuits 5a and 5b, and the detection signal is waveform-shaped and then sent to the recording integrated circuit 6 to be integrated into the memory. Records are kept on the device as a usage history. The reading of the usage history record of the power element 3 is performed by taking out the recording integrated circuit 6 from the envelope after the power element 3 is damaged and examining the recorded content. Then, the read and collected usage history information of the power element 3 is used for the analysis of the cause of the failure of the power element 3 and the off-line remaining life prediction.

Although FIG. 2 shows the case where the IGBT is applied as the power element (switching element), the present invention is not limited to this, and any power semiconductor element such as MOSFET, bipolar transistor, thyristor, GTO, MCT, etc. can be used. It goes without saying that it is the subject of the present invention.
Further, although FIG. 1 shows an example applied to a module type element, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to a pressure contact type element and various other packages. In order to achieve the object of the present invention, various types of memory elements currently available can be used as the memory elements integrated in the recording integrated circuit 6, and among them, among them, a flash memory, an MRAM ( MagneticRandom Acc
Non-volatile memory such as es Memory, magnetic thin film recording medium), ferroelectric memory (ferroelectric thin film recording medium), phase change memory (phase change recording medium) and the like are suitable. This is because these non-volatile memories do not lose their memory contents even if they are not supplied with power, so their usage history is not lost even when the power is turned off or the power element has failed. .

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the recording integrated circuit is built in the envelope. Although this method is highly reliable, since it is not possible to retrieve the usage history record of the power element to the outside, basically, after the power element is damaged, the recording integrated circuit is taken out from the envelope and the recorded contents are examined. Become. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the history recording unit can be attached and detached outside the envelope.

In FIG. 3, the power element is built in the envelope 9 and is connected to the outside by the main circuit terminal 7 and the control terminal 8. The usage history of the power element is recorded in the history recording unit 10 as a recording unit, and the history recording unit 10 can be removed from the envelope 9 to check the usage history as necessary. With such a configuration, it becomes possible to check the usage history of the power element at regular intervals of usage. Further, there is an advantage that the history recording unit 10 is less likely to be damaged together with the power element when the power element is damaged.

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In each of the above-described embodiments, the use history record of the power element is read by removing the recording means.
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the usage history record of the power element can be read without removing the recording means from the envelope.

In FIG. 4, a recording / reading terminal 11 as a reading means is provided for the envelope 9, and the usage history information of the power element is read from the recording / reading terminal 11. In the illustrated example, the recording / reading terminal 1
1 is paired with one of the control terminals 8 of the power element, and both terminals 8 and 11 are electrically connected to perform serial transmission, so that use history information of the power element can be obtained from the outside of the envelope 9. read out.

It is also possible to provide a large number of recording and reading terminals for parallel reading. Further, in the above example, the recording / reading terminal 11 is provided and the usage history information of the power element is read out by the electrical connection with the control terminal 8. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the optical connection via the optical fiber cable is used to externally It is also possible to send and receive signals to and from.
The use of the optical signal has the advantages that it is less likely to be damaged by electrical noise and that the usage history information can be read from the power element placed in the high-voltage region during operation. Furthermore, it is also possible to exchange optical signals or electric signals by wireless transmission without using cables or optical fibers. According to such wireless transmission, the number of wirings can be reduced and the noise resistance can be improved.

FIG. 5 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In each of the above-described embodiments, only the Vce that is the main voltage applied to the power element and the Vge that is the control voltage are used as the usage history information of the power element, but the usage history of the power element is not limited to this. There are various kinds of information to be shown, and in the present embodiment, these other information can be recorded.

In FIG. 5, as the detection integrated circuit, an Ic detection integrated circuit 5c for detecting the collector current which is the main current of the power element 3 and a temperature detection integrated circuit 5d for detecting the element internal temperature are newly added. ing. A current detector 12 for detecting a collector current Ic is attached to the collector current line of the power element 3, and its output line is connected to the Ic detecting integrated circuit 5c. With such a configuration, it is possible to comprehensively record substantially all information that is important as the usage history of the power element 3.

FIG. 6 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In each of the above-described embodiments, the use history information of the power element recorded in the recording means is used for analysis of the cause of failure of the power element and offline remaining life prediction. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the remaining life can be predicted inside the envelope in which the power element is packaged.

In FIG. 6, each of the detection integrated circuits 5a-5 is detected.
Each use history information of the power element 3 detected in d is input to the recording integrated circuit 6 and also to the diagnostic circuit 13 as a prediction means. Diagnostic circuit 13
Then, referring to the past usage history information of the power element recorded in the recording integrated circuit 6, the present fatigue state of the power element 3 is diagnosed. As an index for diagnosis, increase in leakage current in the off state, decrease in gate control voltage in the case of a MOS gate type power element, and the like can be used. Based on such a diagnostic index, the remaining life of the power element 3 is predicted, and when it is determined that the life is approaching, the external control circuit is notified to the external control circuit via the communication circuit 14 as a communication means. To do. As a result, preventive maintenance can be performed before the power device 3 fails.

[0025]

As described above, the first to fourth and sixth aspects are provided.
According to the described invention, the reliable history information of the power elements can be easily collected at low cost, and it can be sufficiently utilized as the analysis of the cause of the failure, the remaining life prediction, the reliability information and the like.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the remaining life is predicted on the power element side and the prediction information is output to the outside, whereby preventive maintenance can be performed before the power element fails.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a power device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view and side view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view and a side view of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

3, 3a to 3d power device 5 Integrated circuit for voltage detection 5a Vce detection integrated circuit 5b Vge detection integrated circuit 5c Ic detection integrated circuit 5d Integrated circuit for temperature detection 6 Recording integrated circuit (recording means) 9 envelope 10 History recording unit (recording means) 11 Recording read terminal (reading means) 13 Diagnostic circuit (prediction means) 14 Communication circuit (communication means)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A power element packaged in an envelope, wherein the envelope has a recording means for recording a usage history. 2. A power device packaged in an envelope, wherein a recording means for recording a usage history is provided outside the envelope, and the recording means is attachable to and detachable from the envelope. And power element. 3. The power element according to claim 1, wherein a nonvolatile memory is used as the recording unit. 4. The power element according to claim 1, further comprising a reading unit for reading the recorded contents of the recording unit from the outside of the envelope. 5. A predicting means for predicting device life based on a diagnostic index obtained by referring to recorded contents of the recording means is provided in the envelope, and predictive information from the predicting means is output to the outside. The power device according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit that operates. 6. The power according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a main voltage applied to the element, a control voltage, a main current flowing through the element, and an element internal temperature is recorded as the usage history information. element.