A semiconductor device may include a voltage generator configured to generate a first base-emitter voltage of a first bipolar junction transistor, and a failure detector configured to generate a failure signal by comparing the first base-emitter voltage with an upper limit reference voltage and a lower limit reference voltage. The failure detector may include a second bipolar junction transistor a current source configured to generate a bias current, a first resistor coupled between the current source and a emitter of the second bipolar junction transistor to generate the upper limit reference voltage, a second resistor and a third resistor configured to divide a second base-emitter voltage of the second bipolar junction transistor to generate the lower limit reference voltage, and a first and second comparator configured to compare the first base-emitter voltage with the upper limit reference voltage and the lower limit reference voltage, respectively, to generate respective failure signals.

A method and a system for online monitoring of a health status of an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module are provided, which belong to the field of IGBT status monitoring. In order to overcome the inability to real-time monitor health statuses of existing IGBT modules, the method of the disclosure includes the following steps. A current sensor is used to measure a collector current of each IGBT module. A collected current value is substituted into a simulation model to obtain a current imbalance rate. A failure module is located according to the current imbalance rate and temperature to achieve the objective of monitoring an IGBT health status.

The disclosure discloses a multi-time-scale reliability evaluation method of a wind power IGBT considering fatigue damage and a system thereof. Lifetime information of a power device is comprehensively extracted by using multiple time scales. An electro-thermal coupling model of an IGBT module is established to obtain a junction temperature data. A steady-state junction temperature database of the IGBT in different aging states is established. Based on a SCADA monitoring data, the junction temperature data is outputted in real-time through the electro-thermal coupling model and a real-time thermal stress cycle number is calculated in a short-term time-scale profile, and a wind speed probability distribution curve is obtained in a long-term time-scale profile. A maximum thermal stress cycle number that the IGBT can withstand in different aging stages is obtained in advance and a cumulative damage degree and an estimated lifetime of the IGBT of the wind power converter are calculated.

A method for detecting the aging of a power electronic device that comprises at least one semiconductor component including a step of providing of an excitation signal, which is designed to trigger a flow of an at least approximately semi-sinusoidal excitation current through the semiconductor component in order to introduce a power loss into the semiconductor component, a step of uploading a temperature signal, which represents the temporal course of the temperature of the semiconductor component, and a step of determining of an aging value that represents the aging of the power electronic device by using the temperature signal.

A method for determining the remaining usability of a semiconductor module in normal use. The semiconductor module is thermally coupled to a cooling device. A predefined electrical load is applied to the semiconductor module while predefined cooling is effected by the cooling device. A temperature of a semiconductor element of the semiconductor module is sensed at least for the predefined electrical load on the semiconductor module. The sensed temperature is compared with a comparison temperature in a first comparison. The comparison temperature is assigned to the predefined electrical load with the predefined cooling, and prediction data for the remaining usability of the semiconductor module in normal use up to a usability end are determined at least in accordance with the first comparison.

A measurement circuit device for a vehicle includes a power transistor and a voltage measurement circuit coupled to the power transistor that measures a voltage across the power transistor. The measurement circuit device also includes a microcontroller that determines a junction temperature using the measured voltage and adjusts a capacity of the power transistor based on the determined junction temperature. In some embodiments, the measurement circuit device may include a clamping device that clamps the voltage across the transistor when the transistor is off. The measurement circuit device may also include an analog-to-digital converter that converts the measured voltage from an analog value to a digital value.

The disclosure discloses a multi-time-scale reliability evaluation method of a wind power IGBT considering fatigue damage and a system thereof. Lifetime information of a power device is comprehensively extracted by using multiple time scales. An electro-thermal coupling model of an IGBT module is established to obtain a junction temperature data. A steady-state junction temperature database of the IGBT in different aging states is established. Based on a SCADA monitoring data, the junction temperature data is outputted in real-time through the electro-thermal coupling model and a real-time thermal stress cycle number is calculated in a short-term time-scale profile, and a wind speed probability distribution curve is obtained in a long-term time-scale profile. A maximum thermal stress cycle number that the IGBT can withstand in different aging stages is obtained in advance and a cumulative damage degree and an estimated lifetime of the IGBT of the wind power converter are calculated.

A method analyzes an operation of a power semiconductor device. The method includes: providing a set of reference voltages of the power semiconductor device and a set of corresponding reference currents; measuring an on-state voltage and a corresponding on-state current of the power semiconductor device to obtain a measurement point; adapting the set of reference voltages by adapting two of the set of reference voltages lying closest to the measurement point by extrapolating the measurement point; and using the adapted set of reference voltages to analyze the operation of the power semiconductor device. The extrapolation is based on a predefined reference increment current and a predefined reference increment voltage.

A method and a system for online monitoring of a health status of an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module are provided, which belong to the field of IGBT status monitoring. In order to overcome the inability to real-time monitor health statuses of existing IGBT modules, the method of the disclosure includes the following steps. A current sensor is used to measure a collector current of each IGBT module. A collected current value is substituted into a simulation model to obtain a current imbalance rate. A failure module is located according to the current imbalance rate and temperature to achieve the objective of monitoring an IGBT health status.

A semiconductor device including: a semiconductor substrate; a temperature sensing unit provided on a front surface of the semiconductor substrate; an anode pad and a cathode pad electrically connected with the temperature sensing unit; a front surface electrode being set to a predetermined reference potential; and a bidirectional diode unit electrically connected in a serial bidirectional way between the cathode pad and the front surface electrode is provided. The bidirectional diode unit may be arranged between the anode pad and the cathode pad on the front surface.