A calorimetry-based measurement apparatus for switching losses in high power electronic devices

Conference paper (2016)

Authors

Demetrio Iero Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria
Francesco G. Della Corte Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria
G. Fiorentino Electronic Components, Technology and Materials - EEMCS
Pasqualina M Sarro Electronic Components, Technology and Materials - EEMCS
Research Group
Electronic Components, Technology and Materials (EEMCS) (TU Delft)
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Published Date

2016

Language

English

Reuse Rights

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Faculty

Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

Department

Microelectronics

Research Group

Electronic Components, Technology and Materials

Abstract

The measurement of the power dissipated by a semiconductor device is essential to evaluate the performance and reliability of power electronics systems. Power loss measurement can be difficult when the device is highly efficient and the losses are extremely low. When measuring the efficiency of an electronic system, many kind of errors can be introduced by the probes or by instruments and therefore the use of bulky and expensive set-ups are often required. The paper presents a simple method based on a heat flux measurement sensor that allows the estimation by calorimetry of the power dissipated by a semiconductor device. A control/readout circuit keeps the switching device at room temperature minimizing the heat exchanged with the ambient, improving the accuracy of the measurement.