JEDEC publishes new thermal testing standard inspired by Mentor Graphics T3Ster technology

WILSONVILLE, USA: Mentor Graphics Corp. announced that JEDEC, the organization dedicated to open standards in the microelectronics industry, has approved a thermal transient testing-based measurement methodology inspired by an original idea published1 jointly by the Mentor Graphics MicReD group and the Automotive Power Application group of Infineon in 2005.

The new JEDEC standard has been very important for end users in many industries, such as automotive electronics, where power semiconductor devices are extensively used. As of today, the Mentor Graphics T3Ster thermal transient tester from the MicReD group and its related software is the only commercially available product which fully implements the new JESD51-14 standard and provides the needed level of measurement accuracy.

JEDEC standard
After an extensive review process by the JEDEC JC15 committee on thermal characterization techniques for semiconductor packages, the organization approved the new measurement methodology for the junction-to-case thermal resistance of power semiconductor devices. The new methodology ensures much higher accuracy and repeatability than classical steady-state measurements based on older standards.

This newly published JESD51-14 standard is titled “Transient Dual Interface Test Method for the Measurement of the Thermal Resistance Junction-to-case of Semiconductor Devices with Heat Flow through a Single Path.” The methodology used in this new standard is very similar to the method which can also be used to characterize thermal interface materials (TIMs).

The test method is extensively studied and refined by certain JEDEC JC15 committee member organizations. The methodology was qualified in a round-robin test in thermal testing laboratories of five different member organizations of the JC15 committee which were actively involved in the development of thermal testing standards.

The thermal expert group of Infineon, led by Dirk Schweitzer and Heinz Pape, conclude the following in their most recent technical publication2 on transient dual interface measurement, which will be presented at the 2011 IEEE SEMI-THERM Thermal Measurement, Modeling and Management Symposium, March 20-24, 2011 in San Jose, CA: “For the target group of power packages with a single heat-flow path, the new JEDEC standard should now provide a reliable and reproducible method to determine the Rth-JC. [junction-to-case thermal resistance] …The high reproducibility of the TDI measurement enables a fair comparison between Rth-JC values of devices from different vendors.”