Flexible active cycle stress testing of smart power switches

Active cycle stress testing of smart power switches is conventionally performed either with current pulses of constant amplitude or with waveforms derived by switching inductive loads. A flexible test system is introduced that is capable of generating arbitrary current pulse shapes, which is verified experimentally on a typical smart power switch. It is demonstrated by a test run that pulses with different shape and amplitude but equal thermal stress derived from thermal simulation lead to comparable cycle life time.