WILSONVILLE, Ore., May 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mentor Graphics
Corporation (NASDAQ: MENT) today announced a new MicReD® Power
Tester 600A product which tests electric and hybrid vehicle
(EV/HEV) power electronics reliability during power cycling. The
MicReD Power Tester 600A offering allows EV/HEV development and
reliability engineers to test power electronics (such as insulated
gate bipolar transistors – IGBTs, MOSFETs, transistors, and
chargers) for mission-critical thermal reliability and lifecycle
performance. Thermal reliability issues can result in EV/HEV
automotive recalls, and the ever wider adoption of electric and
hybrid cars has created a specific need for this solution. The
Mentor Graphics® MicReD Power Tester 600A product also meets the
industry's need for power electronics thermal simulation and test,
delivering unmatched accuracy and scalability.
Delta Electronics develops high-efficiency and high-density
power module products. "We apply the Power Tester 1500A to gain
insight into the lifetime performance and assure the reliability of
the IGBT module," said Andy Liao,
section manager, Delta Electronics. "The Power Tester 600A could
provide a scalable solution that would allow us to measure many
discrete power devices or modules concurrently. This increased
testing throughput would give us statistical failure data that we
need in order to accurately predict the field lifetime of the
products."
Reliability, Accuracy and Scalability Solves EV/HEV Power
Electronics Thermal Issues
Designers of today's
EV/HEVs are faced with significant mission-critical challenges:
foremost among these is ensuring the thermal reliability of power
electronics modules; detecting potential degradation of IGBTs
caused by a range of standard drive cycles; and identifying the
underlying damage root causes. Mentor's MicReD Power Tester 600A
solution provides accurate and reliable test results that scale to
real-world requirements:
- Comprehensive Diagnostics for Thermal Reliability: The
MicReD Power Tester 600A product provides a simple reliability
testing process for lifecycle estimation. Device set-up is easy and
power cycles are fully automated. The T3Ster® "structure function"
feature inside the Power Tester yields non-destructive
"failure-in-progress" data for each IGBT. All diagnostic
information is recorded during testing, from current, voltage and
die temperature sensing, to "structure function" changes that point
to reasons for failures in the package structure. Package
development, reliability and batch checking of incoming parts can
now be tested before production.
- Simulation Accuracy: The MicReD Power Tester 600A
product can power IGBT modules through tens of thousands of cycles.
This provides "real-time" failure-in-progress data for diagnostics,
significantly reducing test time and eliminating the need for
post-mortem or destructive failure analysis. Associated 3D CFD
(computational fluid dynamics) simulation errors can be reduced
from typically up to 20% to 0.5% for accurate thermal
characterization of IGBTs and components due to Mentor's
calibration technology solely found in the MicReD T3Ster
product.
- Scalability – Tests Up to 128 IGBTs in Series: Up to
eight MicReD 600A Power Testers can be chained together to allow
users to power cycle up to 128 IGBTs simultaneously in a system
test. The MicReD Power Tester 600A product delivers 48V under load,
and users can deal with components mounted externally on cooling
systems for maximum flexibility. The MicReD Power Tester 600A also
meets the needs of emerging de facto EV/HEV power
electronics testing best practices such as those currently being
developed for the German automotive industry.
MicReD Power Tester 600A – Part of a Comprehensive
Solution
Mentor Graphics is uniquely positioned as the only
company that can provide a complete thermal software simulation and
hardware testing solution specifically for the EV/HEV market. The
MicReD Power Tester 600A product can be coupled with Mentor's
leading CFD simulation technologies. Mentor's FloTHERM® and FloEFD™
3D CFD software provide front-loading thermal simulation of power
modules. When coupled with the Flowmaster® full vehicle
thermo-fluid system-of-system 1D CFD modeling tool, this yields
unparalleled levels of accuracy. This is done by MicReD's T3Ster
technology providing CFD input material properties for automated
model calibration functionality to accurately simulate the real
temperature response of an EV/HEV's dynamic power input. This
combination of technologies allows users to generate IGBT thermal
lifetime failure estimations with the greatest accuracy
possible.
"The MicReD Power Tester 600A is an extension of our total
solution in automotive thermal engineering, and there is no other
product like this for the EV/HEV market today," stated Roland
Feldhinkel, general manager of Mentor Graphics Mechanical Analysis
Division. "We have leveraged our best-in-class products to deliver
a comprehensive thermal simulation and hardware test solution that
meets auto maker EV/HEV industry needs while supporting the rapid
growth forecast for the market in the next few years."
Product Availability
Mentor Graphics is now accepting
orders for the MicReD Power Tester 600A with shipping scheduled for
summer of 2016. For additional product information, please visit
the company website: www.mentor.com/powertester-600a.
About Mentor Graphics
Mentor Graphics Corporation
(NASDAQ: MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and
software design solutions, providing products, consulting services
and award-winning support for the world's most successful
electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the
company reported revenues in the last fiscal year of approximately
$1.18 billion. Corporate headquarters
are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. World Wide Web
site: http://www.mentor.com/.
(Mentor Graphics, Mentor, FloTHERM, Flowmaster, and T3Ster are
registered trademarks, and FloEFD is a trademark of Mentor Graphics
Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered
trademarks of their respective owners.)
For more information, please contact:
Larry Toda
Mentor Graphics
503.685.1664
larry_toda@mentor.com
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SOURCE Mentor Graphics Corporation