Evaluating the Safety Isolation of the Package in an Integrated Power Device

Power devices that integrate a high-voltage switch and provide internal safety-rated isolation enable compact power supply solutions for automotive applications. To meet safety requirements in an automotive application, manufacturers are required to demonstrate that in the event of a fault condition, the system will not cause hazard or injury to the end-user. In this paper, a method for evaluating package safety isolation is described. An artificially induced catastrophic failure of the power switch is used to cause package damage in the vicinity of the high-voltage switch. Post-failure isolation tests demonstrate that the integrity of the isolation barrier within the semi-conductor device is maintained.