Failure Analysis of the dc-dc Converter: A Comprehensive Survey of Faults and Solutions for Improving Reliability

In many industrial applications, power interruption is not tolerated, and a highly reliable power electronics system is required. In fact, a failure on the power converter penalizes not only the maintenance cost (to repair or change the converter), but also the operational cost, because the service is interrupted. Thus, this article investigates the failure in dc-dc converters, with the aim to identify the most vulnerable devices and discuss solutions for improving the converter's availability.