Standards Development

Scope

This International Standard specifies the reliability requirements of solid insulations within semiconductor devices and their evaluation methods which should serve as supplementary, basic, and/or reinforced isolation according to the IEC60664-1, -2, -3 and -4.

Purpose

The semiconductor industry has been integrating more and more devic e functions like sensors, couplers, and other passive devices like discrete transformers and capacitances besides their semiconductor chips into one package. Such devices are called “System-in-Package” (SiP). Such SiP can also provide an isolation function according to the IEC60664.

Up to now, there are just two specialized IEC standards on opto - and magnetic-/capacitance couplers which are concerned with the isolation reliability.

Furthermore, there are established standards on isolated power semiconductors. Nevertheless, hall-based current sensors are offering also an isolation function, but they cannot be certified due to a missing reliability standard. The same holds true for several other types of magnetic current sensors. To be future-proof, other integrated device functions including isolation properties should be covered as well.

There is no general standard on isolation reliability and its evaluation for semiconductor devices (TC47). This international standard establishes the basis for evaluating the reliability of solid insulation within semiconductor devices. It shall not be used as standalone standard for component certifications, but as reference point for component standards.

For component certifications their specific standards shall be used. It describes the key breakdown mechanisms, aging behavior and subsequent failure mechanisms of the isolating semiconductor devices. Further it specifies the measurement methods to address these failure mechanisms of the isolation during development, qualification and production.

This international standard specifies the failure mechanisms and measurement methods, essential insulation material characteristics, safety test and terminology for the evaluation of the reliability of solid insulation for semiconductor devices. The general standard is limited to the internal solid insulation of packages.

So, it is concerned with the isolation between different voltage domains within the package. Clearance and creepage for packages are already well defined by the IEC60664 and the different system standards. IEC60505 provides a good overview and base on the important failure mechanisms and aspects related to isolation of equipment.

The fundamental failure mechanisms described in the IEC60505 to a large extend also apply to the field of semiconductors. Hence, in the following document the IEC60505 was taken as a base and was adapted it to the needs of the field of semiconductors.

The semiconductor industry is working on new materials which allow much thinner isolation thicknesses. These new systems are in the focus of this new horizontal NP and its potential future parts.