Reliability is a critical performance metric for power semiconductor switches and power electronic systems. Yet guidance on how to test and quantify that reliability is fragmented in the existing literature, particularly with the rapid adoption of wide-bandgap (WBG) devices and novel packaging technologies. This review brings guidance on what designers, reliability engineers, and researchers need to know about power cycling testing (PCT). We provide three major contents: first, introducing how new materials and packaging shift dominant failure mechanisms; second, comparing the main PCT standards joint electron device engineering council (JEDEC), automotive electronics council (AEC), international electrotechnical commission (IEC), and automotive qualification guideline (AQG) and explaining why the “test-to-fail” standard principle is overtaking legacy “test-to-pass” rules; and third, summarizing the unique challenges and existing solutions of applying PCT methods to WBG and ultra-WBG devices. Notably, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first in-depth analysis of the newly released IEC 60749-34:2025 and AQG 324:2025, benchmarked against their earlier editions. Moreover, by collecting more than 200 testing samples from the existing literature, we also offer the first generic lifetime model that spans Si, SiC, multiple bond-wire materials, and die-attach technologies. Finally, the limitations and associated open questions are discussed to identify future research opportunities.

1500-V photovoltaic (PV) configuration is the standard design in the solar PV industry. Extending the maximum dc voltage from 1000 to 1500 V can reduce the installation cost of the entire power plant. However, it may affect the reliability of the corresponding 1500-V PV inverters, due to the increased loading stresses, i.e., voltage stress and thermal loading of power devices. In this context, this article proposes a solution to the reliability enhancement of silicon carbide- mosfet -based 1500-V PV inverters with variable gate resistance. This solution offers a possibility to adaptively adjust the switching speed to make a compromise between the switching power loss and voltage overshoot during commutation, thus enhancing the reliability. The evaluation results based on the mission profile of a 125-kW 1500-V PV system installed in Denmark indicate that the PV inverter with the proposed design, i.e., variable gate resistance, can improve reliability performance compared to the fixed gate resistance solution while ensuring a safer operating voltage margin.

Power electronics have been and will continue to be an enabling technology for energy production, storage, transmission, distribution, and consumption. Power electronic converters are usually the critical links in electrical energy systems, affecting system security, safety, energy efficiency, and cost-of-ownership. As a result, the reliability requirements for power electronic components and converter systems generally become more stringent, for example, in e-mobility, renewable energy generation, and power system applications. Testing is one of the vital reliability engineering tools to investigate failure mechanisms, identify weakest points, and demonstrate robustness margins. It contributes to reliability growth along the product development process and the likelihood of failure reduction in field operation. The required resources (i.e., testing time, sample size, and testing facility) and the relevance of the testing results to field operation are two crucial considerations in implementing a reliability test. This article introduces the emerging application-oriented testing concepts and facilities through several component-level and converter-level examples.

Power electronic components in fast electric vehicle charging systems (FEVCSs) are invariably subjected to high electrical stresses, compromising the reliability of the entire charging system. Therefore, to ensure a robust and cost-effective operation, reliability estimation must be considered as an integral aspect of the design process of FEVCSs. This article presents a comprehensive reliability analysis strategy, which is applicable for both wired and wireless FEVCSs. The proposed strategy estimates the reliability at component to system-level and analyzes the impact of rest periods on FEVCS reliability. This is achieved through two modeling steps, consisting of an electro-thermal model and a reliability estimation model. Experimental results are presented to validate the proposed strategy. The findings, based on a case study of two 80 kW wired and wireless FEVCSs, are presented to demonstrate how the lifetime and reliability of semiconductor switches, capacitors, and overall chargers are influenced by the fast charging conditions. The study also shows how the introduction of rest periods to the charging schedule will substantially influence the reliability of both wired and wireless FEVCSs.

Power electronic converters are essential in modern electrical and electronic applications, necessitating the study on power electronic reliability for dependable design and operation. In earlier research on power electronic reliability, the mission profiles have been mapped to thermal stresses and lifetimes, while its applications are generally focused on steady-state scenarios. It turns out to be time-consuming and inefficient to repeat the entire procedures for addressing the impact of stress variances or model uncertainties. In this context, this article defines the sensitivity for power electronic reliability and provides a sensitivity-based perspective on system optimization, where the concept is formulated through two steps, accounting for thermal stresses and lifetime, respectively. The applications of sensitivities for thermal stresses and lifetime are demonstrated, which serve as identifiers of critical factors and quantitative metrics of marginal performances. Upon this, possibilities are also emerging for enhancing the cost-effectiveness of reliability validations and encompassing model robustness into reliability analysis and prediction.