A thermal impedance monitoring process for a
power module of a power converter for converting a
DC current to an
AC current, or converting an
AC circuit to a
DC current, where a
semiconductor dissipates asymmetric losses between two half cycles of an
AC frequency f of the
AC current, said
power module comprising at least a
semiconductor die, a
semiconductor die is attached to a stack of materials of
layers for heat dissipation and / or
electrical connection thereof, the process comprising: sampling and measuring a
signal related to a
junction temperature Tj of the semiconductor die at a frequency higher than twice the
AC frequency of the
AC current, calculating a duration [
Delta] t = tTjmax-tTjmin between a moment tTjmax at which the
junction temperature of the semiconductor die is at a maximum value and a moment tTjmin at which the
junction temperature is at a minimum value in one cycle of the AC current, and storing the duration [
Delta] t in a memory, repeating the step of sampling and measuring said
signal and the step of calculating said duration at different times tx = t0 to tm during the
operating life of the
power module to provide a series of durations [
Delta] t0 to [Delta] tm, and comparing the values of said durations [Delta] t0 to [Delta] tm for monitoring the evolution of said duration [Delta] t, and determining the evolution of the degradation of the thermal impedance of the power module.