Testing challenges along WBG and UWBG devices roadmap

The rapid growth of the power electronics market is ushering in a new era of testing. While Si-based technology has seen significant advancements in structure, design, and material properties, the increasing demand for higher current, voltage, packaging density, and operating temperature is exposing performance limitations. In response, wide bandgap (WBG) and, more notably, ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors are emerging as strong alternatives. These materials offer inherent advantages over silicon, including higher voltage breakdown, faster switching frequencies, comparable carrier mobility, larger energy bandgaps, and superior thermal conductivity. These benefits make WBG and UWBG technologies ideal for high-power applications across industries like solar energy, electric vehicles, aerospace, and more. To keep pace with these advancements, testing equipment suppliers must make significant improvements to their tools, methodologies, and analysis processes. This requires not only a deep understanding of the physical phenomena that govern these technologies but also the ability to model and simulate sophisticated circuitry while accounting for parasitic behaviours. Additionally, rigorous testing capabilities are essential. Testing protocols must be designed to qualify these devices under extreme conditions, including high electrical specifications, prolonged operation at elevated temperatures, and controlled environments that manage factors such as temperature, humidity, and pressure. This article aims to outline the key requirements for testing WBG technologies and their analysis. It will propose technical solutions for mitigating known issues in Probe Card design, offer development approaches based on modelling and simulation, and suggest directions for future fine-tuned simulations. Ansys tools are utilized for modelling and simulation, and the article will provide a state-of-the-art review along with experimental results and model fitting, which will be presented in detail soon.