The main reason for accelerated testing is the requirement for power electronic devices for high reliability, according to the respective application, and, therefore, to attain very low failure rates. Without accelerated testing any experimental validation of such low failure rates would be impossible.

Power electronic devices that are vulnerable to terrestrial cosmic radiation include power MOSFETs and JFETs, power diodes and IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors), which are usually employed for power switching and power conversion. They also include GTOs (Gate Turn-Off Thyristors) and Thyristors. Power devices may be with or without control logic and the may be components of integrated circuit. The maximum rated blocking voltage is higher than 300V (see note 2). Power devices may be based on Si, SiC and GaN technologies.