Pressureless silver sintering is an interesting die-attach technique that could overcome the reliability limitations of the power electronic devices caused by their packaging. In this paper, we study the manufacturing parameters that affect the die attach: atmosphere, drying time, heating ramp rate, sintering temperature and duration. It is found that sintering under air gives better results, but causes the substrates to oxidize. Sintering under nitrogen keeps the surfaces oxide-free, at the cost of a weaker attach.

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More electric aircraft require converters that can operate over a wide temperature range (-55 to more than 200°C). Silicon carbide JFETs can satisfy these requirements, but there is a need for suitable peripheral components (gate drivers, passives. . . ). In this paper, we present a "smart power module" based on SiC JFETs and dedicated integrated gate driver circuits. The design is detailed, and some electrical results are given, showing proper operation of the module up to 200°C.