Comparative Study on Power Module Architectures for Modularity and Scalability

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiC) wide bandgap power electronics are being applied in hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and electrical vehicles (EV). The Department of Energy (DOE) has set target performance goals for 2025 to promote EV and HEV as a means of carbon emission reduction and long-term sustainability. Challenges include higher expectations on power density, performance, efficiency, thermal management, compactness, cost, and reliability. This study will benchmark state of the art silicon and SiC technologies. Power modules used in commercial traction inverters are analyzed for their within-package first-level interconnect methods, module architecture, and integration with cooling structure. A few power module package architectures from both industry-adopted standards and proposed patented technologies are compared in modularity and scalability for integration into inverters. The current trends of power module architectures and their integration into inverter are also discussed. The development of an eco-system to support the wide bandgap semiconductors-based power electronics is highlighted as an ongoing challenge.

Performance Improvement Strategies for Discrete Wide Bandgap Devices: A Systematic Review

“…Discrete and module packages are commonly used in low and high power applications, respectively. In medium power applications such as an electric vehicle (EV), both packages can be employed (Bertelshofer et al, 2019;Lu, 2020;Infineon, 2021c). Module packages have advantages of high current ratings and low package inductance (Chen et al, 2017;Hou et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2020).…”

“…Module packages have advantages of high current ratings and low package inductance (Chen et al, 2017;Hou et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2020). However, they are expensive and lack design flexibility (Jahns and Dai, 2017;Bertelshofer et al, 2019;Lu, 2020). The discrete package features a cost-optimized solution and enables quick prototyping of available convert designs at different power levels (Bertelshofer et al, 2019;Lee et al, 2020).…”

Melt Processable Novolac Cyanate Ester/Biphenyl Epoxy Copolymer Series with Ultrahigh Glass-Transition Temperature

“…It protects the chip and interconnects against dust, moisture, chemicals, and mechanical stresses from both internally and the environment . Compared to the traditional silicone gel sealing, the fast-adopted molded power cards encapsulated by EMC offer advantages including modular design, compacted form factor, and the ability to inject mold-complicated structures in three-dimensional (3D) packages or double-sided cooling modules. , Though tremendous progresses in epoxy and epoxy composite technologies have been seen in the recent years, − typical epoxy (EP) resins could not withstand a continuous operation at a temperature above 150 °C, even with higher end products with higher aromaticity in backbones and higher cross-link densities. , Their low glass-transition temperatures ( T g ) expose the high coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) to other substrates, generating interfacial stress that could lead to failure. Furthermore, the resins suffer from degradation and further decompose under high heat for a prolonged period, which severely deteriorate the physical and mechanical properties of EMCs that are crucial to protect the package.…”

“…6 Compared to the traditional silicone gel sealing, the fast-adopted molded power cards encapsulated by EMC offer advantages including modular design, compacted form factor, and the ability to inject mold-complicated structures in three-dimensional (3D) packages or double-sided cooling modules. 7,8 Though tremendous progresses in epoxy and epoxy composite technologies have been seen in the recent years, 9−11 with higher aromaticity in backbones and higher cross-link densities. 6,12 Their low glass-transition temperatures (T g ) expose the high coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) to other substrates, generating interfacial stress that could lead to failure.…”