High-Temperature (250°C) SiC Power Module Integrated with LTCC-Based Isolated Gate Driver

Eliminating the need for bulky and costly cooling components commonly used in silicon-based power electronic systems is essential to operate safely at high temperatures. However, reducing the parasitic components due to gate-driving conductors is a significant barrier to fully realizing the potential of the 1.2kV/120A SiC power module. There is a lack of qualified high-temperature packaging systems in some volume-sensitive applications, such as EV power modules. In this paper, a proposal of a new isolated gate driver architecture that allows the power module to operate at 250°C, manufactured by the low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) multilayer circuit process technology. The design is based on monetarized and embedded LTCC gate drivers using a high thermal conductivity substrate with integrated LTCC chip carriers bonding optocoupler isolations and high-temperature encapsulation materials to provide excellent stability and adequate electrical and thermal conductivity. Commercially available High Temperature (HT) discrete components were used for this design.