Multi-physics Modeling of a Power Electronics Package with Integrated Cooling

Recent efforts have shown that the integrated cooling approach is a promising solution to dramatically increase the power density of modern power electronics systems. With the ever-increasing demand in various industries, the overall size and cost of power electronics packages need to be minimized with multi-functional components. Thus, this study focuses on a novel integrated packaging concept for SiC MOSFET-based power modules, with expanded functionality of package components. Considering multiple trade-offs in design, the benefits of the proposed integrated approach are explored over a standard package solution in a multi-physics modeling environment. Results show that maximum stress in devices and maximum strain in joints can be significantly reduced by 58.4% and 50.0%, respectively, compared to the standard package solution. Parasitic inductance of 1.6 nH can be achieved with optimal design of electrical busbars if special care is given to the maximum electric field and minimum allowable feature sizes in design. Moreover, Joule heating effect should be addressed in miniaturized structures if the electrical input current exceeds a critical level at the electrical busbars. Overall, integrated packaging with multi-functional terminals offers superior performance over standard packaging solutions. With the understanding of the package behavior, main challenges are discussed to guide multi-physics-based design efforts in future studies.