KR20210136987A - High power multilayer module with low inductance and fast switching for parallelizing power devices - Google Patents

Abstract

at least one substrate, a housing arranged on the at least one power substrate, a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one power substrate, a second terminal comprising a contact surface, a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one power substrate , a plurality of power devices arranged and connected on the at least one power substrate, wherein the third terminal is electrically connected to at least one of the plurality of power devices. The power module further includes a base plate and a plurality of fin fins arranged on the base plate, wherein the plurality of fin fins are configured to provide direct cooling for the power module.

Description

High power multilayer module with low inductance and fast switching for parallelizing power devices

This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 16/658,630, filed on October 21, 2019, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, and this application was filed on February 2, 2019 Further claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 16/266,771, filed on Jan. 4, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes as fully set forth herein, which application was filed Jan. 10, 2019 It further claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/790,965, filed on Oct. 14, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein; It further claims priority to the filed US Provisional Patent Application No. 62/914,847, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

The present disclosure relates to a high power multilayer module with low inductance and fast switching for parallelizing power devices. The present disclosure also relates to a process for constructing a high power multilayer module with low inductance and fast switching for parallelizing power devices.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, power modules are known in various forms. A power module generally provides physical containment for a power component, such as a power semiconductor device. These power semiconductors are typically soldered or sintered onto a power electronic substrate. Power modules typically carry power semiconductors, provide electrical and thermal contacts, and include electrical isolation.

Current trends in electrification are increasing the demand for power modules, including power semiconductor devices, power electronics and/or the like, associated with power modules. For example, improved efficiency and higher power density. These requirements extend from the system level to the component level. However, the operation of the power module to meet this demand increases the heat generation inside the power module. Increased heat generation limits the ability of the power module to operate due to physical limitations of power semiconductor devices, power electronics, and the like. In particular, various components of a power module, including power semiconductor devices, power electronics, and the like, generally have operating temperature limitations.

In addition, the parasitic impedance of the power module limits the practical implementation of such devices in the current technology. Specifically, loop inductance during a switching event can cause voltage overshoot and ringing. This reduces stability, increases switching losses, creates electromagnetic interference (EMI), and stresses system components. Ultimately, this factor may limit the maximum switching frequency, which is desirable for reducing the size of external filters in power conversion systems.

Accordingly, there is a need for a power module configured to handle the additional heat generation.

There is also a need for a power module configured to handle parasitic impedances, such as loop inductance, to increase stability, reduce switching losses, reduce EMI, and/or limit stress on system components.

One general aspect includes at least one electrically conductive power substrate, a housing arranged on the at least one electrically conductive power substrate, a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one electrically conductive power substrate, the first terminal comprising the housing a contact surface positioned on the second terminal comprising a contact surface positioned on the housing, a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one electrically conductive power substrate, the at least one electrically conductive power substrate a plurality of power devices arranged and connected thereon, the third terminal electrically connected to at least one of the plurality of power devices, a base plate; and a power module comprising a plurality of pin fins arranged on the base plate, wherein the plurality of pin fins are configured to provide direct cooling to the power module.

One general aspect includes a base plate, at least one power board, a housing arranged on the at least one power board, a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board, a second terminal, the at least one power board a third terminal electrically coupled to a third terminal, a plurality of power devices electrically coupled to the at least one power substrate, a gate-source board electrically coupled to the plurality of power devices, a plurality of pin pins arranged on the base plate; and a power module comprising: the plurality of fins configured to provide direct cooling to the power module.

One general aspect includes providing at least one power board, arranging a housing on the at least one power board, connecting a first terminal to the at least one power board, providing a second terminal. Step, electrically connecting a third terminal to the at least one power board, coupling a plurality of power devices to the at least one power board, mounting a gate-source board electrically connected to the plurality of power devices wherein the gate-source board is configured to receive at least one electrical signal, providing a plurality of fins arranged on the base plate, and the plurality of fins to cool at least one component of the power module. and a method of configuring a power module comprising configuring a pin of a pin.

Additional features, advantages and aspects of the present disclosure may be described or become apparent in consideration of the following detailed description, drawings and claims. In addition, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the present disclosure and the following detailed description are exemplary and are intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the present disclosure as claimed.

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. No attempt has been made to show structural details of the present disclosure in more detail than are necessary for a basic understanding and various ways in which this disclosure may be practiced. From the drawing:
1A schematically illustrates a half bridge based topology of a power module in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;
FIG. 1B shows the current loop between the DC link capacitor and the switch position inside the power module of FIG. 1A.
2 illustrates various interconnections and associated impedances in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
3 illustrates various interconnections and associated impedances of switch positions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
4A shows a schematic perspective view of a power module in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;
4B shows a top schematic diagram of a power module in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;
5 illustrates a plurality of single-phase modules in a parallel configuration according to aspects of the present disclosure.
6A illustrates a first power module configuration according to an aspect of the present disclosure.
6B illustrates a second power module configuration according to an aspect of the present disclosure.
7 illustrates a plurality of power modules in a full bridge configuration in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
8 illustrates a plurality of power modules in a three-phase configuration in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
9 illustrates a single power module having a full bridge configuration in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
10 illustrates an exploded view of a power module in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
11 shows a partial view of the power module of FIG. 10 ;
12A shows a top view of a phase leg of a power module constructed in accordance with the present disclosure, with each node identified in a half bridge topology.
12B shows a schematic diagram of a phase leg of a power module configured in accordance with the present disclosure, with each node identified in the half bridge topology according to FIG. 12A ;
Figure 13 shows a cross-sectional view of the phase leg of Figures 12a and 12b;
14 shows a cross-sectional view of the phase leg of FIGS. 12A and 12B including the current path;
15 illustrates a contact surface of a power module with busing in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
16A, 16B, and 16C illustrate various aspects of a terminal of a power module in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
17 schematically illustrates a plurality of devices connected in parallel in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
18 illustrates a perspective view of an effective gate switching loop in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
19 illustrates a top view of an effective gate switching loop in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.
20 depicts a partial example implementation including a power module in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
21 illustrates an exemplary stacked bus bar in accordance with the present disclosure.
22 shows a portion of an exemplary stacked bus bar according to FIG. 21 .
23 shows another portion of the exemplary stacked bus bar according to FIG. 21 .
24 illustrates a phase output bus bar according to the present disclosure.
25 shows a perspective view of an example implementation including a power module and stacked bus bars in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
FIG. 26 shows a first cross-sectional view of an exemplary implementation including a power module according to FIG. 25 and stacked bus bars;
FIG. 27 shows a second cross-sectional view of an example implementation including a power module according to FIG. 25 and stacked bus bars;
28 and 29 show exemplary single module gate drivers in accordance with the present disclosure.
30 illustrates a current sensing component in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.
31 shows a current sensing component arranged with a phase output bus bar according to FIG. 30 ;
32 illustrates an exemplary three-phase motor drive power in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
33 schematically illustrates a plurality of power devices in parallel in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
34 illustrates a top view of an effective gate switching loop and power module in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
35 illustrates a perspective view of a configuration including a power module and a housing in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;
Fig. 36 shows a side view of the configuration of Fig. 35;
Fig. 37 shows a partial perspective view of the configuration of Fig. 35;
Fig. 38 shows another partial perspective view of the configuration of Fig. 35;
Fig. 39 shows another partial perspective view of the configuration of Fig. 35;
Fig. 40 shows another partial perspective view of the configuration of Fig. 35;
Fig. 41 shows another partial perspective view of the configuration of Fig. 35;
42 illustrates a process for implementing and operating a configuration including a power module.
43 illustrates a perspective bottom side view of a power module according to an aspect of the present disclosure;
44 shows a side view of the power module according to FIG. 43 ;
45 shows a bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. 43 ;
FIG. 46 shows a partial perspective bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. 43 ;
47 illustrates a perspective bottom side view of a power module according to an aspect of the present disclosure;
48 shows a side view of the power module according to FIG. 47 ;
49 shows a bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. 47 ;
FIG. 50 shows a partial perspective bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. 47 ;
51 illustrates a perspective bottom side view of a power module according to an aspect of the present disclosure;
FIG. 52 shows a side view of the power module according to FIG. 51 ;
53 shows a bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. 51 ;
FIG. 54 shows a partial perspective bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. 51 ;
55 illustrates a perspective bottom side view of a power module according to an aspect of the present disclosure;
FIG. 56 shows a side view of the power module according to FIG. 55 ;
57 shows a bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. 55 ;
58 illustrates a perspective view of a power module implementation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
59 illustrates a perspective view of a power module implementation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.
60 shows a perspective view of a power module implementation according to FIG. 59;
61 shows a graph plotting junction temperature versus output current for two different power modules.

Aspects of the present disclosure and its various features and advantageous details are more fully described with reference to the non-limiting aspects and examples set forth and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be noted that features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one aspect may be used in conjunction with another aspect, as one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize, even if not explicitly recited herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present disclosure. The examples used herein are merely intended to facilitate an understanding of how the present disclosure may be practiced and to enable any person skilled in the art to practice aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the examples and aspects herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the drawings.

This disclosure describes a power module that may include a structure optimized for advanced wideband gap power semiconductor devices such as gallium nitride (GaN), silicon carbide (SiC), etc., which carries large amounts of current and voltage, and is In comparison, it can switch at increasingly faster speeds. Existing power electronic device packages are limited in functionality for these semiconductors with an internal layout for silicon (Si) device technology.

The disclosed power module can be configured to evenly distribute current between large arrays of parallel devices with significantly lower loop inductance than standard packaging approaches. A multi-level current path with cascaded power terminals simplifies external connections with bussing systems, reducing the inductance between the power module and the filtering capacitor. The layout of the power module is highly configurable and can be configured to adopt most power circuit topologies common in the power electronics industry.

The disclosed power module significantly improves internal module performance, system level implementation, manufacturability and ease of use through the addition of a tighter power loop and logical external terminal placement.

In this regard, the disclosed power module may be configured to provide at least one or more of the following:

Highly optimized low inductance power module construction.

Modular, scalable, flexible layout and power flow.

Equally paralleling many power semiconductors to form a high current switch position.

Optimized gate and sense signal structures for parallelization of many power semiconductors.

Sensing connector for temperature sensing and overcurrent protection.

Form factor suitable for high voltage operation up to about 1700V (Volts) and higher.

Extendable height to exceed 1700V operation.

Multilayer inner conductor layout for optimized external system interconnection.

Modular internal structure designed to accommodate a variety of advanced materials, attachments, insulation and interconnection technologies.

Highly optimized for high-performance system-level integration.

Easy paralleling allows direct scaling to higher currents.

Configurable in a variety of power topologies, including half-bridge, full-bridge, three phase, booster, and chopper arrangements.

Implementing a scalable system to meet a variety of power processing needs.

In essence, the disclosed power module configurations may allow full utilization of the capabilities of advanced power semiconductors, providing significant improvements in power density, switching, efficiency, and the like.

The power devices of the power module have various structures and purposes. The term 'power device' refers to various types of transistors and diodes designed for high voltages and currents. Transistors can be controllable switches that allow unidirectional or bidirectional current flow (depending on the device type), whereas diodes can allow current flow in one direction and not controllable. Transistor types are: Metal Oxide Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET), Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET), Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT), Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (JFET) Transistor, IGBT), etc., but are not limited thereto.

Power devices may include Wide Band Gap (WBG) semiconductors, including gallium nitride (GaN), silicon carbide (SiC), etc., which have many advantages over conventional silicon (Si) as a material for power devices. provides Nevertheless, various aspects of the present disclosure may utilize Si type power devices and achieve many of the advantages described herein. Key metrics of WBG semiconductors may include one or more of the following non-limiting aspects.

Higher voltage cutoff.

higher current density.

higher temperature operation.

faster switching.

Improved thermal performance.

Low on-resistance (reduced conduction losses).

Lower turn-on and turn-off energy (reduced switching losses). It should be understood that these aforementioned key metrics of WBG semiconductors are not required and may not be implemented in some aspects of the present disclosure.

In order to effectively utilize the WBG semiconductor device, a power module (also referred to as a power package) is used. A power module may provide multiple functions including one or more of the following non-limiting aspects.

Provision of electrical interconnection of power semiconductor devices in useful topologies.

Protection of sensitive devices from moisture, vibration and contamination.

Creation of effective and efficient means for the removal of waste heat generated in devices as a result of conduction and switching losses.

Ease of system-level implementation with strong power and signal electrical connections to internal layouts. The power and signal electrical connections may be implementations of bolt-on, crimp-on, solder, plug and receptacle, and the like.

Provides voltage safety with internal dielectric encapsulation and external voltage creepage and clearance according to industry adopted standards.

It should be understood that such above-described functionality is not required and may not be implemented in some aspects of the present disclosure.

1A schematically illustrates a half bridge based topology of a power module in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure; A half-bridge-based topology is the basic building block of many switching power converters. For motor drives, inverters and DC-DC converters, this topology is typically connected to a DC power supply 112 , with a bank of DC link capacitors 102 being the intermediate connection between them. This is schematically shown in Figure 1a. The DC link capacitor 102 may act to filter ripple on the line and counteract the effects of inductance in the current path. Two half-bridges in parallel may form a full bridge, while three in parallel may form a three-phase topology. A three-phase topology is often referred to as a six-pack, representing the switch positions of six of the three-phase legs. In addition, other topologies are contemplated for power modules comprising a common source, common drain and neutral point clamp.

1A further shows the power module 100 having one or more switch positions 104 . The power module 100 may include a first terminal 106 , a second terminal 108 , and a third terminal 110 .

FIG. 1B shows the current loop between the switch position and the DC link capacitor inside the power module of FIG. 1A . The current loop 114 between the DC link capacitor 102 and the switch position 104 inside the power module 100 is critically important in systems that significantly affect the switching performance of the semiconductor.

No system is perfect. For example, undesirable parasitic resistance, capacitance and inductance are present in all electrical systems. These impedances have a detrimental effect on performance and reliability unless they are reduced or mitigated. Although resistance and capacitance may be associated with each interconnect, it may be parasitic inductance that has the greatest impact on switching power devices. High inductance results in high stored energy in the magnetic field, resulting in voltage overshoot and ringing during switching transitions.

2 illustrates various interconnections and associated impedances in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. For a power conversion system, such as the half-bridge configuration of the power module 100 shown in FIG. 1A , within each component including the DC link capacitor 102 , the bussing system 202 and the power module 100 , etc. And there is an impedance 204 in the physical interconnect between them. This is shown in Figure 2 for inductance. Impedances associated with more functional elements are often present in power converters, but for switching performance these loops may be the most important.

In most power converters, this inductance must be carefully considered in the system design. Often, this requires adding more DC link capacitors 102 or lowering the switching speed to counter parasitic effects. Although effective, it results in larger systems (larger and heavier capacitors) with greater losses (due to slower switching events where both higher currents and voltages are present).

In power packages intended for Si devices, typical turn-on and turn-off times of Si IGBTs are inherently slow enough that the inductance encountered in the inner power loop is sufficiently low. However, for very fast switching of wide-gap devices such as SiC MOSFETs, voltage overshoots of hundreds of volts can occur due to the inductance of conventional packages.

This problem is further amplified by the need to parallelize many SiC devices together to reach high current levels in the power module 100 . A parallelized array of power switches and diodes in various combinations (all switches, all diodes, interleaved diodes, edge diodes, etc.) is referred to as a 'position' or 'switch position'. Each switch in switch position 104 acts together as a single effective switch to either increase the amount of current the circuit can handle or lower the effective resistance to reduce overall losses.

3 illustrates various interconnections and associated impedances of switch positions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. At switch position 104, each switch or power device 302 has its own individual current path in the structure. Each interconnect has an associated impedance 204 as shown in FIG. 3 . As further shown in FIG. 3 , switch position 104 may include any number of power devices 302 as indicated by the symbol shown by arrow 304 . The active current paths are equalized between the power devices 302 so that each of them sees a matched inductance. Otherwise, the currents and voltages encountered during the switching transition may not be equally shared among the power devices 302 across the switch position 104, stressing the components unevenly and increasing switching losses. This is exacerbated by thermal effects. Uneven current loading and switching events create uneven thermal rise resulting in drift in semiconductor characteristics and more instability in parallelized switch positions 104 .

Conventional power packages are typically designed for single Si IGBTs or small arrays of these devices (usually no more than four). As a result, they are not suitable for paralleling a large number of SiC MOSFETs and diodes (or similar wideband gap devices) in a way that provides clean and well controlled switching.

The disclosed power module 100 provides a solution for a power device 302 , such as a wideband gap device, which may include one or more of the following non-limiting aspects:

Reduction of the internal inductance of the power module 100 .

Ease of equalized current paths between parallelized power devices 302 at switch positions 104 .

Equal heat sharing between power devices 302 across switch positions 104.

Retention of an external structure allowing low inductance interconnection with DC link capacitor 102 .

Safe transportability of high currents (hundreds of amperes) at high voltages (≥1700 V).

It should be understood that these aforementioned characteristics of the power module 100 are not required and may not be implemented in some aspects of the present disclosure.

4A shows a schematic perspective view of a power module according to an aspect of the present disclosure, and FIG. 4B shows a schematic plan view of a power module according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In particular, a half-bridge configuration of the power module 100 is shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B . The disclosed power module 100 addresses each of the issues previously listed with respect to a custom designed power layout and associated structure to facilitate the most common bridge topologies in which each switch position 104 has an equalized and low inductance current path. deal with Terminals 106, 108, 110 may be arranged such that the path to external filtering DC link capacitor 102 may have a correspondingly low inductance, requiring bending or special design features, as described in more detail below. It has an uncomplicated laminated buss bar.

The power terminal pinout of a single half bridge configuration of power module 100 is shown in FIG. 4A . V+ terminal 106 and V- terminal 108 may be intentionally placed close to each other (with sufficient space for voltage clearance) to physically minimize external current loops to DC link capacitor 102 . have.

The power module 100 may include signal terminals 502 , 504 , 506 , 508 . The specific pinouts of the signal terminals 502, 504, 506, 508 may be modular and modified as needed. The configuration is shown in Fig. 4a. As shown, there are four pairs of signal pins for signal terminals 502, 504, 506, and 508 for differential signal transmission. Of course, any number of signal pins and any number of signal terminals may be implemented to provide functionality as described in connection with this disclosure. Each switch position 104 may utilize a pair of pins with terminals 502 and 504 for the gate signal and a source kelvin for optimal control. Another pin pair of signal terminals 506 and 508 may be used for internal temperature sensors, overcurrent detection, or other diagnostic signals. It is contemplated that more pins and/or more signal terminals may be added to any row if needed, as long as they do not cause voltage isolation issues. In some aspects, another diagnostic signal may be generated from a diagnostic sensor, which may include a strain gauge that senses vibration or the like. The diagnostic sensor may also determine humidity. In addition, the diagnostic sensor can detect any environment or device characteristic.

5 illustrates a plurality of single-phase modules in a parallelized configuration in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Modularity is fundamental to the disclosed power module 100 . The single-phase configuration of the power module 100 can be easily parallelized to reach higher currents. As shown in FIG. 5 , three power modules 100 are shown, but there is no limit to the number that can be configured in this manner. In this regard, arrow 510 indicates that additional power modules 100 may be arranged in parallel. When parallelized, each of the corresponding terminals 106 , 108 , 110 may be electrically connected between the respective power modules 100 .

6A illustrates a first power module configuration according to an aspect of the present disclosure, and FIG. 6B illustrates a second power module configuration according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The scalability of the disclosed power module 100 may be another defining feature. This is shown in Figures 6a and 6a. As shown in FIG. 6B , the power module 100 width can be expanded to accommodate more parallelized devices for each switch position 104 compared to the power module 100 shown in FIG. 6A . The increased current in the power module 100 allows additional fastener holes 512 to be added to the power contacts of the terminals 106 , 108 , 110 . The power module 100 may be parallelized as shown in FIG. 5 or to match most power levels without sacrificing the benefits of the present disclosure including, for example, low inductance, accurate switching, high power density, etc. It is important to note that it can be extended as shown in Figure 6b.

7 shows a power module in a full bridge configuration according to an aspect of the present disclosure, FIG. 8 shows a power module in a three-phase configuration according to an aspect of the present disclosure, and FIG. 9 shows a full bridge configuration according to an aspect of the present disclosure It shows a single power module with In some aspects, modularity may also be found in the formation of various electrical topologies, such as FIG. 7 for a full bridge configuration of two power modules 100 and FIG. 8 for a three-phase configuration of three power modules 100. . For this topology, V+ terminal 106 and V- terminal 108 may be interconnected while phase output terminal 110 may remain separate. The configuration of FIGS. 7 and 8 may be disposed in a single housing or may consist of a shared base plate as illustrated in FIG. 9 , which may increase power density with a trade-off between higher unit complexity and cost.

While various arrangements, configurations, and extended width versions of power module 100 cover a range of applications and power levels, the core internal components and layouts may remain the same. This enhances the modular nature of the disclosed power module 100 . This architecture includes a family of modules that are easy to use and exhibit high levels of performance while growing with a variety of customer-specific systems.

10 shows an exploded view of a power module according to an aspect of the present disclosure, and FIG. 11 shows a partial view of the power module of FIG. 10 . In particular, FIG. 10 illustrates a number of elements of the power module 100 . These elements include a base plate 602 , a gasket 604 , one or more power substrates 606 , one or more edge power contacts 608 , one or more switch positions 104 , one or more temperature sensors 610 , a housing sidewall ( 612 ), central power contact 614 , signal interconnect assembly 616 , housing cover 618 , fasteners 620 , captive fasteners 622 , and the like. In one aspect, the base plate 602 may include a metal. In one aspect, the metal may include copper. Moreover, it is contemplated that the power module 100 may include fewer or different elements than those described herein.

The power module 100 may include a base plate 602 . The base plate 602 may provide structural support for the power module 100 as well as promote heat diffusion for thermal management of the power module 100 . Base plate 602 is a base metal such as copper, aluminum, or the like, or a metal matrix composite (MMC) that can provide coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) matching to reduce thermally generated stresses. may include. In one aspect, the MMC material may be a composite of a high conductivity metal such as copper, aluminum, etc. with a low CTE metal such as molybdenum, beryllium, tungsten and/or a non-metal such as diamond, silicon carbide, beryllium oxide, graphite, embedded pyrolytic graphite, etc. have. Depending on the material, the base plate 602 may be formed by machining, casting, stamping, or the like. The base plate 602 may have a metal plating such as nickel, silver, gold, or the like to protect the surface of the base plate 602 and improve solderability. In one aspect, the base plate 602 may have a flat back surface. In one aspect, the base plate 602 may have a convex profile to improve planarity after reflow. In one aspect, the base plate 602 may have pin fins 642 for direct cooling as discussed further below with reference to FIGS. 43-59 .

The power module 100 may include a gasket 604 . Gasket 604 may improve the encapsulation process by providing a liquid barrier seal. In this regard, the power module 100 may include a dielectric encapsulation therein. The gasket 604 may be injection molded, dispensed, etc., applied to a groove in the housing sidewall 612 and compressed between the housing sidewall 612 and the base plate 602 .

The power module 100 may include one or more power substrates 606 . One or more power boards 606 may provide electrical interconnection, voltage isolation, heat transfer, and the like to the power device 302 . The one or more power substrates 606 may be formed of direct bond copper (DBC), active metal braze (AMB), insulated metal substrate (IMS), or the like. In the case of an IMS structure, one or more of the power substrate 606 and the base plate 602 may be integrated into the same element. In some aspects, one or more power substrates 606 may be attached to the base plate 602 with solder, thermally conductive epoxy, silver sinter, or the like. In one aspect, there may be two power boards 606 , one for each switch position 104 .

The power module 100 may include one or more edge power contacts 608 . A surface of one of the one or more edge power contacts 608 may form a V+ terminal or first terminal 106 . A surface of one of the one or more edge power contacts 608 may form a phase terminal or third terminal 110 . One or more edge power contacts 608 may create a high current path between an external system and one or more power substrates 606 . One or more edge power contacts 608 may be fabricated from sheet metal through an etching process, stamping operation, or the like. The one or more edge power contacts 608 may have partial thickness bend assist lines 624 to facilitate bending of the one or more edge power contacts 608 to aid in final assembly. In one aspect, the one or more edge power contacts 608 may be folded over the captive fastener 622 . In one aspect, the one or more edge power contacts 608 may be directly soldered to the power substrate 606 , ultrasonically welded, or the like. One or more edge power contacts 608 may have a metal plating such as nickel, silver, gold, etc. to protect the surface and improve solderability.

In one aspect, the base 636 of the edge power contact 608 may be divided into feet to aid in the attachment process. Base 636 may have a metal plating such as nickel, silver, and/or gold to protect the surface and improve solderability.

The power module 100 may further include one or more switch positions 104 . One or more switch positions 104 may include a power device 302 that may include any combination of diodes and controllable switches placed in parallel to meet requirements for current, voltage and efficiency. Power device 302 may be attached with solder, conductive epoxy, silver sintered material, or the like. The top pad on the power device 302 , including the gate and source, may be wire bonded at each location with power wire bonds 628 . Power wire bond 628 may include a wire of aluminum, aluminum alloy, copper, etc. that may be ultrasonically welded, or the like at both feet forming a conductive arch between two metal pads. Signal bond 626 may be formed in a similar manner and may be aluminum, gold, copper, or the like. In some aspects, the diameter of the wire of the power wire bond at 626 may be smaller than the wire of the power wire bond 628 .

The power module 100 may further include one or more temperature sensors 610 . One or more temperature sensors 610 may be implemented as resistive temperature sensor elements attached directly to the power board 606 .

Other types of temperature sensors are also contemplated, including resistance temperature detector (RDT) type sensors, Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) type sensors, optical type sensors, thermistors, thermocouples, and the like. One or more temperature sensors 610 may be attached with solder, conductive epoxy, silver sintered material, etc., and then wire bonded to signal interconnect assembly 616 . The power module 100 may further include one or more diagnostic sensors that may include a strain gauge for sensing vibration. The diagnostic sensor may also determine humidity. In addition, the diagnostic sensor can sense any environment or device characteristic.

The power module 100 may further include a housing sidewall 612 . The housing sidewall 612 may be formed of a synthetic material. In one aspect, the housing sidewall 612 may be an injection molded plastic element. Housing sidewalls 612 may provide cavities for maintaining electrical insulation, voltage creepage and clearance, structural support, and voltage and moisture barrier encapsulation. In one aspect, the housing sidewall 612 may be formed from a reinforced high temperature plastic in an injection molding process.

Power module 100 may further include a central power contact 614 . The surface of the central contact 614 may form a V-terminal or second terminal 108 . The central power contact 614 may create a high current path between the external system and the power device 302 . The central power contact 614 may be fabricated from sheet metal through an etching process, stamping operation, or the like. The central power contact 614 may be insulated from the underlying power board 606 by being embedded in the housing sidewall 612 (as shown), or may be soldered or welded to a secondary power board as described below. can The central power contact 614 may include one or more apertures 632 as shown in FIG. 11 to receive a corresponding fastener 634 securing the central power contact 614 to the housing sidewall 612 . .

The low side switch position power device 302 may be wire bonded 640 directly from the terminal to the central power contact 614 as shown in FIG. 11 . The central power contact 614 may have a partial thickness bend assist line 624 to assist in folding during the final assembly stage. The central power contact 614 may have a metal plating such as nickel, silver, gold, etc. to protect the surface and improve bonding ability.

The power module 100 may further include a signal interconnect assembly 616 . The signal interconnect assembly may be a gate-source board. Signal interconnect assembly 616 may be a small signal circuit board that facilitates electrical connection from signal contacts to power device 302 . Signal interconnect assembly 616 may allow for gate and source Kelvin connections as well as connections to additional nodes or internal sensing elements. The signal interconnect assembly 616 may allow for a separate gate resistor for each of the power devices 302 . Signal interconnect assembly 616 may be a printed circuit board, ceramic circuit board, flex circuit board, embedded metal strip, etc. arranged on housing sidewall 612 . In one aspect, signal interconnect assembly 616 may include a plurality of assemblies. In one aspect, the signal interconnect assembly 616 may include a plurality of assemblies, one for each switch position 104 .

The power module 100 may further include a housing cover 618 . The housing cover 618 may be a composite element. In one aspect, the housing cover 618 may be an injection molded plastic element. Housing cover 618 may provide electrical insulation, voltage creepage and clearance, and structural support. In this regard, the housing lid 618 may form a closure assembly with the housing sidewall 612 . The closure assembly may prevent entry of foreign substances from entering the interior of the power module 100 . In one aspect, the housing cover 618 may be formed from a reinforced high temperature plastic in an injection molding process.

The power module 100 may further include a fastener 620 . The fastener 620 may be a thread-forming screw. Other types of fasteners are also contemplated. The fasteners 620 may be used to secure multiple elements of the power module 100 by screwing directly to the housing sidewall 612 . The fasteners 620 (if not embedded through other means) attach the housing cover 618, attach the signal interconnect assembly 616, attach the central power supply, etc. to secure the housing sidewall 612 to the base plate 602. It can be used to embed the contact 614 .

The power module 100 may further include a captive fastener 622 . The captive fastener 622 may be a hex nut disposed on the housing sidewall 612 and the housing cover 618 and may remain captive under the edge power contact 608 and the central power contact 614 after they are folded. have. Other types of fasteners or connectors are contemplated for implementing captive fastener 622 . Captive fasteners 622 may facilitate electrical connections to external bus bars or cables. The captive fastener 622 may be arranged such that when the power module 100 is bolted to the bus bar, the captive fastener 622 and edge power contact 608 are pulled upwards into the busing to form a better quality electrical connection. can When captive fasteners 622 are attached to the housing, they may act to pull the busing down into the power module 100 which may form a poor connection due to the stiffness of the bus bars.

In one aspect, the housing cover 618 may include a hole having a shape that matches the external shape of the captive fastener 622 to prevent rotation of the captive fastener 622 . A corresponding fastener (shown in FIG. 26 ) may be received by a captive fastener 622 . Corresponding fasteners extend through fastener holes 512 in central power contact 614 to facilitate electrical connection to external bus bars or cables.

In one aspect, the housing sidewall 612 may include a hole having a shape that matches the external shape of the captive fastener 622 to prevent the captive fastener 622 from rotating. A corresponding fastener (shown in FIG. 26 ) may be received by a captive fastener 622 . Corresponding fasteners extend through fastener holes 512 in one or more edge power contacts 608 to facilitate electrical connection to external bus bars or cables.

To achieve low internal inductance, the current paths of the power module 100 can be wide, short, and overlap whenever possible to achieve flux rejection. Flux cancellation occurs when the current traveling through the loop is so close that it travels in the opposite direction, effectively countering the associated magnetic field. The main advantage of this modular approach is that the entire width of the footprint is utilized for conduction. The module height can be minimized to reduce the length the current must travel through the structure.

The power loop for the half bridge phase leg is shown in FIG. 11 , with edge power contact 608 and center power contact 614 collapsed to show details. The wide, low profile edge power contact 608 and central power contact 614 bring current directly to the power device 302 . The effective current paths from the terminal surfaces to the individual power devices 302 may be functionally identical. In addition, the power devices 302 can be placed in close proximity to minimize imbalance in relative loop inductance and ensure good thermal coupling.

12A shows a top view of a phase leg of a power module configured according to the present disclosure, with each node identified in the half bridge topology, and FIG. 12B shows each node identified in the half bridge topology according to FIG. 12A shows a schematic diagram of the phase legs of a power module constructed according to The power module 100 may include one or more diodes. In one aspect, the diodes in the schematic may be discrete diodes arranged in antiparallel (not shown). In one aspect, the diode in the schematic diagram may be a representation of the body diode of the power device 302 implemented as a MOSFET (as shown).

In one aspect, the current path may start at the V+ node terminal 608 , which may be attached to the drain D1 of the upper one of the power board 630 and the power device 302 . The source S1 of the upper device of the power device 302 may then be wire bonded 628 to the low power substrate pad 630 , which is the phase power as well as the drain D2 of the low side power device 302 . It is attached to terminal 608 . Finally, it may be wire bonded 628 to the source (S2) V-power contact terminal 614 of the low side power device 302 , which may be above and below the lower power board 630 providing some overlap. The voltage may be sufficiently isolated from the power substrate 630 .

Fig. 13 shows a cross-sectional view of the phase leg of Figs. 12A and 12B, and Fig. 14 shows a cross-sectional view of the phase leg of Figs. 12A and 12B including the current path. As shown in FIG. 13 , the tabs of the power contacts or terminals 106 , 108 , 110 are folded intact in the final configuration of the power module 100 structure. Layer thicknesses are exaggerated to show detail. All elements in these figures can be considered conductors when visualizing current flow.

13 further illustrates a stepped, multi-height or multi-elevation configuration of the power module 100 . In this regard, the vertical position of terminal 614 is shown higher than the vertical position of terminal 608 . The height difference is indicated by arrow 702 . Such a multi-height configuration may provide a critical loop, which is described in more detail below. Moreover, multi-height configurations can help to provide bus connectivity, which is also further described below.

14 shows an overlay of the current path from the V+ terminal to the V- terminal, illustrating the threshold loop for accurate switching in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The inductance is proportional to the path length and decreases as the cross-sectional area of the conductor increases, and decreases as the flux of the magnetic field is removed. The identified path starts at terminal 608 , through power board 630 , across power device 302 , through power device 302 to second board 630 , and is output by terminal 614 . The identified path is of low inductance due to the following factors:

low height of the module.

Proximity of power device 302 to terminals 608 and 614.

Tight packing of all functional elements.

Large cross-sectional area of the conductor.

Parallelized wire bonds 628 optimized for each power device 302 .

Even current sharing between power devices 302 .

Flux removal when the current direction is reversed in the lower side switch position.

Flux removal of external V+/V- bus bars.

15 illustrates a contact surface of a power module with busing in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The contact surfaces of V+ terminal 608 and phase terminal 608 may be planar, while the top of V- terminal 614 is offset from the others. This feature allows the external V+/V- stacked busings 802, 804 to contact the two terminals 608 and 614 as shown in FIG. 15 without requiring bending of the stacked busings 802, 804. The offset distance 702 (shown in FIG. 13 ) can be adjusted to match the dielectric insulating film associated with the thickness of the bus bar metal.

Low internal module inductance combined with minimized external inductance of busing 802, 804, 806 to bank of DC link capacitor 102 power module 100 for accurate and fast switching event with low voltage overshoot and stable performance. resulting in an optimized structure of

All of these advantages allow for lower switching losses, higher switching frequencies, improved controllability and reduced EMI. Ultimately, this helps system designers achieve more power-dense and robust power conversion systems.

16A, 16B, and 16C illustrate various aspects of a terminal of a power module in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. A multi-layer layout with the V-terminal 614 in the middle of the power module 100 may be essential for this design. Proper voltage isolation of these terminals 614 overlying the output traces on the power board 630 may be realized through various configurations forming an insulating structure. This power module 100 design is compatible with each of the following.

16A shows one side of the insulation of V- terminal 614 . In this aspect, the power module 100 may include an embedded insulator 810 of the V-terminal 614 . Embedded insulator 810 may be formed of plastic or other synthetic material. An embedded insulator 810 may be positioned on the housing sidewall 612 as a strip 810 connecting the central region. In one aspect, strip 810 may be formed of plastic. Power contacts 614 may be embedded in strip 810 through a number of methods, including mechanical fastening, such as a threaded screw, direct integration, such as a plastic overmolding process, riveting in place with a plastic thermal lamination operation, and the like. .

16B shows another side of the insulation of V- terminal 614 . In this aspect, the power module 100 may form an insulation of the V- terminal 614 by insulation of the power board. In this regard, the secondary power substrate 812 may be used to provide insulation through a layer of dielectric material, such as ceramic. This secondary power substrate 812 may be soldered, sintered, or epoxidized to the power substrate 630 , while the power contacts 614 may be soldered or welded to an upper metal pad on the secondary substrate. An advantage of this approach is improved heat transfer of the central power contact 614 because the secondary power substrate 812 has high conductivity and will facilitate heat removal from the power contact 614 to the cooling plate or heat sink. .

16C shows another side of the insulation of V-terminal 614 . In this regard, a thick film insulator 814 may be used. Thick film insulation 814 may utilize a thick film dielectric printed directly on power substrate 630 and may provide voltage isolation. The central contact 614 may be attached to the thick film insulator 814 via epoxy and soldered directly to a thin layer of metal thick film printed on top of a dielectric film or the like.

In another aspect, the insulation of V- terminal 614 may include suspension insulation (not shown). In this aspect, the central power contact 614 may be suspended a sufficient distance above the power substrate 630 and may be attached to the housing sidewall 612 in a manner similar to the embedded approach. In this regard, the gel encapsulation filling the power module 100 may provide dielectric isolation. However, the center contact 614 may need to use a high-stiffness material so as not to interfere with the formation of the power wire bond 628 between the lower side device and the contact.

17 schematically illustrates a plurality of devices in parallel in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 17 shows three power devices 302 . This is by way of example only and for ease of illustration and understanding. The power module 100 of the present disclosure may include any number of power devices 302 .

The gate control and sense signals significantly affect the switching performance of the power module 100 and can be particularly important in parallelized switch positions 104 . The signal loop may be optimized in the power module 100 for high performance, robustness and uniform current sharing. Similar to the power loop, the path may be configured to be limited in length and large in cross-sectional area, and the associated external component may be placed as physically close as possible to the signal terminals 502 , 504 .

For paralleled arrays of transistors, particularly power devices 302 such as MOSFETs, the timing and magnitude of the gate currents must be balanced to result in consistent turn-on and turn-off conditions. The power module 100 may utilize _{individual ballasting resistors R G1} , R _G2 , R _G3 that may be placed in close proximity to the gate of the power device 302 separated only by a gate wire bond. These components have low resistance and help to buffer the current flowing through each individual power device 302 . These components serve to isolate the gate of the power device 302 to prevent oscillation and help ensure an equalized turn-on signal for the parallelized power device 302 . A single external resistor R _{DRIVER may be used and coupled to these parallelized resistors R G1} , R _G2 , R _G3 to control the turn-on speed of the effective switch position 104 .

The gate resistors R _G1 , R _G2 , R _G3 may be a surface mount package, an integrated thick film layer, a printed thick film, a wire bondable chip, etc. depending on the application.

18 illustrates a perspective view of an effective gate switching loop according to an aspect of the present disclosure, and FIG. 19 illustrates a top view of an effective gate switching loop according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The signal substrate or signal interconnect assembly 616 may have rails 816 , 818 connected to gate and source Kelvin connector terminals 502 , 504 on the board edge of the signal interconnect assembly 616 . The upper rail 818 may be connected to a gate wire bond pad through a separate gate resistor 820 , while the lower rail 816 may be wire bonded directly to the source pad of the power device 302 . This can be considered a true Kelvin connection because the source Kelvin bond is not in the current path of the power source bond. The Kelvin connection can be important for accurate and efficient control, and can reduce the effect of high drain-to-source currents on the signal loop.

18 and 19 further show optional signal connections 506 , 508 to the left side of signal interconnect assembly 616 . These connections can be used for temperature measurements or other forms of internal sensing. In some aspects, internal sensing may include diagnostic sensing comprising a diagnostic signal that may be generated from a diagnostic sensor that may include a strain gauge sensing vibration, a sensor sensing humidity, and the like. In addition, the diagnostic sensor can detect any environment or device characteristic. In one aspect, the temperature sensor 610 may be disposed in a low lateral position. Of course, other locations and arrangements for the temperature sensor 610 are contemplated. In one aspect, a wire bond may be placed on the top pad next to the drain trace (eg, next to the power device 302 ) for overcurrent measurements (also referred to as desaturation protection in the case of IGBTs). Of course, other locations and arrangements for overcurrent measurements are contemplated. In some aspects, an overcurrent sensor or desaturation sensor may sense a voltage drop as determined by the connection to the drain of the power device 302 . In some aspects, the current may also be sensed by a voltage drop across the power device 302 .

This implementation of the signal loop or signal interconnect assembly 616 can ensure quality control and measurement across any combination of parallelized power devices 302 at the switch position 104 . Standard PCB-to-board connectors can allow direct connections to external gate drivers and control circuitry.

As shown, this gate distribution network can be implemented with a PCB. It can also be formed as a thick film circuit directly on the primary power substrate 630 , directly on the base plate 602 . This has the advantage of reducing the component count of the power module 100 and the option of printing the gate resistor 820 . Since there is no need for solder terminals and the gate resistor 820 can be actively cooled from the cooling plate, minimizing the thermal size constraints of the component, the gate resistor 820 can be much smaller than the size of the surface mount components on the PCB.

20 depicts a partial example implementation including a power module in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In this regard, FIG. 20 is a representative exemplary structure in which the power module 100 of the present disclosure is implemented as a high-performance system. This general approach applies to many different configurations and topologies that serve as useful examples of how to utilize power module 100 in a converter. This particular example is for a three-phase motor drive. In this aspect, there are three power modules 100 .

The disclosed power module 100 may be configured as an array of half bridge phase legs (three as shown). Additional power modules 100 may be included in parallel to increase the current as required by the application.

The implementation of FIG. 20 may further include a cooling plate 902 . The cooling plate 902 may be a high-performance liquid cooling plate, a heat sink, etc. that serves to transfer waste heat from the power module 100 to another source (liquid, gas, etc.).

The implementation of FIG. 20 may further include a DC link capacitor 102 . The DC link capacitor 102 may be implemented as a filtering capacitor that interfaces the power module 100 with a source of DC power. In one aspect, the DC link capacitor 102 may be implemented as a single capacitor. In another aspect, the DC link capacitor 102 may be implemented as multiple components forming a 'bank' of capacitors depending on the load and/or the power demand of a particular application.

The implementation of FIG. 20 may further include a cold plate standoff 904 . The cooling plate standoffs 904 may provide structural support to the cooling plate 902 . The cold plate standoff 904 may be configured as shown and may raise and position the power module 100 terminals 106 , 108 horizontally with the capacitor contact 906 . In this respect, flat bus bars without bending can interconnect the components. For higher power densities or for other types of capacitors, the height of the cold plate standoff 904 may be adjusted to best utilize the form factor available for the elements of the converter. This may have a corresponding tradeoff of increasing the electrical loop length as a transition flex may be required, depending on the system specific requirements.

FIG. 21 shows an exemplary stacked bus bar according to the present disclosure, FIG. 22 shows a portion of the exemplary stacked bus bar according to FIG. 21 , and FIG. 23 is another view of the exemplary stacked bus bar according to FIG. 21 show the part The power terminal layout can be designed to facilitate simple and effective bus bar interconnection. In order to minimize the inductance between the DC link capacitor 102 and the terminals 106 , 108 of the power module 100 , the bus bar 900 may have thick conductors 910 , 912 and of the bus bar 900 . Thick conductors 910 and 912 may overlap. Thick conductors 910 , 912 may be separated by a thin dielectric film 914 . Current travels in opposite directions through each sheet of thick conductor 910 , 912 , acting to greatly reduce the effective inductance between power device 302 and filtering DC link capacitor 102 . The top layer of thick conductor 910 may be embossed to form coplanar contacts 918 at the mating surface for DC link capacitor 102 which eliminates the need for washers or spacers that may interfere with electrical performance.

Exemplary stacked bus bars 900 matching the system level layout presented above may include one or more of a conductor V+ plane 912 , a conductor V− plane 910 , and a dielectric film 914 .

Conductor V+ plane 912 may connect V+ terminal 106 of power module 100 via contact 926 to the V+ terminal of DC link capacitor(s) 102 via contact 928 as well as external It may have a terminal 920 for connection.

Conductor V-plane 910 may connect V- terminal 108 of power module 100 via contact 924 to the V- terminal of DC link capacitor(s) 102 via contact 918 . In addition, it may have a terminal for an external connection 922 . Contacts 918 , 924 , 926 , 928 and terminals 920 , 922 may each be implemented with fastener holes configured to receive fasteners to form electrical connections. Other electrical connection implementations are also contemplated. Conductors 910 and 912 may include apertures 940 . A hole 940 in one of the conductors 910 , 912 allows access to a contact in the other of the conductors 910 , 912 .

The dielectric film 914 may be implemented as a thin electrical insulator disposed between the overlapping metal layers of the conductors 910 and 912 . The dielectric film 914 may provide dielectric insulation in accordance with electrical safety standards. The dielectric film 914 may be kept as thin as possible to minimize inductance. The film may also cover the top and bottom of the stacked bus bars 900 in all areas that do not require electrical connections. Edges 916 of stacked bus bars 900 may be sealed via a variety of methods including pinch seal lamination, epoxy seal, dielectric insert, and the like, depending on geometry and available space. In some aspects, the dielectric film 914 material may be adhered to the laminated bus bar 900 with an acrylic adhesive. In some aspects, the stacked bus bar 900 may include a pinch seal with a polymeric material. In some aspects, the stacked bus bars 900 may be subsequently subjected to pressure, heat and time to form a stack.

In some aspects, bus bar 900 and conductors 910 , 912 have a generally planar configuration. More specifically, the bus bar 900 may have a generally flat upper surface and a generally flat lower surface as shown in FIG. 15 . In some aspects, the thickness of one of the conductors 910 , 912 with the dielectric film 914 defines an offset distance 702 shown in FIG. 13 . In one aspect, the thickness of one of the conductors 910 , 912 with the dielectric film 914 may be between 0.5 mm and 10 mm corresponding to the offset distance 702 . In one aspect, the thickness of one of the conductors 910 , 912 with the dielectric film 914 may be between 1 mm and 2 mm corresponding to the offset distance 702 . In one aspect, the thickness of one of the conductors 910 , 912 with the dielectric film 914 may be between 0.5 mm and 1 mm corresponding to the offset distance 702 . In one aspect, the thickness of one of the conductors 910 , 912 with the dielectric film 914 may be between 2 mm and 3 mm corresponding to the offset distance 702 . In one aspect, the thickness of one of the conductors 910 , 912 with the dielectric film 914 may be between 3 mm and 4 mm corresponding to the offset distance 702 . In one aspect, the thickness of one of the conductors 910 , 912 with the dielectric film 914 may be between 4 mm and 5 mm corresponding to the offset distance 702 . In one aspect, the thickness of one of the conductors 910 , 912 with the dielectric film 914 may be between 5 mm and 6 mm corresponding to the offset distance 702 . In one aspect, the thickness of one of the conductors 910 , 912 with the dielectric film 914 may be between 6 mm and 7 mm corresponding to the offset distance 702 . In one aspect, the thickness of one of the conductors 910 , 912 with the dielectric film 914 may be between 7 mm and 8 mm corresponding to the offset distance 702 . In one aspect, the thickness of one of the conductors 910 , 912 with the dielectric film 914 may be between 8 mm and 9 mm corresponding to the offset distance 702 . In one aspect, the thickness of one of the conductors 910 , 912 with the dielectric film 914 may be between 9 mm and 10 mm corresponding to the offset distance 702 .

24 illustrates a phase output bus bar according to the present disclosure. For a three-phase motor drive, as in this example, phase output 930 may not require stacking or overlapping to minimize inductance. This is because the phase output bus bar 930 drives an inductive load, which limits the need to reduce the inductance on the output path. Thus, the phase output bus bar 930 may be a standalone element and may be much less complex than a stacked DC link structure. Phase output bus bar 930 may include apertures 934 for receiving fasteners to form electrical connections.

It is highly desirable to measure the output current in each phase. This involves adding a low resistance series resistor (called a shunt) to measure the voltage drop across the resistor, including a sensor that measures the magnetic field generated by the current, providing a proportional signal to the controller, etc. method can be carried out. 24 shows a configuration for improving measurement accuracy by adding a ferrous shield 932 to focus the magnetic field in an area where the sensor may be located, as well as one of the output bus bars 930 for this system. show

The phase output bus bar 930 or conductor may be configured to provide a transition from the phase output terminal 110 of each power module 100 to an external terminal connection. The shape and arrangement of the phase output bus bar 930 or conductors may vary and may depend on the particular topology or arrangement of the power module 100 .

The iron shield 932 or magnetic field concentrator may be configured to focus the magnetic field generated by the current flow in a target area where the sensor may be placed. This may not be necessary for operation, but it is a very advantageous arrangement for extracting output current measurements in most transducer systems.

25 shows a perspective view of an example implementation including a power module and stacked bus bars according to aspects of the present disclosure, and FIG. 26 is a first cross-sectional view of an example implementation including a power module and stacked bus bars according to FIG. 25 . , and FIG. 27 shows a second cross-sectional view of an exemplary implementation comprising a power module according to FIG. 25 and stacked bus bars. 25 to 27 show a motor drive system layout having the above-described stacked bus bar 900 structure. 25-27, the system comprises an array of power modules 100, a cooling plate 902 assembly, a DC link capacitor 102, a DC link stacked bus bar 900 assembly and an output contact bus bar 930. ) may be included.

A cross-section of the terminals of the DC link capacitor is shown in FIG. 26 . 26 shows the high degree of metal lamination in all feasible positions as well as the embossed coplanar connections 918 featuring the bus bar 900 . The only separation between plates 910 and 912 may be the minimum area required for sheet metal fabrication processes (embossing tools, work fixtures, tolerances, etc.) and dielectric insulator 914 (edge seals, creepage distances, clearances).

The cross-section of the power module 100 shown in FIG. 27 shows an optimized overlapping threshold loop from the bank of DC link capacitors 102 to the terminals 106 , 108 of the power module 100 . This reinforces the concepts discussed in FIG. 15 along with actual representative components and physical design constraints.

Overall, such a low inductance, high current interconnect structure is necessary and may be enabled by the disclosed power module design. At the same time, they form an effective and highly integrated low inductance path between the switch position 104 and the bank of DC link capacitors 102 . This structure allows for efficient, stable and very high frequency switching of power devices 302, such as wideband gap semiconductors.

28 illustrates an exemplary single module gate driver in accordance with the present disclosure. The gate driver acts as a power amplifier to deliver the drive current to the switch position 104 while providing voltage isolation between the controller and the high voltage power stage. Insulation can also be maintained between the driver blocks between switch positions 104 . For high frequency switching, the output of the driver may be physically located close to the switch position 104 .

Additional features may be included for safety such as undervoltage, overvoltage and overcurrent protection. The gate driver circuitry may be configured to ensure that the power module 100 always functions in a safe operating area and shuts down gracefully in the event of a failure.

With this power module design, the gate driver can be seated directly above the stacked power bussing 900 . They can be formed from a single PCB and can be racked up or expanded in the same modular fashion as the power module 100 . Alternatively, the driver can also be integrated on a single PCB across the array of power modules 100 to reduce size but increase complexity due to multiple high voltage nodes on the board. The driver's output stage can be located right next to the board-to-board connector making contact with the module signal pins.

An example of a single module gate driver 400 is shown in FIG. 28 . A single module gate driver 400 element may be duplicated for each switch position 104 . The arrangement of each block and the specific layout may be system dependent and may be constructed in these figures as generalized examples.

The single module gate driver 400 elements include a control signal connector 410 , an isolated power supply 420 , a signal isolation and conditioning component 430 , an amplifier stage 440 , a bulk gate resistor and a local current filter 450 . , a sensor and protection component 460 , a power module signal connector 470 , and a creepage distance expansion slot 480 . The single module gate driver 400 may be arranged on a printed circuit board (PCB 402).

Control signal connector 410 may be configured to interface the controller and gate driver such that differential control and sensor signals may be transmitted between the two via cables, board-to-board connectors, or similar mechanisms.

The isolated power supply 420 may be implemented as a DC-DC converter that provides the positive and negative voltages necessary to turn on and off the power device 302 . The isolated power supply 420 may be of high enough power to supply the current required by the power supply 302 . The isolation between the control stage and the power stage can be an important function of these blocks.

The signal isolation and conditioning component 430 may include circuitry for conditioning the control signal for the amplifier stage 440 of the driver as well as providing isolation of the control signal between the low voltage control and the high voltage power.

Amplifier stage 440 may be formed as a separate or integrated component. Amplifier stage 440 may convert the isolated low power control signal to the current and voltage required for switch position 104 to operate. It should be as physically close to the module signal terminals as possible for accurate switching.

Bulk gate resistor and local current filter 450 may be the final steps before switching to the output pin, bulk gate resistor and local current filter 450, turning on and off switch position 104 to suit the needs of the particular system. It can be used to adjust the number of times. These may be a single set of passive elements, or they may be part of a network with different resistance values for turn on and turn off if different switching characteristics are desired. A local filter can also be used to ensure that a quality source of current is maintained during a switching event.

Sensor and protection component 460 may include circuitry that may include mechanisms for undervoltage and overvoltage protection, overcurrent protection, temperature sensing, and safe shutdown in the event of a fault.

The power module signal connector 470 may be located on the lower surface of the PCB 402 . The power module signal connector 470 may interface the gate driver and the power module 100 to provide a direct connection to the gate distribution network inside the power module 100 . This can generally be facilitated by board-to-board connectors, direct solder connections, and the like. Wire-to-board connections are also possible, but require the driver to be physically close to the power module 100 .

Creepage expansion slots 480 can be configured to improve voltage isolation between driver stages, allowing for more compact packing of components. As the size of high-voltage power modules continues to shrink, voltage isolation becomes increasingly difficult. Cutting the slots in the PCB 402 may be one option for increasing the voltage creepage without adding board size. Other options include local potting of critical nodes and completely covering the entire assembly with a conformal dielectric coating. More specifically, the various components of the power module 100 including the PCB 402 may include discrete and/or local porting of one or more components, the power module 100 including the PCB 402 . The various components of H include conformal dielectric coatings to one or more components, the entire PCB 402 , and/or other assemblies of the power module 100 .

When integrated together as shown in FIG. 29 , the gate driver 400 and the power module 100 are amplified through isolation and then distributed through a gate resistor network directly to the gate of the parallelized power device 302 . , forming a compact single unit with optimized low inductance signal flow from the control source.

30 shows a current sensing component according to an aspect of the present disclosure, and FIG. 31 shows a current sensing component arranged with a phase output bus bar according to FIG. 30 . There are several ways to sense current. In one aspect of the present disclosure shown in FIGS. 30 and 31 , a sensor 980 , such as a non-contact magnetic sensor, may be used. The sensor 980 may be used with an iron shield 932 to focus the magnetic field. The sensor 980 may use a small sensor chip placed in this area that produces a signal proportional to the output current. An example of a sensor on a single PCB 936 for all three phases is shown in FIG. 30 , and the overall output bus bar structure with magnetic shielding is shown in FIG. 31 .

32 illustrates an exemplary three-phase motor drive power stack-up in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 32 shows an exemplary three-phase motor drive power stackup with all previously described functional components. The FIG. 32 system is highly integrated and highly optimized for maximum electrical performance. Additional features such as voltage sensing on the capacitor bank and EMI shielding enclosure are considered and are well integrated into these high-performance cores.

33 schematically illustrates a plurality of power devices in parallel in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 33 shows four power devices 302 . This number of power devices 302 is exemplary only and is for convenience of illustration and understanding. The power module 100 of the present disclosure may include any number of power devices 302 .

The gate control and sense signals significantly affect the switching performance of the power module 100 and can be particularly important in parallelized switch positions 104 . The signal loop may be optimized in the power module 100 for high performance, robustness and uniform current sharing. In some aspects, a multilayer printed circuit board (PCB) for the signal loop may be used. In this respect, parallel planes can be used for flux removal and further inductance reduction. Thus, the wide and short paths can duplicate themselves to cancel the magnetic field. This helps to provide the best possible signal loop given the geometric constraints of the power module 100 . Similar to the power loop, the path may be configured to be limited in length and large in cross-section, and the associated external component may be placed as physically close as possible to the signal terminals 502 , 504 .

For paralleled arrays of transistors, particularly power devices 302 such as MOSFETs, the timing and magnitude of the gate currents must be balanced to result in consistent turn-on and turn-off conditions. _{Power module 100 includes individual ballasting resistors 820 (R G1} , R _G2 , R _G3 , R _G4 ) that may be placed in close proximity to the gate of power device 302 , separated only by gate wire bonds. Available. Individual ballasting resistors 820 (R _G1 , R _G2 , R _G3 , R _G4 ) have low resistance and may help buffer current flowing into each individual power device 302 . Individual ballasting resistors 820 (R _G1 , R _G2 , R _G3 , R _G4 ) serve to isolate the gate of power device 302 to prevent oscillation and equalized turn-on for parallelized power device 302 . It helps to ensure the signal. A single external resistor R _{DRIVER may be used and coupled to this paralleled resistor 820 (R G1} , R _G2 , R _G3 , R _G4 ) to control the turn-on speed of the effective switch position 104 . In one aspect, a ballasting resistor 820 may be associated with each power device 302 . In one aspect, a separate ballasting resistor 820 may be associated with each individual power device 302 .

In a further aspect, the power module 100 includes individual balancing source Kelvin resistors 822 (RS ₁ , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) that may be placed in close proximity to the source Kelvin connection of the power device 302 . Available. In one aspect, the source Kelvin resistors 822 (R _S1 , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) can only be separated by a source Kelvin wire bond. In one aspect, a source Kelvin resistance 822 may be associated with each power device 302 . In one aspect, a separate source Kelvin resistor 822 may be associated with each individual power device 302 . Source Kelvin resistors 822 (R _S1 , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) may be low in resistance and may help buffer current flowing into the source Kelvin connection of each of the individual power devices 302 . Source Kelvin resistors 822 (R _S1 , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) serve to isolate the source Kelvin connection of power device 302 to prevent vibration and provide an equalized signal to parallelized power device 302 . help to ensure In certain aspects, the source Kelvin resistors 822 (R _S1 , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) are configured and implemented to resolve any inconsistencies in the individual power devices 302 , the layout of the individual power devices 302 , etc. can be

In certain aspects, the source Kelvin resistor 822 (R _S1 , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) prevents or reduces feedback oscillation between the individual power devices 302 , and feedback oscillation between the individual power devices 302 . isolates the source Kelvin signal between the individual power devices 302 , inhibits current flow between the source Kelvin signals of the individual power devices 302 , and current between the source Kelvin signals of the individual power devices 302 . It may be constructed and implemented to equalize the flow and force the current flowing through the individual power devices 302 to flow through the current path. Further, the gate of the source Kelvin resistor (822) (R _S1, R _S2, R _S3, R _S4) is used to ensure not to reduce the signaling inductance and, slow down the gate operation of the power unit 302, power unit 302 /Source overvoltage can be minimized.

Source Kelvin resistor 822 (R _S1 , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) can be a surface mount package, an integrated thick film layer, a printed thick film, a wire bondable chip, a "natural" resistance path (essentially material/structural interfaces that add resistance), and the like. In one or more aspects, the resistance values of the source Kelvin resistors 822 (R _S1 , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) and the resistors 820 ( R _G1 , R _G2 , R _G3 , R _G4 ) may be equivalent. . In one or more aspects, the resistance values of the source Kelvin resistors 822 ( R _S1 , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) and the resistors 820 ( R _G1 , R _G2 , R _G3 , R _G4 ) may be different. . In one or more aspects, _{the resistance value of the source Kelvin resistor 822 (R S1} , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) may be between 0.5 ohms and 1.5 ohms. In one or more aspects, the resistance of the source Kelvin resistors 822 (R _S1 , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) may be between 0.5 ohms and 2 ohms. In one or more aspects, _{the resistance value of the source Kelvin resistor 822 (R S1} , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) may be between 0.5 ohms and 5 ohms. In one or more aspects, _{the resistance value of the source Kelvin resistor 822 (R S1} , R _S2 , R _S3 , R _S4 ) may be between 0.5 ohms and 20 ohms. In one or more aspects, the resistance of resistor 820 (R _G1 , R _G2 , R _G3 , R _G4 ) may be between 1 ohm and 20 ohms. In one or more aspects, the resistance of resistor 820 (R _G1 , R _G2 , R _G3 , R _G4 ) may be between 1 ohm and 5 ohms. In one or more aspects, the resistance of resistor 820 (R _G1 , R _G2 , R _G3 , R _G4 ) may be between 1 ohm and 10 ohms. In one or more aspects, the resistance of resistor 820 (R _G1 , R _G2 , R _G3 , R _G4 ) may be between 1.5 ohms and 6 ohms.

34 illustrates a top view of an effective gate switching loop and power module in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 34 shows that the signal substrate or signal interconnect assembly 616 has rails 816 and 818 connecting to the gate and source Kelvin connector terminals 502 , 504 on the edge of the board of the signal interconnect assembly 616 . shows that it can Rail 818 can connect to the gate wire bond pads through discrete gate resistors 820 (resistors R _G1 , R _G2 , ... R _GN ), while rail 816 has discrete resistors 822 (resistors R ) _S1 , R _S13 , R _S3 , ... R _SN ) may be connected to the source pad of the power device 302 . This can be considered a true Kelvin connection because the source Kelvin bond is not in the current path of the power source bond. The Kelvin connection can be important for accurate and efficient control and can reduce the effect of high drain-to-source currents on the signal loop.

34 further shows optional signal connections 506 , 508 on signal interconnect assembly 616 . Connections 506 and 508 may be used for temperature measurement or other forms of internal sensing. In some aspects, internal sensing may include diagnostic sensing comprising a diagnostic signal that may be generated from a diagnostic sensor that may include a strain gauge sensing vibration, a sensor sensing humidity, and the like. In addition, the diagnostic sensor can sense any environment or device characteristic.

In one aspect, the sensor may be a temperature sensor 610 , which may be disposed on a power board 606 or base plate 602 . In one aspect, the power substrate 606 or base plate 602 may have a metal surface and/or a conductive surface supporting the power device 302 . In one aspect, a portion 850 of the surface of the power substrate 606 or base plate 602 may be different from the surface supporting the power device 302 . In one aspect, portion 850 may be a portion where the metal surface and/or conductive surface has been removed, etched, or not present. In one aspect, the temperature sensor 610 may be disposed on the power substrate 606 or base plate 602 in an area where the metal surface of the power substrate 606 or base plate 602 has been removed or is not present. In this aspect, the temperature sensor 610 may be insulated and may provide a more accurate temperature reading. Of course, other locations and arrangements for the temperature sensor 610 are contemplated.

Implementation of such a signal loop or signal interconnect assembly 616 may ensure quality control and measurement across any combination of parallelized power devices 302 at switch positions 104 . Standard PCB board-to-board connectors can allow direct connection to external gate drivers and control circuitry.

As shown, this gate distribution network can be implemented with a PCB. It can also be formed as a thick film circuit directly on the primary power substrate 630 , directly on the base plate 602 . This has the advantage of reducing the component count of the power module 100 as well as the option to print resistors 820 and 822 . In a side view, a thick film or deposited patterned metal implementation may be used for the housing sidewall 612 and/or the housing lid 618 itself. Resistors 820, 822 are larger than the size of surface mount components on the PCB because solder terminals may not be required and resistors 820, 822 may be actively cooled from the cooling plate, thereby minimizing the thermal size constraint of the component. could be much smaller.

35 shows a perspective view of a configuration including a power module and a housing according to an aspect of the present disclosure, FIG. 36 shows a side view of the configuration of FIG. 35, and FIG. 37 shows a partial perspective view of the configuration of FIG. 35; FIG. 38 shows another partial perspective view of the configuration of FIG. 35 , FIG. 39 shows another partial perspective view of the configuration of FIG. 35 , FIG. 40 shows another partial perspective view of the configuration of FIG. 35 , and FIG. Another partial perspective view of the configuration of FIG. 35 is shown.

In particular, FIGS. 35 to 40 show the power module 100 , the bus bar 900 , the driver 400 , the controller for the power module 100 and the driver 400 , the capacitor 102 , the sensor 980 , and the like. It shows a construct 3500 that may be used to implement one or more. In one aspect, construct 3500 includes power module 100 , bus bar 900 , driver 400 , controller for power module 100 and driver 400 , capacitor 102 , as described herein. , sensor 980 , and the like may be used. In one aspect, the construct 3500 may utilize one or more other types of power modules, bus bars, drivers, controllers, capacitors, sensors, etc. for power modules and drivers.

In one aspect, the construct 3500 may be implemented in a wide variety of power topologies, including half bridge, full bridge, three phase, booster, chopper, DC-DC converter, and similar arrangements and/or topologies. 35-40, an arrangement 3500 is shown implementing a three-phase topology.

With particular reference to FIG. 35 , the structure 3500 may include a housing 3502 . The housing 3502 can include a top portion 3504 , a middle portion 3506 , and a bottom portion 3508 . However, the housing 3502 may be implemented with fewer or more housing parts. In one aspect, housing 3502 may be constructed from a synthetic material, a plastic material, a metallic material, or the like. In one aspect, housing 3502 may be constructed from a plastic material. In one aspect, housing 3502 may be constructed from a plastic material that may be injection molded.

35 , in one aspect top portion 3504 may be mechanically secured to construction 3500 with mechanical fasteners 3512 . In other aspects, the top portion 3504 may be secured to the construct 3500 using other assemblies and/or configurations. In one aspect, the top portion 3504 can include a cooling slot 3510 that allows air within the structure 3500 to flow therethrough for cooling purposes.

35 , in one aspect, the middle portion 3506 may be arranged between the top portion 3504 and the bottom portion 3508 . The bottom portion 3508 may be configured to receive the top portion 3504 and the middle portion 3506 to provide an enclosure for the various components of the construction 3500 . In one aspect, the middle portion 3506 and/or the bottom portion 3508 may be further configured to allow the phase output 930 to extend therethrough. In other aspects implementing other topologies, the middle portion 3506 and/or the bottom portion 3508 may further be configured such that other types of outputs extend therethrough.

With further reference to FIG. 35 , in one side the lower portion 3508 can support the middle portion 3506 . In one aspect, the bottom portion 3508 can include a support 3514 that supports the phase output 930 . In another aspect, the bottom portion 3508 may include a support 3514 to support other types of outputs when implementing other topologies.

In one or more aspects, the bottom portion 3508 may further include an aperture 3528 configured to allow a fluid connection 3516 to the cooling plate 902 to extend therefrom. In one aspect, fluid connection 3516 may receive a fluid source and/or deliver fluid for cooling purposes in relation to cooling plate 902 .

Referring to FIG. 36 , in one aspect, the structure 3500 may include conductors 910 and 912 . In one aspect, conductors 910 , 912 may be arranged opposite to structure 3500 with respect to phase output 930 . In one aspect, conductors 910 , 912 may be arranged opposite to structure 3500 for different types of outputs for different types of topologies.

In one aspect, the structure 3500 may include a cooling fan 3518 . The cooling fan 3518 may be configured to move air through the housing 3502 of the structure 3500 to cool the various components of the structure 3500 . In one aspect, a cooling fan 3518 is located in an opening on the side of the structure 3500 such that the cooling fan 3518 moves air through the opening and likewise moves air through the cooling slot 3510 shown in FIG. 35 . can be located.

In one aspect, the construct 3500 can include an electrical interface 3520 . In one aspect, the electrical interface 3520 includes one or more of the power module 100 , the bus bar 900 , the driver 400 , the controller for the power module 100 and the driver 400 , the capacitor 102 , the sensor ( 980) to connect and exchange data. In one aspect, the data may be a control signal, a sensor signal, a drive signal, a signal for loading, removing or modifying software, and the like. In one aspect, electrical interface 3520 (or other connector along this wall) may alternatively or additionally provide low voltage (12-24 V) power for controller and driver 400 . In certain aspects, the construct 3500 is connected to a power source at the conductors 910 , 912 and can be configured to be fully operated, controlled, and analyzed via an electrical interface 3520 and provides an output from the phase output 930 . do.

Referring to FIG. 37 , an arrangement 3500 is shown with a top portion 3504 removed for ease of illustration and understanding. In one aspect, as shown in FIG. 37 , the intermediate portion 3506 may include a portion 3526 for receiving a mechanical fastener 3512 . 37 further shows a controller 3522 , a driver 400 , and a wired connection 3524 between the controller 3522 and the driver 400 .

Referring to FIG. 38 , the configuration 3500 is shown with the controller 3522 , the driver 400 , and the wired connection 3524 removed from the middle portion 3506 for ease of illustration and understanding. In particular, FIG. 38 shows a surface for supporting a controller 3522 , a driver 400 , a wired connection 3524 , and the like.

39 shows construction 3500 with middle portion 3506 removed for ease of illustration and understanding. In particular, FIG. 39 shows the arrangement of the bus bar 900 , the power module 100 , the cooling plate 902 , and the sensor 980 . In particular, FIG. 39 shows the arrangement and configuration of bus bar 900 , power module 100 , cooling plate 902 , and sensor 980 supported by bottom portion 3508 .

40 shows construction 3500 with middle portion 3506 and bus bar 900 removed for ease of illustration and understanding. As shown in FIG. 40 , the arrangement of the power module 100 , the cooling plate 902 , and the sensor 980 is shown with respect to an arrangement 3500 . In particular, FIG. 40 shows a component 3530 for securing the attachment of the input and output connections to the phase output 930 and conductor 910 . In one aspect, the component 3530 for securing the attachment may be a mechanical fastener. In one aspect, the mechanical fastener can be a female threaded component configured to receive a corresponding threaded male component. In one aspect, the mechanical fastener may be a hex nut.

41 shows configuration 3500 with middle portion 3506 , bus bar 900 , power module 100 , cooling plate 902 , and sensor 980 removed for ease of illustration and understanding. 41 , the bottom portion 3508 of the structure 3500 may include a structure 3540 for coupling to the middle portion 3506 . 41 , the lower portion 3508 of the structure 3500 may include a structure 3542 for holding at least the power module 100 and the cooling plate 902 . 41 , the bottom portion 3508 of the structure 3500 may include a structure 3544 for holding at least the capacitor 102 . In some aspects, the structure may be a rib, a reinforcement portion, a mechanical fastener receiving portion, or the like.

In one aspect, the construct 3500 may be implemented as an evaluation system, an evaluation kit, a test system, or the like. This implementation is broadly defined as an evaluation kit for brevity. In certain aspects, an evaluation kit implementation of construct 3500 may be configured to be coupled to a power source at conductors 910 , 912 , fully operated, controlled, and analyzed via electrical interface 3520 , and phase output 930 . ) can be provided. In this regard, a user may implement an evaluation kit implementation of the construct 3500 to perform tests, mockups, etc. prior to implementing and manufacturing a system implementing the power module 100 of the present disclosure. In one aspect, a user may implement an evaluation kit implementation of the construct 3500 to perform tests, mock-ups, etc. with respect to a particular application of the power module 100 . In one aspect, the application is power system, motor system, automobile motor system, charging system, automobile charging system, vehicle system, industrial motor driving, embedded motor driving, uninterruptible power supply, AC-DC power supply, welding machine power supply , military systems, inverters, inverters for wind turbines, solar power panels, tidal power plants, electric vehicles (EVs), converters, and the like.

42 illustrates a process for implementing and operating a configuration including a power module. In particular, FIG. 42 illustrates a process 4200 for implementing and operating a configuration. In one aspect, process 4200 may be implemented using construct 3500 disclosed herein.

Process 4200 may further include assembling power module 100 and associated components to housing 3502 to form construction 3500 as shown in box 4202 . In one aspect, the structure 3500 includes a power module 100 , a bus bar 900 , a driver 400 , a controller for the power module 100 and driver 400 , a capacitor 102 , a sensor 980 , and the like. It may be assembled to include one or more. In one aspect, the construct 3500 includes a power module 100 , a bus bar 900 , a driver 400 , a controller for the power module 100 and driver 400 , a capacitor 102 , as described herein; It may be assembled with one or more of the sensors 980 and the like. In one aspect, the construct 3500 may be assembled to include one or more other types of power modules, bus bars, drivers, controllers for power modules and drivers, capacitors, sensors, and the like.

Process 4200 may further include coupling the component to power source 4204 . In one aspect, the conductors 910 and 912 of the construct 3500 may be connected to a power source. In one aspect, the conductors 910 and 912 of the construct 3500 may be connected to a DC power source.

Process 4200 may further include actuating 4206 of construct 3500 . In one aspect, the structure 3500 includes a power module 100 , a bus bar 900 , a driver 400 , a controller for the power module 100 and driver 400 , a capacitor 102 , a sensor 980 , and the like. One or more may be operable to provide an output. In one aspect, the construct 3500 may be programmed to implement the actuating 4206 aspect of the construct 3500 . In one aspect, the controller of the construct 3500 may be programmed to implement aspects that actuate the construct 3500 . In one aspect, the driver 400 of the construct 3500 may be programmed to implement the aspect that actuates the construct.

Process 4200 may further include measuring various operating parameters 4208 of construction 3500 including power module 100 and associated components. In one aspect, the construct 3500 may be operated such that various internal sensors output sensor data. In one aspect, the construct 3500 may be coupled to an external sensor that is actuated and outputs sensor data, such as an oscilloscope, computer system, or the like. In one aspect, various sensor data may be collected by a computer system. A computer system may include a processor, memory, an operating system, and the like. In one or more aspects, the output sensor data is based on and/or includes switching losses, temperature, inductance, switching speed, overshoot, waveform analysis, etc. associated with the power module 100 or other components implemented by the construct 3500 . can do. In one aspect, measuring various operating parameters 4208 of the construct 3500 may relate to a particular application of the power module 100 . In one aspect, the application is power system, motor system, automobile motor system, charging system, automobile charging system, vehicle system, industrial motor driving, embedded motor driving, uninterruptible power supply, AC-DC power supply, welding machine power supply , military systems, inverters for wind turbines, solar power panels, tidal power plants, electric vehicle (EV), converters, and the like.

Process 4200 may further include outputting 4210 operating parameters to a man machine interface. In one aspect, the operating parameters may be analyzed by a computer system. In one aspect, the computer system may analyze operating parameters, including sensor data, to generate an output. In one aspect, the output may be provided to a man machine interface. In one aspect, the man machine interface may include one or more of a display, a printout, an analysis file, and the like.

Process 4200 may further include modifying aspects of construct 4212 and repeating process 4200 . In one aspect, the construct 3500 may be modified to include additional components consistent with the present disclosure. In one aspect, construction 3500 may be modified to include fewer components consistent with the present disclosure. In one aspect, the controller program of the construct 3500 may be modified. In one aspect, the driver 400 program of the construct 3500 may be modified. In one aspect, the operating voltage or current for the construct 3500 may be modified.

In one or more aspects, the power module 100 of the present disclosure may be configured to operate with a variety of performance characteristics. However, performance characteristics may not necessarily be limited to the specific implementations and aspects described in this disclosure. Exemplary details of example configurations and implementations that may provide various performance characteristics, as well as, in part, performance characteristics are set forth below. However, the various performance characteristics should not be limited to the particular disclosed aspects of the power module 100 . In certain aspects, various performance characteristics and example configuration implementations may be associated with lower voltage implementations. In one aspect, a low voltage implementation may be defined to include an implementation operating below 3.4 Kv. In one aspect, a low voltage implementation may be defined to include an implementation operating below 3.3 Kv. In one aspect, a low voltage implementation may be defined to include an implementation operating below 3.0 Kv. In one aspect, low voltage implementations include implementations operating in the 100 v - 3400 v, 100 v - 3300 v, 100 v - 3000 v, 100 v - 2500 v, 100 v - 2000 v and 100 v - 1700 V ranges. . In one aspect, higher voltage implementations may be defined to include implementations operating greater than 3.4 Kv. In one aspect, higher voltage implementations may be defined to include implementations operating greater than 3.3 Kv. In one aspect, higher voltage implementations may be defined to include implementations operating greater than 3.0 Kv. In one aspect, higher voltage implementations are implementations that operate in the range of 3400 v - 5000 v, 3300 v - 5000 v, 3000 v - 5000 v, 3400 v - 10000 v, 3300 v - 10000 v, 3000 v - 3000 v. includes In this regard, aspects of the present disclosure that implement lower voltage implementations as defined herein may be distinguished from higher voltage implementations as defined herein. For example, in some aspects a low voltage implementation may include spacing between conductors and/or terminals of power module 100 , configuration of power loops within power module 100 , basic layout of power module 100 , power module 100 . current carrying capacity and/or current carrying capacity of the power module 100 , the substrate thickness of the power module 100 , the terminal layout of the power module 100 , the thermal performance of the power module 100 , and the creepage distance of the power module 100 It can be distinguished from a higher voltage implementation based on one or more of a configuration for, a configuration for solving a clearance problem of the power module 100 , an insulating configuration of the power module 100 , and a bus bar configuration of the power module 100 . . In this regard, at least one or more of the aspects noted above may distinguish a low voltage implementation from a high voltage implementation.

In one or more aspects, the power module 100 of the present disclosure may be configured to operate with the following parasitic stray inductance. In one aspect, the total stray inductance value of the threshold power switch of the loop 114 shown in FIG. 1B of the power module 100 may be less than 12 (nH). In one aspect, the total stray inductance value of the threshold power switch of the loop 114 shown in FIG. 1B of the power module 100 may be less than 11 (nH). In one aspect, the total stray inductance value of the threshold power switch of the loop 114 shown in FIG. 1B of the power module 100 may be less than 7 (nH). In one aspect, the total stray inductance value of the threshold power switch of the loop 114 shown in FIG. 1B of the power module 100 may be less than 4 (nH). In one aspect, the total stray inductance value of the threshold power switch of the loop 114 shown in FIG. 1B of the power module 100 may be less than 3 (nH).

In one aspect, the total stray inductance values of the threshold power switch of the loop 114 shown in FIG. 1B of the power module 100 are 12 (nH) to 2 (nH), 10 (nH) to 2 (nH) and 4 (nH) to 2 (nH).

In one aspect, the total stray inductance value of the critical power switch of the loop 114 shown in FIG. 1B of the power module 100 is less than 4 (nH) for the power module 100 having a specified loop length and/or cross-sectional area. can In one aspect, the total stray inductance value of the critical power switch of the loop 114 shown in FIG. 1B of the power module 100 is less than 8 (nH) for the power module 100 having a specified loop length and/or cross-sectional area. can In one aspect, the total stray inductance value of the critical power switch of the loop 114 shown in FIG. 1B of the power module 100 is less than 12 (nH) for the power module 100 having a specified loop length and/or cross-sectional area. can In one aspect, the total stray inductance value of the critical power switch of the loop 114 shown in FIG. 1B of the power module 100 is from 4 (nH) to for the power module 100 having a particular loop length and/or cross-sectional area. 2 (nH). In one aspect, the total stray inductance value of the critical power switch of the loop 114 shown in FIG. 1B of the power module 100 is from 8 (nH) to for the power module 100 having a specified loop length and/or cross-sectional area. 4 (nH). In one aspect, the total stray inductance value of the threshold power switch of the loop 114 shown in FIG. 8 (nH).

In one or more aspects, the power module 100 of the present disclosure may be configured to operate at the following switching speeds.

In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may be less than 100 (A/ns) di/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may be less than 90 (A/ns) di/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may be less than 80 (A/ns) di/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may be less than 50 (A/ns) di/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may be less than 35 (A/ns) di/dt.

In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may range from 30 to 100 (A/ns) di/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may range from 30 to 70 (A/ns) di/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may range from 40 to 90 (A/ns) di/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may range from 30 to 40 (A/ns) di/dt.

In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may be less than 120 (V/ns) dv/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may be less than 100 (V/ns) dv/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may range from 20 (V/ns) dv/dt to 100 (V/ns) dv/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may range from 40 (V/ns) dv/dt to 100 (V/ns) dv/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may range from 60 (V/ns) dv/dt to 100 (V/ns) dv/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may range from 80 (V/ns) dv/dt to 100 (V/ns) dv/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may range from 60 (V/ns) dv/dt to 80 (V/ns) dv/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may range from 40 (V/ns) dv/dt to 60 (V/ns) dv/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 may range from 20 (V/ns) dv/dt to 40 (V/ns) dv/dt. In one aspect, the switching speed of the power module 100 is 60 (V/ns) to 80 (V/ns), 40 (V/ns) to 60 (V/ns), 20 (V/ns) to 40 ( V/ns).

In one or more aspects, the power module 100 of the present disclosure may be configured to operate with the following switching losses.

In one aspect, the switching loss of the power module 100 may be less than 0.5 (mJ/A) millijoule/ampere. In one aspect, the switching loss of the power module 100 may be less than 0.4 (mJ/A) millijoule/ampere. In one aspect, the switching loss of the power module 100 may be less than 0.25 (mJ/A) millijoule/ampere. In one aspect, the switching losses of the power module 100 may range from 0.5 (mJ/A) millijoules/amperes to 0.25 (mJ/A) millijoules/amperes. In one aspect, the switching losses of the power module 100 may range from 0.25 (mJ/A) millijoules/amperes to 0.4 (mJ/A) millijoules/amperes.

In aspects of the present disclosure, the power module 100 width and length can be configured such that the power module 100 is wider (more power devices 302, less inductance) or smaller (smaller size, lower cost). It may be extensible to be Table 1 below shows implementations of various ranges, including the minimum actual width and the maximum expected size (approximately 1 square meter). Power device utilization may be defined as a percentage calculated as the ratio of the power device area to the total power module area. In one aspect, the area used in this disclosure is calculated by the width times the length. In this regard, the width may be defined along an axis extending across the power module 100 as shown in FIG. 11 , and the length may be defined along an axis perpendicular to the width as shown in FIG. 11 . Table 1 below provides a set of specific non-limiting specifications.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the power module 100 may have a power device utilization area in the range of 7-10%. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the power module 100 may have a power device utilization area in the range of 6-8%. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the power module 100 may have a power device utilization area in the range of 5 - 7%.

In various aspects, the power module 100 height may also be expandable. In this case, the power module 100 may be configured to be as thin as possible to minimize inductance. The height can be established based on (A) the creepage distance and clearance specifications required for 1700 V operation, (B) the height of the wire bond, and (C) the type of encapsulating material used. For the low range voltage module (650V), there may be some design changes to reduce the height. Conversely, the power module 100 can be made higher for higher range voltage devices. In various aspects, height as used in this disclosure is defined as perpendicular to width and length. Referring to FIG. 4A , an exemplary height of the power module 100 is shown. The height of the power module is 7 mm to 30 mm, 9 mm to 11 mm, 11 mm to 13 mm, 13 mm to 15 mm, 15 mm to 17 mm, 17 mm to 19 mm, 19 mm to 21 mm, 21 mm to 23 mm, may range from 23 mm to 27 mm. Table 2 below provides a specific set of non-restrictive specifications.

power contact parameters

Power contacts or terminals 106 , 108 , 110 are wide and can be constructed and constructed to fill the maximum percentage of power module 100 possible with a given actual voltage creepage distance/clearance limit. The width ratio compares the width of the contacts or terminals 106 , 108 , 110 to the width of the power module 100 . In one aspect, the width of the power module 100 may be the width of the base plate 602 . In one aspect, the power module 100 width may be the width of one or more power substrates 606 . In one aspect, the width of the power module 100 may be the width between the housing sidewalls 612 . In one aspect, the width of the power module 100 may be the width of the housing cover 618 . The length ratio takes the contact length of all three contacts or terminals 106 , 108 , 110 and compares it to the total power module 100 length. In one aspect, the length of the power module 100 may be the length of the base plate 602 . In one aspect, the length of the power module 100 may be the length of one or more power substrates 606 . In one aspect, the length of the power module 100 may be the length between the housing sidewalls 612 . In one aspect, the length of the power module 100 may be the length of the housing cover 618 . The area ratio compares the total contact area to the total power module 100 area. In one aspect, the area of the power module 100 may be the area of the base plate 602 . In one aspect, the area of the power module 100 may be the area of one or more power substrates 606 . In one aspect, the area of the power module 100 may be the area between the housing sidewalls 612 . In one aspect, the area of the power module 100 may be the area of the housing cover 618 . The base ratio compares the overall contact base width to the power module 100 width. This assumes a solder fillet around the base perimeter. In one aspect, the width of the power module 100 may be the width of the base plate 602 . In one aspect, the power module 100 width may be the width of one or more power substrates 606 . In one aspect, the width of the power module 100 may be the width between the housing sidewalls 612 . In one aspect, the width of the power module 100 may be the width of the housing cover 618 . Table 3 below provides a specific set of non-limiting specifications.

In one aspect, the power module 100 may have a terminal area ratio greater than 20%. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have a terminal area ratio greater than 25%. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have a terminal area ratio greater than 30%. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have a terminal area ratio in the range of 20% to 25%. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have a terminal area ratio in the range of 25% to 30%. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have a terminal area ratio in the range of 30% to 35%.

In one aspect, the power module 100 may have a base ratio in the range of 70% to 80%. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have a base ratio in the range of 80% to 90%. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have a base ratio in the range of 90% to 95%.

In various aspects, the base 636 may be configured to 'feather' or 'digitate' the feet of the contacts. In some aspects, the split feet of the base 636 can provide more space for solder to fillet around the sides of the connector, adding strength in multiple directions and axes. The split base 636 may relieve stress and improve reliability.

The vertical offset 702 of the V+ and V- power contacts can be used to minimize the overall loop inductance of the system by reducing the need for bending or offsetting of the external bus bar 900 . In some aspects, reduced bus bar 900 complexity may also reduce cost. In one aspect, the vertical offset 702 may be 3.25 mm (3 mm for metal thickness and 0.25 mm for laminated insulation). In other aspects, vertical offset 702 may have practical ranges such as 2 mm - 3 mm, 3 mm - 4 mm, 4 mm - 5 mm, and 5 mm - 6 mm. Table 4 below provides a specific set of non-limiting specifications.

Substrate parameters

The power substrate 606 may also be configured to be wide and possibly as full as the power device 302 . Aspects of the present disclosure include high device area/substrate area utilization. Power device 302 spacing may be determined by heat spread, thermal performance, processing design rules for optimal manufacturability, and the like. The power device ratio compares the active device area to the overall power board 606 width. In this regard, the width may be defined along an axis extending through the plurality of power devices 302 as shown in FIG. 11 . A portion of the width of the power board 606 may be used for the overcurrent and temperature sensor 610 . In some aspects, the absence of this feature may increase the power device percentage percentage. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have an active device area greater than 60%. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have an active device area greater than 65%. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have an active device area greater than 70%. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have an active device area between 60% and 65%. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have an active device area of 65% to 70%. In one aspect, the power module 100 may have an active device area between 70% and 75%. Table 5 below provides a specific set of non-limiting specifications.

In some aspects, the power substrate 606 metal thickness may be configured as follows. In various aspects, the thickness of the metal can be a compromise between thermal performance, package resistance, cost, and the like. In one aspect, the power substrate 606 metal thickness may be less than 0.5 mm. In one aspect, the power substrate 606 metal thickness may be less than 0.3 mm. In one aspect, the power substrate 606 metal thickness may be 0.2 mm. In one aspect, the power substrate 606 metal thickness may be in the range of 0.1 mm to 0.6 mm, 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm, 0.3 mm to 0.4 mm, 0.4 mm to 0.5 mm, and 0.5 mm to 0.6 mm.

wire bond parameters

Power wire bond 628 may have one of the diameters listed in Table 6 below. In one aspect, a 12 mil (0.30 mm) diameter aluminum bond may be used. In one aspect, the diameter of the bond may be 0.15 mm to 0.25 mm, 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm, 0.25 mm to 0.35 mm, 0.35 mm to 0.45 mm, and 0.45 mm to 0.55 mm. In other aspects, larger diameter aluminum bonds as well as larger diameter copper bonds may be used. In another aspect, soldered copper tabs can be used for maximum current capacity. In one aspect, the diameter of the power wire bond 628 may range from 0.15 mm to 0.6 mm. In one aspect, the diameter of the power wire bond 628 may range from 0.19 mm to 0.52 mm. In one aspect, the diameter of the power wire bond 628 may range from 0.2 mm to 0.51 mm. Table 6 below provides a specific set of non-limiting specifications.

In one aspect, power wire bonds 628 may include aluminum wire bonds, aluminum ribbon bonds, copper wire bonds, copper ribbon bonds, soldered copper, copper sintered tabs, and the like, as shown in Table 7 below. .

In certain aspects, wire bond 628 may be configured to have a loop geometry as listed in Table 8 below. In various aspects, the loop geometry may be configured to be as low profile and short as possible to minimize resistance. The bond length is determined by the placement of the die of the power device 302 and the configuration of the power module 100 . In one aspect, the wire bond length may range from 4 mm to 12 mm. In one aspect, the wire bond length may range from 5 mm to 11 mm. In one aspect, the wire bond loop height may range from 0.5 mm to 3 mm. In one aspect, the wire bond loop height may range from 1 mm to 2.5 mm. Table 8 below provides a specific set of non-limiting specifications.

In one aspect, the configuration may utilize an increased or maximum number of bonds 628 per power device 302 . The number of bonds 628 may vary depending on the size of the die, pad area, and bond diameter. Table 9 below provides a specific set of non-limiting specifications. In particular, the values listed below are for different size MOSFET implementations.

In one aspect, each power device 302 may be implemented with 3 to 12 bonds 628 . In one aspect, each power device 302 may be implemented with 4 to 10 bonds 628 . In one aspect, each power device 302 may be implemented to have more than four bonds 628 . In one aspect, each power device 302 may be implemented to have more than six bonds 628 . In one aspect, each power device 302 may be implemented to have more than eight bonds 628 . In one aspect, each power device 302 may be implemented to have more than ten bonds 628 .

Inductance and switching parameters

The inductance of the power module 100 may be determined by the total loop length, cross-sectional area, flux removal, and the like. In various aspects, the power module 100 reduces inductance by configuring the power module 100 to have a low profile, using wide power contacts, and achieving some flux rejection in the power module 100 when the loop folds on itself. can be configured to be minimized. The width of the power module 100 may also have a large effect on the inductance.

Table 10 below is based on a specific implementation of the power module 100 and provides inductance and other simulation results for determining the inductance of different configurations. The lowest inductance configuration assumes that the power module 100 can also be configured thinner (ie, the 650 V thickness listed previously). The dV/dt maximum is not a limitation for the power module 100 .

The di/dt values were calculated as theoretical maximums assuming a 1200 V device and an 800 V bus. This can result in overshoots of up to 400 V. In this regard, the calculation assumes a 2 nH bus loop inductance added in series with the power module 100 . Assuming this, in one aspect, the fastest that the power module 100 can switch is listed in [Table 10] below.

In one or more aspects, losses were determined by testing specific implementations using very aggressive switching. In one aspect, the loss may range from 0.25 to 0.050 mJ/A, from 0.25 to 0.040 mJ/A, and from 0.25 to 0.035 mJ/A. Table 10 below provides a specific set of non-limiting specifications.

In aspect 1, the total stray inductance value of the power module 100 may range from 9 (nH) to 11 (nH). In aspect 2, the total stray inductance value of the power module 100 may range from 6 (nH) to 7 (nH). In aspect 3, the total stray inductance value of the power module 100 may range from 3 (nH) to 4 (nH). In aspect 4, the total stray inductance value of the power module 100 may range from 2 (nH) to 3 (nH).

43-58 illustrate power modules in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

In this regard, due to the high current density of the power device 302 and other components, the thermal performance of the power module 100 of FIGS. 43-58 maximizes heat flux, reduces system size, reduces cost, etc. can be configured for In particular, the power module 100 shown in FIGS. 43-58 may include any one or more of the aspects as disclosed herein. Moreover, the power module 100 of FIGS. 43-58 may be further configured for direct cooling to maximize heat flux, reduce system size, reduce cost, and the like. Further, implementing direct cooling with the power module 100 eliminates or eliminates any material or structure arranged between the cooling fluid and the cooling fluid as well as the thermal interface between the power module 100 and the cooling plate or heat sink. can be removed In this regard, the prior art implementation has included a thermal interface material (TIM) arranged at the interface between the power module and the cooling plate, and the utilization of the TIM has problems such as application to the surface, aging, pump-out, etc. could By directly cooling the surface of the base plate 602 of the power module 100, a greater amount of heat flux can be processed in the power module 100 and associated structures.

In one aspect, the power module 100 may include a plurality of pin fins 642 . In one aspect, the plurality of pins Pins 642 may be configured to transfer heat from one or more components of the power module 100 . In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may be configured for cooling one or more components of the power module 100 . In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may be configured for direct cooling of one or more components of the power module 100 . In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may be configured to directly cool one or more components of the power module 100 in conjunction with the cooling plate 902 . In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may be configured to allow coolant to pass through the fins 642 .

In one aspect, the base plate 602 may include a plurality of pins pins 642 . In one aspect, a plurality of fins fins 642 may be arranged on a surface of the base plate 602 . In one aspect, a plurality of pins Pins 642 may be arranged on a bottom surface of the base plate 602 . In one aspect, the plurality of pins pins 642 may be arranged on a bottom surface of the base plate 602 on the side of the base plate 602 opposite the housing sidewall 612 .

In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may form a channel parallel to the axis 654 . In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may form a channel parallel to the axis 656 . In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may form a staggered or angled channel with respect to the axis 654 . In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may form a staggered or angled channel with respect to the axis 656 .

The arrangement of the plurality of fin fins 642 and the channels arranged between the plurality of fin fins 642 provide for the movement of coolant around the plurality of fin fins 642, heat transfer from the plurality of fin fins 642 to the coolant, The plurality of fins may be configured to increase or promote reduction of barrier layers and/or surface layers adjacent to fins 642 to increase heat transfer.

46 , 50 and 54 , each of the pins 642 may be integrally formed with the base plate 602 . In another aspect, each of the pins 642 may be attached to the base plate 602 by welding, adhesive, soldering, brazing, or the like. In one aspect, each of the pins 642 can include a base portion 644 connected to a base plate 602 .

In one aspect, the fins 642 may be formed of the same material as the base plate 602 . In one aspect, the pins 642 may be formed of the same material as the base plate 602 to reduce weight. In one aspect, the fins 642 may be formed of a material different from the material of the base plate 602 . In one aspect, the fins fins 642 may be formed of a metallic material. In one aspect, the fins fins 642 may include copper. In one aspect, the fins fins 642 may be formed of copper.

In one aspect, each of the pins 642 may include one or more surfaces 646 extending from the base portion 644 . In one aspect, each of the pins 642 may have a termination surface 648 . In one aspect, the termination surface may be flat, contoured, non-flat, pointed, or curved. In one aspect, the one or more surfaces 646 may be tapered as they extend into the termination surface 648 . In one aspect, the one or more surfaces 646 may be perpendicular to the surface of the base plate 602 when extending to the termination surface 648 .

In one aspect, each of the pins 642 may have a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate 602 . In this regard, the pin pin 642 may have a square cross-sectional shape, a rectangular cross-sectional shape, a circular cross-sectional shape, a contoured cross-sectional shape, an elliptical cross-sectional shape, a symmetrical cross-sectional shape (along one or more axes), an asymmetric cross-sectional shape (along one or more axes). ), may have an airfoil-shaped cross-sectional shape, a wing-shaped cross-sectional shape, and the like. In addition, the pins 642 may have a first shape among the above-described shapes, a plurality of the above-described shapes, and the like. However, the pin 642 may be implemented as a structure of any shape on the base plate 602 of the power module 100 .

In one aspect, the termination surface 648 may have a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate 602 . In this regard, the end surface 648 may include a square cross-sectional shape, a rectangular cross-sectional shape, a circular cross-sectional shape, a contoured cross-sectional shape, an elliptical cross-sectional shape, a symmetrical cross-sectional shape (along one or more axes), an asymmetric cross-sectional shape (along one or more axes). ), may have an airfoil-shaped cross-sectional shape, a wing-shaped cross-sectional shape, and the like.

In one aspect, the base portion 644 may have a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate 602 . In this regard, the base portion 644 may include a square cross-sectional shape, a rectangular cross-sectional shape, a circular cross-sectional shape, a contoured cross-sectional shape, an elliptical cross-sectional shape, a symmetrical cross-sectional shape (along one or more axes), an asymmetric cross-sectional shape (along one or more axes). ), may have an airfoil-shaped cross-sectional shape, a wing-shaped cross-sectional shape, and the like.

In one aspect, the base portion 644 can have a cross-sectional shape that is the same as the cross-sectional shape of the termination surface 648 . In one aspect, the base portion 644 may have the same cross-sectional shape and size as the termination surface 648 . In one aspect, the base portion 644 may have the same cross-sectional shape as the termination surface 648 and a different size. In one aspect, the base portion 644 can have a cross-sectional shape that is different from the cross-sectional shape of the termination surface 648 .

In one aspect, the pin pin 642 is formed using one or more operations including machining, forging, molding, stamping, deforming, etc. to form the pin pattern of the pin pin 642 as shown in the figure. may be formed, and pins 642 may be attached using welding, adhesives, soldering, brazing, or the like. However, fins fins 642 may be formed using any manufacturing method and/or technique known to those skilled in the art for creating fins and fin surfaces on base plate 602 .

In one aspect, referring to FIG. 46 , the diameter or length L of the pin pin 642 defined parallel to the surface of the base plate 602 along the base portion 644 is 1 mm - 8 mm, 1 mm - 2 mm, 2 mm - 3 mm, 3 mm - 4 mm, 4 mm - 5 mm, 5 mm - 6 mm, 6 mm - 7 mm or 7 mm - 8 mm. These dimensions are equally applicable to all configurations of the pin 642 disclosed herein.

In one aspect, referring to FIG. 46 , the height H of the pin 642 defined perpendicular to the surface of the base plate 602 from the base portion 644 to the termination surface 648 is 1 mm - 12 mm. , 2 mm - 10 mm, 4 mm - 8 mm, 1 mm - 2 mm, 2 mm - 3 mm, 3 mm - 4 mm, 4 mm - 5 mm, 5 mm - 6 mm, 6 mm - 7 mm, 7 mm - 8 mm, 8 mm - 9 mm, 9 mm - 10 mm, 10 mm - 11 mm or 11 mm - 12 mm. These dimensions are equally applicable to all configurations of the pin 642 disclosed herein.

In one aspect, referring to FIG. 46 , the pin to pin spacing S of the pin pin 642 may be defined by the central axis of adjacent ones of the pin pin 642 perpendicular to the base plate 602 and the spacing (S) is 2 mm - 12 mm, 4 mm - 10 mm, 2 mm - 3 mm, 3 mm - 4 mm, 4 mm - 5 mm, 5 mm - 6 mm, 6 mm - 7 mm, 7 mm - 8 mm, 8 mm - 9 mm, 9 mm - 10 mm, 10 mm - 11 mm or 11 mm - 12 mm. These dimensions are equally applicable to all configurations of the pin 642 disclosed herein.

43 shows a perspective bottom side view of a power module according to an aspect of the present disclosure, FIG. 44 shows a side view of the power module according to FIG. 43, and FIG. 45 shows a bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. FIG. 46 shows a partial perspective bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. 43 ;

43 - 46 , each pin pin 642 may include one or more surfaces 646 extending from a base portion 644 . In one aspect, the pin pin 642 may have a termination surface 648 . In one aspect, the termination surface may be contoured or non-flat. In one aspect, the one or more surfaces 646 may be tapered as they extend into the termination surface 648 .

In one aspect, the termination surface 648 may have a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate 602 . In this regard, the termination surface 648 may have an asymmetric cross-sectional shape, an airfoil-shaped cross-sectional shape, a wing-shaped cross-sectional shape, and the like.

In one aspect, the base portion 644 may have a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate 602 . In this regard, the base portion 644 may have a square cross-sectional shape, a rectangular cross-sectional shape, or the like.

In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may form a channel parallel to the axis 654 . In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may form a channel parallel to the axis 656 .

47 shows a perspective bottom side view of a power module according to an aspect of the present disclosure, FIG. 48 shows a side view of the power module according to FIG. 47, and FIG. 49 shows a bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. FIG. 50 shows a partial perspective bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. 47 ;

47-50 , each pin pin 642 may include one or more surfaces 646 extending from a base portion 644 . In one aspect, each pin pin 642 may have a termination surface 648 . In one aspect, the termination surface may be flat. In one aspect, the one or more surfaces 646 may taper as they extend into the termination surface 648 .

In one aspect, the termination surface 648 may have a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate 602 . In this regard, the termination surface 648 may have a circular cross-sectional shape, a contoured cross-sectional shape, an elliptical cross-sectional shape, a symmetrical cross-sectional shape, and the like.

In one aspect, the base portion 644 may have a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate 602 . In this regard, the base portion 644 may have a circular cross-sectional shape, a contoured cross-sectional shape, an elliptical cross-sectional shape, a symmetrical cross-sectional shape, and the like.

In one aspect, the base portion 644 can have a cross-sectional shape that is the same as the cross-sectional shape of the termination surface 648 . In one aspect, the base portion 644 may have the same cross-sectional shape and a different size as the termination surface 648 .

In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may form a channel parallel to the axis 654 . In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may form a channel parallel to the axis 656 . In one aspect, the base portion 644 of an adjacent one of the pins 642 may converge, engage, connect, and meet.

51 shows a perspective bottom side view of a power module according to an aspect of the present disclosure, FIG. 52 shows a side view of the power module according to FIG. 51, and FIG. 53 shows a bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. FIG. 54 shows a partial perspective bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. 51 ;

51 - 54 , each pin pin 642 may include one or more surfaces 646 extending from a base portion 644 . In one aspect, each pin pin 642 may have a termination surface 648 . In one aspect, the termination surface may be flat or the like. In one aspect, the one or more surfaces 646 may be tapered as they extend into the termination surface 648 .

In one aspect, the termination surface 648 may have a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate 602 . In this regard, the termination surface 648 may have a square cross-sectional shape, a rectangular cross-sectional shape, a symmetrical cross-sectional shape, or the like.

In one aspect, the base portion 644 may have a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate 602 . In this regard, the base portion 644 may have a square cross-sectional shape, a rectangular cross-sectional shape, a symmetrical cross-sectional shape, or the like.

In one aspect, the base portion 644 can have a cross-sectional shape that is the same as the cross-sectional shape of the termination surface 648 . In one aspect, the base portion 644 may have the same cross-sectional shape and a different size as the termination surface 648 .

In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may form a channel parallel to the axis 654 . In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may form a channel parallel to the axis 656 .

55 shows a perspective bottom side view of a power module according to an aspect of the present disclosure, FIG. 56 shows a side view of the power module according to FIG. 55, and FIG. 57 shows a bottom side view of the power module according to FIG. 55 .

55-57 , each pin pin 642 may include one or more surfaces 646 extending from a base portion 644 . In one aspect, each pin pin 642 may have a termination surface 648 . In one aspect, the termination surface may be flat or the like. In one aspect, the one or more surfaces 646 may taper as they extend into the termination surface 648 .

In one aspect, the termination surface 648 may have a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate 602 . In this regard, the termination surface 648 may have a square cross-sectional shape, a rectangular cross-sectional shape, a symmetrical cross-sectional shape, or the like.

In one aspect, the base portion 644 may have a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate 602 . In this regard, the base portion 644 may have a square cross-sectional shape, a rectangular cross-sectional shape, a symmetrical cross-sectional shape, or the like.

In one aspect, the base portion 644 can have a cross-sectional shape that is the same as the cross-sectional shape of the termination surface 648 . In one aspect, the base portion 644 may have the same cross-sectional shape and size as the termination surface 648 .

In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may form a staggered or angled channel with respect to the axis 654 . In one aspect, the plurality of fins fins 642 may form a staggered or angled channel with respect to the axis 654 .

58 illustrates a perspective view of a power module implementation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 58 , a power module 100 that implements direct cooling with fins 642 may be disposed on and/or within a cooling plate 902 . In particular, FIG. 58 shows one of the power modules 100 that implements direct cooling with fins 642 as disclosed. In this regard, the FIG. 58 implementation may include one, multiple, or all of the power modules 100 that implement direct cooling with fins 642 as disclosed. In one aspect, the power module 100 may be disposed on both sides of the cooling plate 902 . In this regard, the power modules 100 arranged on either side of the cooling plate 902 may maximize power density, reduce complexity, and/or perform similar tasks. In one aspect, the power module 100 may be disposed on one side of the cooling plate 902 . Accordingly, the power module 100 may be directly cooled using the fin fins 642 , the cooling plate 902 , and the like. As further described herein, the directly cooled power module 100 may exhibit significantly higher thermal performance.

In one aspect, the cooling plate 902 may include any number of power modules 100 in line on the top of the cooling plate 902 and the bottom of the cooling plate 902 depending on the desired topology. In one aspect, the cooling plate 902 may include any number of power modules 100 in a line on one side of the cooling plate 902 depending on the desired topology. In this regard, the cooling plate 902 may be extended or shortened to match the number of power modules 100 .

58 , a seal 908 may be arranged between the power module 100 and the cooling plate 902 . Seal 908 may be an O-ring, gasket, or the like. In some aspects, the seal 908 may be an epoxy, RTV silicone (room temperature vulcanized silicone), a similar sealing material, or the like. In another aspect, the seal 908 may be formed by directly welding, brazing, or the like, the base plate 602 to the cooling plate 902 .

In one aspect, the cooling plate 902 may have a fluid connection 3516 that may be configured to receive a source of cooling fluid and/or deliver a cooling fluid for cooling purposes with respect to the cooling plate 902 . In one aspect, fluid connections 3516 may include threaded fittings, flange fittings, quick connect fittings, hose barb fittings, brazed tubing, welded tubing, and the like. In one aspect, the cooling plate 902 may have inlet ports, outlet ports, fluid channels, etc. that may be configured to evenly distribute the fluid flow to the power module 100 . The cooling plate 902 may further include other considerations for mounting and sealing the power module 100 as well as mounting the assembly itself to other structures of the application, such as inverters, converters, and the like.

In one aspect, the power module 100 of FIGS. 43 to 58 may be inserted into an application, implemented as an application, or configured as an application. The application may be a system implementing the power module 100 of FIGS. 43-58. Applications include power systems, motor systems, automotive motor systems, charging systems, automotive charging systems, vehicle systems, industrial motors, embedded motor drives, uninterruptible power supplies, AC-DC power supplies, welding machine power supplies, military systems, inverters , inverters for wind turbines, solar power panels, tidal power plants and electric vehicles (EVs), converters, and the like.

59 illustrates a perspective view of a power module implementation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

In particular, FIG. 59 shows an inverter 990 that may be implemented as a three-phase inverter. In terms of aspect, inverter 990 may be comprised of two separate three-phase inverters, one three-phase inverter, one full bridge, one half bridge, and the like. In one aspect, inverter 990 may consist of six dedicated half-bridges. In one aspect, the above-mentioned configuration may be configured and arranged with connections external to inverter 990 . In one aspect, the configurations noted above may include different versions of the power module 100 and/or other assembly components. However, the various features described herein with respect to FIG. 59 may be implemented in any of the applications described herein. 59 , inverter 990 includes phase output 930 , sensor 980 , capacitor 102 , cooling plate 902 , fluid connections 3516 , PCB ( 936), a bus bar 900, and the like.

In one aspect, the phase output 930 may be stamped, laser cut, or the like. In one aspect, phase output 930 may include copper, may be copper, and/or may be formed of a metal that may include other metals. In one aspect, the phase output 930 may include a bend for size optimization. In one aspect, the phase output 930 may include an L-shaped bend for size optimization. In one aspect, phase output 930 may include a 90° bend for magnitude optimization. In one aspect, phase output 930 may include threaded holes for enclosure mounting, strain relief, and the like.

In one aspect, sensor 980 may include current sensing for each output terminal of phase output 930 . In one aspect, the sensor 980 may be configured to work with a closed loop system for processing signal quality and the like. In another aspect, inverter 990 may operate open loop for reduced cost and size.

In one aspect, PCB 936 may be implemented for signal conditioning. In one aspect, PCB 936 may be implemented for interconnection. In one aspect, PCB 936 may be implemented for signal conditioning and interconnection.

In one aspect, capacitor 102 may be configured as a rectangular block to allow better use of space. In one aspect, the capacitor 102 may be configured as an integrated bus bar 900 to connect the power module 100 to the capacitor 102 as described herein. In one aspect, the capacitor 102 may be a polypropylene film capacitor.

60 shows a perspective view of a power module implementation according to FIG. 59;

60 further shows inverter 990 with multiple housing component 992 . In one aspect, the multi-housing component 992 includes a sheet metal portion, a vent 984, a powder coating, a solid front and welded edge for EMI, a snap in cover 988, a composite material portion, a plastic material portion, handle 986, ground portion, standoffs, cooling port openings, embossed terminal indications, windows for displaying components such as controllers, and the like.

In one aspect, the snap-in cover 988 may include a synthetic material such as plastic. In one aspect, the snap-in cover 988 may be molded. In one aspect, the snap-in cover 988 may include a captive fastener portion for easy connection. For example, the snap-in cover 988 may include a captive hex nut for easy connection. In one aspect, inverter 990 may include various permutations and/or configurations of phase output 930 and snap-in cover 988 , which may be embedded in inverter 990 .

61 shows a graph plotting junction temperature versus output current for two different power modules.

Referring to Figure 61, two versions of the power module were tested. The first version of the power module was implemented as a 1200 V half-bridge power module with a maximum case temperature rating of 125°C (°C). The power module had a drain-source on-state resistance of 4.6 mΩ (milliohms) at a maximum junction temperature of 175°C. The power module is implemented with a flat copper base plate mounting surface.

A second version of the power module uses the same power device 302 and is directly cooled with fins 642 arranged on the base plate 602 as disclosed herein with reference to FIGS. 43-58 and the associated description. A copper fin fin base plate was implemented.

The flat base plate version of the power module required the application of a thermal interface material (TIM) between the power module and the heat sink or cooling plate to fill any voids in the thermal path. The effect of this TIM provided additional thermal impedance between the power module case and the cooling plate. The direct cooled power module is designed for direct contact with coolant including fins 642 as disclosed herein with reference to FIGS. 43-58 and the associated description and negating the need for a TIM.

The results demonstrated a reduction in thermal impedance when using a directly cooled power module as disclosed herein with reference to FIGS. 43-58 and the associated description compared to a flat base plate power module. For the flat baseplate version of the power module, tests were conducted using a custom micro-deformation liquid-cooled cooling plate with a cooling water temperature of 25°C and a high-performance TIM. The maximum power dissipation was measured at 750 W per switch position.

For a direct cooled version of a power module as disclosed herein with reference to FIGS. 43-58 and the associated description, a cooling plate 902 with internal coolant channels and a machine cavity with a base plate 602 seated therein are used. was tested to ensure that the coolant passes through the fin fins 642 and gasket seals to prevent leakage. Maximum power dissipation was measured at 1000 W per switch position. In both tests, the junction temperature was monitored using a thermal camera and virtual junction technique.

To demonstrate the performance benefits of the directly cooled power module 100 at the system level as disclosed herein with reference to FIGS. 43-58 and the associated description, the power module was installed in a three-phase inverter and tested under application conditions. An 800 V DC bus, a switching frequency of 20 kHz, a three-phase load and a constant coolant temperature of 25°C were used.

After applying the DC bus voltage to the inverter, the output current of the inverter was gradually increased while monitoring the temperature sensor built into the power module. The temperature sensor measurements were correlated with the junction temperature by testing a specially configured power module that had no cover to allow thermal imaging of the power device.

61 , the flat baseplate version of the power module implemented in the inverter has been found to handle up to 410 ARMS (amperes minus root mean square), whereas the direct cooled version of the power module 100 of the present disclosure is It has been shown to handle 490 A _RMS. Thus, the power module 100 implementing pin pin 642 according to FIGS. 43-58 and the associated description corresponded to a 20% increase in output current capacity.

The power module 100 associated with FIGS. 43-58 may be implemented with different voltages, temperature ratings, on-state resistances, different maximum junction temperatures, different coolant temperatures, different switching frequencies, etc. and likewise non-direct cooled ) to increase the output current capacity compared to the power module. In this regard, the output current capability is 5% - 40%, 5% - 10%, 10% - 15%, 15% - 20%, 20% - 25%, 25% - compared to non-directly cooled power modules. 30%, 30% - 35%, 35% - 40%, 10% - 30%, 20% - 40%, 15% - 35% or 15% - 40%. In this regard, the output current capability may be increased by at least 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35% or 40% as compared to a non-directly cooled power module. Moreover, numerous other improvements in performance are contemplated by the power module 100 associated with FIGS. 43-58 implemented as described herein.

In one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the power module 100 may be implemented as a high-performance, compact, modular three-phase inverter based on the disclosed power module 100, specifically optimized to fully utilize silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs. can In some aspects, the modular AC output allows the inverter to be configured as a dual inverter or a single inverter. In some aspects, double-sided cooling plates, custom capacitors and direct-cooled SiC modules could enable ultra-high power densities for inverters. Parasitics of all critical components, including power module 100 and capacitors, have been verified to ensure the lowest overall stray inductance. In some aspects, the unit can operate in application conditions using an 800 V DC bus and 480 V/830 A phase current.

In this regard, conventional power packages are an effective and widely accepted industry solution for state-of-the-art silicon (Si) IGBTs. However, conventional power packages struggle to make the most of what SiC-based technologies have to offer. Conventional power package footprints and internal layouts were originally designed for Si devices with single or few parallelized large devices, typically with signal networks along long paths. The bipolar nature of the IGBT limits the switching speed to allow the mentioned design compromises.

To fully exploit the high performance properties of SiC devices, a technology driven design was applied with the disclosed power module 100 . The power module 100 of the present disclosure overcomes the shortcomings of existing module designs. In this regard, the SiC-centric design of the present disclosure makes it possible to arrange several smaller dies in parallel to equally share the dynamic current and optimize the signal network with a short path parallel plane so that the SiC dies switch uniformly even at high speeds. do.

To meet this need, the disclosed power module 100 has been highly optimized to achieve maximum performance among all sizes of commercially available 650-1700 V SiC MOSFETs. Some aspects of the disclosed power module 100 provide the ability to carry high currents (300 to >600 A) in a small footprint (53 mm x 80 mm) with a terminal arrangement that allows for straight busing and interconnection. The disclosed low inductance, uniformly matched layout of the power module 100 results in a high quality switching event to minimize vibration inside and outside the power module 100 . In some implementations, the disclosed power module 100 can have a stray inductance of -6.7 nH, which is only -60% of the 62 mm module area. The disclosed current loops of the power module 100 are designed such that they are wide, low profile, and evenly distributed between devices so that they have an equivalent impedance across the switch positions. The power terminals can be vertically offset so that the bus bar between the DC link capacitor and the power module 100 can be stacked up to the power module 100 without the need for bending, coining, standoffs or complex isolation. . Ultimately, this achieves low inductance across the DC link capacitor and the entire power loop from the SiC device.

Due to the high current density of SiC power devices, the thermal performance of the power module 100 and the cooling plate may allow for maximizing heat flux and reducing system size and cost. The disclosed direct-cooled power module can implement a copper fin fin base plate that improves the thermal performance of conventional flat base plate power modules. Flat base plate power modules require a thermal interface material (TIM) to be used between the module and the heat sink or cooling plate to fill the voids in the thermal path. The effect of this TIM is the additional thermal impedance between the module case and the cooling plate. The direct cooled power module 100 has pins designed to be in direct contact with the coolant, which negates the need for a TIM. 61 , the flat base plate version of the _{power module can handle up to 410 A RMS} , while the direct cooled version of the power module 100 can handle _{490 A RMS.} This corresponds to a 20% increase in output current capability.

In some aspects, the disclosed power modules 100 may be implemented with an inverter design that adds multiple power modules 100 using unique double-sided cooling and the same low parasitic, high performance design. In one aspect, a double-sided cooling plate may be utilized that features cooling surfaces on the top and bottom surfaces that allow twice as many power modules 100 in the same footprint area, which are directly cooled power modules 100 of the present disclosure. ) more than doubles the power density compared to prior art implementations. In some aspects, custom DC-link capacitors may be implemented with integrated stacked terminals as disclosed herein mounted directly to both the top and bottom banks of the power module. This design has a low stray inductance between the power module 100 and the capacitor and does not require a separate bus bar. The non-planar power module 100 of the present disclosure may prevent the capacitor terminal assembly from being bent, thereby reducing cost and maximizing overlap. A DC input terminal can be built into a capacitor to create a tightly integrated solution for interconnecting six half-bridge modules.

In some aspects, the disclosed power module 100 may be supported by a gate driver with high noise immunity and high-speed protection to effectively switch devices and provide maximum survivability in fault conditions.

In some aspects, the AC output terminal may be designed and implemented as a modular subassembly. This allows the inverter to be configured as a dual 3-phase inverter with more than 430 ARMS output and 6 or more current sensors, or as a single 3-phase inverter with more than 860 ARMS output current and 3 or more current sensors.

The disclosed double-sided cold plate assembly may be implemented with a directly cooled power module 100 as described herein mounted on top and bottom sides using gasket seals and an inverter with sensors, modules, cold plates and capacitors.

To verify the high-performance characteristics of the system, the components were evaluated in both the frequency and time domains. In some aspects, small-signal parasitic extraction enables accurate measurements of parasitic elements that can be used in an iterative design process to minimize stray inductance. The quality of the switching waveform for both overshoot voltage and ringing was verified through double pulse testing of the module and DC link capacitor at 800 V and 600 A per power module. In some aspects, DC-link capacitor designs can be implemented with optimal terminal spacing and arrangement to balance current density and minimize stray inductance.

Accordingly, the present disclosure discloses an improved power module 100 and related systems configured to handle heat and increase output current capability as compared to a non-directly cooled power module. In addition, the disclosed power module 100 may be implemented in various topologies including a half-bridge configuration, a full-bridge configuration, a common source configuration, a common drain configuration, a neutral clamp configuration, a three-phase configuration, and the like. Applications of the power module 100 are power systems, motor systems, automobile motor systems, charging systems, automobile charging systems, vehicle systems, industrial motor driving, embedded motor driving, uninterruptible power supply, AC-DC power supply, welding machine power. supply devices, military systems, inverters, inverters for wind turbines, solar power panels, tidal power plants and electric vehicles (EVs), converters, and the like.

Accordingly, the present disclosure also provides an improved power module 100 and related improvements configured to address parasitic impedances, such as loop inductance, to increase stability, reduce switching losses, reduce EMI, and limit stress on system components. The system was started. In particular, the disclosed power module has the ability to have the disclosed arrangement reduce inductance by 10% in some aspects. In addition, the disclosed power module 100 may be implemented in various topologies including a half-bridge configuration, a full-bridge configuration, a common source configuration, a common drain configuration, a neutral clamp configuration, and a three-phase configuration. Applications of the power module 100 include motor driving, solar inverters, circuit breakers, protection circuits, DC-DC converters, and the like.

The power module 100 of the present disclosure is adaptable for most systems within the power processing needs and size and weight limitations specific to a given application. The power module design and system level architecture described in this disclosure allows high levels of power density and volume utilization to be achieved.

Aspects of the disclosure have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings in which aspects of the disclosure are shown. It will be understood, however, that this disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the aspects set forth above. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. In addition, various aspects described may be implemented individually. Moreover, one or more of the various aspects described may be combined. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Although the terms first, second, etc. are used throughout this specification to describe various elements, it will be understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be termed a second element, and similarly a second element may be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more associated listed items.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The terms “comprise,” “comprising,” “include,” and/or “including,” as used herein, refer to specified features, integers, steps, acts, elements and It will be further understood that while designating the presence of a component, it does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, acts, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

When an element, such as a layer, region, or substrate, is referred to as extending "on" or extending "onto" another element, it may extend directly over or directly over the other element, or the intervening element may also It will be understood that there may be. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" or extending "directly onto" another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled to” another element, it may be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.

Relative terms such as “below” or “above” or “top” or “bottom” or “top” or “bottom” refer to the relationship of one element, layer or region to another element, layer or region, as shown in the figures. can be used here to describe It will be understood that these terms are intended to encompass other orientations of the device in addition to the orientations shown in the drawings.

Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to cross-sectional views that are schematic views of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the present disclosure. The thicknesses of layers and regions in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity. Also, the illustrated shapes may vary, for example, as a result of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances.

In the drawings and specification, typical aspects of the disclosure are disclosed and specific terminology is used, but they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the disclosure being set forth in the following claims.

Aspects of the present disclosure are, for example, a desktop computer, a personal computer, a laptop/mobile computer, a personal data assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a cloud computing device, etc. with wired or wireless communication capability through a communication channel. It may be implemented in a tangible computing device.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, the methods described herein may include PCs, PDAs, semiconductors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic arrays, cloud computing devices, and methods described herein. It is intended to operate as a dedicated hardware implementation, including but not limited to other hardware devices configured to implement it.

In addition, software implementations of the present disclosure as described herein may be implemented in a magnetic medium such as a disk or tape, a magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk, or one or more read-only (non-volatile) memories, random access memory, or other rewritable memory. It should be noted that (volatile) memory is optionally stored in a tangible storage medium such as a solid state medium such as a memory card or other package that accepts memory. Digital file attachments to e-mail or other independent information archives or archive sets are considered distribution media equivalent to tangible storage media. Accordingly, this disclosure is intended to include tangible storage media or distribution media listed herein and including technically recognized equivalents and successor media on which the software implementations of this specification are stored.

In addition, various aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in non-generic computer implementations. Moreover, various aspects of the disclosure described herein improve the functionality of the system as is apparent from the disclosure of this disclosure. In addition, various aspects of the present disclosure include computer hardware specifically programmed to solve the complex problems addressed by the present disclosure. Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure improve the functionality of the overall system in certain implementations for carrying out the process as set forth by the present disclosure and defined by the claims.

While the present disclosure has been described in terms of exemplary aspects, those skilled in the art will recognize that the present disclosure may be practiced with modification of the spirit and scope of the appended claims. These examples given above are illustrative only and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs, aspects, applications or modifications of the present disclosure. In this regard, various aspects, features, components, elements, modules, arrangements, circuits, and the like are considered interchangeable, mixed, matched, combined, and the like. In this regard, the different features of the present disclosure are modular and can be mixed and matched with each other.

Claims (133)

A power module comprising:
at least one power substrate;
a housing arranged on the at least one power substrate;
a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a second terminal;
a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a plurality of power devices electrically coupled to the at least one power board;
a gate-source board electrically coupled to the plurality of power devices; and
a temperature sensor arranged within the housing and electrically connected to the gate-source board
including,
wherein the temperature sensor is on a portion of the at least one power board;
power module. According to claim 1,
the at least one power substrate comprises a metal surface and/or a conductive surface supporting the plurality of power devices;
a portion of the at least one power substrate does not include the metal surface and/or the conductive surface;
wherein the temperature sensor is on a portion of the at least one power substrate that does not include the metal surface and/or the conductive surface;
power module. According to claim 1,
wherein the gate-source board further comprises a plurality of resistors, each of the plurality of resistors electrically coupled to one of the plurality of power devices, the gate-source board being configured to receive at least one electrical signal. ,
power module. 3. The method of claim 2,
each of the plurality of resistors is electrically coupled to a gate of one of the plurality of power devices;
power module. 3. The method of claim 2,
each of the plurality of resistors is electrically connected to a source of one of the plurality of power devices;
power module. 3. The method of claim 2,
wherein the at least one electrical signal comprises one of a gate driver signal and a source Kelvin signal;
power module. According to claim 1,
the first terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a first height;
wherein the second terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a second height different from the first height;
power module. As a construct,
A power module comprising the power module of claim 1,
The composition is
at least one component comprising at least one of at least one buss bar, a driver, a controller, at least one capacitor, a cooling plate and at least one sensor; and
a construction housing configured to receive and enclose the power module and the at least one component
A construct further comprising a. 9. The method of claim 8,
an electrical interface coupled to at least one of the at least one bus bar, the driver, the controller, the at least one capacitor, the cooling plate and the at least one sensor and configured to exchange data
A construct further comprising a. 9. The method of claim 8,
wherein the construct is configured to test the implementation of the power module for a specific application;
construct. 9. The method of claim 8,
a cooling fan configured to move air through the component housing
A construct further comprising a. According to claim 1,
wherein the total stray inductance value of the critical power switching loop of the power module comprises a range of 12 (nH) to 2 (nH);
power module. As a system,
A power module comprising the power module of claim 1,
The system further comprises at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter and an AC-DC power supply.
system. A power module comprising:
at least one power substrate;
a housing arranged on the at least one power substrate;
a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a second terminal;
a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a plurality of power devices electrically coupled to the at least one power board;
a gate-source board configured to receive at least one electrical signal
includes,
the gate-source board further comprises a plurality of resistors, each of the plurality of resistors electrically connected to one of the plurality of power devices;
each of the plurality of resistors is electrically connected to one of a gate of one of the plurality of power devices and a source of one of the plurality of power devices;
power module. 15. The method of claim 14,
each of the plurality of resistors is electrically coupled to a gate of one of the plurality of power devices;
power module. 15. The method of claim 14,
each of the plurality of resistors is electrically connected to a source of one of the plurality of power devices;
power module. 15. The method of claim 14,
wherein the at least one electrical signal comprises a gate driver signal;
power module. 15. The method of claim 14,
wherein the at least one electrical signal comprises a source Kelvin signal;
power module. 15. The method of claim 14,
a temperature sensor arranged within the housing and electrically connected to the gate-source board
A power module further comprising a. 20. The method of claim 19,
the at least one power substrate comprises a metal surface and/or a conductive surface supporting the plurality of power devices;
wherein the at least one power substrate comprises a portion not comprising the metal surface and/or the conductive surface;
wherein the temperature sensor is on a portion of the at least one power substrate that does not include the metal surface and/or the conductive surface;
power module. 15. The method of claim 14,
the first terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a first height;
wherein the second terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a second height different from the first height;
power module. As a system,
A power module comprising the power module of claim 14,
The system further comprises at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter and an AC-DC power supply.
system. As a construct,
A power module comprising the power module of claim 14,
The composition is
at least one component comprising at least one of at least one bus bar, a driver, a controller, at least one capacitor, a cooling plate and at least one sensor; and
a construction housing configured to receive and enclose the power module and the at least one component
A construct further comprising a. 24. The method of claim 23,
an electrical interface coupled to at least one of the at least one bus bar, the driver, the controller, the at least one capacitor, the cooling plate and the at least one sensor and configured to exchange data
A construct further comprising a. 24. The method of claim 23,
wherein the construct is configured to test the implementation of the power module for a specific application;
construct. 24. The method of claim 23,
a cooling fan configured to move air through the component housing
A construct further comprising a. 15. The method of claim 14,
wherein the total stray inductance value of the critical power switching loop of the power module comprises a range of 12 (nH) to 2 (nH);
power module. A method of constructing a power module comprising:
providing at least one power substrate;
arranging a housing on the at least one power substrate;
electrically connecting a first terminal to the at least one power board;
providing a second terminal;
electrically connecting a third terminal to the at least one power board;
electrically connecting a plurality of power devices to the at least one power board;
mounting a gate-source board electrically coupled to the plurality of power devices; and
arranging a temperature sensor in the housing and electrically coupled to the gate-source board;
including,
wherein the temperature sensor is on a portion of the at least one power board;
How to configure the power module. 29. The method of claim 28,
the at least one power substrate comprises a metal surface and/or a conductive surface supporting the plurality of power devices;
a portion of the at least one power substrate does not include the metal surface and/or the conductive surface;
wherein the temperature sensor is on a portion of the at least one power substrate that does not include the metal surface and/or the conductive surface;
How to configure the power module. 29. The method of claim 28,
mounting a gate-source board to receive at least one electrical signal; and
arranging a plurality of resistors with the gate-source board, each of the plurality of resistors electrically coupled to one of the plurality of power devices;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 30. The method of claim 29,
wherein the at least one electrical signal comprises one of a gate driver signal and a source Kelvin signal;
How to configure the power module. 30. The method of claim 29,
electrically coupling each of the plurality of resistors to a gate of one of the plurality of power devices;
Further comprising, a method of configuring a power module. 30. The method of claim 29,
electrically coupling each of the plurality of resistors to a source of one of the plurality of power devices;
Further comprising, a method of configuring a power module. 29. The method of claim 28,
positioning a contact surface of the first terminal above the housing at a first height; and
positioning a contact surface of the second terminal above the housing at a second height different from the first height;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 29. The method of claim 28,
implementing a construct including the power module;
providing at least one component comprising at least one of at least one bus bar, a driver, a controller, at least one capacitor, a cooling plate and at least one sensor; and
arranging a construction housing to receive and enclose the power module and the at least one component;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 36. The method of claim 35,
connecting via an electrical interface with at least one of the at least one bus bar, the driver, the controller, the at least one capacitor, the cooling plate and the at least one sensor and exchanging data via the electrical interface;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 36. The method of claim 35,
testing the implementation of a power module for a specific application with the construct;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 36. The method of claim 35,
moving air through the component housing with a cooling fan;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. A method of configuring and testing a power module, comprising:
providing a power module;
implementing a construct comprising a power module comprising;
providing at least one component comprising at least one of at least one bus bar, a driver, a controller, at least one capacitor, a cooling plate and at least one sensor; and
arranging a construction housing to receive and enclose the power module and the at least one component;
A method of configuring a power module comprising a. 40. The method of claim 39,
connecting via an electrical interface with at least one of the at least one bus bar, the driver, the controller, the at least one capacitor, the cooling plate, and the at least one sensor and exchanging data via the electrical interface;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 40. The method of claim 39,
testing the implementation of a power module for a specific application with the construct;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 40. The method of claim 39,
connecting via an electrical interface with at least one of the at least one bus bar, the driver, the controller, the at least one capacitor, the cooling plate and the at least one sensor; and
testing the implementation of a power module for a specific application with the construct;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 40. The method of claim 39,
moving air through the component housing with a cooling fan;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. A method of constructing a power module comprising:
providing at least one power substrate;
arranging a housing on the at least one power substrate;
electrically connecting a first terminal to the at least one power board;
providing a second terminal;
electrically connecting a third terminal to the at least one power board;
electrically connecting a plurality of power devices to the at least one power board;
mounting a gate-source board electrically coupled to the plurality of power devices, the gate-source board configured to receive at least one electrical signal; and
arranging a plurality of resistors with the gate-source board, each of the plurality of resistors electrically coupled to one of the plurality of power devices; and
electrically coupling each of the plurality of resistors to a gate of one of the plurality of power devices and to one of a source of one of the plurality of power devices;
A method of configuring a power module comprising a. 45. The method of claim 44,
wherein the at least one electrical signal comprises a gate driver signal;
How to configure the power module. 45. The method of claim 44,
wherein the at least one electrical signal comprises a source Kelvin signal;
How to configure the power module. 45. The method of claim 44,
electrically coupling each of the plurality of resistors to a gate of one of the plurality of power devices;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 45. The method of claim 44,
electrically coupling each of the plurality of resistors to a source of one of the plurality of power devices;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 45. The method of claim 44,
arranging a temperature sensor in the housing and electrically coupled to the gate-source board;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 50. The method of claim 49,
the at least one power substrate comprises a metal surface and/or a conductive surface supporting the plurality of power devices;
wherein the at least one power substrate comprises a portion not comprising the metal surface and/or the conductive surface;
wherein the temperature sensor is on a portion of the at least one power substrate that does not include the metal surface and/or the conductive surface;
How to configure the power module. 45. The method of claim 44,
implementing a construct including the power module;
providing at least one component comprising at least one of at least one bus bar, a driver, a controller, at least one capacitor, a cooling plate and at least one sensor; and
arranging a construction housing to receive and enclose the power module and the at least one component;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 52. The method of claim 51,
connecting via an electrical interface with at least one of the at least one bus bar, the driver, the controller, the at least one capacitor, the cooling plate and the at least one sensor and exchanging data via the electrical interface;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 52. The method of claim 51,
testing the implementation of the power module for a specific application with the construct;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 52. The method of claim 51,
moving air through the component housing with a cooling fan;
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. A power module comprising:
at least one power substrate;
a housing arranged on the at least one power substrate;
a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a second terminal;
a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board; and
a plurality of power devices electrically coupled to the at least one power board
includes,
the power module is structured, arranged, and configured to reduce inductance;
wherein the inductance comprises a total stray inductance value of a critical power switching loop of a power module comprising a range of 12 (nH) to 2 (nH);
power module. 56. The method of claim 55,
wherein the inductance comprises a total stray inductance value of a critical power switching loop of a power module comprising a range of 10 (nH) to 2 (nH);
power module. 56. The method of claim 55,
wherein the inductance comprises a total stray inductance value of a critical power switching loop of a power module comprising a range of 4 (nH) to 2 (nH);
power module. 56. The method of claim 55,
wherein the plurality of power devices each have 4 to 10 bonds;
power module. 56. The method of claim 55,
the first terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a first height;
wherein the second terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a second height different from the first height;
power module. As a system,
56. A power module comprising the power module of claim 55;
The system further comprises at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter and an AC-DC power supply.
system. A power module comprising:
at least one power substrate;
a housing arranged on the at least one power substrate;
a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a second terminal;
a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board; and
a plurality of power devices electrically coupled to the at least one power board
includes,
the power module is structured, arranged, and configured to increase a switching speed of the power module;
The switching speed of the power module has a range of 30 to 100 (A / ns),
power module. 62. The method of claim 61,
The switching speed of the power module has a range of 30 to 70 (A / ns),
power module. 62. The method of claim 61,
The switching speed of the power module has a range of 30 to 40 (A / ns),
power module. 62. The method of claim 61,
The switching speed of the power module has a range of 60 (V/ns) to 80 (V/ns),
power module. 62. The method of claim 61,
The switching speed of the power module is in the range of 40 (V/ns) to 60 (V/ns),
power module. 62. The method of claim 61,
The switching speed of the power module is in the range of 20 (V/ns) to 40 (V/ns),
power module. 62. The method of claim 61,
wherein the total stray inductance value of the critical power switching loop of the power module comprises a range of 12 (nH) to 2 (nH);
power module. 62. The method of claim 61,
the first terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a first height;
wherein the second terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a second height different from the first height;
power module. As a system,
62. A power module comprising the power module of claim 61,
The system further comprises at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter and an AC-DC power supply.
system. A power module comprising:
at least one power substrate;
a housing arranged on the at least one power substrate;
a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a second terminal;
a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board; and
a plurality of power devices electrically coupled to the at least one power board
includes,
the power module is structured, arranged, and configured to reduce switching losses of the power module;
the switching loss of the power module is in the range of 0.5 (mJ/A) to 0.25 (mJ/A),
power module. 71. The method of claim 70,
the switching loss of the power module ranges from 0.4 (mJ/A) to 0.25 (mJ/A),
power module. 71. The method of claim 70,
the first terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a first height;
wherein the second terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a second height different from the first height;
power module. As a system,
71. A power module comprising the power module of claim 70,
The system further comprises at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter and an AC-DC power supply.
system. A power module comprising:
at least one power substrate;
a housing arranged on the at least one power substrate;
a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a second terminal;
a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board; and
a plurality of power devices electrically coupled to the at least one power board
includes,
the power module is structured, arranged, and configured to increase power device utilization of the power module;
wherein the power device utilization is defined as a percentage calculated as the ratio of the power device area to the total power module area covering the range of 5 - 10%;
power module. 75. The method of claim 74,
wherein the power device utilization is defined as a percentage calculated by the ratio of the power device area to the total power module area covering the range of 5 - 7%;
power module. 75. The method of claim 74,
wherein the power device utilization is defined as a percentage calculated by the ratio of the power device area to the total power module area covering the range of 6 - 8%;
power module. 75. The method of claim 74,
wherein the power device utilization is defined as a percentage calculated by the ratio of the power device area to the total power module area covering the range of 7 - 10%;
power module. 75. The method of claim 74,
the first terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a first height;
wherein the second terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a second height different from the first height;
power module. As a system,
75. A power module comprising the power module of claim 74,
The system further comprises at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter and an AC-DC power supply.
system. A power module comprising:
at least one power substrate;
a housing arranged on the at least one power substrate;
a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a second terminal;
a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board; and
a plurality of power devices electrically coupled to the at least one power board
includes,
the power module is structured, arranged and configured to reduce a height of the power module;
The height of the power device comprises a range of 7 mm to 30 mm,
power module. 81. The method of claim 80,
The height of the power module comprises a range of 9 mm to 11 mm,
power module. 81. The method of claim 80,
The height of the power module comprises a range of 15 mm to 17 mm,
power module. 81. The method of claim 80,
The height of the power module comprises a range of 23 mm to 27 mm,
power module. 81. The method of claim 80,
the first terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a first height;
wherein the second terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a second height different from the first height;
power module. 81. The method of claim 80,
wherein the total stray inductance value of the critical power switching loop of the power module comprises a range of 12 (nH) to 2 (nH);
power module. As a system,
81. A power module comprising the power module of claim 80,
The system further comprises at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter and an AC-DC power supply.
system. A power module comprising:
at least one power substrate;
a housing arranged on the at least one power substrate;
a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a second terminal;
a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board; and
a plurality of power devices electrically coupled to the at least one power board
includes,
the power module is structured, arranged, and configured to increase terminal utilization of the power module;
wherein the terminal utilization comprises a base ratio comprising the total contact width of the terminal to the width of the power module base;
The base ratio is in the range of 70% to 95%,
power module. 88. The method of claim 87,
The base ratio is in the range of 70% to 80%,
power module. 88. The method of claim 87,
The base ratio is in the range of 80% to 90%,
power module. 88. The method of claim 87,
The base ratio is in the range of 90% to 95%,
power module. 88. The method of claim 87,
The width of the power module base includes the width of the at least one power substrate,
power module. 88. The method of claim 87,
the first terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a first height;
wherein the second terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a second height different from the first height;
power module. 88. The method of claim 87,
wherein the total stray inductance value of the critical power switching loop of the power module comprises a range of 12 (nH) to 2 (nH);
power module. As a system,
89. A power module comprising the power module of claim 87;
The system further comprises at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter and an AC-DC power supply.
system. A power module comprising:
at least one power substrate;
a housing arranged on the at least one power substrate;
a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a second terminal;
a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board; and
a plurality of power devices electrically coupled to the at least one power board
includes,
the power module is structured, arranged and configured to increase a terminal area of the power module;
wherein the terminal area comprises a terminal area ratio comprising a total contact area to a total power module area, wherein the terminal area ratio ranges from 15% to 50%;
power module. 96. The method of claim 95,
wherein the terminal area ratio is in the range of 20% to 40%,
power module. 97. The method of claim 96,
wherein the terminal area ratio ranges from 20% to 25%;
power module. 97. The method of claim 96,
wherein the terminal area ratio ranges from 25% to 30%,
power module. 97. The method of claim 96,
wherein the terminal area ratio ranges from 30% to 35%;
power module. 96. The method of claim 95,
the first terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a first height;
wherein the second terminal comprises a contact surface positioned above the housing at a second height different from the first height;
power module. 96. The method of claim 95,
wherein the total stray inductance value of the critical power switching loop of the power module comprises a range of 12 (nH) to 2 (nH);
power module. As a system,
96. A power module comprising the power module of claim 95;
The system further comprises at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter and an AC-DC power supply.
system. A power module comprising:
at least one electrically conductive power substrate;
a housing arranged on the at least one electrically conductive power substrate;
a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one electrically conductive power substrate;
the first terminal;
a second terminal;
a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one electrically conductive power substrate;
a plurality of power devices arranged and coupled to the at least one electrically conductive power substrate;
base plate; and
a plurality of pin fins arranged on the base plate, wherein the plurality of pin fins are configured to provide direct cooling for the power module;
includes,
the plurality of pins pins are arranged on the lower end of the base plate,
wherein the plurality of fin fins are structured and arranged to form a channel between the plurality of fin fins;
power module. 104. The method of claim 103,
the first terminal comprises a contact surface located on the housing;
the second terminal comprises a contact surface located on the housing;
the third terminal is electrically connected to at least one of the plurality of power devices;
power module. 104. The method of claim 103,
each of the plurality of fins is integrally formed with the base plate and comprises the same material as the base plate;
power module. 104. The method of claim 103,
wherein the plurality of fins includes a base portion, a termination surface, and one or more surfaces, the one or more surfaces extending from the base portion to the termination surface;
power module. 107. The method of claim 106,
the end surface comprises a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate;
The cross-sectional shape includes at least one of an asymmetric cross-sectional shape, an airfoil-shaped cross-sectional shape, and a wing-shaped cross-sectional shape,
power module. 107. The method of claim 106,
The base portion comprises a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate,
The cross-sectional shape comprises at least one of a square cross-sectional shape, a rectangular cross-sectional shape, a circular cross-sectional shape, an elliptical cross-sectional shape, and a symmetrical cross-sectional shape.
power module. 107. The method of claim 106,
wherein the plurality of pins includes a base portion attached to the base plate, at least one surface extending in a direction away from the base plate and the base portion, and a termination surface connected to the at least one surface;
wherein the at least one surface extends in a direction away from the base plate and the at least one surface tapers as the at least one surface extends into the termination surface;
power module. 104. The method of claim 103,
Output current capability is 5% - 40% greater than non-directly cooled power modules;
power module. 104. The method of claim 103,
The output current capability is 15% greater than that of non-directly cooled power modules;
power module. As a system,
104. A power module comprising the power module of claim 103, further comprising a cooling plate.
system. As a system,
104. A power module comprising the power module of claim 103;
a cooling plate and at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter, and an AC-DC power supply.
system. As a system,
104. A power module comprising the power module of claim 103;
The system further comprises at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter and an AC-DC power supply.
system. A power module comprising:
base plate;
at least one power substrate;
a housing arranged on the at least one power substrate;
a first terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a second terminal;
a third terminal electrically connected to the at least one power board;
a plurality of power devices electrically coupled to the at least one power board;
a gate-source board electrically coupled to the plurality of power devices; and
a plurality of fins fins arranged on the base plate, the plurality of fins fins configured to provide direct cooling for the power module;
includes,
the plurality of pins pins are arranged on the lower end of the base plate,
wherein the plurality of fin fins are structured and arranged to form a channel between the plurality of fin fins;
power module. 116. The method of claim 115,
each of the plurality of fins is integrally formed with the base plate and comprises the same material as the base plate;
power module. 116. The method of claim 115,
wherein the plurality of fins includes a base portion, a termination surface, and one or more surfaces, the one or more surfaces extending from the base portion to the termination surface;
power module. 118. The method of claim 117,
the end surface comprises a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate;
The cross-sectional shape includes at least one of an asymmetric cross-sectional shape, an airfoil-shaped cross-sectional shape, and a wing-shaped cross-sectional shape,
power module. 118. The method of claim 117,
The base portion comprises a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate,
The cross-sectional shape comprises at least one of a square cross-sectional shape, a rectangular cross-sectional shape, a circular cross-sectional shape, an elliptical cross-sectional shape, and a symmetrical cross-sectional shape.
power module. 116. The method of claim 115,
The plurality of pins includes a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate,
The cross-sectional shape comprises at least one of a contoured cross-sectional shape, a circular cross-sectional shape, a square cross-sectional shape, and a rectangular cross-sectional shape.
power module. 116. The method of claim 115,
wherein the plurality of pins includes a base portion attached to the base plate, at least one surface extending in a direction away from the base plate and the base portion, and a termination surface connected to the at least one surface;
wherein the at least one surface extends in a direction away from the base plate and the at least one surface tapers as the at least one surface extends into the termination surface;
power module. 116. The method of claim 115,
Output current capability is 5% - 40% greater than non-directly cooled power modules;
power module. 116. The method of claim 115,
The output current capability is 15% greater than that of non-directly cooled power modules;
power module. As a system,
115. A power module comprising the power module of claim 115, further comprising a cooling plate.
system. As a system,
115. A power module comprising the power module of claim 115,
a cooling plate and at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter, and an AC-DC power supply.
system. As a system,
115. A power module comprising the power module of claim 115,
The system further comprises at least one of an inverter, a power system, a motor system, a converter and an AC-DC power supply.
system. A method of constructing a power module comprising:
providing at least one power substrate;
arranging a housing on the at least one power substrate;
electrically connecting a first terminal to the at least one power board;
providing a second terminal;
electrically connecting a third terminal to the at least one power board;
electrically connecting a plurality of power devices to the at least one power board;
mounting a gate-source board electrically coupled to the plurality of power devices, the gate-source board configured to receive at least one electrical signal;
providing a base plate;
providing a plurality of pin pins arranged on the base plate;
arranging the plurality of fin fins to form a channel between the plurality of fin fins; and
configuring the plurality of fins to cool at least one component of the power module;
A method of configuring a power module comprising a. 127. The method of claim 127,
configuring the plurality of fins to provide direct cooling for the power module; and
arranging the plurality of pin pins on the lower end of the base plate
A method of configuring a power module further comprising a. 127. The method of claim 127,
configuring the plurality of pin pins to include a base portion, a termination surface, and one or more surfaces;
further comprising,
wherein the one or more surfaces extend from the base portion to the termination surface;
How to configure the power module. 130. The method of claim 129,
the end surface comprises a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate;
The cross-sectional shape includes at least one of an asymmetric cross-sectional shape, an airfoil-shaped cross-sectional shape, and a wing-shaped cross-sectional shape,
How to configure the power module. 130. The method of claim 129,
The base portion comprises a cross-sectional shape with respect to a plane parallel to the surface of the base plate,
The cross-sectional shape comprises at least one of a square cross-sectional shape, a rectangular cross-sectional shape, a circular cross-sectional shape, an elliptical cross-sectional shape, and a symmetrical cross-sectional shape.
How to configure the power module. 130. The method of claim 129,
Output current capability is 5% - 40% greater than non-directly cooled power modules;
How to configure the power module. 130. The method of claim 129,
The output current capability is 15% greater than that of non-directly cooled power modules;
How to configure the power module.

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