Thermal management of high-power electronics modules packaged with interconnected parallel plates

The Virginia Power Electronics Center at Virginia Tech has developed a low cost approach for packaging of power electronics building blocks (PEBB) consisting of power semiconductor devices, drivers, controls, sensors and protection circuits for a wide range of power electronics applications, such as inverters for motor drives and converters for power processing equipment. The new concept of PEBB packaging, termed metal posts interconnected parallel plate structure (MPIPPS), is based on direct-bonding of copper posts to interconnect power devices, thus eliminating wire-bonding with aluminum wires. The interior space between the parallel plates and copper posts can be used as a flow channel for heat dissipation by a dielectric fluid, or filled with a solid or liquid for additional heat spreading. This approach requires less expensive processing equipment and has the potential to produce cost-effective high power modules that have superior electrical, thermal, and mechanical performance. This paper presents the materials selection and fabrication techniques developed in the course of the research and initial electrical and thermal characterization of the MPIPPS structure.