208 / 2017-11-20 05:15:36

Power Module with Large Short Term Current Capability by Using Phase Change Material

SiC, phase change material,safe operating area (SOA)

全体主题 > Packaging, power modules, and ICs

There has been the desire for power electronic converters, which integrate renewable generation to the grid, to provide short circuit (SC) current for a few seconds to drive relay protection and/or support voltage recovery following fault clearance. This has not been possible because the demanded current is significantly greater than the continuous rating. Without proper thermal management, the junction temperature will quickly exceed the limit, resulting in device failure. In this paper, a power module with extended safe operating area (SOA) is proposed and optimized to provide SC current. The proposed power module takes advantage of the heat absorption ability of phase change material (PCM) during phase change process to constrain the junction temperature from rising too quickly. To avoid unacceptably reducing thermal conduction, the PCM is combined with a 3D printed metal framework. Thermal models are proposed to analyze the transient response and optimize the design. The effect of the PCM is verified through simulation and experiment. When the junction temperature of the device is controlled below the limit, the SOA can be extended beyond the normal. Based on the experimental results, optimization of power module design is carried out in an inverter case study in which simulation results are used to show the practicability and possibility of employing the proposed concept.