Thermal characterization of planar high temperature power module packages with sintered nanosilver interconnection

• A double-side cooled power module packaging structure was demonstrated by using a silver-sintering interconnect technique.
• Significant thermal performance improvement was realized by the double-side cooling structure.
• A modified thermal simulation model was proposed to analyze the thermal performance of the power module.

Many new innovations have emerged in the power electronics industry to aid in meeting the expanded market demand. In spite of that the interest in high temperature and high power applications has fueled new developments in wide bandgap semiconductor devices which are capable of operation above 200 °C, silicon devices are still prevalent in the marketplace and offer significant power ratings at affordable prices. Researches have kept pushing the limit of the application temperature of silicon devices. The key to offering functional and reliable silicon packages that can endure higher temperatures is through innovative thermal management and packaging. Effective thermal management of packaged devices can be accomplished through materials selection, design or a combination of the two. In this paper, we outline a newly designed packaging structure and the fabrication process of a functional double-sided power module switching units utilizing LTJT sintered silver for each interface. The thermal characteristics of the power module were measured in various cooling scenarios utilizing thermal transient measurements, structure function analysis and the transient dual interface method (TDIM), techniques developed by Mentor Graphics. Significant improvement of thermal performance of the fabricated module was demonstrated. The resulting improvements in thermal resistance of the power module, thermal simulation model agreement and construction, and comparison of double sided thermal results to single sided conventions are discussed.