Package design and development of a low cost high temperature (250°C), high current (50+A), low inductance discrete power package for advanced Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) devices

The demands for high-performance power electronics systems are rapidly surpassing the power density, efficiency, and reliability limitations defined by the intrinsic properties of silicon-based semiconductors. The advantages of post silicon materials, including Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN), are numerous, including: high temperature operation, high voltage blocking capability, extremely fast switching, and superior energy efficiency. These advantages, however, are severely limited by conventional power packages, particularly at temperatures higher than 175°C and >100 kHz switching speeds. In this discussion, APEI, Inc. presents the design of a newly developed discrete package specifically intended for high performance, high current (>50A), rapid switching, and extended temperature (>250°C) wide band gap devices which are now readily available on the commercial market at voltages exceeding 1200V. Finite element analysis (FEA) results will be presented to illustrate the modeling process, d...

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