Novel cooling technology to reduce thermal impedance and thermomechanical stress for SiC application

Silicon carbide (SiC) device is suitable for high temperature application. However, due to the high Young's Modulus of SiC material, the power cycling capability of SiC device is weak in harsh environment. To enhance the reliability of SiC devices, the thermal interface material (TIM) should have high thermal conductivity and long-term reliability. The cold spray low temperature soldering (CS-LTS) is an advanced technology for TIM instead of grease. It can reduce the thermal resistance of a power electronic system, and ensure the superior performances of TIM in long-term working condition. In this paper, the novel cooling technology is proposed for SiC application by using CS-LTS as the TIM. To evaluate the thermomechanical performance and lifetime of the advanced SiC device system, 2-D finite element analysis (FEA) simulation model and experimental set-up are established. The transient thermal resistance obtained from simulation model is in good agreement with the experimental results. The results indicate the thermal resistance and stress of CS-LTS-based system is much lower than that using grease. Besides, the novel cooling system is also verified with excellent reliability in power cycling evaluation, and it is appropriate for SiC application in high-temperature and high-power-density converters.

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