Low voltage switching cell for high density and modular 3D power module with integrated air-cooling

Abstract:
This paper presents the TAPIR (compacT and modulAr Power modules with IntegRated cooling) power module technology based on dual side air-cooling, the heat sinks acting as electrodes of power devices. Used with a large number of power semiconductor devices, this technology improves the cooling performances while maintaining low stray inductances in switching cells. It is therefore suited to high-speed devices and allows increasing the density of power converters. A low-voltage switching cell is designed and electrically and thermally tested. The weight of the semiconductor and thermal management parts of a three-phase inverter made with TAPIR technology is estimated and compared with more classical packaging approaches.