Integrated Design for Enhanced Power Module Thermal Tolerance Utilizing the Phase Change Material and Thermal Anisotropic Graphite

With the progressive increase in the penetration of power devices in power systems, effective transient thermal management of power modules (PMs) is essential to ensure the reliable operation of pulsed power applications. This paper customizes a power module using phase change material (PCM) and thermal anisotropic graphite (TAG). Compared to conventional PCM-integrated power modules (PPM), the additional TAG enables a higher thermal conductivity and improves PCM's utilization under pulsed-power conditions. The simulation results show a significant junction temperature reduction (3.9 ℃ and 17.2 ℃) in the steady and transient states respectively. It is also found that the chip temperature is more uniform due to the heat spreading by TAG. Finally, further experiments validate the effectiveness of the customized power module in reducing the steady-state junction temperature and prove the validity of uniform temperature distribution brought by TAG.