Multiple Phase Change Materials Integrated Into Power Module for Normal and High Current Reliability Enhancement

In many applications, power modules are subject to varying operating conditions and critical power cycles which cause the chip temperature to fluctuate. This will reduce the power module reliability due to thermal stresses. It can be beneficial to constrain the temperature variation through thermal management. This article proposes to integrate multiple phase change materials into the power module for such a purpose and verifies the concept by simulation of different operation scenarios. Experiment results on a power module containing two kinds of phase change materials show the superiority in reducing chip temperature at normal and high current conditions. The method can effectively reduce the chip temperature fluctuation of power modules with changing power or current level.