Introduction
For the assessment of discrete semiconductors during converter design, the thermal resistance of the semiconductors cooling arrangement is an important factor in the decision-making process. Especially the general choice between surface-mount technology (SMT) or through-hole technology (THT) has a great influence on the resulting cooling structure and hence also on the semiconductor junction tempera-ture. An exact determination of the thermal resistance requires extensive analytical calculation methods or simulations, demonstrated by [1] and [2]. To reduce the calculation and time effort of the thermal design process, simplified decision aids and improved calculation methods are required.