Comprehensive Review and State of Development of Double-Sided Cooled Package Technology for Automotive Power Modules

Power modules are core components of inverters in electric vehicles and their packaging technology has a critical impact on system performance and reliability. Conventional single sided cooled power modules have been one of the most common package structures for automotive applications. However, this design limits the performance of IGBT and future SiC power module due to parasitic inductance and heat dissipation issues. Power module packaging technologies have been experiencing extensive changes as the performance expectations of the power semiconductor has increased. Over the past few decades, methods of double-sided cooled have attracted increased interest to enhance the power density of the inverter and effectively reduce their cost. This paper presents a comprehensive review of double-sided cooled packaging technology for automotive power modules. Technical details and innovative features of state-of-the-art automotive power modules from research institutes and major industry manufacturers are reviewed and their path into commercial vehicles is evaluated.