Double-Sided Cooling and Parametric Study of an IGBT Module using Finite Element Method

Power module contains one or more semiconductor switches packaged together for easy connectivity. Power semiconductor modules play a key role in a power electronic system. The module can be used to enclose diodes, FET, IGBT, or similar semiconductor switches. Nowadays, Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors are widely used because of their good switching performance combined with fairly low conduction losses. A lot of effort has been put to develop the next generation IGBT modules of hybrid vehicles. The trend of power electronics miniaturization, both in consumer and military applications, challenges board assembly design, materials, and processes. PEs must meet strict automobile manufacturers’ design criteria like weight, size, reliability, and cost when used in HEVs. Existing designs rely mainly upon over sizing the PEs or by inclusion of large heat sinks, both of which detract from size and cost criteria of automotive design criteria. In this paper, inverter module of Toyota Prius consisting of 12 pairs of IGBT devices and diodes is used. Parametric study is carried out to study the effect of number of channels of cold plate on the performance of module. Also, effect of single sided and double-sided cooling method on the maximum temperature is studied.