Power Electronic Modules

Designing and building power semiconductor modules requires a broad, interdisciplinary base of knowledge and experience, ranging from semiconductor materials and technologies, thermal management, and soldering to environmental constraints, inspection techniques, and statistical process control. This diversity poses a significant challenge to engineers, and a book that brings together the essential elements of these technologies is long overdue.

Power Electronic Modules: Design and Manufacture fills that void. It covers not only the basic technologies, but also the latest advances in these areas. Organized into three main sections, coverage begins with discussions on the materials used and their key properties, including a comparison of those properties with the requirements of high-performance, cost-effective power modules and the pros and cons of selected materials. The focus then shifts to manufacturing processes and quality control. The authors outline each key manufacturing operation and its corresponding inspection techniques and include two detailed manufacturing flow charts, one for the standard approach and one for a new all-solder approach. The final section of the book examines actual samples based on four different designs. The authors compare these samples in terms of thermal-electrical performance, thermal-mechanical performance, physical characteristics, and cost.

The growing importance of power modules has led to numerous but scattered journal and conference articles. Clearly written, authoritative, and well organized, this is a practical, up-to-date reference that forms a unique, one-stop handbook for their design and manufacture.