A Review of Architectural Design and System Compatibility of Power Modules and Their Impacts on Power Electronics Systems

Abstract

The architectural design of a power module determines its application. And the efficacy of a power module layout appears in the system performance by assisting low-inductive busbar design. In this article, some of the previously proposed power modules are reviewed and analyzed considering their system-level applications and their impacts on the architectural design approach. A codesign methodology is then described that accounts for power module system compatibility. The resultant module designs improve the performance of widebandgap (WBG) power semiconductor devices with respect to their interaction with the rest of the power electronics system, such as gate drivers and dc-link capacitor bank. A few common power modules are categorized by architecture and layout; the interdependency of the power modules to each other in a multiphase system and the impact of the power module layout on the busbar and system design are investigated using ANSYS Q3D to elaborate the effectiveness of the proposed power module design methodology.