Electromagnetic Simulation Flow for Integrated Power Electronics Modules

Abstract

The growing use of electric vehicles is requiring the implementation of power electronics applications with ever faster devices, such as silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET, to reduce switching power losses and reach higher power density, with the final objective of improving performance and lowering the system cost. A side effect of such faster switching devices is the generation of high-frequency harmonics with significant energy, so their impact must be evaluated in terms of conducted and radiated electromagnetic interference (EMI). The optimal design of PCBs and filters for facing electromagnetic compatibility issues requires properly estimating the EMI level of different design solutions. Analysis of the current state of the art reveals that previous approaches can not effectively support a design focusing on a reduction in radiated EMI. To surpass these limits, the paper defines an electromagnetic simulation flow aimed at evaluating the radiative fields in the case of an integrated power electronics module operating in automotive applications and featuring fast SiC power devices. Then, the proposed simulation was applied to an LLC resonant converter featuring an STMicroelectronics SiC-based ACEPACK module. The work also highlights that future research efforts must concentrate on finding the best compromise between computational effort and estimation accuracy.