Experimental Evaluation of a Low-Cost QFN Silicon Carbide Half-Bridge Module

Abstract

Power electronic devices and applications are striving toward more compact designs with high-power density. This has been enabled by the high switching speed of wide bandgap devices, such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) when compared to silicon. In order to take advantage of the high switching frequency, there is a need for small multichip packages with low stray inductance. This paper describes the experimental evaluation of a novel quad flat no-lead (QFN) power module with SiC power transistors. The module was designed to feature low stray inductance in a small-sized package and incorporate low-cost packaging technology. Currently available solutions are either expensive large high-power modules on the one hand or discrete packages with higher stray inductance on the other hand. The proposed QFN module aims at combining the electrical performance of a module with the cost benefit of a discrete. This paper presents the proposed module’s design and fabrication and shows, through simulations and experiments, its thermal and electrical performance when it is used in a 400-V, 1.2-kW buck dc–dc converter.