Extreme Thermal Transient Stress Analysis with Pre-Stress in a Metal Matrix Composite Power Package

Abstract

This paper culminates several years of development of a SiC MOSFET-based solid-state circuit breaker power module designed and fabricated for aluminum-based composite metal-ceramic packaging. The aluminum composite structure was used for high temperature thermal management >350°C and high reliability. Testing of the final module surpassed 750 total cycles. The module was optimized for four dies, 4.1mm × 4.1 mm each for SiC or GaN. The electrically loading per die was 48 A for 5 ms with a di/dt of 2.1 kA/us (23 ns opening time). An internal snubber increased the response to 390 ns. The die absorbed ∼4.6 J causing a transient junction temperature increase of ∼245 °C. Two ambient temperatures were used in testing and set at 25 °C and 105 °C. The maximum junction temperature was conservatively projected to reach 350 °C during the 5 ms pulse. Electrical, thermal and mechanical design and testing results are presented.