Thermal Contact Resistance Optimization of Press-Pack IGBT Device Based on Liquid Metal Thermal Interface Material

Abstract

Thermal contact resistances usually account for more than 50% of the total thermal resistance in a press-pack insulated-gate bipolar transistor (PP-IGBT) device, which affect the heat dissipation of the PP-IGBT device and lead to a high junction temperature. In this article, a method for optimizing the thermal contact resistances of the PP-IGBT device is proposed by filling the liquid metal thermal interface materials in the contact surface. Bismuth-based liquid metal with high thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity is chosen, and the material is used for filling between the insulated-gate bipolar transistor chip and the molybdenum layers. The thermal characteristics are compared with the traditional commercial PP-IGBT device using finite-element simulation and experimental methods. The high-voltage insulation reliability of the proposed optimized method is verified by blocking voltage test, and the long-term reliability of the device is verified by a power cycling test. The results show that the junction-to-case thermal resistance of the optimized PP-IGBT device can be reduced by more than 30%, which is helpful for improving the thermal reliability of large-capacity PP-IGBT devices.