MiniSKiiP® with a Si3N4 AMB Substrate

PublishTime：2020-11-16

Market trends indicate that low thermal resistance, long life and easy handling are the attributes engineers’value most in power modules. Low thermal resistance is an advantage because it can serve to boost the module's power rating. Long service life benefits most industrial applications, but longevity is all the more important to solar inverters because panels are so durable and can keep delivering returns for decades to come. Lifetime and thermal resistance are connected: Lower thermal resistance reduces the ∆T during operation, thereby mitigating the module's exposure to that thermal stress. And handling ease is a cost and reliability enhancer: An easier-to-handle module is also safer and cheaper to mount.
The MiniSKiiP® design features a 0.38 mm Al₂O₃ direct copper bonding (DCB) substrate, Wacker P12 thermal interface material (TIM), and spring-loaded contacts. This recipe serves up exactly what engineers want—good thermal resistance, long life and handling ease. Thermal resistance needs to be improved first to keep pace with market demand. Around 50% of the thermal resistance of power module without a baseplate is attributable to the power module, and the other 50% to the TIM, so it is a good idea to improve both components' thermal resistance.
The ceramic in the substrate is the key determinant of the power module's thermal resistance. AlN and Si₃N₄ substrates conduct heat better than Al₂O₃ substrates (Fig 1.). An AlN DCB substrate does not last as long as that of a Al₂O₃ DCB (Fig 2.). The thin Al₂O₃ layer added to the AlN surface to make it suitable for the DCB technology's oxide-based ceramics. Si₃N₄ is not option with DCB technology, but AlN and Si₃N₄ ceramics work with AMB (active metal brazing) technology. The brazing layer between the copper and ceramic can absorb stress much better, so AMB substrates 'live' a lot longer than DCB substrates. The combination of AMB technology with a Si₃N₄ ceramic yields the longest life because the ceramic's high fracture toughness. Although Si₃N₄ does not conduct heat as well as the AlN ceramic, its greater flexural strength does allow AMB technology to be used to arrive at a 0.32 mm thick layer. The thinner ceramic compensates for the lower heat conductivity, so the two substrate materials end up with nearly the same thermal resistance. The thermal resistance of 0.5 mm Si₃N₃ AMB copper can be equal to that of 0.3 mm AlN AMB copper, but the MiniSKiiP® housing is designed for substrates with 0.3 mm copper on the layout side. The thicker 0.5 mm copper layer compresses spring contacts, so either the contacts or housing must be modified. The difference between 0.3 and 0.5 mm copper's thermal resistance is not all that significant, so it is easier to just use 0.3 mm copper.

Brand of Product：	Vincotech
Part#：	MiniSKiiP® More Part#
Product Category：	More
Application：	More
Data Type：	Application note & Design Guide More
Safety & Environment Standards：	More
Operating Temperature：	Please see the document for details
Qualification Grade：	More
Qualification Approval：	More
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Language：	English Chinese Chinese and English Japanese
Date of Creation：	2017/01/18
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Data Size：	522 KB

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