Thermal and Reliability Performance Comparison of DBC-Based and Organic-Based Double-Sided Cooled Power Modules

Abstract Direct Bonded Copper (DBC) is the most popular solution for conventional high-power modules because of superior thermal/electrical/mechanical performance and mature manufacturing. To meet rising demand power density rating, a Double-Sided Cooled (DSC) sandwich structure using dual insulated metal-clad substrates was proposed DBC still dominated substrate selection DSC modules. However, there are several long-existing reliability challenges DBC-based cost relatively high compared with organic metal (e.g. lead frame) substrates. This study proposes 1.2 kV half-bridge module epoxy-resin Insulated Metal Substrate (eIMS) solving issues providing cost-effective solution. The thermal outperforms traditional Alumina (Al2O3) due to moderate conductivity (10 W/mK) thin (120 μm) composite dielectric layer Alumina. breakdown voltage this thermally conductive 5 kVAC (@ 120 Glass Transition Temperature (Tg) 300°C which indispensable Wide-Band-Gap (WBG) devices applications. In terms thermal-mechanical reliability, organic-based can pass cycling test over 2000 cycles by optimizing mechanical properties encapsulant material. conclusion, paper not only competitive but also methodology evaluation performance.