Microelectronics Reliability 50 (2010) 1715–1719
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Microelectronics Reliability
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/microrel
Advanced packaging yields higher performance and reliability in power electronics
Reinhold Bayerer
Infineon Technologies AG, Max-Planck-Str. 5, 59581 Warstein, Germany
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 2 July 2010
Accepted 13 July 2010
Available online 26 August 2010
a b s t r a c t
Power density of power electronics will continue to grow. It is always supported by progress in power
semiconductors. Further significant loss reduction of IGBT and diodes becomes possible if power circuit
design improves with respect to electro-dynamic performance. Efforts to improve cooling for better
power dissipation out of smaller volumes appear to be disadvantageous in comparison to increase of
junction temperature. The direction of increasing junction temperature is most effective for air cooled
systems as well as liquid cooled systems with high ambient temperature. To enable long life time of modules under higher operation temperature heavy copper wire bonding and diffusion soldering of chips are
presented to fulfill the requirements. New chip technologies with integrated heat buffers ensure transient
thermal capability for shrunk power chips.
Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Growth of power density is a major trend in power electronics
[1]. In inverters and converters for variable speed drives, regenerative energies and other application, evolution of IGBT and accompanied freewheeling diodes in module packages determine the
progress. Increasing power density means increasing current density for these devices. Fig. 1 exemplarily demonstrates the progress
in current density of IGBT-modules from 1993 until today. Trench
and field-stop IGBTs – actual IGBT4 – represents the state of the art
[3]. With 1200 V-IGBT4 higher junction temperature for operation
(TJ,op) of 150 °C became possible. It generated a remarkable step to
higher current.
Potential for further progress in IGBT and diode technologies exists. Three main levers can be identified: loss reduction by minimizing wafer thickness and optimizing cell design [2], improving
thermal impedance and third increasing maximum junction temperature to allow for higher difference in temperature from junction to ambient. All three paths for improvement depend strongly
on design of power circuits, assembly and interconnect technologies of modules [1,3]. A consequence rising current density and
shrinking chip thicknesses is a decreasing thermal capacitance of
the power semiconductors. Thermal capacitance of the semiconductor chip is beneficial for high power transients in the time frame
of up to a few milliseconds. For short circuit conditions, where full
bus voltage and 4–6 times rated current are present at the chip
simultaneously for up to 10 ls the thermal capacitance of the chip
has to absorb the energy in today’s modules. Today, heat transfer
out of the chip into the interconnect layers on a time scale of some
10–100 ls after the initial stress is limited, requiring high thermal
E-mail address: Reinhold.Bayerer@Infineon.com
0026-2714/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.microrel.2010.07.016
capacities of the silicon itself [13]. Again assembly and interconnect
technologies are challenged to contribute to the progress in semiconductor devices.
2. Power circuit design for loss reduction
The vertical concept of IGBT [2] and diode becomes optimum,
when a rectangular distribution of electrical field is met in blocking
state. It results in the minimum wafer thickness required for a certain blocking voltage. In conjunction with cell optimization, it leads
to a minimum VCEsat as well as low switching losses. Following this
path would lead to snap-off of current during switching, as long as
stray inductance in power circuit does not become reduced, significantly. Therefore, further loss reduction of power devices requires
better design of power circuits with respect to electrodynamics [3].
Module and power circuit strictly have to follow strip line principles (Fig. 2). This will also have the benefit of best current sharing
among paralleled devices and will result in less EMI. An inverter
concept following these principles has been presented in [4]. The
concept is shown in Fig. 3. It is a half-bridge, whose power terminals
are made by rows of press-fit pins [8,9] to allow for contact along a
line-interface between inner and outer strip line. The switching
behavior improved significantly (Fig. 4) in comparison to switching
in standard power circuit design (Fig. 5). The strict strip-line design
of power circuits not only enables further improvement of Sidevices but is also a prerequisite for the application of fast
switching wide band-gap devices based on SiC, GaN, etc.
3. Lower thermal resistance for higher power dissipation
Starting from air cooled systems thermal resistance can significantly improve by going to liquid cooling of the heat sink. Even
1716
R. Bayerer / Microelectronics Reliability 50 (2010) 1715–1719
Fig. 1. Evolution of IGBT module. Shrink of 150 A–1200 V half-bridges. First
generation IGBT-modules required 62 mm-package (left). Today (IGBT4) the
function fits in Easy BRIDGETM2B (right). The footprint shrunk by a factor of 2.5.
Fig. 4. IGBT turn-off in the new power circuit design at ICE = 400 A, VDC = 900 V,
TJ = 25 °C, 100 ns/div; ICE in yellow, VCE in green, VGE in orange, Iload in blue, red
waveform is not relevant; the new design results in smooth switching even at
higher bus voltage, than in Fig. 5. (For interpretation of the references to colour in
this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
Fig. 2. Segmented strip line; grey bottom plate represents a module substrate with
power semiconductor chips paralleled in a row along the x-axis; orange arrows
indicate principal current direction in each segment; principal current direction
shall stay within y–z-plane resulting in low inductance; principal current direction
along x-axes is forbidden; it would result in current crowding within the paralleled
chips and high inductance.
Fig. 5. IGBT turn-off in a standard power circuit design at ICE = 400 A, VDC = 700 V,
TJ = 25 °C, 100 ns/div; (ICE in red, VCE in blue, VGE in green, module type
FF400R12KT3); high voltage overshoot and oscillation). (For interpretation of the
references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of
this article.)
Fig. 3. IGBT half-bridge 600 A/1200 V with rows of press-fit pins to join a strip line
on top of the module; the phase output is also realized by press-fit pins for reason of
simplicity but could also be realized by screw terminals; power chips inside the
module are paralleled along the x-axis; internal strip line segments are oriented for
a current flow along y-, or z-axis.
best air cooled heat sinks cause almost twice as much thermal
resistance as internal to the module, which is assembled on it. Li-
quid cooled heat sinks with an adequate internal structure, that
spreads heat and offers an extended cooling area for the liquid,
can lower the heat sink’s contribution to about a third of the air
cooled version. When dealing with liquid cooling eliminating thermal grease at the interface module to heat sink becomes the next
attractive step for improvement. It requires the heat sink to be directly joined to the module, i.e. replacing the base plate of the
module by a heat sink [1,16]. It leads to another improvement up
to a factor of two. Either a base plate with pin fin structure
(Fig. 6) or a closed heat sink with an inner pin fin structure
(Fig. 7) can result in such improvements. It has to be understood,
that a very good thermal resistance at an attractive low pressure
drop requires always a pin fin structure that spreads heat, before
entering the cooling liquid. Systems with liquid cooling and integrated heat sinks can reach such low thermal impedance that even
for alumina as insulator inside the module the thermal resistance
becomes such low, that maximum junction temperatures cannot
be reached when operating within the SOA of the power semiconductors and at typical switching frequencies.
R. Bayerer / Microelectronics Reliability 50 (2010) 1715–1719
1717
zation of the power circuit design towards lowest inductance and
perfect current sharing among paralleled devices. The two-side
cooling principle is also in conflict with well established production methods for power modules. A module design that clearly separates electric and thermal paths is the better way to meet all
design and manufacturing requirements and it can achieve low enough thermal resistance.
4. Higher TJ for higher power dissipation
Fig. 6. HybridPACK™2 (Infineon); today’s solution PIN–FIN base plate for direct
water cooling in hybrid or electric car application; DCB-substrates (Al2O3) are
directly joint to the PIN–FIN plate, PIN–FINs ensure good heat transfer into the
liquid; thermal grease is eliminated.
The most effective way to increase power density in air cooled
systems (Fig. 9) is to operate at higher TJ [1]. The heat that can be
dissipated varies with the difference in temperature from junction
to ambient and will simply grow with TJ (Fig. 8). Increasing TJ is
also very attractive in liquid cooled systems, where the ambient
temperature, i.e. the temperature of the cooling liquid is at an elevated level. An example is the hybrid vehicle application, where
the coolant becomes heated by the combustion engine. This effect
becomes especially pronounced, when combustion engine and
power electronics use the same cooling circuit [1].
The path towards higher junction temperatures is feasible from
the device point of view, as well as for Si-devices as for SiC- GaNdevices [5–7]. Assembly and interconnect technologies, i.e. Al-wire
bonding and soft soldering are limiting the range of temperature
and swing in temperature [1]. Under varying load, which is tested
by power cycling, three major failure mechanisms take place (Figs.
10a–c). First, it is the well known wire bond lift-off, which is
caused by the weakness of pure Aluminum and the miss-match
in thermal expansion between Si and Al. Second it is the solder
degradation under the chip, which is caused by the weakness of
soft solder and the miss-match in thermal expansion between solder, Si and substrate. Third it is the degradation of solder between
Cu-base-plate and substrate, which is caused by the weakness of
soft solder again and the difference in thermal expansion between
base plate and substrate [1,10,14].
5. Higher TJ and reliability by new packaging technologies
For an utilization of devices at higher junction temperatures,
which is not limited by wear out during power cycling a new wire
bonding technology, a new die attach method and a new substrate
to base plate attach method has been developed and presented in
[10–12]. In conjunction with new chip technologies and chip metallization, as described in [13], further increase of current density
in chips becomes possible. The new assembly and interconnect
technologies are heavy copper wire bonding on IGBT and diode
Fig. 7. Concept of module setup based on new assembly and interconnect
technologies (see chapters 3 and 4). The integrated heat sink is based on a low
cost MMC plate equipped with a fin structure by Al brazing. Thermal expansion of
MMC plate is less than CTE of copper; advantage of this concept is a closed heat
sink, which can be connected by hoses, etc. Thermal performance is similar to that
of Fig. 6.
Thermal resistance can become even lower by AlN or Si3N4 as
internal insulator. Both nitride-materials are used in modules today. These materials do not make much sense in air cooled systems
as the improvement in total thermal resistance would be low and
would not justify the cost increase related to these materials. For
liquid cooled systems the improvement may still not justify the
cost increase.
Cooling power semiconductors from both sides is a well known
method for hockey puck packages. Nowadays 2-side cooling is
reconsidered for automotive applications. It can be questioned if
the high mechanical precision and complex circuit design involved
with this cooling concept is acceptable. It might hinder the optimi-
Fig. 8. Temperature distribution (bars) for an EconoPACK™ 3 on an air cooled heat
sink; set up according to Fig. 9; RTH,CA dominates RTH,JA and temperature distribution
from junction to ambient; power dissipation (solid line and right axis) from
TJ,op = 125 °C to 200 °C doubles, power output of system follows.
1718
R. Bayerer / Microelectronics Reliability 50 (2010) 1715–1719
Fig. 9. Principle setup of a power module on an air cooled heat sink, thermal grease
at interface between base plate and Al heat sink.
Fig. 10a. Wire bond lift-off, limiting power cycling capability DTJ < 100 K together
with the mechanism of Fig. 10b.
chips, diffusion soldering as die attach method and an improved
substrate soldering method.
The copper wire bond technology eliminates the lift-off problem because of the higher mechanical strength of copper and less
miss-match in thermal expansion. Diffusion soldering turns soft
solder into Sn–Cu–X-alloys during the process, again resulting in
much higher mechanical strength. It eliminates the solder degradation under the chip.
The new substrate solder joint is strengthened by an inner anchor structure. The failure mechanism for the substrate to base
plate joint continues to exist in principle but the life time of modules with base plate is extended significantly to meet the targets as
deducted from the extended temperature range. Fig. 11 illustrates
a module (PrimePACK™2), which contains the three new module
technologies as well as the new chip technologies. The power terminals are also Cu–Cu-bonded [15], which supports the larger
power cycling capability, as well.
The reliability of the new technologies is proven by several
power cycling tests (Fig. 12), where some of them are completed
and others are still running. One group of tests dealt with modules
without a base plate to study the copper wire bonds in combination with the diffusion solder layer under the chip excluding any
influence by the substrate to base plate joint. These tests reached
around 1 million cycles to failure, which represents a new benchmark and gives comfortable room for TJ-increases. A new failure
mechanism occurred. The copper metallization of the substrate is
delaminating from the back side of the substrate. The wire bonds
and die joints remained unchanged [10–12].
Another group of tests dealt with modules with copper base
plates. These tests, where done with longer cycle times in the minute range to stress the substrate to base plate joint by power cycling.
Such modules reach 100,000 cycles at a DTJ of 130 K, which means
an improvement, which enables the increase of junction temperatures. In a first step the new technologies are intended to provide
a new power cycling capability that is 10 times higher than today,
which will be characteristic for the first products coming along.
These Infineon products can be identified by the extension .XT.
6. New chip technologies enabling new packaging technologies
New front side and back side metallization are required. To allow wire bonding of thick Cu wires the standard Al metallization is
too soft to reliably bond Cu wires. Therefore a Cu surface had to be
established on the front side of Chips. For the back side again an
adequate metallization was required to support the alloying of soft
Fig. 10b. Ultrasonic image of solder fatigue under the chip limiting power cycling
capability DTJ < 100 K together with the mechanism of Fig. 10a.
Fig. 10c. Ultrasonic image of solder fatigue under the substrate limiting power
cycling capability above DTJ > 100 K and ton > 10 s.
Fig. 11. View into PrimePACK™2. Four substrates soldered to copper base plate,
chips diffusion soldered to substrates and to contact of chips made by copper wire
bonds. Power terminals are direct bonded to copper metallization of the substrate.
R. Bayerer / Microelectronics Reliability 50 (2010) 1715–1719
1719
Thicker chip metallization and lower thermal impedance between chip and substrate will compensate for lost heat capacitance
within the active semiconductor.
Heavy copper wire bonding and diffusion soldering eliminate
today’s failure mechanisms in power cycling. Both together can
be regarded a breakthrough in assembly and interconnect.
Improved substrate to base plate soldering together with the
new Chip assembly and interconnect enable the increase of junction temperature or longer lifetime in severe applications.
From the thermal considerations increase of junction temperature is the most cost effective and attractive way to support higher
power and current density.
References
Fig. 12. Power cycling data of new module technologies; modules without base
plate; blue solid curve applies for modules with IGBT4 at ton < 3 s; dashed blue
curve indicates limit of substrate to base plate joint in standard modules; red and
brown points are from modules with new technologies; ‘‘EoL”-data are failure
points due to copper delaminating from substrate; red points in red circle are from
modules with base plate; the test with base plate runs at a cycle time of around
1 min. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader
is referred to the web version of this article.)
solder during die attach. The new front side metal serves also as
additional heat capacitance for the chip. As this additional heat
capacitance is directly attached to the chip surface and each active
cell transfer of heat out of the active region volume of the chip is
very fast. It can buffer heat from high and short transient loads like
under short circuit. The new die attach to the substrate in addition
gives a lower thermal impedance between chip and substrate,
where a thick layer of copper exists [13]. The lower thermal impedance is a consequence of the much thinner diffusion soldered layer.
Instead of relying on heat capacitance of Si, heat capacitance external to the active semiconductor is installed. This external heat
capacitance is in very good thermal contact to the active semiconductor. Thus shrink of active semiconductor volume is possible and
current density can grow.
7. Conclusion
Power density and related current density can continue to grow.
New module and power circuit design can support faster
switching of Si and wide band-gap devices leading to lower losses
and chip shrink.
[1] Bayerer Reinhold. Higher junction temperature in power modules – a demand
from hybrid cars, a potential for the next step increase in power density for
various variable speed drives, PCIM Europe 2008, Nurnberg, Germany; 2008.
[2] Pfirsch Frank et al. MOS-gesteuerte Leistungsschaltelemente: Konzepte und
Schaltverhalten, VDE, ETG, Bauelemente der Leistungselektronik und ihre
Anwendungen 11–12-October 2006, Bad Nauheim, Germany; 2006.
[3] Miller Gerhard. New semiconductor technologies challenge package and
system setups, CIPS 2010, Nurnberg, Germany; 2010.
[4] Bayerer Reinhold et al. Power circuit design for clean switching, CIPS 2010,
Nurnberg, Germany; 2010.
[5] Laska Thomas et al. Review of power semiconductor switches for hybrid and
fuel cell automotive applications. In: Proceedings of the automotive power
electronics 22, June 2000, Paris; 2000.
[6] Rüthing Holger et al. 600V-IGBT3 – trench field stop technology in 70 lm ultra
thin wafer technology. In: Proceedings of the 15th ISPSD 2003, Cambridge;
2003. p. 66–9.
[7] Laska Thomas et al. Short circuit properties of trench-/field-stop-IGBTs-design
aspects for a superior robustness. In: Proceedings of the 15th ISPSD 2003,
Cambridge; 2003.
[8] Stolze Thilo et al. Reliability of press FIT connections, PCIM Europe 2008,
Nurnberg, Germany; 2008.
[9] Thoben Markus et al. Utilizing press-fit for solder less assembly of pin grid
connected power modules, PCIM Europe 2007, Nurnberg, Germany; 2007.
[10] Guth Karsten et al. New assembly and interconnects beyond sintering
methods, PCIM Europe 2010, Nürnberg, Germany; 2010.
[11] Ciliox Alexander et al. New module generation for higher lifetime, PCIM
Europe 2010, Nürnberg, Germany; 2010.
[12] Siepe Dirk et al. The future of wire bonding is? Wire bonding, CIPS 2010,
Nurnberg, Germany; 2010.
[13] Hille Frank et al. Failure mechanism and improvement potential of IGBT’s
short circuit operation, ISPSD 2010, Hiroshima, Japan; 2010.
[14] Herrmann Tobias et al. Power cycling induced failure mechanisms in solder
layers, EPE 3–6 September 2007, Eindhoven, Denmark; 2007.
[15] Tschirbs Roman et al. Ultrasonic metal welding as contact technology for
state-of-the-art power modules, PCIM Europe 2008, Nurnberg, Germany;
2008.
[16] Munding A et al. Compact PCB-packaging and water cooling of 25-kW inverter,
PCIM Europe 2010, Nurnberg, Germany; 2010.