Electronic power module comprising a dielectric support

Abstract

A power electronic module (1) including at least one semiconductor (5) that is connected to connection conductors (6, 7), and including a dielectric carrier (10) having both a fixed layer (9), on which at least one of said connection conductors (6) is mounted, and a movable layer (11), the fixed layer (9) and the movable layer (11) exhibiting similar dielectric permittivities and being superposed along at least one surface facing the at least one connection conductor (6).

Claims

1. A power electronic module (1) including at least one semiconductor device (5) that is connected to a plurality of connection conductors (6, 7), said module comprises: a dielectric carrier (10) having both a fixed layer (9) being formed of a first material having a first dielectric permittivity, on which at least one of said plurality of connection conductors (6, 7) is mounted, and a movable layer (11) being formed of a second material different from the fixed layer having a second dielectric permittivity, the first material and second material selected to exhibit similar dielectric permittivity, the fixed layer (9) and the movable layer (11) exhibiting the similar dielectric permittivities and being superposed along at least one surface facing the at least one connection conductor (6, 7).

2. The module as claimed in claim 1, wherein difference between the dielectric permittivity of the movable layer (11) and the dielectric permittivity of the fixed layer (9) is smaller than 50% of the dielectric permittivity of the fixed layer (9).

3. The module as claimed in claim 2, wherein the difference between the dielectric permittivity of the movable layer (11) and the dielectric permittivity of the fixed layer (9) is smaller than 20% of the dielectric permittivity of the fixed layer (9).

4. The module as claimed in claim 1 further includes a filler gel (26) arranged around the at least one semiconductor device (5) and the plurality of connection conductors (6, 7), a dielectric permittivity of the filler gel (26) being similar to that of the fixed layer (9).

5. The module as claimed in claim 1 wherein the movable layer (11) makes contact with the fixed layer (9) along a textured contact interface.

6. The module as claimed in claim 1 wherein an electrical conductivity of the movable layer (11) is comparable to an electrical conductivity of the fixed layer (9).

7. The module as claimed in claim 1, wherein a thickness of the fixed layer (9) is less than a critical thickness of insulation, taking into account a dielectric strength of the fixed layer (9) and a maximum voltage of the power electronic module (1).

8. The module as claimed in claim 7, wherein a sum of the thickness of the fixed layer (9) and of a thickness of the movable layer (11) is greater than said critical thickness of insulation.

9. The module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fixed layer (9) is composed of a dielectric ceramic substrate.

10. The module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the movable layer (11) is composed of a dielectric fluid.

11. The module as claimed in claim 10, wherein the dielectric fluid of the movable layer (11) is contained within a chamber extending across an entire area of the fixed layer (9), the fixed layer (9) and the movable layer (11) thus having identical areas, which are superposed.

12. The module as claimed in claim 10, wherein the fluid of the movable layer (11) is contained within at least one smaller chamber (25) extending only across an area facing the at least one connection conductor (6, 7), the fixed layer (9) and the movable layer (11) thus being superposed over the entire surface facing the at least one connection conductor (6).

13. The module as claimed in claim 11, wherein said chamber is a sealed chamber in which the mobility of the dielectric fluid is provided by convection.

14. The module as claimed in claim 11 wherein said chamber is connected to a cooling circuit.

15. The module as claimed in claim 10, wherein a boiling temperature of the dielectric fluid of the movable layer (11) is lower than a temperature of the power electronic module (1) in operation, so as to provide two-phase cooling.

16. The module as claimed in claim 12 wherein said at least one smaller chamber is a sealed chamber in which the mobility of the fluid is provided by convection.

17. The module as claimed in claim 12, wherein said at least one smaller chamber is connected to a cooling circuit.

Description

(1) One preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a power electronic module according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a top view of the power electronic module of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a top view of the power electronic module of FIG. 1 without its housing;

(5) FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the power electronic module of FIG. 1;

(6) FIG. 5 schematically shows the heat transfer fluid circuit of the power electronic module of FIG. 1;

(7) FIG. 6 is a partial, sectional view of some elements from FIG. 1, showing the distribution of the electrical potential in the dielectric carrier;

(8) FIG. 7 is similar to FIG. 5, for a power electronic module of the prior art;

(9) FIG. 8 is a bottom view of one variant embodiment of the power electronic module according to the invention;

(10) FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the power electronic module according to the variant of FIG. 8.

(11) FIGS. 1 to 4 show a power electronic module 1 according to the invention. It includes a housing 2 fitted with a first terminal 3 and with a second terminal 4 that are intended for connecting the module 1. To simplify the description, the power electronic module 1 is a simple module including two terminals 3, 4 and a single semiconductor 5 provided with two poles.

(12) The top view of FIG. 2 shows the two terminals 3, 4, which are accessible from outside the housing 2 in order to electrically connect the module 1 to the circuit for which it is intended. The first terminal 3 and second terminal 4 are connected, inside the module 1, to a first connection conductor 6 and to a second connection conductor 7, respectively. The semiconductor 5 which, in the present example, has two poles, is connected to each of the connection conductors 6, 7. The semiconductor 5 is thus connected by one of its faces to the first connection conductor 6 via a soldered wire 8, forming the joint for its first pole, and is itself soldered by its opposite face to the second connection conductor 7, forming the joint for its second pole.

(13) The two connection conductors 6, 7 are, in the present example, two copper rectangles as shown in FIG. 3, which is a top view of the module 1 without its housing. These two connection conductors 6, 7 are mounted on the fixed layer 9 of a dielectric carrier 10, which also includes a movable layer 11 below the fixed layer 9. The movable layer 11 has been hatched to improve clarity. The fixed layer 9 and the movable layer 11 of the dielectric carrier 10 are, in the present example, parallelepipeds, the thickness of which can be seen in FIG. 1 and the length and the width of which can be seen in FIG. 4 (in the bottom view of FIG. 4, showing the module 1 without its housing, the dielectric carrier 10 occupies the hatched area).

(14) The fixed layer 9 provides the mechanical support and attachment for the semiconductor 5, and also thermally conducts the heat given off by the semiconductor 5 toward the movable layer 11. It also contributes, but only partly, to the electrical insulation between the connection conductors 6, 7.

(15) The thickness of the fixed layer 9 may thus be just enough to provide the semiconductor 5 with mechanical strength without being dictated by electrical insulation needs. In particular, this thickness may not be enough to provide, on its own, the necessary dielectric strength when the module 1 is connected to a certain voltage, given that the movable layer also participates in the dielectric strength, as explained below.

(16) The movable layer 11, for its part, provides or supplements the electrical insulation, preventing electric arcs within the module 1, and also removes the heat received from the fixed layer 9.

(17) The electrical insulation function of the movable layer 11 is carried out through this layer making direct contact with the fixed layer 9 and through the choice of its constituent material, the properties of which in reaction to the effect of an electric field are akin to those of the fixed layer 9, which manifests as the dielectric permittivity of the fixed layer 9 being akin to the dielectric permittivity of the movable layer 11. The fixed layer 9 and the movable layer 11 together form a coherent insulator, a total thickness of which is to be sized so as to be sufficient according to the dielectric strength required for a given voltage that is to be applied to the module 1 through its terminals 3, 4 being connected to a circuit. The total thickness of the dielectric carrier 10 corresponds to the thickness of the fixed layer 9 and of the movable layer 11 combined.

(18) According to one variant (not shown), the movable layer makes contact with the fixed layer along a textured contact interface. The fixed layer may thus possess a fin-like, chicane-like or any other patterned texture so as to promote the interlocking of the fixed layer and the movable layer.

(19) According to another variant, an electrical conductivity of the material of the movable layer 11 is moreover comparable to the thermal conductivity of the fixed layer 9 so as also to promote the distribution of the electric field throughout the thickness of the dielectric carrier 10. The electrical conductivities of the fixed layer 9 and of the movable layer 11 are therefore here to within a factor of 10.

(20) In the present example, the material chosen to produce the movable layer 11 is a dielectric fluid that is contained within a chamber defined by the fixed layer 9 and the housing 2 (see FIG. 1). The movable layer 11 extends across the entire area of the fixed layer 9, the fixed layer 9 and the movable layer 11 thus having identical areas and being superposed over this entire area. The heat removal function is carried out by the movable layer 11 moving via a fluid inlet 12 and a fluid outlet 13, which are connected to a cooling circuit that sets up a fluid flow allowing heat to be removed.

(21) Such a cooling circuit 21 is shown in FIG. 5. It allows the fluid forming the movable layer 11 to flow so as to allow heat to be removed from the power electronic module 1. The cooling circuit 21 includes, in the illustrated example, a tank 22 and a pump 23 that allow the fluid to flow through as many power electronic modules 1 as required. Indeed; a single cooling circuit 21 may be provided for an installation including a plurality of modules 1. The power electronic modules 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F of FIG. 5 thus make use of the same fluid to form their respective movable layers 11. The dotted connections between these power electronic modules 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F indicate that the fluid may flow through modules connected in series and/or in parallel.

(22) Moreover, the fluid may be chosen to exhibit two-phase behavior and, in this case, the cooling circuit 21 includes a condenser 24. The boiling temperature of such a two-phase fluid is lower than that to which it is subjected in the power electronic modules 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F. The fluid thus leaves the pump 23 in the liquid state, is at least partly vaporized in the power electronic modules 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, and then returns to the liquid state in the condenser 24. The movable layer 11 of the power electronic module 1 consists, in this case, of flowing liquid, gas or a combination of the two.

(23) Alternatively, the fluid may remain confined within the chamber defining the movable layer 11, without a cooling circuit 21, such that the movement of the fluid takes place by means of natural convection, resulting in motion between the fluid in proximity to the fixed layer 9, which is hotter, and the fluid further away from the fixed layer 9, which is cooler. This internal movement of the fluid is enough to set the movable layer 11 in motion when the heat dissipation requirements are limited, i.e. for a semiconductor 5 that is subject to less heating.

(24) In any case, the cooling may be enhanced by any known additional feature for increasing heat dissipation, such as heat dissipation fins on the housing 2.

(25) According to one alternative (not shown), instead of a fluid movable layer 11, the movable layer 11 may be produced in the form of a flexible or stiff strip of material to which a motion relative to the fixed layer 9 is imparted, such that as this strip of material shifts with respect to the fixed layer 9, heat is removed.

(26) The movable layer 11 may therefore consist of a solid, liquid or gas, stiff or flexible material, or of a combination thereof. Whatever the makeup of the movable layer 11, it is in motion relative to the fixed layer 9 such that the dielectric carrier 10 allows the heat produced by the semiconductor 17 to be removed.

(27) The dielectric permittivity of the constituent material of the movable layer 11 is moreover akin to that of the constituent material of the fixed layer 9. In the present example, the material chosen to form the fixed layer 9 is an aluminum nitride, the relative permittivity of which is equal to 8.5, and the material chosen to form the movable layer 11 is a fluoroketone fluid, the relative permittivity of which is equal to 7. The difference between the dielectric permittivity values of the fixed layer 9 and of the movable layer 11 thus does not exceed 20% of the dielectric permittivity of the fixed layer 9. Alternatively, this difference may reach 50% of the dielectric permittivity of the fixed layer 9. The dielectric carrier 10 thus forms a uniform set in terms of dielectric permittivity, exhibiting uniform behavior in the presence of an electric field.

(28) The power electronic module 1 may optionally include a dielectric filler gel 26 in which the semiconductor 5 and its connections are immersed (the gel 26 is shown in FIG. 1). The material of the gel 26 may also be chosen so that a dielectric permittivity is akin to that of the fixed layer 11, such that the assembly formed by the dielectric carrier 10 and the gel 26 exhibits uniform behavior in the presence of an electric field. The advantages in having a coherent assembly in terms of dielectric permittivity for the fixed layer 9 and the movable layer 11 may thus be extended to the assembly formed by the fixed layer 9, the movable layer 11 and the gel 26. As above, the dielectric permittivity of the gel 26 is said to be akin to that of the fixed layer 9 when the difference between them does not exceed 20%, and alternatively 50%, of the dielectric permittivity of the fixed layer 9.

(29) The view of FIG. 6, which is similar to that of FIG. 1, schematically shows the electrical potential distribution in the dielectric carrier 10. It is assumed, in this example, that the power electronic module 1 is connected such that the first terminal 3, and hence the first connection conductor 6, are at zero potential, while the second terminal 4, and hence the second connection conductor 7, are at a high potential, for example 5000 V DC.

(30) An electrical potential gradient then arises in the constituent materials of the power electronic module 1, between the elements at 0 potential (shown as hatched in FIG. 6) and the elements at the potential of 5000 V (shown without hatching in FIG. 6). The electrical potential gradient in the dielectric carrier 10 is shown as a gradation in FIG. 6, in which the transition from darkest to lightest represents the transition from the highest electrical potential (5000 V) to the lowest electrical potential (0 V). The power electronic module 1 allows the electrical potential to diffuse optimally by allowing the electrical potential gradient to be distributed across the entire thickness of the dielectric carrier 10, which, despite being produced in two layers 9, 11, forms a uniform assembly in terms of dielectric permittivity, which is favorable to such a uniform distribution of the electrical potential gradient.

(31) FIG. 7 is a similar view to that of FIG. 6, but instead shows a power electronic module 14 of the prior art. FIGS. 6 and 7 allow the distribution of electrical potential according to the invention and according to the prior art to be compared. With reference to FIG. 7, the power electronic module 14 of the prior art includes a semiconductor 17 connected to a first connection conductor 15 and to a second connection conductor 16. These connection conductors 15, 16 are mounted on an insulating carrier substrate 18 which is provided, on its opposite face, with a cooling device 19. A thermal bridge 20, made of copper, thermally connects the carrier substrate 18 to the cooling device 19, which may be passive (as shown in FIG. 7) or active (by virtue of a heat transfer fluid flowing through the cooling device 19).

(32) Under the same conditions as above (first connection conductor 15 at the potential of 0 V and second connecting conductor 16 at the potential of 5000 V DC), the electrical potential gradient is likewise represented by a gradation in this FIG. 7 depicting the prior art. The carrier substrate 18 performs the dual functions of conducting the heat to be dissipated between the semiconductor 17 and the cooling device 19 and of providing all of the electrical insulation for the connection conductors 15, 16. The electrical potential may therefore be distributed only across the thickness of the carrier substrate 18. At the exact location where the base of the carrier substrate 18 makes contact with the thermal bridge 20, the electrical potential must have fallen to the value of 0.

(33) This FIG. 7, which illustrates the prior art, allows, by comparison, the advantageous distribution of the electrical potential over a greater thickness, made possible by the invention illustrated in FIG. 6, to be highlighted.

(34) FIGS. 8 and 9 relate to one variant embodiment of the movable layer of the power electronic module according to the invention. They are similar to FIGS. 4 and 1, respectively, and the corresponding elements are numbered in the same way.

(35) The power module 1 according to this variant embodiment also includes a semiconductor 5 that is connected to a first connection conductor 6 and a second connection conductor 7, the overall assembly being mounted on a dielectric carrier 10 consisting of a fixed layer 9 and of a movable layer 11. The variant embodiment specifically targets the movable layer 11, which is here limited to the surface facing the first connection conductor 6. FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the power electronic module 1, schematically shown without its housing 2, which shows, in dashed lines, the outlines of the first connection conductor 6 and of the second connection conductor 7. An enclosure 25 defines the chamber occupied by the movable layer 11, this chamber extending across the entire area facing the outline of the first connection conductor 6 (see FIG. 8). In this way, the fixed layer 9 and the movable layer 11 are superposed facing the connection conductor 6 (see FIG. 9). In other words, outside the outline defined by the first connection conductor 6, the dielectric carrier 10 has only one layer consisting of the fixed layer 9, whereas inside this outline, the dielectric carrier 10 consists of the fixed layer 9 and of the movable layer 11 in superposition. The fluid inlet 12 and the fluid outlet 13 are arranged correspondingly so as to allow the fluid to be channeled to the enclosure 25.

(36) The arrangement of the dielectric carrier 10 according to the variant of FIGS. 8 and 9 is intended for connection in a way that is comparable to that of the example of FIG. 6, i.e. for the second connection conductor 7 to be at 0 potential and the first connection conductor 6 to be at a high potential. The electrical potential will then be distributed across both layers 9, 11 of the dielectric carrier 10, in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 6.

(37) Like the variant embodiment of FIGS. 8 and 9, the dielectric carrier may consist of a single extended fixed layer and of one or more smaller movable layers that are arranged facing the one or more connection conductors for which it is necessary to provide space for the distribution of the electrical potential.

(38) Other variant embodiments of the power electronic module may be implemented without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the shapes of the fixed layer 9 and of the movable layer 11 may be more complex than just the simple rectangles described here for ease of understanding, and the same applies for the connection conductors 6, 7. Furthermore, beyond the simple example illustrated here, the power electronic module 1 may include a plurality, or even a very large number, of connection conductors 6, 7 and of corresponding semiconductors, which may be for example power transistors, power thyristors, power diodes, regulators, controllers, amplifiers, etc.