Integration Methods for High-Density Integrated Electric Drives (Final Technical Report)

Abstract

The project goal was to research, design and fabricate high-power-density, high-performance SiC power electronic modules for motor drive inverters in electric vehicles (EVs) to enable the subsequent motor drive to achieve a power density of 100 kW/l. EVs use electric motors instead of internal combustion engines as the prime mover, and their core components are semiconductor-based power electronic modules. Efficient power electronic modules play a vital role in power conversion systems. The performance of power modules directly affects the energy efficiency and overall performance of electric vehicles. Therefore, it is particularly important to develop power modules with high power density and high electrical performance that will perform reliably under EV environmental conditions. To achieve these goals, advanced electronic packaging technologies are required. This report describes a 5-year effort to integrate key aspects surrounding the basic power devices into the module itself to increase power density. These include sensing and sensing readout circuits, gate driver circuits, and two-sided cooling solutions.