Advancing Reliability in SiC Modules via Copper Sintering

To achieve high voltage, highly efficient heat dissipation, and high reliability in automotive-grade power module products, ITRI has developed the iTreePACK, a 1.7kV/100A half-bridge SiC-based power module. This study uses nano-copper sintering as a die-attached material in iTreePACK to further improve heat dissipation and reliability instead of using traditional SAC solder alloys. The performance improvement of the nano-copper sintering is presented using thermal resistance and power cycling experiments. The results demonstrate that copper sintering reduces thermal resistance <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">(Rth.j-c)</tex> by about 14.7% and increases the lifetime by about ten times more than the SAC solder alloys. In addition, the results also illustrate the performance of iTreePACK is close to the products that pass the automotive grade.