Power Modules
The field of power electronics witnesses substantial progress through the adoption of WBG and UWBG semiconductor materials. WBG materials, such as Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC), offer advantages like reduced size, faster switching speeds, enhanced reliability, and increased efficiency compared to traditional silicon-based counterparts.
In contrast, UWBG materials, with bandgap energies surpassing those of GaN and SiC, present a promising yet nascent area of research with the potential for high-power applications and resilience in harsh environments.
In this regard, FLAGCHIP will target innovations on the semiconductor device, the package and the integrated module. Two sets of devices and packages will be produced, the first (type 1) comprising a very ambitious, highly innovative module focused on difficult-to-access, reduced occupancy and costly applications (e.g., offshore wind energy) where higher investments in infrastructure are particularly relevant and can lead to overall cost reductions; the second, (type 2), will be developed after carrying out a techno-economic assessment of the different applications (e.g., as showcased in the project pilots: solar energy, transmission, wind energy etc.) to determine the optimum degree of embedded innovation that these modules should contain in order to be as cost efficient as possible.
Our R&D Activities:
At the device level, FLAGCHIP will carry out the design, development, and optimization of new SiC MOSFET chip technologies with the target of increasing the blocking voltage capability beyond commercially available products and reduce costs with semiconductors by removing the need for series connecting multiple lower voltage SiC MOSFETs. The focus will be on optimizing different parts of the semiconductor chips, such as the active cells and the junction termination region. There will be a cost/benefit analysis performed in order to understand the potential of designing SiC MOSFET chips with integrated temperature sensors. Such samples will be prototyped. Characterization of these new devices will be carried out with a wide range of test equipment (automated probe station, vacuum probe station, static characterization, dynamic characterization), plus some specific SiC reliability tests related to gate oxide and passivation of the die (HTGB, HTRB, GSS, PCT etc.) will be performed. The project will delve deeper into studying UWBG device technologies with TCAD such as Ga2O3.
At package level, developments will be focused on new packaging structures that include sensor integration with focus on electrical and electromagnetic aspects, especially isolation, and thermal and thermomechanical aspects such as, integrated cooling, thermal buffers, and stress compensation. Packaging characterization will be done in different domains: electrical (static, dynamic), high voltage testing (partial discharge, breakdown), thermal characterization (Rth, Zth), and micro-analysis (microsection, SEM observations).
Protection systems will be specifically targeted within the project with the development of new types of modules which incorporate sensors and electrical and conditioning circuits to monitor the temperature and health status of the power modules. They will be packaged together with power semiconductor chips inside the power module to increase the measurement accuracy.
