A 10-kW SiC inverter with a novel printed metal power module with integrated cooling using additive manufacturing

With efforts to reduce the cost, size, and thermal management systems for the power electronics drivetrain in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), wide band gap semiconductors including silicon carbide (SiC) have been identified as possibly being a partial solution. This paper focuses on the development of a 10-kW all SiC inverter using a high power density, integrated printed metal power module with integrated cooling using additive manufacturing techniques. This is the first ever heat sink printed for a power electronics application. About 50% of the inverter was built using additive manufacturing techniques.