Concepts for high packaging and integration efficiency

Current packaging technology in power electronics is based on assembling pre-manufactured discrete components. Each component consists of a number of parts, manufactured in a variety of manufacturing processes. This has resulted in a diversity of different parts and mutually incompatible manufacturing processes in a typical power electronic converter and has brought power electronics to the edge where it becomes extremely difficult to reduce the cost and size of power electronic converters. In this paper, we present a way to improve packaging of power electronic converters by increasing integration level and using multifunctional construction parts. Two quantities (K_l and K_p) intended to evaluate integration level in power converters are introduced. Based on these values, a number of methods to increase the integration level are presented. These methods are then applied to a DC/DC 42/14 V converter for automotive applications. Three packaging concepts, namely lead frame converter, PCB embedded converter and heat conductor converter are proposed. They are compared to a benchmark converter implemented in the conventional discrete packaging technology. It is shown that by smart use of parts in the converter construction, the high values of integration level and high power densities can be achieved.