Thermal-mechanical Modelling of Power Electronic Module Packaging

In this paper the reliability of the isolation substrate and chip mountdown solder interconnect of power modules under thermal-mechanical loading has been analysed using a numerical modelling approach. The damage indicators such as the peel stress and the accumulated plastic work density in solder interconnect are calculated for a range of geometrical design parameters, and the effects of these parameters on the reliability are studied by using a combination of the finite element analysis (FEA) method and optimisation techniques. The sensitivities of the reliability of the isolation substrate and solder interconnect to the changes of the design parameters are obtained and optimal designs are studied using response surface approximation and gradient optimization method.