Highly integrated low-inductive power switches using double-etched substrates with through-hole viases

This work proposes the design and assembly of a very low inductance half-bridge power switch. It uses latest generation Infineon Technologies® 70μm thin IGBTs and diodes rated at 600 V/175 °C. The integration relies on state-of-the-art ceramic substrate technology, featuring double-etched patterned copper tracks enabling a fully bond-wire-less interconnection scheme; through-hole conducting viases are also present in the ceramic substrates for vertical current conduction, which enables the introduction of a ground-plane structure within the switch, with greatly reduced overall values of parasitic inductance. Moreover, the switch features double-sided cooling. The paper also proposes an outline of system-level integration solutions for ensuring that low-inductance characteristics at switch level are not lost when interconnecting to input filter and load.