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In this article, silicone rubber (SiR) is filled with industry preferred micro-silica and specialty hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets, by varying the ratio between the two fillers, while keeping the filler to matrix ratio the same in all three composites. The fillers are added to SiR using an electrostatic disperser which aids in homogenizing the filler-polymer mixture by means of shearing force along with elongation. The performance of synthesized silicone composites are evaluated using thermal, erosion resistance, morphological, mechanical, and high-temperature dielectric properties. Addition of as low as 5 wt% h-BN fillers significantly improved the thermal properties; 6%–20% improvement in thermal conductivity and in less than half the weight loss compared to only silica filled composites with laser erosion. The morphological and mechanical analyses showed improved filler dispersion and filler to silicone matrix interaction owing to good filler dispersion achieved through the electrostatic dispersing method. The dielectric properties measured in wide frequency range, between 10−4 and 103 Hz and at elevated temperatures (up to 175 °C) showed a negligible effect of increase in h-BN content. Thus, this article implies that low amounts of h-BN in silica-silicone composites improve thermal conductivity and erosion resistance significantly and not altering the dielectric responses of these hybrid composites even at elevated temperatures. Hence these composites can find applications both in the high voltage industry and as electronic packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dielectric materials with high thermal conductivity (TC) can enable disruptive performance enhancement in the areas of electronics packaging, thermal management, energy storage, cabling, and heat sinks. There have been widespread global efforts over the past decade on developing novel nanocomposite dielectric materials. As a baseline, legacy polymers and epoxies used in the abovementioned applications have very low thermal conductivities ranging from 0.1–0.5 W ⋅ m−1 ⋅ K−1. Recent advances have led to the commercial availability of polymeric materials with thermal conductivities approaching 10 W ⋅ m−1 ⋅ K−1. Importantly, several fundamental studies report novel nanocomposites with thermal conductivities > 50 W ⋅ m−1 ⋅ K−1. This article summarizes progress in the development of such materials with a focus on developments that show promise for improved practical dielectrics. This review highlights that high TC alone is inadequate to characterize the suitability of any material for the above applications. Other thermal properties, such as thermal diffusivity, glass transition temperature, and the ratio of the in-plane to out-of-plane TC, are important to quantify the thermal performance of novel nanocomposites. In addition, characterization and understanding of mechanical properties (coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), tensile strength and elastic modulus) and electrical properties (dielectric strength and dielectric permittivity) are critical for holistic multifunctional assessments of these materials. There are other parameters and properties that influence performance, life, and manufacturability, such as viscosity and moisture absorption. This study reviews all the above aspects of nanocomposite dielectric materials reported in the literature. More specifically, we analyze various filler-polymer combinations, and the influence of approaches to incorporate fillers in the polymer on the thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties. While the addition of fillers leads to huge enhancements in TC, the TC is highly anisotropic, with out-of-plane TC lower than in-plane TC by an order of magnitude. It is seen that most present-day materials are still inadequate for future applications due to their low glass transition temperatures; specific promising materials are highlighted. While the addition of fillers reduces the CTE, further reduction is needed to favorably improve the mechanical performance of these materials. While the electrical insulating properties of these composite materials are adequate, there is very little data reported on other electrical properties. In summary, while there is an understandable focus on enhancing the TC, other properties are underreported, and there is insufficient information to support the assessment of most novel materials for practical applications. Overall, this study summarizes the state-of-the-art dielectric nanocomposites and outlines directions for future research to bridge the gap between basic materials science and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method to derive the junction-to-case level coupling thermal resistances among paralleling chips in the multichip semiconductor power module has been proposed in this article. It is revealed that the traditional structure function methodology (SFM), which is developed for analyzing the self-heating effect of the driving-point chip, cannot be applied directly in the thermal coupling analysis, where the influence of the driving-point chip on the neighboring acceptor chip is concerned. This article shows that by combining the traditional SFM with the frequency-domain analysis (FDA), the effective separation points between the module case and the external cooling setup can be identified in both time and frequency domains, which correspond to the characteristic frequency points in the complex loci of the thermal impedance curves. By extracting the amplitudes at the characteristic frequencies from the complex loci in the FDA, the junction-to-case level coupling thermal resistances can be derived. Both simulation and experimental study have been carried out to verify the concept. The agreement between the two justifies the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power module heat dissipation with spatial inhomogeneity and induced nonuniform temperature distribution presents a challenging concern for system reliability due to thermo-mechanical stresses. These reliability challenges are especially important for nonplanar designs using 3-D packaging principles. Here, we develop a heat spreader thermal switch capable of actively reducing temperature gradients between silicon carbide (SiC) devices in a three-level T-type power converter, which can change depending on electronic operating conditions. The heat spreader thermal switch consists of a stainless-steel (SS) heat spreader and a copper sliding switch embedded within the spreader. Heat transfer from the SiC devices and within the spreader can be controlled by moving the slider between positions within the spreader. To understand heat transfer mechanisms and design the heat spreader thermal switch, we conducted 3-D finite element method simulations to calculate the minimum attainable temperature difference between SiC devices. We used the finite element simulation to quantify the reduction in junction temperature swing during dynamic operation and coupled the results to the Coffin–Manson reliability model to quantify lifetime to failure. We integrated the heat spreader thermal switch with one phase of a three-phase T-type converter and demonstrated isothermalization at different working conditions. At 2.4-kW converter power, each hot SiC device dissipated 4.7 W of heat, resulting in a device case temperature of 43 °C, with each cold SiC device dissipating 1.7 W at 38 °C. The device-to-device temperature difference was decreased from 5 °C to 0 °C by moving the switch a distance of 20 mm. Finite volume method (FVM) simulations of the conjugate heat transfer problem validate the experimental results and support analysis of key performance parameters. This work demonstrates successful isothermalization of a power converter with an active heat spreader thermal switch and develops simulation and design guidelines for successful electro-thermal codesign and implementation of thermal switches for other electronics applications for which isothermalization and enhanced device reliability is a key issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a more electrified future, development of high power, compact, and synergistically cooled power electronics for improved performance and reliability is of critical importance to a broad range of defense and commercial applications. As power levels increase, power converters must manage higher thermal loads in smaller and lighter weight packages. This necessitates smarter packaging configurations and more aggressive cooling schemes. This work introduces a novel cooler design for thermal management of high-power switches in a dual active bridge converter: a vertically enhanced manifold microchannel system (VEMMS). As opposed to traditional flat heatsinks, this cooler shrinks in footprint but expands away from the board in the direction of its height ($z$ -direction), for increased heat transfer area while keeping the footprint on the printed circuit board (PCB) at minimum. Since most power converters’ total height is dictated by magnetic elements such as the core, expanding the cooler in vertical direction does not reduce packing density, while it significantly enhances its thermal performance. Both liquid and air-cooled versions of the cooler are introduced through case studies, and their advantages are assessed through extensive numerical modeling. Volume based power densities of 20 kW/L for the overall converter and 286 kW/L for one full bridge assembly for a 10-kW power converter were attained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat dissipation of the fan-out (FO) package is a primary concern in advanced electronic packaging. It is a challenge to characterize the thermal performance using the actual geometry of the FO package due to the complex structure and time-consuming calculations. A simplified FO model was constructed based on the equivalent material principle and the mathematical FO model was validated by using the finite element (FE) simulation. Then FO-package thermal resistance network (FO-TRN) was established to evaluate the thermal performance, which was proven efficient and accurate by the simulation of FE models. The influence of the critical dimension (CD) of redistribution line (RDL), the thermal conductivity of molding material, and the printed circuit board (PCB) area were also investigated by using the FE simulation and FO-TRN calculation. The results demonstrated that the smaller the CD of RDLs, the greater the thermal resistance of the FO package. The high thermal conductivity of the molding compound and large PCB area is beneficial for heat dissipation. The simplified FO model and FO-TRN are practicable and effective for thermal characterization and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]