Influences of Solder Delamination on the Thermal Performance in Automotive Traction Module

Abstract:
Estimating the die temperature (Tvj) during the operation is essential to determine the operating limit and predict the lifetime. Thermal resistance (Rth) and Thermal impedance (Zth) are commonly used to estimate the die temperature at a static and dynamic level. These thermal properties are determined by the thermal stack up, geometry and material properties. The solder is widely used to attach different materials because it provides good thermal resistance and reliable connection in the module stack up. This paper shows the thermal influences of the solder delamination between the substrate and heatsink in the silicon carbide (SiC) power module. To evaluate the impact of solder delamination, the thermal resistance (Rth) was measured at the switch level and individual die temperatures were carefully assessed using an Infrared (IR) camera with a black-painted module.