Electromagnetic analysis of switching cells with dies embedded in printed circuit boards: Application to TAPIR (compacT and modulAr Power modules with IntegRated cooling) technology

Abstract

The TAPIR technology (compacT and modulAr Power modules with IntegRated cooling) requires a multiphysics analysis to prove its interest compared to current power module solutions. To contribute to this objective, this paper focuses on magnetic aspects and, more specifically, on stray inductance evaluation. Through simulation and experimental studies, it is shown that stray inductances close to 1nH can be obtained. Several design aspects are also studied: the presence of inner layers in the PCB and the decoupling capacitors arrangement. Furthermore, the magnetic interactions between switching cells is studied by simulations and experiments. It is shown that the presence of an adjacent cell reduces slightly the stray inductance (max 20%). In the case of paralleled switching cells, it is also demonstrated that an alternated position of DC link heat sinks can induce a 30% reduction of the stray inductance.