Optimized cooling systems for high-power semiconductor devices

Straightforward air cooling of semiconductor devices has gradually been replaced by methods using liquid coolants, especially water cooling. In this paper, more advanced cooling devices for hockey-puck-type and module-type semiconductors are suggested. An established heat sink made of aluminum nitride for the water cooling of hockey-puck-type semiconductors has been used as a basis for the development of high-performance heat sinks for increased heat flux densities. By means of thermal and fluid dynamics simulation tools the internal geometry has been optimized with regard to improved heat transfer and reduced pressure drop. The simulation results have been confirmed by a number of experiments using various measuring techniques. As an alternative cooling method for semiconductor modules, a modified baseplate comprising a number of fins for direct water cooling has been suggested. For an intelligent temperature management control algorithms have been developed, resulting in a prototype application-specific integrated circuit which has been implemented for test purposes.