Date of Graduation
12-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Electrical Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Zhao, Yue
Committee Member
Huitink, David
Second Committee Member
McCann, Roy
Third Committee Member
Song, Xiaoqing
Keywords
Electric Vehicle; Power Electronics; Power Module; Semiconductor Packaging; Silicon Carbide
Abstract
Silicon carbide (SiC) devices continue to reshape the design philosophy of next-generation automotive power electronics by enabling high switching frequencies, superior thermal robustness, and significant reductions in conduction and switching losses. As electric vehicle traction inverters migrate toward compact, high voltage, and higher power density platforms, the efficient utilization of SiC device area inside the power module footprint becomes a critical design challenge. SiC also faces a cost challenge from Si IGBT devices and emerging wide-bandgap technologies such as vertical Gallium Nitride (V-GaN), making it increasingly important that SiC be deployed in packages specifically designed to extract maximum electrical and thermal value from the device area being paid for instead of drop-ins into Si IGBT legacy packages. This thesis explores multiple SiC die-area distribution strategies within the standardized TPak power module footprint to determine a configuration that optimally balances cost, manufacturability, thermal performance, and ampacity. Five device-area utilization approaches ranging from a single large MOSFET device to six smaller devices with constant total area were designed, simulated, and compared under equal thermal, mechanical, and electrical boundary conditions. 3D models were created using SolidWorks, incorporating the latest semiconductor packaging trends, limitations, and materials. Comprehensive thermal and CFD analyses were conducted through finite-element-based simulations to evaluate key thermal resistance parameters such as junction-to-case (RJC) and junction-to-fluid (RJF). The highest performing design was selected and built on Wolfspeed’s semiconductor packaging pilot line located on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. Hardware validation using Siemens T3Ster equipment demonstrated strong correlation with simulated results. The validated power module design developed through this research offers approximately 50% higher current capability compared with baseline designs while enabling reductions in overall traction inverter volume and contributing to system cost. These gains help ensure that every square millimeter of SiC device area is effectively leveraged as automotive OEMs evaluate the cost-performance balance of SiC relative to competing device technologies. The findings of this thesis establish an end-to-end workflow including concept modelling, simulation analyses, power module design, hardware prototyping, test vehicle development, and thermal characterization, that can serve as a blueprint for future power module innovations.
Citation
Singh, S. S. (2025). Automotive Power Module Design with Optimal Silicon Carbide Utilization. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/6014
