Infineon Continues Roll-out of Power Modules Assembled with TIM Heat Conducting

Infineon Technologies announced a schedule for release of additional power modules produced using the Thermal Interface Material (TIM) developed by Infineon Technologies AG for the reduction of contact resistance between the metal surface of power semiconductors and the heat sink. Successfully launched with the EconoPACK™ + of the new D Series earlier this year, customers were able to see for themselves that conductivity was substantially improved with the heat conducting paste. As a result of strong customer demand, Infineon now plans to expand the range across its portfolio of IGBT power modules for industrial applications.

In the first quarter of 2014 the product groups 62mm, EconoDUAL™ 3 and PrimePACK™ 2 will be available with TIM pre-applied. Toward the end of the first half of 2014 the modules EconoPACK 4 and PrimePACK 3 as well as the modules Econo 2 and 3 are to be available with the material. The launch of the TIM-applied production series Easy 1B and 2B, Smart 2 and 3, and IHM / IHV is planned for 2015. The various series of IGBT modules span the range of low, medium and high power applications in voltage ranging from 600V – 1600V.

In order to meet greatly increasing demand, Infineon has set up a production line for applying TIM to the modules at the Hungarian Backend site for power electronics in Cegléd. The thermally conductive paste is applied to the modules using a stencil-printing process. An elaborate quality assurance procedure integrated into the fabrication process guarantees that no air is trapped when joining the module and the heat sink. Special technical processes and machines were developed just for the fabrication process.

“TIM and the process developed by us for applying the paste makes it possible for the first time to assure a maximum value instead of typical values,” says Dr. Martin Schulz, the manager responsible for qualification in Application Engineering at Infineon Technologies AG. “Against the background of increasingly higher power densities, the thermal budget can now be planned more precisely in the design stage of applications.”

TIM allows significantly reduced contact resistance between the metal surface of the power semiconductor and the heat sink. The transfer resistance from module to heat sink for the new EconoPACK + D Series is reduced by 20 percent. This optimized thermal transfer improves the lifetime and reliability of modules. As the material functions reliably from the start, a special burn in cycle is not necessary as has been the case in the past for many comparable materials with phase-changing properties. The heat conducting paste is also free of silicone and electrically nonconductive.