January 17, 2012 -- Efficiency, reliability and size: Power electronics is being optimised with regard to environmental awareness and policy. It is instrumental to future mobility based on hybrid technology and electric vehicles, and plays a key role in the fight against increasing emissions and waning resources. Particularly important in this context is the implementation of higher power densities, reduced volume hand in hand with improved reliability. Current packaging technology faces technical limitations. The task at hand is to overcome the following limits of current packaging technology: Solder joints, module base plates, module layout, chip temperatures, and current densities.

By Thomas Grasshoff. (Grashoff is Head of International Product Management, Semikron.)