US-12622315-B2 - Semiconductor module

US12622315B2US 12622315 B2US12622315 B2US 12622315B2US-12622315-B2

Abstract

A semiconductor module includes: a mounting substrate including a mounting surface; a semiconductor element disposed on the mounting surface; a housing for the semiconductor element; a lid fixed to the housing and facing the mounting surface; an insulating sealing material disposed in a space inside the housing and sealing the semiconductor element; and a first adsorbent disposed between the lid and the insulating sealing material and is swollen by adsorption.

Inventors

Akira Morozumi

Assignees

FUJI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230524
Priority Date: 20220628

Claims (16)

1 . A semiconductor module comprising: a housing surrounding a space in the housing; a mounting substrate in the space, and including a mounting surface; a semiconductor element in the space, and on the mounting surface; a lid faced toward the mounting surface, and fixed to the housing such that the space is closed by the lid; an insulating sealing material in the space, and sealing the semiconductor element; and an adsorbent in the space, and between the lid and the insulating sealing material, the adsorbent configured to swell by adsorption such that, with the adsorbent swollen by adsorption, the adsorbent presses the insulating sealing material to thereby prevent formation of a gap between the mounting substrate and the insulating sealing material.
2 . The semiconductor module of claim 1 , wherein the insulating sealing material includes a gel material.
3 . The semiconductor module of claim 1 , wherein the adsorbent is a first adsorbent, and the semiconductor module further includes: a second adsorbent accommodated in an accommodating portion in an inner wall surface of the housing that faces the space, a protective film that covers: the inner wall surface of the housing, and a surface of the insulating sealing material that faces the space, and the second adsorbent is configured to adsorb a penetrating substance such that, with the penetrating substance entered in a gap between the protective film and the inner wall surface, adhesion of the penetrating substance to the insulating sealing material is suppressed by the second adsorbent.
4 . The semiconductor module of claim 3 , wherein the lid includes a side surface that faces the inner wall surface, and the protective film includes a portion located between the inner wall surface and the side surface.
5 . The semiconductor module of claim 3 , wherein the accommodating portion is continuous over an entire perimeter of the inner wall surface of the housing.
6 . The semiconductor module of claim 3 , further comprising: a protrusion that protrudes from the inner wall surface in a region between the accommodating portion and the insulating sealing material.
7 . The semiconductor module of claim 6 , wherein the protrusion includes: a first portion that protrudes from the inner wall surface; and a second portion that extends from a distal end of the first portion along the inner wall surface of the housing, and faces the accommodating portion.
8 . The semiconductor module of claim 1 , further comprising: at least one wiring member electrically connected to the semiconductor element, and including: a coupling portion embedded in the housing, and an external terminal extended from an external surface of the housing to an outside of the housing; and a protector joined to the external surface and the external terminal such that a gap between the external surface and the external terminal is covered by the protector, the protector being a single component.
9 . The semiconductor module of claim 8 , wherein the adsorbent is a first adsorbent, and the semiconductor module further includes: a second adsorbent, wherein the protector includes: a surface that faces the external terminal, and a groove in the surface, and the second adsorbent is accommodated in the groove.
10 . The semiconductor module of claim 9 , wherein the groove surrounds the external terminal over an entire perimeter of the surface.
11 . The semiconductor module of claim 8 , wherein the protector includes: a surface that faces the external surface of the housing, and a groove in the surface, and a second adsorbent is accommodated in the groove.
12 . The semiconductor module of claim 11 , wherein the groove surrounds the external terminal over an entire perimeter of the external terminal.
13 . The semiconductor module of claim 8 , wherein the at least one wiring member is among a plurality of wiring members, the external terminal is among a plurality of external terminals respectively corresponding to the plurality of wiring members, the protector is a unitary member that covers the plurality of external terminals, and each external terminal of the plurality of external terminals is extended from the housing to the outside of the housing.
14 . The semiconductor module of claim 8 , wherein the protector and the housing include a same material.
15 . A semiconductor module, comprising: a housing surrounding a space in the housing; a mounting substrate in the space, and including a mounting surface; a semiconductor element in the space, and on the mounting surface; a lid faced toward the mounting surface, and fixed to the housing such that the space is closed by the lid; an insulating sealing material in the space, and sealing the semiconductor element; and an adsorbent accommodated in an accommodating portion in an inner wall surface of the housing that faces the space, and a protective film that covers: the inner wall surface of the housing, and a surface of the insulating sealing material that faces the space, wherein the adsorbent is configured to adsorb a penetrating substance such that, with the penetrating substance entered in a gap between the protective film and the inner wall surface, adhesion of the penetrating substance to the insulating sealing material is suppressed by the adsorbent.
16 . A semiconductor module, comprising: a housing surrounding a space in the housing; a mounting substrate in the space, and including a mounting surface; a semiconductor element in the space, and on the mounting surface; a lid faced toward the mounting surface, and fixed to the housing such that the space is closed by the lid; an insulating sealing material in the space, and sealing the semiconductor element; and at least one wiring member electrically connected to the semiconductor element, and including: a coupling portion embedded in the housing, and an external terminal extended from an external surface of the housing to an outside of the housing; and a protector joined to the external surface and the external terminal such that a gap between the external surface and the external terminal is covered by the protector, the protector being a single component.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This Application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-103986, which was filed on Jun. 28, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND Field of the Invention This disclosure relates to semiconductor modules. Description of Related Art Proposed is a semiconductor module using a power semiconductor element such as an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) or a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). For example, JP 2014-150204A, JP H07-321251A, JP 2009-88115A, JP 2007-86081A, and WO 2016/158072A disclose that a semiconductor element is disposed on a mounting substrate and is housed in a frame-shaped housing. In the semiconductor module, for example, when a substance such as moisture or a corrosive gas (hereinafter referred to as “penetrating substance”) enters a space inside the housing, corrosion may occur in a conductor such as wiring electrically connected to the semiconductor element. In addition, when a penetrating substance enters between a sealing material for sealing the semiconductor element and a mounting substrate, a gap is formed between the sealing material and the mounting substrate, which may deteriorate insulation between conductors such as wiring. SUMMARY In view of the above circumstances, an object of this disclosure is to suppress entry of a penetrating substance into a semiconductor module. In order to solve the above problems, a semiconductor module according to one aspect of this disclosure includes: a mounting substrate including a mounting surface; a semiconductor element disposed on the mounting surface; a housing for the semiconductor element; a lid fixed to the housing and facing the mounting surface; an insulating sealing material disposed in a space inside the housing and sealing the semiconductor element; and a first adsorbent disposed between the lid and the insulating sealing material and is swollen by adsorption. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor module according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a housing. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a state in which an adsorbent absorbs a penetrating substance. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor module according to a second embodiment. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of an accommodating portion. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor module according to a third embodiment. FIG. 7 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the vicinity of a protector. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line a-a in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a plan view of a first groove and a second groove. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor module according to a modification. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor module according to a modification. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor module according to a modification. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor module according to a modification. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor module according to a modification. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor module according to a modification. FIG. 16 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the vicinity of a protector in a modification of the third embodiment. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor module according to a modification. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments for carrying out this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, dimensions and scales of each element may be different from those of an actual product. The embodiments described below are exemplary embodiments assumed in a case where this disclosure is implemented. Therefore, the scope of this disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. A: First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor module 100A according to a first embodiment. The semiconductor module 100A of the first embodiment is a power semiconductor device constituting a power converter such as an inverter circuit. The semiconductor module 100A includes a semiconductor unit 10, a housing 20, wiring members 30, a heat sink 41, a sealing material 42, a lid 43, and an adsorbent 51. In the following description, a Z axis is assumed. One direction along the Z axis is referred to as a Z1 direction, and a direction opposite to the Z1 direction is referred to as a Z2 direction. Although the semiconductor module 100A can be disposed in any direction in a state of an actual use, the Z1 direction is downward and the Z2 direction is upward, for the sake of convenience, in the following description. A surface facing the Z1 direction among freely chosen elements of the semiconductor module 100A may be described as a “lower surface”, and a surface facing the Z2 direction among the elements may be described as an “upper surface”. Viewing an object a