US-12627290-B2 - Switching components

Abstract

An apparatus is described having: a baseplate; an AC busbar mounted on the baseplate; a DC busbar having an upper DC busbar, a lower DC busbar and an insulating material therebetween, wherein the DC busbar is mounted such that the lower DC busbar is mounted to the baseplate and wherein the upper DC busbar has one or more openings through which the lower DC busbar is exposed; a first group of switching components mounted on the AC busbar, wherein the first group of switching components are connected to the upper DC busbar using first electrical connection means; and a second group of switching components mounted on the lower DC busbar, wherein at least one of the switching components of said second group of switching components is mounted within one of said openings, wherein the second group of switching components are to the AC busbar using second electrical connection means.

Inventors

• Ole Mühlfeld

Assignees

• DANFOSS SILICON POWER GMBH

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20210707

Priority Date

20200721

Claims (18)

1. 1 . An apparatus comprising: a baseplate; an AC busbar mounted on the baseplate; a DC busbar comprising an upper DC busbar, a lower DC busbar and an insulating material therebetween, wherein the DC busbar is mounted such that the lower DC busbar is mounted to the baseplate and wherein the upper DC busbar comprises one or more openings through which the lower DC busbar is exposed; a first group of switching components mounted on the AC busbar, wherein the first group of switching components are connected to the upper DC busbar using first electrical connection means; a second group of switching components mounted on the lower DC busbar, wherein at least one of the switching components of said second group of switching components is mounted within one of said openings, wherein the second group of switching components are connected to the AC busbar using second electrical connection means; and a control circuit; wherein the first group of switching components comprises a first plurality of switching components and the second group of switching components comprises a second plurality of switching components; and wherein each of the first plurality of switching components of the first group of switching components and each of the second plurality of switching components of the second group of switching components are connected to the control circuit.
2. 2 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the switching components of said second group of switching components is surrounded by the upper DC busbar on at least three sides.
3. 3 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the upper DC busbar is a negative DC busbar, and the lower DC busbar is a positive DC busbar.
4. 4 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the upper DC busbar is a positive DC busbar, and the lower DC busbar is a negative DC busbar.
5. 5 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is mounted on the DC busbar.
6. 6 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the control circuit comprises a printed circuit board.
7. 7 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the switching components are silicon carbide switching components.
8. 8 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the apparatus forms a half-bridge circuit.
9. 9 . A module comprising the apparatus as claimed in claim 1 .
10. 10 . The module as claimed in claim 9 , further comprising a first DC terminal and a second DC terminal provided at one end of the module and an AC terminal provided at the other end of the module, wherein the first and second DC terminal are connected to the upper and lower DC busbars respectively and the AC terminal is connected to the AC busbar.
11. 11 . The module as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the apparatus is encapsulated together with a leadframe configured to provide DC and AC terminals.
12. 12 . The module as claimed in claim 9 , further comprising means for cooling said baseplate.
13. 13 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising means for cooling said baseplate.
14. 14 . An apparatus comprising: a baseplate; an AC busbar mounted on the baseplate; a DC busbar comprising an upper DC busbar, a lower DC busbar and an insulating material therebetween, wherein the DC busbar is mounted such that the lower DC busbar is mounted to the baseplate and wherein the upper DC busbar comprises one or more openings through which the lower DC busbar is exposed; a first group of switching components mounted on the AC busbar, wherein the first group of switching components are connected to the upper DC busbar using first electrical connection means; and a second group of switching components mounted on the lower DC busbar, wherein at least one of the switching components of said second group of switching components is mounted within one of said openings, wherein the second group of switching components are connected to the AC busbar using second electrical connection means; wherein the AC busbar extends on either side of the DC busbar.
15. 15 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the first group of switching components are arranged such that an equal number of switching components of the first group are mounted on the AC busbar on each side of the DC busbar.
16. 16 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the second group of switching components are arranged such that an equal number of switching components of the second group are connected to the AC busbar on each side of the DC busbar.
17. 17 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the AC busbar is horseshoe-shaped.
18. 18 . An apparatus comprising: a baseplate; an AC busbar mounted on the baseplate; a DC busbar comprising an upper DC busbar, a lower DC busbar and an insulating material therebetween, wherein the DC busbar is mounted such that the lower DC busbar is mounted to the baseplate and wherein the upper DC busbar comprises one or more openings through which the lower DC busbar is exposed; a first group of switching components mounted on the AC busbar, wherein the first group of switching components are connected to the upper DC busbar using first electrical connection means; and a second group of switching components mounted on the lower DC busbar, wherein at least one of the switching components of said second group of switching components is mounted within one of said openings, wherein the second group of switching components are connected to the AC busbar using second electrical connection means; wherein the AC busbar extends on opposite sides of the DC busbar; wherein the first group of switching components comprises a first plurality of switching components and a second plurality of switching components; and wherein the first plurality of switching components of the first group of switching components is arranged on one side of the opposite sides and the second plurality of switching components of the first group of switching components is arranged on the other side of the opposite sides.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a National Stage application of International Patent Application No. PCT/EP2021/068804, filed on Jul. 7, 2021, which claims priority to German Patent Application No. 10 2020 119 169.3, filed on Jul. 21, 2020, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present specification relates to switching components, such as semiconductor switching components. BACKGROUND A semiconductor device may comprise groups of switching elements mounted to a baseplate. Parasitic inductances within the device can give rise to significant induced voltages, particularly as the frequency of switching increases. There remains a need for further developments in this field. SUMMARY In a first embodiment, this specification describes an apparatus comprising: a baseplate; an AC busbar mounted on the baseplate; a DC busbar comprising an upper DC busbar, a lower DC busbar and an insulating material therebetween, wherein the DC busbar is mounted such that the lower DC busbar is mounted to the baseplate and wherein the upper DC busbar comprises one or more openings through which the lower DC busbar is exposed; a first group of switching components (e.g. a plurality of switching components) mounted on the AC busbar, wherein the first group of switching components are connected to the upper DC busbar using first electrical connection means (e.g. wirebonds, ribbon bonds, tape bonds, etc.); and a second group of switching components (e.g. a plurality of switching components) mounted on the lower DC busbar, wherein at least one of the switching components of said second group of switching components is mounted within one of said openings, wherein the second group of switching components are connected to the AC busbar using second electrical connection means. The first group of switching components may be unconnected to the lower DC busbar and the second group of switching components may be unconnected to the upper busbar. In one example embodiment, the at least one of the switching components of said second group of switching components is surrounded by the upper DC busbar on at least three sides. Thus the opening in the upper DC busbar, through which the lower DC busbar is exposed, may fully surround the at least one switching component (by having a continuous presence on all four sides of the switching component) or it may partially surround the switching component (by having, for example, a presence on three of four sides of the switching component). In one example embodiment, the upper DC busbar is a negative DC busbar, and the lower DC busbar is a positive DC busbar. In an alternative embodiment, the upper DC busbar is a positive DC busbar, and the lower DC busbar is a negative DC busbar. In some example embodiments, the AC busbar extends on either side of the DC busbar. The AC busbar may, for example, be horseshoe-shaped. The first group of switching components may be arranged such that an equal number of switching components of the first group are mounted on the AC busbar on each side of the DC busbar. Similarly, the second group of switching components may be arranged such that an equal number of switching components of the second group are connected to the AC busbar on each side of the DC busbar. Some example embodiments further comprise a control circuit (e.g. in the form of a printed circuit board). The first group of switching components and the second group of switching components may be connected (e.g. using said first and second electrical connection means respectively) to said control circuit. The control circuit may be mounted on the DC busbar (e.g. on the upper DC busbar). The switching components may be silicon carbide switching components. Many alternatives (such as gallium nitride switching components or other wide bandgap switching components) are also possible. The apparatus may form a half-bridge circuit, e.g. as part of a power module. The apparatus may further comprise means for cooling said baseplate. In a second embodiment, this specification describes a module comprising (at least) any apparatus as described above with reference to the first embodiment. In one example embodiment, the module takes the form of an E3XL package. In the module, the apparatus of the first embodiment may be encapsulated together with a leadframe configured to provide DC and AC terminals. The module may further comprise a first DC terminal and a second DC terminal provided at one end of the module and an AC terminal provided at the other end of the module, wherein the first and second DC terminal are connected to the upper and lower DC busbars respectively and the AC terminal is connected to the AC busbar. The module may further comprise means for cooling said baseplate. In a third embodiment, this specification describes a method of forming an apparatus as described above with reference to the first second aspect or a module (such as a semi