The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a cooling structure for a power semiconductor device.
An increase in output and a reduction in size of a power semiconductor device (power module) having high reliability have been required. In order to meet the requirement, not only an increase in capacity of a semiconductor element mounted on a semiconductor device, but also a semiconductor device employing a direct cooling structure including a heat sink with fins has been studied. In such a semiconductor device having a direct cooling structure, in order to prevent cooling water from leaking, it is often required that the semiconductor device be fastened to the heat sink with fastening torque higher than fastening torque applied to a conventional semiconductor device that is cooled via grease.
Such a heat sink is often made of an aluminum-based material from the viewpoint of corrosion resistance and weight reduction. Therefore, a configuration where the semiconductor device and the heat sink are directly fastened to each other with a bolt raises a concern about deformation of the heat sink such as depression on the heat sink due to stress (surface pressure) applied through the bolt.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of forming a metal layer on a portion where a ceramic substrate and a bolt comes into contact with each other in a semiconductor device having a structure where the ceramic substrate on which a semiconductor element is mounted is fixed to a heat sink (heat dissipating plate) with the bolt so as to prevent stress from concentrating on the portion.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-082774
It is difficult to apply the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 to a semiconductor device having a structure where a semiconductor element is contained in a resin case. This is because it is difficult to form, on the resin of which the case is made, a metal layer that can relieve the stress from the bolt.
There is another technique of inserting a cylindrical surface pressure absorbing member called a “collar” made of a highly rigid material into a fastening hole for fastening a resin case to a heat sink with a bolt. In consideration of productivity, the collar is formed integrally with the resin case by insert molding. In other words, when the case is manufactured, the collar and the case are integrally formed by fixing the collar in a mold for molding the case and injecting resin around the collar. However, when high fastening torque is required for the bolt, the collar is separated from the case due to the fastening torque, which may in turn cause the collar to idly spin or the case to crack.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to suppress deformation of a heat sink during fastening with a bolt in a semiconductor device including a resin case.
A semiconductor device according to the present invention includes a semiconductor element, a heat sink on which the semiconductor element is mounted, a case made of resin, the case being mounted on the heat sink and containing the semiconductor element, and a fastening hole passing through the case and the heat sink.
The case includes a surface pressure absorbing member on a portion including the fastening hole in plan view, the surface pressure absorbing member having a plate shape and being high in rigidity than the resin.
According to the present invention, since the surface pressure absorbing member has a plate shape, it is possible to increase adhesion to the resin of the case. Further, since the stress (surface pressure) applied to the case and the heat sink during fastening with a bolt is suppressed, it is possible to prevent the heat sink from being deformed.
The objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.
The semiconductor element 10 is a power semiconductor element such as an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), or a free wheeling diode (FWDi). A lower surface of the semiconductor element 10 is bonded to a circuit pattern 30 formed on an insulation substrate 31 with brazing filler metal 20. The insulation substrate 31 is made of an insulation material such as aluminum nitride (AlN). The circuit pattern 30 serves as a path for supplying a specific potential to the semiconductor element 10 and is made of a conductive material such as aluminum (Al) or copper (Cu).
Formed on a lower surface of the insulation substrate 31 is a metal pattern 32 made of, for example, Al or Cu, and the metal pattern 32 is bonded to an upper surface of the heat sink 50 with the insulation substrate 31. Note that the metal pattern 32 and the heat sink 50 may be bonded to each other using a technique such as solid phase diffusion bonding or die casting without using the brazing filler metal 21. Further, the brazing filler metal 21 and the insulation substrate 31 may be directly bonded to each other without providing the metal pattern 32 on the lower surface of the insulation substrate 31.
The heat sink 50 is made of a material having high thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance. Examples of the material of the heat sink 50 include Al and an alloy primarily containing Al. Further, for example, pin-like or plate-like heat dissipation fins 51 are provided on a lower surface of the heat sink 50, so that the heat sink 50 can be directly cooled by a cooling solvent.
Further, the semiconductor element 10 and the circuit pattern 30 are connected, through wiring 41, to an external electrode 40 provided on the case 60. The wiring 41 and the external electrode 40 are made of a conductive material such as Al or Cu. Herein, the external electrode 40 is connected to the semiconductor element 10 and the circuit pattern 30 using the wiring 41 made of wires, but, for example, a direct lead bonding structure may be employed where the external electrode 40 is directly brazed to the semiconductor element 10 or the circuit pattern 30. The external electrode 40 is a terminal for connecting external wiring and is formed integrally with the case 60 by insert molding.
The case 60 is fully filled with an encapsulating material 70 made of, for example, silicone gel or epoxy resin. Note that the case 60 and the encapsulating material 70 may be integrally molded using mold resin.
Formed passing through the case 60 and the heat sink 50 is a fastening hole 80. The case 60 and the heat sink 50 are fastened to an external housing such as a cooling jacket with a bolt (not shown) inserted into the fastening hole 80.
Herein, the case 60 includes a surface pressure absorbing member 61 on a region including the fastening hole 80 in plan view, the surface pressure absorbing member 61 having a plate shape and being higher in rigidity than the resin of the case 60. The surface pressure absorbing member 61 is formed integrally with the case 60 by insert molding. Examples of a material of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 include iron (Fe). The surface pressure absorbing member 61 preferably has a thickness of at least 0.5 mm.
As shown in
In the present embodiment, the surface pressure absorbing member 61 has a frame shape extending on an outer peripheral portion of the case 60 and is formed in a single plate shape including all the fastening holes 80 in plan view. Compared to a cylindrical surface pressure absorbing member (collar), the surface pressure absorbing member 61 having a plate shape has a large contact area with respect to the resin of the case 60 and can be thus high in adhesion to the resin. Further, stress (surface pressure) applied to the case 60 and the heat sink 50 during fastening with the bolt is reduced. This prevents the heat sink 50 from being deformed, the surface pressure absorbing member 61 from being separated from the resin of the case 60, and the case 60 from being damaged. This in turn increases user-friendliness. In particular, when one surface pressure absorbing member 61 includes a plurality of fastening holes 80, stress applied from the surface pressure absorbing member 61 to the heat sink 50 can be effectively reduced.
Note that corner portions of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 may be beveled (for example, rounded or chamfered). Further, as shown in
Furthermore, a configuration where the surface pressure absorbing member 61 that is high in rigidity extends within the semiconductor device is also expected to bring about an effect of suppressing warpage of the semiconductor device (hereinafter referred to as “warpage suppressing effect”). Further, since Fe of which the surface pressure absorbing member 61 is made is higher in thermal conductivity than the resin of the case 60, the surface pressure absorbing member 61 also contributes to heat dissipation of the semiconductor device. The surface pressure absorbing member 61 having a plate shape is larger in surface area than a cylindrical surface pressure absorbing member, which is expected to bring about an effect of increasing cooling performance (hereinafter referred to as “cooling effect”).
Further, for example, as shown in
Note that, in the above description, the surface pressure absorbing member 61 is made of iron (Fe), but the surface pressure absorbing member 61 may be made of a material such as copper (Cu) that is higher in thermal conductivity than iron. This configuration is expected to further increase the cooling effect.
Further, the surface pressure absorbing member 61 may be made of the same material as the material of the bolt (and washer) used for fastening. Examples of the material of the bolt typically include stainless steel, brass, titanium, chrome molybdenum. The configuration where the surface pressure absorbing member 61 and the bolt are made of the same material is expected to suppress stress generated at a high temperature and further reduce the stress applied to the heat sink 50.
In a second embodiment, a plurality of the surface pressure absorbing members 61 are provided on the case 60 of the semiconductor device.
For example, as shown in
A configuration where a plurality of surface pressure absorbing members 61 are provided can also bring about the effect of suppressing stress (surface pressure) applied to the case 60 and the heat sink 50 during fastening with the bolt as in the first embodiment.
Further, although the warpage suppressing effect and the cooling effect are small compared to the first embodiment, a reduction in size of each surface pressure absorbing member 61 is expected to reduce the material cost and weight. Furthermore, a configuration where the plurality of surface pressure absorbing members 61 have the same shape can suppress an increase in the number of types of components and can thus increase productivity.
Further, for example, as shown in
Compared to the examples shown in
Further, for example, as shown in
This configuration can also achieve both a reduction in material cost, and the warpage suppressing effect and cooling effect. Further, as shown in
Although the upper surface and side surfaces of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 shown in the first and second embodiments are flat, the surface pressure absorbing member 61 in the third embodiment has a holes or projections and depressions formed in a portion other than the portion around the fastening hole 80 (the region in contact with the bolt or washer).
For example, as shown in
The present embodiment can bring about an effect of increasing adhesion between the resin of the case 60 and the surface pressure absorbing member 61. The through hole 61b and the depressed portions 61c may be provided for the purpose of preventing the other members inserted into the case 60 and the surface pressure absorbing member 61 from coming into contact with each other, or for the purpose of reducing the material cost and weight. The third embodiment can also bring about the effect of suppressing stress (surface pressure) applied to the case 60 and the heat sink 50 during fastening with the bolt as in the first embodiment.
<Fourth Embodiment>
In the first to third embodiments, a plurality of fastening holes 80 are provided in one surface pressure absorbing member 61, but, in the fourth embodiment, only one fastening hole 80 is provided in one surface pressure absorbing member 61. That is, in the fourth embodiment, as shown in
Further, it is preferable that the surface pressure absorbing member 61 be disposed within the case 60 without being exposed on the side surfaces of the case 60. That is, it is preferable that the surface pressure absorbing member 61 be enclosed by the case 60 in plan view. This can reliably prevent the surface pressure absorbing member 61 from being separated from the resin portion of the external electrode 40 to idly spin due to bolt fastening torque. Further, as shown in
The fourth embodiment can bring about the effect of suppressing stress (surface pressure) applied to the case 60 and the heat sink 50 during fastening with the bolt as in the first embodiment. Further, although the warpage suppressing effect and the cooling effect are small compared to the first embodiment, a reduction in size of each surface pressure absorbing member 61 is expected to reduce the material cost and weight. Furthermore, a configuration where the plurality of surface pressure absorbing members 61 have the same shape can suppress an increase in the number of types of components and can thus increase productivity.
The thickness of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 shown in the first to fourth embodiments is uniform, but, in the fifth embodiment, the surface pressure absorbing member 61 has the portion around the fastening hole 80 (the region in contact with the bolt or washer) thicker than the other portions. In other words, a portion of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 other than the portion around the fastening hole 80 is made thinner, and the portion of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 around the fastening hole 80 is protruded in the thickness direction of the surface pressure absorbing member 61.
For example, as shown in
According to the present embodiment, at least in the portion around the fastening hole 80 (thick portion), the upper surface of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 is exposed from the case 60 and the lower surface of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 is brought into contact with the heat sink 50. This can bring about the effect of suppressing stress (surface pressure) applied to the case 60 and the heat sink 50 during fastening with the bolt as in the first embodiment.
Further, a configuration where the upper surface or the lower surface of the thin portion of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 is covered by the resin of the case 60 can bring about high adhesion between the resin of the case 60 and the surface pressure absorbing member 61 compared to the first embodiment. In order to further increase the adhesion, projections and depressions such as knurls may be provided on the side surface of the thick portion of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 (portion around the fastening hole 80).
Furthermore, the configuration where the surface pressure absorbing member 61 is partially formed thin is expected to reduce the material cost and weight.
In the above embodiments, the surface pressure absorbing member 61 is formed integrally with the case 60 by insert molding, but, in the sixth embodiment, the surface pressure absorbing member 61 is a component separate from the case 60. In this configuration, the surface pressure absorbing member 61 and the case 60 are bonded to each other with an adhesive in an assembly process of the semiconductor device. Note that the adhesive is applied only to a surface of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 that comes into contact with the case 60 and is not applied to a surface exposed from the case 60 (that is, a surface that comes into contact with the bolt and the heat sink 50).
The configuration where the case 60 and the surface pressure absorbing member 61 are bonded to each other with an adhesive eliminates the need of taking measures against the separation of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 (for example, an increase in thickness of the resin of the external electrode 40) and can thus contribute to a reduction in size of the semiconductor device. Further, since the number of members to be inserted when the case 60 is molded is reduced, the productivity of the case 60 is expected to increase. Further, the configuration where no adhesive is applied to the surface of the surface pressure absorbing member 61 that comes into contact with the bolt and the heat sink 50 can achieve metal touch of the fastening portion.
Note that the present invention can be implemented by any combination of the embodiments within the scope of the present invention, and each of the embodiments can be modified or omitted as appropriate.
Although the present invention has been described in detail, the above descriptions are illustrative in all aspects, and the present invention is not limited by the descriptions. It is understood that innumerable modifications not illustrated can be envisaged without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2017/041950 | 11/22/2017 | WO | 00 |