BME’s Thermal Models to Be Used in Next-Generation Power Semiconductor Modules

The Department of Electron Devices (EET) at BME's Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics has developed innovative thermal modelling and measurement methods that directly enhance the competitiveness of the European power semiconductor industry.

Power semiconductor modules are essential components in the conversion and control of electrical energy. They are used in applications ranging from renewable energy inverters and electric vehicle drive systems to industrial frequency converters and energy storage solutions. Europe remains a global leader in their manufacturing, but maintaining this position requires faster development cycles and the integration of intelligent functionalities into these devices. The European Union aims to increase its share of the global semiconductor market to 20 percent by 2030, following the vulnerabilities in global supply chains exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lifespan prediction models developed by the consortium can improve the reliability of power semiconductor devices used in the fields of energy conversion and electromobility.
Photos: powersystemsdesign.com, András Poppe, Google Gemini

This strategy includes the recently completed PowerizeD project and its successor, Moore4Power, which has now been launched under the leadership of Germany's Infineon Technologies AG. Together, the two projects have a combined budget of more than €166 million. The Hungarian consortium is coordinated by BME in cooperation with the HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, Infineon Cegléd and several Hungarian SMEs. Their objective is to develop high-power-density, highly reliable power electronic modules supported by digital twin technologies for more efficient design and operation, while also advancing the integrated components embedded within the modules.

European Collaboration for Industrial Decarbonisation

One of the flagship sub-projects of PowerizeD, led by ABB Finland, focused on diagnostic solutions for industrial drive systems. The collaboration brought together partners from 13 countries, including BME, Infineon and Aalto University in Finland. Its objective was to shift industrial maintenance strategies from reactive maintenance to predictive maintenance.

The ABB-led team developed and tested power modules incorporating monolithically integrated temperature sensors (OnSens technology). This new technology makes it possible to detect failures — such as bond wire degradation and delamination caused by wire bond lift-off — 

weeks before catastrophic system failure occurs.

Within this work, BME engineers developed the multi-domain finite element models that serve as the foundation of the digital twins used for lifetime prediction (see this video). The thermal transient measurement technique underpinning this predictive methodology was originally developed by researchers at the Department of Electron Devices around the turn of the millennium and has since been successfully transferred into industrial practice.

The department's researchers contributed to two major areas that directly strengthen the independence of the European supply chain while enabling more efficient design.

1. Thermal qualification of new substrate materials. In cooperation with the HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, researchers evaluated ceramic substrates manufactured from European raw materials alongside insulated metal substrate (IMS) solutions supplied by other manufacturers. BME developed a specialised in situ thermal qualification method based on the Transient Dual Interface Method (TDIM), enabling the comparison of materials under real operating conditions according to their heat dissipation performance within power modules. The measurements confirmed that several newly developed substrate materials match or even outperform conventional, more expensive direct bonded copper (DBC) technologies in thermal performance. At the same time, their more sustainable sourcing opens the way to power modules with higher performance and a smaller environmental footprint.

2. Multi-domain simulation models. The researchers also created a comprehensive simulation model that simultaneously captures electrical, thermal, mechanical and fluid-dynamic phenomena. The model accurately describes temperature distribution within the module while accounting for current sharing in high-current conductor layers and the non-linear, pressure-dependent behaviour of thermal interface materials (TIMs). The simulations were validated using measurements from integrated sensor-equipped modules, resulting in a digital framework capable of modelling critical failure mechanisms such as bond wire fatigue and delamination.

Role of BME and the Hugarian consortium in the PowerizeD project

Within the Moore4Power project, the joint team including BME, Infineon's German and Hungarian divisions, Aalto University, and ABB Finland, is already working on the next generation of solutions. Their goal is to further develop advanced self-monitoring capabilities integrated into power electronic modules, this time based on technologies suitable for mass production.

These future devices will be capable of estimating their own remaining useful lifetime.

In parallel, Infineon Cegléd is directly applying the ETT' decades of expertise to investigate the ageing of thermal interface materials. The newly developed measurement methods make it possible to accurately monitor thermal issues caused by material fatigue throughout a module's lifetime and to predict failures directly in the operating environment.

Representatives of the Hungarian Moore4Power consortium (from left to right): András Poppe and Ferenc Ender (BME), Katalin Balázsi and Csaba Balázsi (HUN-REN), Zoltán Szabó (Infineon Hungary), and project leader Jochen Koszescha (Infineon Germany)

BME's prominent role within the 60-member international consortium is reflected by the fact that Associate Professor Ferenc Ender, Head of the Department of Electron Devices, serves not only as the technical leader responsible for measurement and monitoring activities but also as a member of the project's Strategic Management Board. This position ensures that Hungarian engineering expertise continues to play a defining role in Europe's semiconductor strategy.

Rector's Office, Communications Directorate