Electro-thermal model of Integrated Power Electronics Modules based on an innovative layered approach

In this work, the implementation flow of an electro-thermal model of an Integrated Power Electronics Module is presented. The methodology is based on an innovative layered approach where the whole system is devised as composed by two distinct layers, an electrical and a thermal one, linked together through the active model of a discrete power MOSFET device. We describe an original methodology aimed at reducing an electro-thermal multi-domain problem to an electrical single-domain one thanks to a mapping between thermal and electrical quantities. The strong point of the proposed approach relies on the fact that layers, generated independently with the aid of FEM simulations, are then melted together in a spice-like macro model that could be used, by engineers, in a pure spice-like design environment without the aid of external mathematical solver engines. Finally, a series of simulation issues are discussed.