Double-sided cooled power module for high-density inverters
This technology is a new way to package high-performance power semiconductors — including next-generation materials like gallium nitride and gallium oxide — so that heat can escape from both the top and bottom of the chip, not just one side. The key innovation is a 'die pillar' made from sintered silver that stacks chips between two substrates, with electrical terminals accessible on both faces of the finished module. This double-sided cooling dramatically reduces thermal resistance, allowing the power module to handle more current or run cooler at the same load. The approach is compatible with medium-voltage applications and works across silicon, silicon carbide, and the newer wide-bandgap semiconductor materials that power modern inverters and converters.
What you could build
A drop-in power module component for electric vehicle inverters, industrial motor drives, or grid-tied power converters that delivers higher efficiency and longer life through improved thermal management; buyers would be EV drivetrain suppliers, power electronics OEMs, and defense/aerospace prime contractors requiring ruggedized high-density power conversion.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia-based defense and aerospace contractors (e.g., those supporting naval shipboard power systems or Army vehicle electrification) and data center power electronics suppliers in Northern Virginia would have direct interest in high-density, thermally efficient power modules.
Readiness: Prototype likely
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Guo-Quan LU, Zichen ZHANG
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed September 7, 2023
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20240178126A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.