INTELLIGENT POWER MODULE ARRANGEMENT AND BRIDGE DEVICE THEREFOR

Abstract

An intelligent power module (100) comprises a plurality of controllable semiconductor components (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6), wherein each of the plurality of controllable semiconductor components (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6) comprises a control electrode (G) and a controllable load path between a first load electrode and a second load electrode, a gate driver (60) configured to generate one or more control signals for one or more of the plurality of controllable semiconductor components (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6), and one or more bridge devices (64), wherein each of the one or more bridge devices (64) comprises a housing (642), a plurality of contact pads (644) arranged on an outer side of the housing (642), and a plurality of contact pads (644) arranged on the outer side of the housing (642). x ) and one or more electrical connections (646) arranged within the housing (642) y ), wherein each of the one or more electrical connections (646 y ) two of the several contact pads (644 x) electrically coupled to one another, wherein at least one of the one or more bridge devices (64) is electrically coupled between the control electrodes (G) of the one or more controllable semiconductor components (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6) and the gate driver (60) and is designed to conduct one or more control signals from the gate driver (60) to the control electrodes (G) of the respective one or more controllable semiconductor components (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELDThe present disclosure relates to smart power module assemblies.BACKGROUNDUS 2018 / 0 130 587 A1 discloses an electronic component comprising a first insulating layer, a high voltage electrode formed on the first insulating layer, a low voltage electrode formed on the first insulating layer so as to be spaced apart from the high voltage electrode, and an uneven structure formed in a region between the high voltage electrode and the low voltage electrode along a surface of the first insulating layer.US 2019 / 0 304 911 A1 discloses an embedded EMIB chip (multi-die interconnect bridge) which is configured such that the power supply reaches the center of the EMIB chip and the power is distributed to two chips which are interconnected via the EMIB chip.Smart power modules may be used, for example, in rectifier, converter, and inverter stages in power management circuits and motor drives for applications such as fans, hair dryers, air cleaners, and circulation pumps. Smart power modules may include various components such as controllable semiconductor devices (e.g., IGBTs arranged in half-bridge and three-phase configurations), gate drivers, and diodes. The components may be disposed in a molded package. Electrical connections within the package may be implemented using bond wires. Such internal wire bonds should generally be thin and at the same time as short as possible. Overall, the package dimensions should be small and the thermal resistance should be low.Thus, there is a general need for a smart power module in which internal electrical connections between various components may be formed using thin bond wires that do not exceed a defined maximum length.SUMMARYAn intelligent power module includes a plurality of controllable semiconductor devices, each of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices including a control electrode and a controllable load path between a first load electrode and a second load electrode, a gate driver configured to generate one or more control signals for one or more of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices, and one or more bridge devices, each of the one or more bridge devices including a package, a plurality of contact pads disposed on an exterior of the package, and one or more electrical connections disposed within the package, each of the one or more electrical connections electrically coupling two of the plurality of contact pads together, at least one of the one or more bridge devices being electrically coupled between the control electrodes of the one or more controllable semiconductor devices and the gate driver and configured to:, conducting one or more control signals from the gate driver to the control electrodes of the respective one or more controllable semiconductor devices.A bridge device for an intelligent power module is disclosed, the bridge device including a housing, a plurality of contact pads disposed on an exterior of the housing, and one or more electrical connections disposed within the housing, each of the one or more electrical connections electrically coupling two of the plurality of contact pads to one another, and the bridge device configured to be electrically coupled between the control electrodes of one or more of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices and a gate driver of the intelligent power module and to conduct one or more control signals from the gate driver to the control electrodes of the respective one or more controllable semiconductor devices.The invention will be better understood with reference to the following drawings and the description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a smart power module. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of another smart power module. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a three-phase half bridge arrangement. FIG. 4 is a top view of a smart power module according to embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a three-phase half bridge arrangement according to embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 6 is a top view of another smart power module according to embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a top view of a bridge device according to embodiments of the disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTIONIn the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings. The drawings show concrete examples to which the invention can be applied. It is understood that the features and principles described with respect to the various examples may be combined with one another, unless expressly stated otherwise. As in the claims, the terms "first element", "second element", "third element", etc. of certain elements are not intended to be limiting. Rather, such terms merely serve to address different "elements.". That is, for example, the existence of a "third element" does not require the existence of a "first element" and a "second element". An electrical line as described herein may be a single electrically conductive element or may include at least two individual electrically conductive elements connected in parallel. Electrical lines may include metal and / or semiconductor material and may be permanently electrically conductive (i.e., non-switchable). An electrical line may have an electrical resistance that is independent of the direction of a current flowing through it. A semiconductor device (semiconductor body) as described herein may be made of (doped) semiconductor material and may be a semiconductor chip or may be included in a semiconductor chip. A semiconductor body has electrically connecting pads and includes at least one semiconductor element having electrodes. The pads are electrically connected to the electrodes, which includes the pads being the electrodes and vice versa.Referring to FIG. 1, a smart power module according to an example is schematically illustrated. A smart power module generally includes one or more components 20 such as power switching devices (e.g., one or more insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) as well as additional control and protection circuitry (e.g., microcontrollers, gate driver ICs, etc.). In other words, an intelligent power module typically includes both intelligent driving components and power switching components. The various components 20 are disposed in a package and electrical connections between the components 20 and an exterior of the package are provided by a plurality of leadframes 52, 54. Each leadframe 52, 54 generally provides a flat mounting surface disposed within the package. None, one or more components 20 may be disposed on different ones of the plurality of flat mounting surfaces within the package. An end of the leadframes 52, 54 opposite the flat mounting surface and extending to the exterior of the package may be angled with respect to the flat mounting surface, as exemplarily shown in FIG. 1. In this way, it may be easier to contact the ends of the leadframes 52, 54.In the smart power module 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, all of the flat mounting pads provided by the lead frames 52, 54 are arranged in the same plane (e.g., the first plane PL 1). The smart power module 100 further includes a heat sink 40. The heat sink 40 can also be referred to as a heat spreader, for example. The heat sink 40 may extend from one or more of the leadframes 52 towards an exterior of the package. That is, at least one surface of the heat sink 40 facing away from the lead frames 52, 54 is not covered by the material forming the package. In this way, heat generated by the components 20 can be effectively dissipated away from the components 20 to an outside of the package via the heat sink 40. However, not all of the plurality of lead frames 52, 54 of a smart power module 100 are typically coupled to the same electrical potential. Thus, a heat sink 40, often comprising or consisting of both a thermally and electrically conductive material (e.g., a metal), may directly contact some of the leadframes 52 coupled to a first potential, while being dielectrically insulated from other leadframes 54 of the smart power module 100 coupled to potentials other than the first potential.This is schematically shown in FIG. 1. In this example, the package is formed by a first encapsulating material 72 encapsulating the components 20 as well as a surface of the leadframes 52, 54 on which the components 20 are mounted. The first encapsulation material 72 may, for example, be further arranged between the heat sink 40 and the lead frames 54 that are not to be directly contacted by the heat sink 40. A second encapsulation material 74 may encapsulate the first encapsulation material 72 and may partially encapsulate the heat sink 40. However, at least one surface of the heat sink 40 facing away from the leadframes 52, 54 is not covered by the second encapsulation material 74. The first encapsulation material 72 may be the same as or different from the second encapsulation material 74.The various components 20 of a smart power module 100 may be mechanically and electrically coupled to the respective leadframes 52, 54 via electrically conductive interconnect layers (not specifically shown). An electrically conductive connection layer may be, for example, a solder layer, a layer of an (electrically conductive) adhesive or a layer of a sintered metal powder, e.g. a sintered silver powder. The components 20 can furthermore be electrically coupled to other components 20 or other leadframes by means of electrical connections 3, such as e.g. bond wires or bond bands.The size of the smart power modules 100 is generally a problem. The various components 20 disposed on the leadframes 52, 54 as well as the electrical connections 3 required to form the necessary electrical connections within the smart power module 100 require a certain amount of space. The fact that sufficient dielectric isolation must be provided between the leadframes 52, 54 and components coupled to different electrical potentials continues to be added to this problem. Referring now to FIG. 2, another example smart power module 100 is schematically illustrated. In this smart power module 100, a first subset of a plurality of lead frames 52, 54 (i.e., the flat mounting surfaces of the lead frames of a first subset) is disposed in the first plane PL 1, while a second subset of the plurality of lead frames 52, 54 (i.e., the flat mounting surfaces of the lead frames of a second subset) is disposed in a second plane PL 2 different from the first plane PL 1. The lead frames 52 arranged in the first plane PL 1 adjoin the heat sink 40, while the lead frames 54 arranged in the second plane PL 2 are arranged at a distance from the heat sink 40. A layer of the encapsulation material 72 forming the package may be arranged between the heat sink 40 and the leadframe 54 of the second subset in order to provide sufficient dielectric insulation. Arranging different lead frames and thus different components 20 in different levels PL 1, PL 2 enables a more compact layout of the smart power module 100.Normally, these components 20, which generate a significant amount of heat during operation of the smart power module 100, are placed on lead frames directly adjacent to the heat sink 40. Other components 20 that do not generate a significant amount of heat during operation of smart power module 100 may be placed on leadframes of second subset 54 that are further from heat sink 40, as heat dissipation is not usually critical with respect to these components 20. For example, components that generate a significant amount of heat during operation of the smart power module 100 are typically components that perform switching operations, e.g., power switching devices such as insulated gate bipolar transistors, IGBTs. Components 20 (e.g., microcontroller, gate driver IC, etc.) included in the control and protection circuit typically remain relatively cool even during operation of the smart power module 100.By disposing different lead frames 52, 54 in different planes PL 1, PL 2 within the package 72, the overall size of the smart power module 100 can be reduced as compared to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 in which all the lead frames 52, 54 are disposed in the same plane PL 1. However, due to this additional "step" between the leadframes, a length of certain electrical connections 3 (e.g. bond wires) may increase to provide electrical connections between components 20 arranged in different levels PL 1, PL 2. As the length of a bond wire increases, this often also requires an increased diameter of the bond wire compared to bond wires having shorter lengths. In general, it is desirable to keep the length of a single electrical connection 3 (e.g. a single bond wire) shorter than a defined maximum length while still keeping its diameter comparatively thin. For example, a single electrical connection 3 may have a length of 4.0 mm (millimeters) or less. This may be difficult to achieve with an intelligent power module 100, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 2, for example. In Figures 1 and 2, moulded packages are schematically shown. However, it is also possible to place the components 20 in any other suitable type of package instead.The components 20 of an intelligent power module 100 may be arranged, for example, to form a half bridge, H-bridge or three-phase half bridge arrangement. Generally, however, other arrangements are also possible. Referring now to FIG. 3, a circuit diagram of a three-phase half bridge arrangement is exemplarily depicted. The three-phase half bridge arrangement has three high-side switches HS 1, HS 2, HS 3 and three low-side switches LS 4, LS 5, LS 6. For example, each of the high-side switches HS 1, HS 2, HS 3 and each of the low-side switches LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 may be implemented by one or more controllable semiconductor devices such as insulated gate bipolar transistors, IGBTs. Each of the plurality of controllable semiconductor components HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 has a control electrode G 1, G 2, G 3, G 4, G 5, G 6 and a controllable load path between a first load electrode and a second load electrode. The load paths of the controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3 forming the high-side switches are coupled between a first terminal P (e.g. a first terminal P coupled to a positive potential) and a respective load terminal UP, VP, W. The load paths of the controllable semiconductor devices LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 forming the low-side switches are coupled between respective load terminals UN, VN, W and a second terminal N (e.g., a second terminal coupled to a negative potential).The control electrodes G 1, G 2, G 3, G 4, G 5, G 6 of the controllable semiconductor components HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 are coupled to respective outputs HO 1, HO 2, HO 3, HO 4, HO 5, HO 6 of a gate driver 60. The gate driver 60 supplies at its outputs HO 1, HO 2, HO 3, HO 4, HO 5, HO 6 corresponding (gate-driving) control signals for the controllable semiconductor components HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6. The gate driver 60 may receive corresponding input signals HU, LU, HV, LV, HW, LW, for example from a microcontroller 62, according to which it generates the (gate driving) control signals. For example, a microcontroller 62 may be integrated with the smart power module 100, or may be an external device coupled to the smart power module 100. Since the microcontroller 62 is not necessarily included in the smart power module 100, it is illustrated in FIG. 3 by dashed lines.As can be seen in FIG. 3, in conventional smart power modules, each of the control electrodes G 1, G 2, G 3, G 4, G 5, G 6 of the controllable semiconductor components HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 is directly coupled to the gate driver 60. As described above, a gate driver 60 may be arranged on a leadframe 54 arranged in a second plane PL 2, while the controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 may be arranged on leadframes 52 arranged in the first plane PL 1 and thus closer to a heat sink 40. Due to design and space constraints, it is not always possible to arrange all controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 in the immediate vicinity of the gate driver 60. At least some of the electrical connections 3 formed between the gate driver 60 and the controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 may therefore need to be formed to have a significant length. As described above, this may not be desirable.In order to keep a length of each of the required electrical connections 3 below a defined maximum length, an intelligent power module 100 according to embodiments of the disclosure comprises a plurality of controllable semiconductor components HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6, wherein each of the plurality of controllable semiconductor components HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 comprises a control electrode G and a controllable load path between a first load electrode and a second load electrode. The smart power module 100 further includes a gate driver 60 configured to generate one or more control signals for one or more of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6, and one or more bridge devices 64, each of the one or more bridge devices 64 including a housing 642, a plurality of contact pads 644 x, disposed on an exterior of the housing 642, and one or more electrical connections 646 y, disposed within the housing 642, each of the one or more electrical connections 646 y electrically coupling two of the plurality of contact pads 644 x together. At least one of the one or more bridge devices 64 is electrically coupled between the control electrodes G of one or more of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 and the gate driver 60 and is configured to carry one or more control signals from the gate driver 60 to the control electrodes G of the respective one or more controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6.This is schematically illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, where FIG. 4 is a top view of a smart power module 100 according to embodiments of the disclosure and FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a three-phase half bridge arrangement according to embodiments of the disclosure. The arrangement of the controllable semiconductor components HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 in a three-phase half bridge arrangement is, however, just one example. The general principles relating to the one or more bridge devices 64 apply similarly also to any other arrangement. The bridge device 64 illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 is generally a very simple component. For example, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 7, a bridge device 64 provides only a plurality of contact pads 644 x, disposed on an exterior of a housing 642, and one or more electrical connections 646 y, disposed within the housing 642, wherein each of the one or more electrical connections 646 y electrically couples two of the plurality of contact pads 644 x together. Electrical connections 646 y may be formed by simple conductive paths.For example, each of the one or more bridge devices 64 may include a metallization layer disposed within the housing 642. The metallization layer may include one or more portions that are separate and distinct from each other, and each of the one or more electrical connections 646 y may be formed by one of the one or more portions of the metallization layer. The contact pads 644 x may be segments of the metallization layer disposed outside of the package 642. That is, two contact pads 644 x connected to each other by means of an electrical connection 646 y may be integrally formed with the respective electrical connection 646 y. However, it is also possible for the contact pads 644 x to be formed separately and electrically connected to the respective electrical connection 646 y in a suitable manner. A very simple bridge device 62 may include only two contact pads 644 1, 6446, which are coupled together by means of a metallization layer including only a single portion 646 1. Generally, however, a bridge device 64 may include more than two contact pads 644 x as schematically illustrated in FIG. 7.It may be that different electrical connections 646 y of a bridge device 64 do not cross, as is schematically illustrated on the left-hand side in FIG. 7. This can be easily implemented by a single patterned metallization layer. However, in order to prevent the bond wires 3 leading to or from the bridge device 64 from crossing one another, a bridge device 64 may be provided which provides internally crossing electrical connections 646 y. This is schematically shown on the right side of FIG. 7. The intersecting electrical connections 646 y may be implemented using two or more metallization layers, for example. That is, a bridge device 64 may include two or more metallization layers and one or more dielectric isolation layers disposed within the package 642. Each of the one or more dielectric isolation layers may be disposed between two of the two or more metallization layers such that the two or more metallization layers and the one or more dielectric isolation layers are alternately disposed. Each of the two or more metallization layers includes one or more portions that are separate and distinct from each other. At least one of the one or more electrical connections 646 y may be formed by at least two different portions of at least two different metallization layers and at least one via extending through at least one of the dielectric isolation layers and electrically coupling the respective portions. That is, a portion of the first metallization layer extending in a first plane may cross a portion of the second metallization layer extending in a second plane and may be electrically insulated from the respective portion of the first metallization layer by means of a dielectric insulation layer.The one or more metallization layers may be deposited on a semiconductor body, for example. The semiconductor body may include or consist of conventional semiconductor material such as silicon (Si). Alternatively, it is also possible to form the one or more metallization layers on a conventional printed circuit board (PCB), for example. In general, all other implementations are also possible. However, a semiconductor body is typically significantly thinner (e.g., about 280 μm) than a PCB (e.g., up to 800 μm), which may facilitate incorporating a thin semiconductor body into a package 642. There are PCBs that have a significantly reduced thickness (e.g. below 500 μm), but are generally very expensive.Referring to FIG. 5, each of the one or more control signals generated by the gate driver 60 may be provided at a different output HO 1, HO 2, HO 3, HO 4, HO 5, HO 6 of the gate driver 60. The control electrodes G of the various ones of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 are coupled to various ones of the plurality of outputs HO 1, HO 2, HO 3, HO 4, HO 5, HO 6 of the gate driver 60 by means of various ones of a plurality of signal paths. At least one of the plurality of signal paths includes two of the plurality of contact pads 644 x of one of the one or more bridge devices 64, wherein the electrical connection 646 y electrically couples the two contact pads 644 x a bond wire 3 extending between one of the two contact pads 644 x and one of the plurality of outputs HO 1, HO 2, HO 3, HO 4, HO 5, HO 6 of the gate driver 60, and a bond wire 3 extending between the other of the two contact pads 644 x and the control electrode G of one of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3. That is, some of the controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 may be directly coupled to the gate driver 60 by a single bond wire (e.g., the controllable semiconductor devices LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 in FIGS. 4 and 5 ). Other controllable semiconductor components HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 may be coupled to the gate driver 60 by means of two separate bonding wires 3, wherein the bridge device 64 is arranged between the two bonding wires 3 and establishes an electrical connection between the two bonding wires 3 (e.g. the controllable semiconductor components HS 1, HS 2, HS 3 in FIGS. 4 and 5 ). In this way, one or more of the signal paths can be "bridged" by means of the bridge device 64, wherein a length of the individual bond wires 3 contained in the signal path is kept short. In this way, it is also possible to use comparatively thin bonding wires 3.For example, each bond wire 3 extending between a contact pad 644 x and one of the plurality of outputs HO 1, HO 2, HO 3, HO 4, HO 5, HO 6 of the gate driver 60 may have a length of 4.0 mm or less and a maximum thickness of 40 μm or less. Similarly, each bond wire 3 extending between a contact pad 644 x and the control electrode G of one of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 may have a length of 4.0 mm or less and a maximum thickness of 40 μm or less.In some examples, all signal paths between the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 may include an electrical connection 646 y of the bridge device 64. That is, none of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 may be directly coupled to the gate driver 60 by means of a single bond wire 3. However, it is also possible that a first subset (one or more) of the controllable semiconductor components HS 1, HS 2, HS 3 is connected to the gate driver 60 via a bridge device 64, while a second subset (one or more) of the controllable semiconductor components LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 is directly connected to the gate driver 60. That is, at least one of the plurality of signal paths may include a bond wire 3 extending between the control electrode G of one of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 and one of the plurality of outputs HO 1, HO 2, HO 3, HO 4, HO 5, HO 6 of the gate driver 60. Each bonding wire 3 extending between the control electrode G of one of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 and one of the plurality of outputs HO 1, HO 2, HO 3, HO 4, HO 5, HO 6 of the gate driver 60 may have a length of 4.0 mm or less and a maximum thickness of 40 μm or less. That is, bridging a signal path, which can be implemented by means of a single, comparatively short bonding wire 3, by means of a bridge device 64 may not be required.As described above, a smart power module 100 may further include a microcontroller 62, wherein the microcontroller 62 is electrically coupled to the gate driver 60, i.e., the microcontroller 62 may provide corresponding inputs HU, LU, HV, LV, HW, LW to the gate driver 60. The optional microcontroller 62 is indicated in FIG. 4 by dashed lines. In the top view of FIG. 4, the various elements of an intelligent power module 100 and electrical connections 3 between the elements are only very generally shown.Referring now to FIG. 6, an example smart power module 100 is illustrated in more detail. In particular, in the plan view of FIG. 6, a plurality of lead frames 52 1, 54m are schematically illustrated. As can be seen, an intelligent power module 100 may have leadframes 52 1, 523, 524, on which only one component (e.g. the controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3) is arranged. An intelligent power module 100 may further include leadframes 52 5, 541, on which more than one component (e.g., the controllable semiconductor devices LS 4, LS 5, LS 6, as well as the gate driver 60, the bridge device(s) 64, and (optionally) the microcontroller 62) are arranged. Other leadframes 52 2, 526, 527, 542, 543 may not have any components disposed thereon and may only be required to provide electrical contacts between the interior and the exterior of the package. The shape and arrangement of the various leadframes shown in FIG. 6 is just one example. The specific design of smart power module 100 may be implemented in any other suitable manner.The intelligent power module 100, as is illustrated by way of example in FIG. 6, has more than one bridge device 64. In particular, the smart power module 100 of FIG. 6 includes two bridge devices 64. A first of the bridge devices 64 is arranged between the gate driver 60 and a subset of the controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, similar to what has been described above. A second one of the bridge devices 64 forms a portion of a signal path from the gate driver 60 to another one of the controllable semiconductor devices LS 6, similar to the first bridge device 64. however, the second one of the bridge devices 64 is also electrically coupled between the microcontroller 62 and two of the leadframes 54 in 2, 543 and is configured to route one or more signals from the outside of the package to the microcontroller 62 (or vice versa). It is even possible to electrically couple a bridge device 64 between the microcontroller 62 and the gate driver 60 (not specifically shown), wherein the bridge device 64 is configured to route one or more signals from the microcontroller 62 to the gate driver 60. Generally, one or more bridge devices 64 may be included in a smart power module to route any type of signal between any of the components included in the smart power module 100.The one or more bridge devices 64 may be mechanically coupled to the respective leadframe 54 in 1 in any suitable manner. For example, a bridge device 64 may be 1 bonded, soldered, welded, or sintered to the respective leadframe 54. According to one example, a bridge device 64 can be attached to the respective lead frame 54 in 1 by means of an Ag (silver) epoxy.A bridge device 64 for a smart power module 100 according to embodiments of the disclosure includes a housing 642, a plurality of contact pads 644 x disposed on the exterior of the housing 642, and one or more electrical terminals 646 y disposed within the housing 642. Each of the one or more electrical connections 646 y electrically couples two of the plurality of contact pads 644 x together, and the bridge device 64 is configured to be electrically coupled between the control electrodes G of one or more of a plurality of controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 and a gate driver 60 of the smart power module 100 and to route one or more control signals from the gate driver 60 to the control electrodes G of the respective one of the one or more controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6.As described above, the bridge device 64 "bridges" a distance between the gate driver 60 and one or more controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 or between any two components of an intelligent power module 100. In this way, the maximum length of the bond wires 3 used to form the electrical connections between the gate driver 60 and the one or more controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 (or between any two components of an intelligent power module 100) may be significantly reduced. This can be advantageous in particular in the case of an arrangement as has been described above in FIG. 2 (different lead frames which are arranged in different planes PL 1, PL 2). However, one or more bridge devices 64 may also be used in a smart power module 100, as described above with respect to FIG. 1. Because the one or more bridge devices 64 provide electrical connections 646 y, disposed in a package 642, the bridge devices 64 can be easily handled. It is generally possible to use the same equipment to position and attach the one or more bridge devices 64 to the respective leadframe / s as used, for example, to attach the controllable semiconductor devices HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6 and / or the gate driver 60. The electrical connections 646 y are well protected within the package 642, and therefore special precautions need not be taken when handling the bridge devices 64.

Claims

An intelligent power module (100) comprising: a plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6), each of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6) comprising a control electrode (G) and a controllable load path between a first load electrode and a second load electrode; a gate driver (60) configured to generate one or more control signals for one or more of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6); and one or more bridge devices (64), each of the one or more bridge devices (64) comprising a package (642), a plurality of contact pads (644 x) disposed on an exterior of the housing (642), and one or more electrical connections (646 y), disposed within the housing (642), each of the one or more electrical connections (646 y) electrically coupling two of the plurality of contact pads (644 x) to one another, wherein at least one of the one or more bridge devices (64) is electrically coupled between the control electrodes (G) of one or more of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6) and the gate driver (60), and is configured to:, conducting one or more control signals from the gate driver (60) to the control electrodes (G) of the respective one of the one or more controllable semiconductor devices (HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6).The smart power module (100) of claim 1, wherein each of the control signals generated by the one or more gate drivers (60) is provided at a different output (HO1, HO2, HO3, HO4, HO5, HO6) of the gate driver (60), the control electrode (G) of each of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6) is coupled to a different one of the plurality of outputs (HO1, HO2, HO3, HO4, HO5, HO6) of the gate driver (60) via a different one of a plurality of signal paths, and at least one of the plurality of signal paths comprises: two of the plurality of contact pads (644 x) of one of the one or more bridge devices (64), wherein the electrical connection (646 y) electrically couples the two contact pads (644 x) a bond wire (3) extending between one of the two contact pads (644 x) and one of the plurality of outputs (HO1, HO2, HO3, HO4, HO5, HO6) of the gate driver (60), and a bond wire (3) extending between the other of the two contact pads (644 x) and the control electrode (G) of one of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (HS1, HS2, HS3).The smart power module (100) of claim 2, wherein each bond wire (3) extending between a contact pad (644 x) and one of the plurality of outputs (HO1, HO2, HO3, HO4, HO5, HO6) of the gate driver (60) has a length of 4.0 mm or less and a maximum thickness of 40 μm or less; and each bond wire (3) extending between a contact pad (644 x) and the control electrode (G) of one of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (HS1, HS2, HS3) has a length of 4.0 mm or less and a maximum thickness of 40 μm or less.The smart power module (100) of claim 2 or 3, wherein at least one of the plurality of signal paths comprises a bond wire (3) extending between the control electrode (G) of one of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (LS4, LS5, LS6) and one of the plurality of outputs (HO1, HO2, HO3, HO4, HO5, HO6) of the gate driver (60).The smart power module (100) of claim 4, wherein each bond wire (3) extending between the control electrode (G) of one of the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (LS4, LS5, LS6) and one of the plurality of outputs (HO1, HO2, HO3, HO4, HO5, HO6) of the gate driver (60) has a length of 4.0 mm or less and a maximum thickness of 40 μm or less.The smart power module (100) of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein each of the one or more bridge devices (64) comprises a metallization layer disposed within the housing (642); the metallization layer comprises one or more portions that are separate and distinct from each other; and each of the one or more electrical connections (646 y) is formed by one of the one or more portions of the metallization layer.The smart power module (100) of claim 6, wherein each of the one or more bridge devices (64) comprises a semiconductor body disposed within the housing (642), and wherein the metallization layer is disposed on the semiconductor body.The smart power module (100) of claim 7, wherein the semiconductor body comprises or consists of silicon.The smart power module (100) of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein each of the one or more bridge devices (64) includes two or more metallization layers and one or more dielectric isolation layers disposed within the housing (642), each of the one or more dielectric isolation layers being disposed between two of the two or more metallization layers such that the two or more metallization layers and the one or more dielectric isolation layers are arranged alternately; each of the two or more metallization layers includes one or more portions that are separate and distinct from each other; and at least one of the one or more electrical connections (646 y) is formed by at least two different portions of at least two different metallization layers and at least one via extending through at least one of the dielectric isolation layers and electrically coupling the respective portions.The smart power module (100) of any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6), the gate driver (60), and the one or more bridge devices (64) are arranged in a molded package (72).The smart power module (100) of claim 10, wherein the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6) are arranged in a first plane (PL1), the gate driver (60) and the at least one bridge device (64) are arranged in a second plane (PL2), and the first plane (PL1) is arranged closer to a bottom surface of the package (72) than the second plane (PL2), such that when the bottom surface of the package (72) is attached to a heat sink (40), the plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6) are arranged closer to the heat sink (40) than the gate driver (60) and the at least one bridge device (64).The smart power module (100) of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of lead frames (52, 54), each of the plurality of lead frames (52, 54) having a first end disposed within the package (72) and a second end extending to the exterior of the package (72).The smart power module (100) of claim 12, wherein each of the at least one bridge device (64) is bonded, soldered, welded, or sintered to a corresponding one of the plurality of leadframes (52, 54).The smart power module (100) of claim 12 or 13, further comprising a microcontroller (62) disposed in the package (72), the microcontroller (62) electrically coupled to the gate driver (60).The smart power module (100) of claim 14, wherein at least one of the one or more bridge devices (64) is electrically coupled between the microcontroller (62) and the gate driver (60) and is configured to route one or more control signals from the microcontroller (62) to the gate driver (60).The smart power module (100) of claim 14 or 15, wherein the microcontroller (62) is electrically coupled to at least one of the plurality of leadframes (54), and at least one of the one or more bridge devices (64) is electrically coupled between the microcontroller (62) and one or more of the at least one of the plurality of leadframes (54).The smart power module (100) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the smart power module (100) comprises six controllable semiconductor devices (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, LS6) arranged in a three-phase half bridge arrangement.A bridge device (64) for an intelligent power module (100), the bridge device (64) comprising a housing (642), a plurality of contact pads (644 x), arranged on an outer side of the housing (642), and one or more electrical connections (646 y), arranged within the housing (642), wherein each of the one or more electrical connections (646 y) two of the plurality of contact pads (644 x) are electrically coupled to each other, and the bridge device (64) is configured to be electrically coupled between the control electrodes (G) of one or more of a plurality of controllable semiconductor devices (HS1, HS2, HS3, LS4, LS5, ls6) and a gate driver (60) of the smart power module (100), and to conduct one or more control signals from the gate driver (60) to the control electrodes (G) of the respective one or more controllable semiconductor components (HS 1, HS 2, HS 3, LS 4, LS 5, LS 6).

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