Method for manufacturing semiconductor cooling devices

Abstract

The technology disclosed in the specification of the present application can be easily applied to an existing cooling structure and is for improving the cooling effect thereof. An adapter according to the technology disclosed in the specification of the present application is provided in the flow path of a refrigerant for cooling a semiconductor element. The semiconductor element is connected to a pin fin protruding into the flow path. The adapter has counterbores corresponding to the shape of the pin fin. The adapter is attached to the pin fin so that at least part of the pin fin is fitted to the counterbores in the side surfaces of the flow path.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to the cooling technology of semiconductor devices.

Background Art

[0002] In a semiconductor module, a semiconductor device, which is a heat source, is joined to pin fins with solder or the like via an insulating material. Then, the semiconductor module is fixed to a jacket by screws that pass through screw-through holes of the semiconductor module and are screwed into screw holes of the jacket.

[0003] The jacket is provided with a refrigerant inlet for the refrigerant to flow through the jacket and a refrigerant outlet. The flow path of the refrigerant formed by the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet is sealed at the upper opening on the lower surface (the surface where fins are formed) of the semiconductor module fixed to the jacket.

[0004] In a state where the semiconductor module and the jacket are connected, the semiconductor device in the semiconductor module overlaps the pin fins in a plan view. The refrigerant enters the jacket from the refrigerant inlet and flows out from the refrigerant outlet.

[0005] The heat generated from the semiconductor device is conducted to the refrigerant through the pin fins. By doing so, the semiconductor device is cooled.

[0006] Here, on the side wall (side surface) of the flow path of the refrigerant, there are no irregularities and the flow resistance is low. Therefore, even though the semiconductor device is not provided at a position that overlaps in a plan view, the flow of the refrigerant concentrates and the flow velocity becomes high. Then, the flow rate of the refrigerant directly below the semiconductor device decreases, which causes a decrease in the heat dissipation efficiency of the semiconductor device.

[0007] On the contrary, technologies for providing a convex shape on the side wall of the flow path have been disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1). Also, countermeasures such as a technology for arranging the pin fins near the side wall of the flow path so that the gap with the side wall is sufficiently small have been taken (for example, see Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2022 / 163418 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2013-120897 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0009] However, conventional technologies require the fabrication of the pin fin or cooler structure itself, which may make them difficult to apply to existing pin fins or coolers.

[0010] The technology disclosed in this specification was developed in consideration of the problems described above, and is easily applicable to existing cooling structures and is a technology for improving cooling efficiency. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] A first aspect of the technology disclosed in this specification Method for manufacturing semiconductor cooling devices teeth, A semiconductor module on which a semiconductor element is mounted and a jacket for cooling the semiconductor element are provided, the semiconductor module comprising pin fins provided on the lower surface that overlaps with the semiconductor element in a plan view and an adapter that can be attached to the pin fins, the jacket comprising a coolant flow path for cooling the semiconductor element and an opening provided to access the flow path, the adapter having a recess corresponding to the shape of the pin fin, and the adapter being fixed on the side of the flow path by inserting the pin fin into the flow path through the opening while the adapter is mounted so that at least a part of the pin fin fits into the recess of the adapter. . [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to at least a first aspect of the technology disclosed in this specification, it is possible to easily attach it to existing cooling structures and improve the cooling effect.

[0013] Furthermore, the purposes, features, aspects, and advantages related to the technology disclosed in this specification will become even clearer from the detailed description and accompanying drawings provided below. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a semiconductor module having pin fins and the structure of a jacket which is a cooler. [Figure 2] It is a plan view showing a state where the jacket shown in FIG. 1 and the semiconductor module are connected. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing an example of the structure of an adapter provided in a semiconductor cooling device according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a semiconductor module in a state where an adapter is mounted. [Figure 5] It is a plan view showing an example of the structure of a semiconductor module in a state where an adapter is mounted.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, detailed features and the like are also shown for the purpose of explaining the technology, but these are examples, and not all of them are necessarily essential features for the embodiments to be feasible.

[0016] The drawings are schematically shown, and for convenience of explanation, omissions of components or simplifications of components are made in the drawings as appropriate. Also, the mutual relationships of the sizes and positions of the components shown in different drawings are not necessarily accurately described and can be changed as appropriate. Also, in drawings such as plan views that are not cross-sectional views, hatching may be added to facilitate understanding of the content of the embodiment.

[0017] Also, in the explanations shown below, the same reference numerals are given to and illustrated for the same components, and their names and functions are also assumed to be the same. Therefore, detailed explanations thereof may be omitted to avoid duplication.

[0018] In addition, in the descriptions set forth in the specification of the present application, when a component is described as "including", "containing", or "having", etc., unless otherwise specified, it is not an exclusive expression that excludes the existence of other components.

[0019] In addition, in the descriptions set forth in the specification of the present application, even when ordinal numbers such as "first" or "second" are used, these terms are used for convenience in order to facilitate understanding of the content of the embodiments, and the content of the embodiments is not limited to the order that may be caused by these ordinal numbers.

[0020] In addition, in the descriptions set forth in the specification of the present application, even when terms that mean specific positions or directions such as "above", "below", "left", "right", "side", "bottom", "front", or "back" are used, these terms are used for convenience in order to facilitate understanding of the content of the embodiments, and are not related to the position or direction when the embodiments are actually implemented.

[0021] In addition, in the descriptions set forth in the specification of the present application, when described as "the upper surface of... " or "the lower surface of... ", etc., in addition to the upper surface itself or the lower surface itself of the target component, a state in which other components are formed on the upper surface or the lower surface of the target component is also included. That is, for example, when described as "B provided on the upper surface of A", it does not prevent another component "C" from intervening between A and B.

[0022] <Embodiment> Hereinafter, an adapter according to the present embodiment will be described. For convenience of explanation, first, the technology related to the configuration of the semiconductor device known to the inventor will be described.

[0023] <Regarding the configuration of the adapter> Figure 1 shows an example of the structure of a semiconductor module having pin fins and the structure of a jacket that serves as a cooler. The semiconductor module and jacket together are also referred to as a semiconductor cooling device. As shown in the example in Figure 1, in the semiconductor module 10, the heat-generating semiconductor element 12 is joined to the pin fins 14 by solder or the like via an insulating material. The pin fins 14 are provided in a position that includes a position where they overlap with the semiconductor element 12 in a plan view, and are provided protruding from the lower surface of the semiconductor module 10. The semiconductor element is, for example, a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (i.e., MOSFET) or an insulated gate bipolar transistor (i.e., IGBT).

[0024] The semiconductor module 10 is fixed to the jacket 20 by screws 18 that pass through the screw holes 16 of the semiconductor module 10 and are screwed into the screw holes 26 of the jacket 20.

[0025] An O-ring insertion groove 22 is provided on the side of the jacket 20 that connects to the semiconductor module 10. An opening 1002 is also provided, surrounded by the O-ring insertion groove 22, which exposes and allows access to the refrigerant flow path. The jacket 20 and the semiconductor module 10 are then connected with the O-ring 24 inserted into the O-ring insertion groove 22.

[0026] The jacket 20 is provided with a refrigerant inlet 28 and a refrigerant outlet 30 for the refrigerant to flow through the jacket 20. The refrigerant flow path 1000 formed by the refrigerant inlet 28 and the refrigerant outlet 30 is sealed at the upper opening 1002 of the semiconductor module 10 fixed to the jacket 20 by the lower surface (the surface on which the fins are formed).

[0027] Figure 2 is a plan view showing the jacket 20 and semiconductor module 10 connected as shown in Figure 1. The arrows indicate the direction of refrigerant flow.

[0028] As shown in Figure 2, when the semiconductor module 10 and the jacket 20 are connected, the semiconductor elements 12 in the semiconductor module 10 overlap with the pin fins 14 in a plan view. The refrigerant flows into the jacket 20 from the refrigerant inlet 28 and out from the refrigerant outlet 30.

[0029] The heat generated from the semiconductor element 12 is conducted to the coolant via the pin fins 14 inserted in the flow path. In this way, the semiconductor element 12 is cooled.

[0030] Here, in regions a and b in Figure 2, which correspond to the side walls (sides) of the refrigerant flow path 1000, there are no irregularities and the flow resistance is low. Therefore, even though the semiconductor element 12 is not placed in a position that overlaps in the plan view as shown in Figure 2, the refrigerant flow concentrates and the flow velocity becomes high. As a result, the flow rate of refrigerant directly below the semiconductor element 12 decreases, which reduces the heat dissipation efficiency of the semiconductor element 12.

[0031] Figure 3 shows an example of the structure of an adapter provided in a semiconductor cooling device according to this embodiment.

[0032] As shown in Figure 3, the adapter 32 is a rectangular parallelepiped with height T, thickness D, and length L, where height T is approximately equal to the pin length of the pin fin 14. This facilitates the positioning of the adapter 32 in the height direction. However, the shape of the adapter 32 is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped. The adapter 32 has a counterbore 34 formed on its side. As shown in Figure 3, the counterbore 34 can have an inner surface shape corresponding to the shape of the pin fin 14 (a shape into which the pin fin 14 can be fitted).

[0033] The thickness D of the adapter 32 is approximately equal to the distance between the side wall of the refrigerant flow path 1000 and the pin fin 14 when the semiconductor module 10 and the jacket 20 are connected.

[0034] The length L of the adapter 32 is set so as to cover (enclose) the area where the semiconductor element 12 is placed when the semiconductor module 10 and the jacket 20 are connected.

[0035] Figure 4 shows an example of the structure of a semiconductor module with an adapter installed. The arrows indicate the direction of refrigerant flow. As shown in the example in Figure 4, the adapter 32 is attached to the pin fins 14 on both side walls of the refrigerant flow path. The adapter 32 is attached such that the counterbore 34 of the adapter 32 is in contact with the side surface of the pin fin 14 (for example, a portion of the pin fin 14 fits into the inner surface of the counterbore 34 so as to cover half of the circumferential direction of the pin fin 14).

[0036] Figure 5 is a plan view showing an example of the structure of a semiconductor module with adapters installed. The arrows indicate the direction of refrigerant flow. As shown in the example in Figure 5, adapters 32 are attached to both side walls of the refrigerant flow path 1000. The length L of the adapter 32 is set so as to cover the area where the semiconductor element 12 is placed, that is, so that the adapter 32 is positioned on the side wall of the flow path 1000 where the semiconductor element 12 is placed.

[0037] In Figures 4 and 5, the adapter 32 is provided on both side walls, but it may also be provided on only one side wall.

[0038] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the installation of the adapter 32 suppresses the concentration of refrigerant on the side wall of the flow path 1000 where the pin fins 14 are not provided. Furthermore, by setting the length L of the adapter 32 to cover the entire area where the semiconductor element 12 is located, the pressure loss of refrigerant caused by the sudden narrowing of the refrigerant flow path 1000 can be reduced. This is particularly effective in large inverter modules with UVW phases, where the adapter 32 is divided and arranged for each phase.

[0039] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, the adapter 32 is provided with a counterbore 34 along the side wall of the refrigerant flow path, which is, for example, less than or equal to the diameter of the cylindrical pin fin 14 and has the same shape as the pin fin 14. However, if the shape of the pin fin 14 is not cylindrical, the shape of the counterbore 34 can be made to match the outer shape of the pin fin 14. Also, the depth of the counterbore 34 can be such that it covers half of the circumferential circumference of the pin fin 14.

[0040] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, the counterbores 34 can be formed along the direction of the length L of the adapter 32 at the same intervals and in the same number as the pin fins 14.

[0041] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, the pin fins 14 are inserted into the recess 34 of the adapter 32, thereby positioning the adapter 32 in the direction of refrigerant flow. In addition, the semiconductor module 10 with the adapter 32 attached is inserted into the jacket 20, thereby positioning and fixing the pin fins 14 and the adapter 32 in the vertical direction of the refrigerant flow path.

[0042] This eliminates the need to modify the structure for fixing the adapter 32 (for example, by providing a separate mounting jig). In Figure 4, two adapters 32 are mounted, one on each side of the wall parallel to the direction of refrigerant flow.

[0043] The adapter 32, fixed within the refrigerant flow path, causes the pin fins 14, which were previously located on the side wall of the flow path, to be adjacent to the adapter 32 instead of the side wall. As a result, the flow resistance increases at the adapter 32, preventing the concentration of flow on the side wall of the flow path, and consequently increasing the flow rate of the refrigerant directly beneath the semiconductor element 12. Therefore, cooling performance can be improved without significantly altering the existing cooling structure.

[0044] The material of the adapter 32 may be, for example, resin, metal, or ceramic, and should be selected according to the operating temperature or required durability.

[0045] <Regarding the effects produced by the embodiments described above> Next, examples of the effects produced by the embodiments described above will be shown. In the following description, the effects will be described based on the specific configurations illustrated in the embodiments described above, but they may be replaced with other specific configurations illustrated in this specification to the extent that similar effects are produced. That is, for convenience, in the following, only one of the corresponding specific configurations may be described as representative, but the specific configuration described as representative may be replaced with another corresponding specific configuration.

[0046] According to the embodiment described above, the adapter is an adapter 32 provided in a coolant flow path 1000 for cooling the semiconductor element 12. Here, the semiconductor element 12 is connected to pin fins 14 that protrude into the flow path 1000. The adapter 32 has a counterbore 34 corresponding to the shape of the pin fins 14. The adapter 32 is attached to the pin fins 14 on the side surface of the flow path 1000 such that at least a portion of the pin fins 14 fits into the counterbore 34.

[0047] This configuration allows for easy attachment to existing cooling structures (pin fins 14) and improves the cooling effect. Furthermore, the presence of the counterbore 34 facilitates the positioning of the adapter 32 relative to the pin fins 14 and within the refrigerant flow path.

[0048] Furthermore, the same effect can be achieved even if other configurations exemplified in this specification are appropriately added to the above configuration, that is, if other configurations in this specification that are not mentioned as the above configuration are appropriately added.

[0049] Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, when attached to the pin fin 14, the adapter 32 has the same height as the pin fin 14. With this configuration, the height positioning of the adapter 32 can be easily performed with respect to the pin fin 14.

[0050] Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, when attached to the pin fin 14, it is positioned to cover the side wall of the flow path 1000 at the location where the semiconductor element 12 is placed. With this configuration, the pressure loss of the refrigerant caused by the sudden narrowing of the refrigerant flow path 1000 can be reduced.

[0051] Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, the semiconductor cooling device comprises a semiconductor module 10 on which the semiconductor element 12 is mounted, and a jacket 20 for cooling the semiconductor element 12. Here, the semiconductor module 10 comprises pin fins 14 provided on the lower surface that overlaps with the semiconductor element 12 in a plan view, and an adapter 32 that can be attached to the pin fins 14. The jacket 20 comprises a coolant flow path 1000 for cooling the semiconductor element 12, and an opening 1002 provided to access the flow path 1000. The semiconductor module 10 inserts the pin fins 14 into the flow path 1000 through the opening 1002. The adapter 32 has a counterbore 34 corresponding to the shape of the pin fins 14. The adapter 32 is fixed to the flow path 1000 by being attached to the pin fins 14 on the side surface of the flow path 1000 such that at least a part of the pin fins 14 fits into the counterbore 34.

[0052] With this configuration, attaching the adapter 32 to the pin fins 14 suppresses an increase in the flow rate of the refrigerant on the side wall side of the flow path 1000, thereby improving the cooling effect. Furthermore, the presence of the counterbore 34 makes it easy to position the adapter 32 relative to the pin fins 14 and within the refrigerant flow path.

[0053] Furthermore, according to the embodiments described above, the semiconductor module 10 inserts the pin fins 14 into the flow path 1000 through the opening 1002 with the adapter 32 attached to the pin fins 14. With this configuration, the adapter 32 can be positioned in relation to the pin fins 14, and the semiconductor module 10 and the jacket 20 can be combined to position the adapter 32.

[0054] <Modifications of the embodiments described above> In the embodiments described above, the material, dimensions, shape, relative arrangement, or implementation conditions of each component may also be described, but these are all examples and not limiting.

[0055] Therefore, countless variations and equivalents not shown are envisioned within the scope of the art disclosed in this specification. For example, these include modifications, additions, or omissions of at least one component.

[0056] Furthermore, in at least one embodiment described above, if a material name or the like is mentioned without further specification, it is assumed that the material includes other additives, such as an alloy, unless otherwise specified, to avoid any inconsistencies.

[0057] Furthermore, unless contradictory, when it is stated that "one" component is provided in the embodiments described above, "one or more" such components may be provided.

[0058] Furthermore, each component in the embodiments described above is a conceptual unit, and the scope of the technology disclosed in this specification includes cases where one component consists of multiple structures, where one component corresponds to a part of a structure, and where multiple components are provided in a single structure.

[0059] Furthermore, each component in the embodiments described above shall include structures having other structures or shapes, as long as they perform the same function.

[0060] Furthermore, the descriptions in this specification are referenced for all purposes related to the present technology and are not considered to be prior art. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 10 semiconductor module, 12 semiconductor element, 14 pin fin, 16 screw through hole, 18 screw, 20 jacket, 22 O-ring insertion groove, 24 O-ring, 26 screw hole, 28 refrigerant inlet, 30 refrigerant outlet, 32 adapter, 34 counterbore, 1000 flow path, 1002 opening, D thickness, T height.

Claims

[Claim 1] A semiconductor module on which semiconductor elements are mounted, A jacket for cooling the aforementioned semiconductor element is provided. The aforementioned semiconductor module A pin fin is provided on the lower surface that overlaps with the semiconductor element in a plan view, The system includes an adapter that can be attached to the aforementioned pin fins, The aforementioned jacket, A flow path for a refrigerant to cool the semiconductor element, It comprises an opening provided to allow access to the aforementioned flow path, The adapter has a recess corresponding to the shape of the pin fin, With the adapter mounted such that at least a portion of the pin fin fits into the recess of the adapter, the adapter is fixed to the side of the flow path by inserting the pin fin into the flow path through the opening. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor cooling device.

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