DE102022209564A1 - POWER MODULE AND METHODS OF MOUNTING A POWER MODULE - Google Patents

Abstract

A power module (20) is provided. The power module (20) comprises: a carrier (22); at least one semiconductor chip (24, 26) mounted on the carrier (22), the semiconductor chip (24, 26) having at least one electrical contact (50, 52, 54) of the semiconductor chip (24, 26) on a side facing away from the carrier (22). side of the semiconductor chip (24, 26); a driver board (40), which is arranged above the carrier (22) and the semiconductor chip (24, 26) and has a first side facing away from the carrier (22) and a second side facing the carrier (22), at least one electronic Component (44, 46) for driving the semiconductor chip (24, 26), wherein the electronic component (44, 46) is mounted on the first side of the driver board (40); at least one driver board (40) electrical contact (42) on the second side of the driver board (40), the driver board (40) electrical contact (42) being electrically coupled to the electronic component (44, 46); and at least one adapter PCB (35) which is arranged between the semiconductor chip (24, 26) and the driver board (40) and has at least one chip-side contact (36) and at least one driver-side contact (38), the chip-side contact ( 36) facing the semiconductor chip (24, 26) and electrically coupled to the electrical contact (50, 52, 54) of the semiconductor chip (24, 26), the driver-side contact (38) facing the driver board (40) and electrically is coupled to the electrical contact (42) of the driver board (40), and wherein the die-side contact (36) is electrically coupled to the driver-side contact (38).

Description

The invention relates to a power module and a method for assembling the power module.

A conventional power module may include a carrier, at least one semiconductor chip mounted on the carrier, and a driver board. The carrier may comprise a DBC substrate (DBC - direct bonded copper) or an IMS (IMS - insulated metal substrate). The driver board can be configured for electrically contacting and/or controlling the semiconductor chip mounted on the carrier. The semiconductor chip can be configured as a high-speed switching device. The semiconductor chip can be configured as a high-performance semiconductor device. The power module can include two or more semiconductor chips.

In a conventional power module structure, the semiconductor chips mounted on the carrier may be in electrical contact with other semiconductor chips mounted on the carrier or directly with the carrier via one or more corresponding bonding wires. The driver board may be electrically and/or mechanically coupled to the carrier via one or more electrically conductive pins. However, the bonding wires as well as the pins can induce a large inductance in the power module. This large inductance can affect the semiconductor chips and/or functions of the semiconductor chips, particularly when the semiconductor chips are semiconductor chips, e.g. g. based on SiC, GaN or GaO, and/or if the semiconductor chips comprise one or more switching devices, e.g. B. high-speed switching devices form.

Alternatively, the driver board can also be coupled directly to the semiconductor chips without pins or bond wires. This can reduce inductance, but it can also introduce new problems. For example, the electrical contacts of the semiconductor chips for soldering the driver board to the semiconductor chips can be too close together, which can result in short circuits. In addition, the tolerance of the position of the semiconductor chip on the carrier can be severely limited. In addition, the thermal expansion coefficient of the semiconductor chips can be very different from the thermal expansion coefficient of the driver board. This can cause the solder connecting the driver board to the semiconductor chips to crack when the temperature of the power module changes.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a power module comprising at least one semiconductor chip on a carrier coupled to a driver board, wherein a coupling between the semiconductor chip, the carrier and/or the driver board induces only a small inductance, the power module being simple and can be assembled inexpensively and/or wherein the power module enables high performance of the semiconductor chip.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for assembling a power module comprising at least one semiconductor chip on a carrier coupled to a driver board, the method contributing to a coupling between the semiconductor chip, the carrier and/or the driver board only a small inductance is induced, and/or that the power module enables high performance of the semiconductor chip, and/or the method can be carried out simply and/or inexpensively.

The objects are solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are set out in the dependent claims.

One aspect relates to a power module. The power module includes: a carrier; at least one semiconductor chip mounted on the carrier, the semiconductor chip having at least one electrical contact of the semiconductor chip on a side of the semiconductor chip remote from the carrier; a driver board disposed over the carrier and the semiconductor chip and having a first side remote from the carrier and a second side facing the carrier; at least one electronic component for driving the semiconductor chip, the electronic component being mounted on the first side of the driver board; at least one driver board electrical contact on the second side of the driver board, the driver board electrical contact being electrically coupled to the electronic component; and at least one adapter PCB disposed between the semiconductor die and the driver board and having at least one die-side contact and at least one driver-side contact, the die-side contact facing the semiconductor die and electrically coupled to the electrical contact of the semiconductor die, the driver-side contact facing the driver board and electrically coupled to the electrical contact of the driver board, and wherein the die-side contact is electrically coupled to the driver-side contact.

The semiconductor chip is coupled to the driver board via the adapter PCB and in particular through the electrical contacts of the adapter PCB. The coupling of the semiconductor chip with the driver board via the adapter PCB induces only a small inductance. Thus, the semiconductor chip can be operated with high efficiency. This can contribute to high performance of the power module.

By providing die-side contacts that face and touch the semiconductor chip and driver-side contacts that face and touch the driver board, with the chip-side contacts being electrically coupled to the driver-side contacts, the design and quantity of the electrical contacts of the Driver boards are decoupled from the design and quantity of the semiconductor chip. In particular, there can be more electrical contacts of the semiconductor chips than corresponding electrical contacts of the driver board, with the difference being able to be compensated for by the adapter PCB, in particular by the number of chip-side contacts and by the number of driver-side contacts. Furthermore, it may happen that the positions of the electrical contacts of the driver board do not correspond to the positions of the corresponding electrical contacts of the driver board, the deviation being compensated for by the adapter PCB, in particular by the positions of the chip-side contacts and by the positions of the driver-side contacts can be. Furthermore, the distances between different driver-side contacts can be greater than the distances between the corresponding electrical contacts of the semiconductor chips, so that the driver-side contacts can be contacted more easily and with less risk of short circuits than the electrical contacts of the semiconductor chips. Furthermore, there can be a very high tolerance for the position of the semiconductor chip on the carrier, since the adapter PCB can help to compensate for corresponding deviations. This contributes to the fact that the power module can be installed easily and inexpensively.

The carrier may comprise an electrically conductive first layer, an electrically insulating second layer under the first layer, and an electrically conductive third layer under the second layer. The carrier may comprise a DBC substrate (DBC - direct bonded copper) or an IMS (IMS - insulated metal substrate). The carrier may be provided for supporting and cooling the semiconductor chip. In this context, the carrier can be referred to as a heat sink.

The semiconductor chip can be arranged on the first layer of the carrier. The semiconductor chip can include SiC, GaN or GaO. The power module may include two or more corresponding semiconductor chips. One or more of the semiconductor chips includes two or more electrical contacts per semiconductor chip. For example, one or more semiconductor chips include one or more gate contacts, one or more source contacts, one or more drain contacts, and/or one or more substrate contacts, wherein one or more of these contacts may be arranged to Adapter PCB facing.

The adapter PCB may be a printed circuit board (PCB). The adapter PCB may include one die-side contact per electrical contact of the semiconductor die to the adapter PCB and one driver-side contact per electrical contact of the driver board to the adapter PCB. There may be more chip side contacts than driver side contacts. The driver-side contacts may be electrically coupled to the chip-side contacts by one or more electrically conductive vias that extend through the adapter PCB.

The driver board can be a circuit board. The driver board may include one or more electrical leads that couple the electrical contacts of the driver board to one or more connectors for coupling the power module to an external device and/or to the electronic component of the driver board. The driver board may include more than one electronic component. The electronic components can be configured to drive the semiconductor chips. The electronic components can include active electronic components and/or passive electronic components. The passive electronic components may include one or more resistors, one or more capacitors, and/or one or more conductors. The active electronic components can comprise one or more chips and/or one or more transistors.

According to one embodiment, the chip-side contact is coupled directly to the electrical contact of the semiconductor chip. In this context, the fact that the chip-side contact is “directly” coupled to the electrical contact of the semiconductor chip can mean that there is direct physical contact between the chip-side contact and the electrical contact of the semiconductor chip. In other words, the die-side contact can physically touch the electrical contact of the semiconductor die. Alternatively, "directly" in this context means that only one layer, e.g. B. a thin layer of an adhesive or solder for electrical and mechanical coupling of the chip-side contact can be arranged with the electrical contact of the semiconductor chip.

According to one embodiment, the driver-side contact is directly coupled to the electrical contact of the driver board. In this context, the fact that the driver-side contact is “directly” coupled to the electrical contact of the driver board can mean that there is direct physical contact between the driver-side contact and the electrical contact of the driver board. In other words, the driver side contact can physically touch the driver board electrical contact. Alternatively, "directly" in this context can mean that only one layer, e.g. B. a thin layer of an adhesive or solder for electrical and mechanical coupling of the driver-side contact can be arranged with the electrical contact of the driver board.

According to one embodiment, the semiconductor chip comprises more than one electrical contact of the semiconductor chip on the side of the semiconductor chip facing away from the carrier; the adapter PCB correspondingly comprises more than one chip-side contact for contacting the electrical contacts of the semiconductor chip; and at least two of the die-side contacts are electrically coupled to one of the driver-side contacts of the adapter PCB. The die-side contacts can be arranged directly over the corresponding electrical contacts of the semiconductor chips, while the positions of the driver-side contacts can be decoupled from the positions of the die-side contacts. The coupling of more than one chip-side contact to one driver-side contact can reduce the number of electrical contacts, i. H. of the driver-side contacts that have to be contacted by the driver board. In particular, there may be more electrical contacts of the semiconductor chips and corresponding chip-side contacts than driver-side contacts and corresponding electrical contacts of the driver board. For example, two or more source contacts of one of the semiconductor chips may be coupled to the corresponding two or more die-side contacts, and these chip-side contacts may be coupled to only one driver-side contact. All of these source contacts of the corresponding semiconductor chip can thus be electrically coupled to an electrical contact of the driver board by the corresponding one driver-side contact of the adapter PCB. The same principle can be used for two or more drain contacts, two or more gate contacts and/or two or more substrate contacts of the semiconductor chips.

According to one embodiment, the power module comprises two or more semiconductor chips mounted on the carrier, the semiconductor chips each comprising at least one electrical contact of the corresponding semiconductor chip on a side of the corresponding semiconductor chip facing away from the carrier, the adapter PCB comprising at least one chip-side contact per semiconductor chip and wherein the chip-side contacts are electrically coupled to the corresponding semiconductor chips. Thus, an adapter PCB can be configured to electrically couple more than one semiconductor die to the driver board. The chip-side contacts for coupling electrical contacts of different semiconductor chips can be electrically coupled to the same driver-side contact or to correspondingly different driver-side contacts.

According to one embodiment, the power module comprises three or more semiconductor chips mounted on the carrier and two or more adapter PCBs, wherein at least two of the semiconductor chips are coupled to the driver board via one of the adapter PCBs and at least one of the other semiconductor chips is coupled to the driver board via another of the adapter PCBs coupled to the driver board. Thus, two or more of the semiconductor chips may be grouped by coupling to the driver board through the same adapter PCB, while other of the semiconductor chips may be grouped by coupling to the driver board through a different adapter PCB.

According to one embodiment, the thickness of the adapter PCB is in a range between 50 μm and 300 μm, e.g. B. between 100 microns and 200 microns. So the adapter PCB is very thin. This contributes to the fact that a size, in particular a thickness, of the electrically conductive vias of the adapter PCB and/or of the electrical contacts of the adapter PCB, d. H. the driver-side contacts and the chip-side contacts, is very small. This contributes to the fact that a change in the temperature of the adapter PCB has little influence on the size, in particular the thickness, of the electrically conductive vias of the adapter PCB and/or the electrical contacts of the adapter PCB. This helps to ensure that a difference between the CTEs of the semiconductor chips and the adapter PCB has only a small influence and cannot lead to breakage when the temperature changes.

In accordance with one embodiment, the semiconductor chip or at least one further semiconductor chip in the chip arrangement is a high-performance semiconductor chip. The high power semiconductor chip may be configured to handle high voltages, for example greater than 100V, and/or high currents, for example greater than 10A.

Features, embodiments and/or advantages relating to the above power module can also be features, embodiments or advantages of a method for assembling the power processing module, which is explained below.

Another aspect relates to the method of assembling the power module, the method comprising: providing the above support; mounting at least one of the above semiconductor chips on the carrier; mounting at least one of the above adapter PCBs on the corresponding semiconductor chip(s); and mounting the above driver board on the adapter PCB(s).

Another aspect relates to the method for assembling the power module, the method comprising: providing at least one of the above semiconductor chips; mounting at least one of the above adapter PCBs on the semiconductor chip(s); mounting the semiconductor chip(s) with the adapter PCB on the above carrier; and mounting the above driver board on the adapter PCB.

• 1 zeigt eine Seitenschnittansicht eines Ausführungsbeispiels eines Leistungsmoduls.
• 2 zeigt eine Draufsicht eines Beispiels eines Halbleiterchips des Leistungsmoduls von 1.
• 3 zeigt eine Unteransicht eines Ausführungsbeispiels einer Adapter-PCB des Leistungsmoduls von 1.
• 4 zeigt eine Draufsicht der Adapter-PCB von 3.
• 5 zeigt eine Seitenschnittansicht eines Ausführungsbeispiels eines Leistungsmoduls.
• 6 zeigt eine Seitenschnittansicht eines Ausführungsbeispiels eines Leistungsmoduls.
• 7 zeigt ein Flussdiagramm eines Ausführungsbeispiels eines Verfahrens zum Montieren des Leistungsmoduls.
• 8 zeigt ein Flussdiagramm eines Ausführungsbeispiels eines Verfahrens zum Montieren des Leistungsmoduls.

These and other aspects of the invention will be appreciated and explained with reference to the embodiments described below. In the following, embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail with reference to the attached figures.

• 1 12 shows a side sectional view of an embodiment of a power module.
• 2 FIG. 12 shows a plan view of an example of a semiconductor chip of the power module of FIG 1 .
• 3 FIG. 12 shows a bottom view of an embodiment of an adapter PCB of the power module of FIG 1 .
• 4 FIG. 12 shows a plan view of the adapter PCB of FIG 3 .
• 5 12 shows a side sectional view of an embodiment of a power module.
• 6 12 shows a side sectional view of an embodiment of a power module.
• 7 FIG. 12 shows a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for assembling the power module.
• 8th FIG. 12 shows a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for assembling the power module.

The reference symbols used in the drawings and their meanings are summarized in the following list of reference symbols. In principle, identical parts are provided with the same reference symbols in the figures.

1 shows a side sectional view of an embodiment of a power module 20. The power module 20 comprises a carrier 22, at least one semiconductor chip, z. B. a first semiconductor chip 24 and a second semiconductor chip 26, which are arranged on the carrier 22, a driver board 40, one or more electronic components on the driver board 40, z. B. a first electronic component 44 and a second electronic component 46, and at least one, z. B. two adapter PCBs (PCB - printed circuit boards, printed circuit boards) 35, which electrically and mechanically couple the semiconductor chips 24, 26 to the driver board 40, in particular to the electronic components 44, 46 on the driver board 40. The power module 20 can provide one or more half-bridges that can be used in an inverter and/or a rectifier.

The carrier 22 may include an electrically conductive first layer 30 , an electrically insulating second layer 32 under the first layer 30 , and an electrically conductive third layer 34 under the second layer 32 . The first, second and/or third layers 30, 32, 34 can be parallel to each other. The first and second layers 30, 32 may completely overlap, with outer edges of the layers 30, 32, 34 being flush with one another. The first layer 30 can consist of several sections (not shown) that are spatially and electrically separated from one another and/or electrically isolated from one another, wherein different semiconductor chips can be arranged on different sections. The first and/or third layer 30, 34 may include or be made of copper and/or aluminum. The second layer 32 may include a dielectric material. The carrier 22 can be a DBC substrate (DBC - direct bonded copper) or an IMS (IMS - insulated metal substrate).

At least one of the semiconductor chips 24, 26 of the power module 20 can be a high-power semiconductor chip. The high power semiconductor chip may be configured to handle high voltages, for example greater than 100V, and/or high currents, for example greater than 10A. The semiconductor chip can include SiC, GaN or GaO.

The electronic components 44,46 can be configured to drive the semiconductor chips 24,26. The electronic components 44, 46 can include active electronic components and/or passive electronic components. The passive electronic components may include one or more resistors, one or more capacitors, and/or one or more conductors. The active electronic components can have one or include multiple chips and / or one or more transistors. The electronic components 44, 46 can be arranged on a first side of the driver board 40, with the first side facing away from the adapter PCB 35.

The driver board 40 may be a printed circuit board (PCB). Driver board 40 may include one or more electrical leads (not shown), e.g. B. vias, which are embedded in the driver board 40 or printed on it. Driver board 40 may include one or more driver board 40 electrical contacts 42 on a second side of driver board 40 , where the second side of driver board 40 faces adapter PCB 35 . The electrical contacts 42 can be provided to couple the electronic components 44 , 46 to the semiconductor chips 24 , 26 via the adapter PCB 35 .

Optionally, driver board 40 may include one or more connectors (not shown) for coupling power module 22 to one or more external devices (not shown), e.g. B. with a control device for controlling the power module 20 and / or powered by the power module 20 with a load, z. B. an electric motor or actuator, and / or with an energy source such. B. the power grid or a generator include.

The adapter PCB 35 is arranged between the semiconductor chips 24, 26 and the driver board 40. FIG. The adapter PCB 35 may be a PCB (printed circuit board). The adapter PCB 35 includes at least one chip-side contact 36 and at least one driver-side contact 38. For example, the adapter PCB 35 includes a chip-side contact 36 per electrical contact of the semiconductor chip 24, 26 and a driver-side contact 38 per electrical contact of the driver board 40. The Die-side contacts 36 face the semiconductor chips 24,26 and are electrically coupled to the corresponding electrical contacts of the respective semiconductor chips 24,26. The driver-side contacts 38 face the driver board 40 and are electrically coupled to the corresponding electrical contacts 42 of the driver board 40 . There may be more chip-side contacts 36 than driver-side contacts 38 . The driver-side contacts 38 may be electrically coupled to the corresponding one of the die-side contacts 36 through one or more electrically conductive vias that extend through the adapter PCB 35, as discussed further below.

The die-side contacts 36 can be electrically coupled directly to the corresponding electrical contacts of the corresponding semiconductor chips 24,26. In this context, the fact that the chip-side contacts 36 can be "directly" coupled to the corresponding electrical contacts of the corresponding semiconductor chips 24, 26 can mean that a direct physical contact between the chip-side contacts 36 and the corresponding electrical contacts of the corresponding semiconductor chips 24, 26 can exist. In other words, the chip-side contacts 36 can physically touch the corresponding electrical contacts of the corresponding semiconductor chips 24,26. Alternatively, “directly” in this context means that only one layer, e.g. B. a thin layer of an adhesive or solder (not shown) for electrically and mechanically coupling the chip-side contacts 36 with the corresponding electrical contacts of the corresponding semiconductor chips 24, 26 can be arranged.

The driver-side contacts 38 may couple directly to the corresponding electrical contacts 42 of the driver board 40 . In this context, that the driver-side contacts 38 may be coupled “directly” to the corresponding electrical contacts 42 of the driver board 40 may mean that there is direct physical contact between the driver-side contacts 38 and the corresponding electrical contacts 42 of the driver board 40 . In other words, the driver-side contacts 38 can physically touch the corresponding electrical contacts 42 of the driver board 40 . Alternatively, "directly" in this context means that only one layer, e.g. B. a thin layer of an adhesive or solder (not shown) for electrically and mechanically coupling the driver-side contacts 38 with the corresponding electrical contacts 42 of the driver board 40 can be arranged.

The thickness of the adapter PCB 35 can be in a range between 50 μm and 300 μm, e.g. B. between 100 microns and 200 microns. Thus, the adapter PCB 35 can be very thin. Therefore, a size, in particular a thickness of the electrically conductive vias of the adapter PCB 35 and/or the electrical contacts 36, 38 of the adapter PCB 35, i. H. the driver-side contacts 36 and the chip-side contacts 38, can also be very low.

2 FIG. 12 shows a plan view of an example of one of the semiconductor chips 24, 26 of the power module 20 of FIG 1 . Out of 2 it can be seen that the semiconductor chips 24, 26 each have more than one electrical contact of the corresponding semiconductor chip 24, 26 on a side facing away from the carrier 22 of the corresponding semiconductor chip 24, 26 may include. For example, the semiconductor chips 24, 26 each have one or more gate contacts 50, one or more source contacts 52, one or more drain contacts 54 and one or more substrate contacts 65 on a side facing the adapter PCB 35 of the corresponding one Semiconductor chips 24, 26 include. In particular, the semiconductor chips 24, 26 can each include a gate contact 50, a plurality of source contacts 52, a plurality of drain contacts 54 and a substrate contact 65 on the side of the corresponding semiconductor chip 24, 26 facing the adapter PCB 35.

3 FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of one embodiment of the adapter PCB 35 of the power module 20 of FIG 1 . The adapter PCB 35 comprises a number of chip-side contacts 36 which face the semiconductor chips 24,26 and correspond to a number of electrical contacts 50,52,54,56 of the semiconductor chips 24,26. The chip-side contacts 36 can be arranged directly over the corresponding electrical contacts 50, 52, 54, 56 of the semiconductor chips 24, 26. Specifically, die-side contacts 36 may include a gate die-side contact 60 over gate contact 50, a plurality of source die-side contacts 62 over corresponding source contacts 52, a plurality of drain die-side contacts 64 over corresponding drain contacts 54, and a die-side substrate -Contact 64 over substrate contact 56 include. Die-side gate contact 60 may be coupled to gate contact 50, die-side source contacts 62 may be coupled to corresponding source contacts 52, chip-side drain contacts 64 may be coupled to corresponding drain contacts 54, and die-side substrate contact 64 may be coupled to substrate contact 56 .

4 12 shows a plan view of the adapter PCB 35 of FIG 3 . Out of 4 it can be seen that the adapter PCB 35 may include more chip-side contacts 36 than driver-side contacts 38 . For example, at least two of the die-side contacts 36 can be electrically coupled to one of the driver-side contacts 38 . For example, all of the chip-side source contacts 62 for one of the semiconductor chips 24, 26 may be coupled to a driver-side source contact 72 of the driver-side contacts 38. Alternatively, a subset of the die-side source contacts 62 for one of the semiconductor dies 24, 26 may be coupled to a driver-side source contact 72 of the driver-side contacts 38. Alternatively or additionally, all chip-side drain contacts 64 for one of the semiconductor chips 24, 26 can be coupled to a driver-side drain contact 74 of the driver-side contacts 38. Alternatively, a subset of the chip-side drain contacts 64 for one of the semiconductor chips 24, 26 may be coupled to a driver-side drain contact 74 of the driver-side contacts 38. The driver side contacts 38 may be arranged such that the electrical contacts 42 of the driver board 40 may be directly over the corresponding driver side contacts 38 . Thus, three electrical contacts 42 of the driver board 40, the three driver-side contacts 38, 70, 72, 74 in 4 Contact adapter PCB 35 shown. There can therefore be more electrical contacts 50, 52, 54, 56 of the semiconductor chips 24, 26 and corresponding chip-side contacts 36 than driver-side contacts 38 and corresponding electrical contacts 42 of the driver board 40.

5 12 shows a side sectional view of an embodiment of a power module 20. The power module 20 may largely correspond to the power module 20 above. In order to avoid unnecessary repetitions, therefore, only the features of the power module 20 are explained below, in which the power module of 5 differs from the power module 20 above.

Out of 5 It can be seen that one of the adapter PCBs 35 can be configured for electrically coupling more than one of the semiconductor chips 24, 26 to the driver board 40. In particular, the chip-side contacts 36 for coupling the electrical contacts 50, 52, 54, 56 of the different semiconductor chips 24, 26 can be arranged on the same adapter PCB 35. The chip-side contacts 36 for coupling the electrical contacts 50, 52, 54, 56 of the different semiconductor chips 24, 26 can be electrically coupled to the same driver-side contact 38 or to correspondingly different driver-side contacts 38. For example, the die-side source contacts 62 or die-side drain contacts 64 for different semiconductor dies 24, 26 may be electrically coupled to the same driver-side source contact 72 or to the same driver-side drain contact 74, respectively. Alternatively, the die-side source contacts 62 or die-side drain contacts 64 for different semiconductor dies 24, 26 may be electrically coupled to the same driver-side contact 38.

Optionally, the power module 20 may include three or more semiconductor chips 24, 26 (not shown) mounted on the carrier 22 and two or more adapter PCBs 35. At least two of the semiconductor chips 24, 26 can be coupled to the driver board 40 via one of the adapter PCBs 35 and at least one of the other semiconductor chips 24, 26 can be coupled via another of the adapter PCBs 35 may be coupled to driver board 40 . Thus, two or more of the semiconductor chips 24, 26 may be grouped by coupling to the driver board 40 through the same adapter PCB 35, while other of the semiconductor chips 24, 26 may be grouped by coupling to the driver board 40 through another one of the adapter PCBs 35.

6 12 shows a side sectional view of an embodiment of a power module 20. The power module 20 may largely correspond to the power module 20. FIG 1 are equivalent to. In order to avoid unnecessary repetitions, therefore, only the features of the power module 20 are explained below, in which the power module of 6 from the power module 20 of 1 differs. The power module 20 may include one or more pin connectors 80 . The pin connectors 80 may be configured to electrically couple one or more of the driver-side contacts 38 of the adapter PCB 35 to one or more of the electronic components 44, 46 on the driver board 40. The pin connectors 80 can be arranged at least partially in corresponding continuous recesses of the driver circuit board 40 and/or extend through it. The pin connectors 80 can aid in proper and/or accurate positioning and attachment of the driver board 40 on the adapter PCB 35 .

7 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for assembling the power module, z. B. one of the above power modules 20.

In a step S2, a carrier, e.g. B. the above carrier 22 provided.

In a step S4, at least one semiconductor chip on the carrier, z. B. the semiconductor chips 24, 26 on the carrier 22 mounted.

In a step S6, an adapter PCB, e.g. B. one of the above adapter PCBs 35, are arranged on the semiconductor chips 24, 26, in particular so that the chip-side contacts 36 are coupled to the corresponding electrical contacts 50, 52, 54, 56 of the corresponding semiconductor chips 24, 26. The die-side contacts 36 can be coupled to the corresponding electrical contacts 50, 52, 54, 56 of the corresponding semiconductor chips 24, 26 by solder or an electrically conductive adhesive.

In a step S8, a driver board is placed on an adapter PCB, e.g. B. the above driver board 40 is placed on the above adapter PCB 35, specifically so that the driver-side contacts 38 are coupled to the corresponding electrical contacts 42 of the driver board 40. The driver-side contacts 38 can be coupled to the corresponding electrical contacts 52 of the driver board 40 by solder or an electrically conductive adhesive.

8th shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for assembling the power module, z. B. one of the above power modules 20.

In a step S10, at least one, preferably two or more, semiconductor chips 24, 26, z. B. one or more of the above semiconductor chips 24, 26 provided.

In a step S12, at least one adapter PCB is mounted on the semiconductor chips, e.g. B. one of the above adapter PCBs 35, on one or more of the above semiconductor chips 24, 26 mounted. The adapter PCBs 35 can be arranged on the semiconductor chips 24, 26 such that the chip-side contacts 36 are coupled to the corresponding electrical contacts 50, 52, 54, 56 of the corresponding semiconductor chips 24, 26. The die-side contacts 36 can be coupled to the corresponding electrical contacts 50, 52, 54, 56 of the corresponding semiconductor chips 24, 26 by solder or an electrically conductive adhesive.

In a step S14, the semiconductor chip(s) 24, 26 with the adapter PCB(s) 35 are mounted on a carrier, e.g. B. the above carrier 22 mounted.

In a step S16, a driver board is placed on an adapter PCB, e.g. B. the above driver board 40 is placed on the above adapter PCB 35, specifically so that the driver-side contacts 38 are coupled to the corresponding electrical contacts 42 of the driver board 40. The driver-side contacts 38 can be coupled to the corresponding electrical contacts 52 of the driver board 40 by solder or an electrically conductive adhesive.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, more or fewer semiconductor chips 24, 26 and/or adapter PCBs 35 may be present. Further, the semiconductor chips 24, 26 may include more or fewer electrical contacts 50, 52, 54, 56 facing the adapter PCB 35, and the adapter PCB 35 may include more or fewer corresponding die-side contacts 36 accordingly. Further, the adapter PCB 35 may include more or fewer driver side contacts 38 facing the driver board 40 and the driver board 40 may include more or fewer electrical contacts 42 of the driver board 40 accordingly. Furthermore, any number of semiconductor chips 24, 26 via one of the adapter PCBs 35 with be coupled to the driver board 40 . Furthermore, any number of adapter PCBs 35 for coupling the semiconductor chips 24, 26 to the driver board 40 can be used. Furthermore, any number of die-side contacts 36 may be coupled to any number of driver-side contacts 38 . In this context, “any” can mean “as suitable for the desired application”, “as suitable for the corresponding semiconductor chips 24, 26” and/or “as suitable for the corresponding driver board 40”.

While the invention has been shown and described in detail in the drawings and in the foregoing description, such representation and description are to be regarded as illustrative or exemplary and not in a restrictive manner; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. A study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims may recognize and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments by those skilled in the art when practicing the claimed invention. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a/an" does not exclude a plural. A single processor or controller or unit can perform the functions of several elements recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in different dependent claims does not mean that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

Reference List

20

power module

22

carrier

24

first semiconductor chip

26

second semiconductor chip

30

first layer

32

second layer

34

third layer

35

Adapter PCB

36

chip-side contact

38

driver-side contact

40

driver board

42

electrical contact of the driver board

44

first electronic component

46

second electronic component

50

gate contact

52

source contact

54

drain contact

56

substrate contact

60

chip-side gate contact

62

chip-side source contact

64

chip-side drain contact

64

chip-side substrate contact

70

driver-side gate contact

72

driver-side source contact

74

driver-side drain contact

80

pin connector

S2-S12

Steps two through twelve

Claims (10)

A power module (20) comprising: a carrier (22); at least one semiconductor chip (24, 26) mounted on the carrier (22), the semiconductor chip (24, 26) having at least one electrical contact (50, 52, 54) of the semiconductor chip (24, 26) on a side facing away from the carrier (22). side of the semiconductor chip (24, 26); a driver board (40) disposed over the carrier (22) and the semiconductor chip (24, 26) and having a first side remote from the carrier (22) and a second side facing the carrier (22); at least one electronic component (44, 46) for driving the semiconductor chip (24, 26), the electronic component (44, 46) being mounted on the first side of the driver board (40); at least one driver board (40) electrical contact (42) on the second side of the driver board (40), the driver board (40) electrical contact (42) being electrically coupled to the electronic component (44, 46); and at least one adapter PCB (35) which is arranged between the semiconductor chip (24, 26) and the driver board (40) and which comprises at least one chip-side contact (36) and at least one driver-side contact (38), the chip-side Contact (36) faces the semiconductor chip (24, 26) and is electrically coupled to the electrical contact (50, 52, 54) of the semiconductor chip (24, 26), the driver-side contact (38) facing the driver board (40). and is electrically coupled to the electrical contact (42) of the driver board (40), and wherein the die-side contact (36) is electrically coupled to the driver-side contact (38). Power module (20) after claim 1 , wherein the chip-side contact (36) is coupled directly to the electrical contact (50, 52, 54) of the semiconductor chip (24, 26). The power module (20) of any preceding claim, wherein the driver side contact (38) couples directly to the electrical contact (42) of the driver board (40). Power module (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the semiconductor chip (24, 26) comprises more than one electrical contact (50, 52, 54) of the semiconductor chip (24, 26) on the side of the semiconductor chip (24, 26) remote from the carrier (22); the adapter PCB (35) correspondingly comprises more than one chip-side contact (36) for contacting the electrical contacts (50, 52, 54) of the semiconductor chip (24, 26); and at least two of the chip-side contacts (36) are electrically coupled to one of the driver-side contacts (38) of the adapter PCB (35). Power module (20) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising two or more semiconductor chips (24, 26) mounted on the carrier (22), the semiconductor chips (24, 26) each having at least one electrical contact (50, 52, 54) of the corresponding one Semiconductor chips (24, 26) on a side of the corresponding semiconductor chip (24, 26) facing away from the carrier (22), wherein the adapter PCB (35) comprises at least one chip-side contact (36) per semiconductor chip (24, 26) and wherein the die-side contacts (36) are electrically coupled to the corresponding semiconductor chips (24, 26). Power module (20) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising three or more on the carrier (22) mounted semiconductor chips (24, 26); and two or more adapter PCBs (35); at least two of the semiconductor chips (24, 26) being coupled to the driver board (40) via one of the adapter PCBs (35) and at least one of the other semiconductor chips (24, 26) being coupled to the Driver board (40) is coupled. Power module (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a thickness of the adapter PCB (35) is in a range between 50 µm and 300 µm, e.g. B. between 100 microns and 200 microns. Power module (20) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the semiconductor chip (24, 26) or the at least one further semiconductor chip (24, 26) is a high-power semiconductor chip. A method of assembling a power module (20), the method comprising: providing a carrier (22) according to any one of the preceding claims; Mounting at least one semiconductor chip (24, 26) according to any one of the preceding claims on the carrier (22); Mounting at least one adapter PCB (35) according to any one of the preceding claims on the semiconductor chip (24, 26); mounting at least one driver board (40) according to any one of the preceding claims on the adapter PCB (35); A method of assembling a power module (20), the method comprising: providing at least one semiconductor chip (24, 26) according to any preceding Claims 1 until 8th ; Mount at least one adapter PCB (35) according to one of Claims 1 until 8th on the semiconductor chip (24, 26); Mounting the semiconductor chip (24, 26) with the adapter PCB (35) on a carrier (22) according to one of Claims 1 until 8th ; and assembling a driver board (40) according to any one of Claims 1 until 8th on the adapter PCB (35);

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