SKAI Technology – Compact vehicle power electronics systems
Roland Mühlemann, Paul Newman
SEMIKRON Automotive Systems GmbH & Co. KG, Sigmundstrasse 200, D-90431 Nürnberg, Germany
Abstract: Users of power control equipment have development of optimum system architecture, to
used third-party systems for many years, because electrical, thermal and mechanical simulations, end
they offer the benefits of reduced development qualification and complete-system series production.
costs, shorter time to market and ease of meeting The analysis of different vehicle markets shows a
qualification standards. As specifications have broad range of required voltage and power levels to
become more demanding, it has become necessary be covered by the traction inverter systems. Figure 1
to use higher levels of integration, with a much classifies the power requirements as a function of
tighter control of all the elements in the system. the available DC battery voltage, which is mainly
To meet these requirements for the broad defined by the used energy storage technology.
automotive electronics market – ranging from fork-lift From the graph below it can be seen that the
trucks, to hybrid and electric vehicles, to large different voltage and power requirements can be
agricultural and construction vehicles – SEMIKRON covered with only two inverter product families.
has developed a series of complete power
electronics systems, which are marketed under the
SKAI brand. The second generation of fully
integrated and tested SKAI power electronics
systems is now available.
This paper will provide an overview of these systems
and will discuss some of the technical challenges
involved with the development of such off-the-shelf
systems.
Keywords: Automotive Power Electronics System,
Advanced Integration, Power Cycling, Temperature
Cycling, Reliability. Figure 1: Power and battery voltage requirements of
different vehicle markets
1. Introduction
The sizes of the bubbles in Figure 1 reflect the
SEMIKRON has offered integrated power electronics bandwidth of the applications in the corresponding
to its customers for almost 20 years and can build on voltage range and market. The low voltage range is
many years of experience in these markets. Initially dominated by the typical battery voltages of 24V,
just combining power silicon and drivers in custom- 48V, 80V and recently also 120V. At higher voltages
designed enclosures, these have evolved to become there is a trend towards systems with 375V and
more highly integrated, now including control 750V battery voltage. The complete voltage range of
electronics designed to be ready to accept software 24V up to 750V, or even 900V, can be covered with
to produce a complete system. a MOSFET based and an IGBT based standard
To date a total of more than half a million highly inverter product family. The MOSFET based LV
integrated fork-lift inverter systems have been products are available with blocking voltages of
manufactured at SEMIKRON. 100V, 150V and 200V. The IGBT based HV products
use 600V and 1200V IGBT silicon.
The SKAI vehicle power systems boast a high level
of integration and offer major advantages over
2. SKAI power electronics systems
comparable systems. They are developed in line
with the latest automotive standards and system 2.1 Vehicle application requirements
qualification standards, allowing short time-to-market
and lower development costs. The SKAI systems are Looking at the many different vehicle markets and
supplied as standard platforms with low-voltage individual applications the general requirements can
MOSFETS or high-voltage IGBTs as the silicon be quite different too. Nevertheless it is possible to
base. SKAI systems can also be developed to meet filter some of the most important data and come to
individual customer specifications. SEMIKRON is a the following conclusion (Table 1):
single-source supplier, encompassing everything Passive temperature cycles with temperature
from feasibility and proof-of-principle studies, to the swings of up to 100K are very common. The
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typical requirement is 10.000 such cycles within the capability to produce systems with its own
the product lifetime of 15 to 20 years. custom features.
Power cycling requirements are moderate. A
typical requirement of three million cycles at 40K
temperature swing can be handled by
incorporating state of the art semiconductor
assembly and contact technology.
Vibration requirements depend on the mounting
location of the electronics. Mounting in the motor
compartment is commonly used, but not directly
on the motor or the gearbox.
IP protection class also depends on the
mounting location. However, the minimum
required rating is usually IP54.
In general there is limited available volume for
the mounting of the power electronics, therefore Figure 2: Typical SKAI system architecture
a high ratio of power to volume and minimum
weight is required. The systems are housed in an IP67 rated enclosure
together with all the power terminals for motor and
Vehicle application requirements Rating
Passive temperature cycles (@ ΔT 100K ; 2 daily cold starts) 10.000 cycles
battery connection as well as signal interface for
Active temperature cycles (@ ΔT 40K) 3.000.000 cycles CAN communication, analogue and digital I/Os and
Non-operational life 20 years auxiliary power supply. Motor temperature sensors
Operational life 10.000…50.000 hours
Ambient temperature -40°C…+125°C
and sensors for angular and motor speed feedback
Liquid cooling (separate cooling circuit) -40°C…+75°C (encoder, resolver) can be directly interfaced to the
Vibration 5…12g SKAI.
Shock 50…100g
Protection Class IP54…IP6K9K
Ratio of output power to volume High 2.3 SKAI system topologies
Ratio of output power to weight High
Table 1: Vehicle application requirements
2.2 SKAI system architecture
All SKAI systems are based on the same
architectural principles, which are shown in Figure 2.
The core of all these systems is the power section
comprising the semiconductor switches, the DC-link
capacitor bank, sensors for phase currents, DC-link
voltage and DBC substrate temperatures as well as
EMI filtering and optionally further passive
components.
The systems are completed with gate driver,
protection functions for over-current, over-voltage
and over-temperature, isolated power supplies for all Figure 3: SKAI system topologies
required internal voltages and DSP controller.
SKAI 2 systems are offered with or without QUASAR The high-voltage SKAI 2 is available as a water-
motor control software. The software is based on a cooled 600/1200V IGBT inverter system, and has
modern, field-oriented closed-loop control system. It been optimised for use in applications such as full-
guarantees steady control of the electrical machine electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars and electric buses.
up to the strong field weakening range. QUASAR This system is based on the established sintered,
typically receives input commands from a central 100% solder-free SKiM93 IGBT module, features a
controller via CAN bus and converts this precisely polypropylene film DC-link capacitor, driver
into a speed or torque for the control of brushless electronics, a latest-generation DSP controller, EMC
DC, interior or surface mounted permanent magnet filters, and current, voltage and temperature sensors,
synchronous and AC induction machines. If required, and is supplied in an IP67 module case.
SEMIKRON will work with its customers to develop Communication with the vehicle master controller is
software or the customer may prefer to use his own. via a CAN bus. These systems are designed for
This gives the customer much more versatility and outputs of up to 150kW (Figure 4). Current ratings
are 300ARMS continuous, 500ARMS overload for 30
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seconds (600V system) and 400ARMS overload for converter, a three-phase 20kVA drive inverter, a
30s (1200V system) respectively [1], [2]. three-phase 10kVA drive inverter, and a 14V/300A
or 28V/165A DC/DC converter (Figures 6 and 7).
Typical applications are in tractors and commercial
vehicles like buses and trucks for the control of
different auxiliary drives.
Figure 4: High-voltage SKAI inverter system
The low-voltage version is available as an air-cooled Figure 6: Topology of a typical multi-converter
system
or water-cooled 50/100/150/200V MOSFET single
and dual inverter system, which is used mainly in All SKAI 2 systems are fully qualified using analysis
forklift trucks and other materials handling such as highly-accelerated life testing (HALT) and
applications as well as for small electric vehicles. end of component-life testing, with full failure-mode
These systems are suitable for a motor output of up effect analysis studies conducted at all critical points
to 40kW. They incorporate many of the same of the design cycle, to ensure that they correspond
features as the IGBT-based systems and therefore with relevant automotive standards. Thermal and
offer the benefits to customers that they behave in electrical contact of the power semiconductors is
the same way, use the same core control system established by pressure contact technology, which
and I/O connections, and the same system structure boasts extended service life and high load cycling
(Figure 5). Current ratings range from 200ARMS to capability. The systems and semiconductor
400ARMS continuous. components are manufactured in high-tech
production processes that include end-of-line
function tests and, if required, 100% burn-in tests,
ensuring a high degree of quality.
Figure 7: SKAI 2 highly integrated multi-converter
Figure 5: Low-voltage SKAI inverter system system
The third type of SKAI 2 platform is a multi-converter
box. These systems are also housed in water- 3. SKAI technology challenges
cooled, IP67-protected enclosures and communicate
with the vehicle master controller via a CAN bus. There are many factors that affect the efficiency and
The signal interface features analogue and digital reliability of power systems.
I/Os to allow for the connection of a wide variety of To achieve maximum energy, cost and space
sensors, such as temperature sensors and resolver efficiency, coupled with high reliability, it is important
inputs. A typical multi-converter system would to combine the best silicon, packaging, layout,
include a three-phase 40kVA active front-end
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thermal performance and control in the design and developed to eliminate all the solder interfaces. Each
manufacture of power systems. This can often be of these offer a small advantage compared with
difficult if the designer has to depend on off-the-shelf traditional constructions, but in combination they
parts. It is very important to be able to optimise the offer significant benefits.
selection of silicon and to be able to connect it as
needed for optimum performance in a system.
Many suppliers of systems focus on a single
technology, such as MOSFET or IGBT, or may
concentrate on applications at a single voltage.
However, the wide variation in requirements of
today’s systems makes it important to be able to
choose from the widest selection of semiconductor
technology to achieve the best match to the
application. It is also important for the design
process to take into account the many issues
dependent on the semiconductor technology and the
relationships between them, to ensure that the
hardware is optimised for the application. As
SEMIKRON is a major manufacturer of power
semiconductors, it can push boundaries in areas
such as temperature and size. For example, the
company produces very large volumes of IGBT and Figure 8: Exploded view of SKiM93 IGBT module
MOSFET drivers, and from this expertise has
developed optimised application specific integrated The most significant problem caused by higher
circuits (ASICs) to significantly reduce component temperatures and larger swings of temperature is
count and increase reliability, while reducing size delaminating of soldered joints. This problem has
dramatically. been completely overcome in the latest SKAI
systems by using sinter technology to join the
3.1 The temperature and power cycling challenge semiconductor chips to the ceramic substrate
The cycling requirements given in Table 1 call for instead of soldering, meaning that higher operating
special attention in the design of inverter systems for temperatures are possible with increased reliability.
vehicle applications. The sinter bond is a thin silver layer that has a
superior thermal resistance to a soldered joint and
Current developments in power electronics aim to contains far fewer, and smaller, voids. It is not
achieve higher current densities, system integration subject to the delaminating that affects soldered
and greater reliability. At the same time, there is joints, resulting in a low thermal resistance that
more call for low-cost, standardized interfaces, as remains low over many tens of thousands of power
well as flexible and modular product series. cycles. The high melting point of silver also prevents
SEMIKRON has set trends in this area by the use of premature material fatigue.
spring contacts for the auxiliary and load
connections. Another issue raised by increased junction
temperatures is the fatigue of the wire bonds used to
The advantages of the pressure contact technology join the chips to the substrate. This has been
and die sinter attachment in power semiconductor minimised by a number of changes to production
modules have been presented in many papers and techniques, including changing the geometry of
articles, such as [3], [4] and [5]. welded joints and the introduction of novel stress-
The reliability of classical module designs is not relief techniques.
sufficient for many developing applications in power SKAI systems rely on the proven pressure contact
electronics. For example, these modules are limited and die sintering technology. In the case of the HV
in their capability to withstand passive temperature system the base module is the SMiM93 100%
cycles. It has therefore been necessary to develop solder-free IGBT six-pack module (Figure 8).
new techniques, which are capable of meeting the
high-reliability requirements of modern applications. Figure 9 shows an exploded view of a complete LV
system based on the well proven SKiiP technology.
A major limitation of power module lifetime is the The DBC substrates with the attached power
problem of solder fatigue. In traditional constructions, semiconductors are directly mounted onto the
this contributes to the end-of-life failure of power heatsink.
modules, especially in the case of higher
temperature swings, which are predominant in most
applications. Several new technologies have been
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the solder delaminating. For comparison, IEC 147-4
requires 20.000 load cycles at 100K for industrial
module qualification.
Figure 9: Exploded view of SKAI LV system
Sinter layers improve the thermal resistance by a
factor of 15 and the electrical conductivity by a factor
of five compared to a conventionally soldered layer.
This is due to the superior material characteristics of Figure 11: SKiM power cycling test
silver against the solder and the thinner layer
between chip and substrate. 3.2 The parasitic challenge
In terms of reliability the results of the improved The compact assembly of the semiconductors
contact technologies can be seen in Figure 10 and together with the busbar system and the optimised
11. In terms of passive temperature cycles the DC-link capacitor bank offers further advantages.
number of possible cycles is tripled compared to the The commutation loop in the SKAI HV is very low-
conventional soldered module. In the example in inductive; a total of 35nH is present including the
Figure 10 the temperature swing was 165K, from - DC-link capacitor. Additionally the layout of the DBC
40°C to +125°C. 1500 cycles could be reached substrate as well as the multi-contact busbars
without exceeding the specification limits. As a (Figure 8) is highly symmetric. Pressure contact
comparison, for industrial module qualification modules with multiple load terminals eliminate the
according to IEC 68-2-14 only 100 such cycles are need for load terminal soldering and improve the
required. static and dynamic current balance in parallel chips.
Nevertheless, the switching characteristics of the
600V Trench IGBT requires further optimisation of
the gate drive circuitry in order to meet satisfactory
overvoltage levels at switch-off of the IGBTs. The
impedance of the gate drive is dynamically adapted
as a function of VCE voltage and collector current.
Figure 12 shows the IGBT switch-off at 450V DC-link
voltage and 900A peak collector current. The bend in
the VCE voltage is clearly visible. This is the point
when the switch-off speed is being decreased. With
these measures it is possible to operate the inverter
at 450V over the full temperature range without
exposing the system to excessive overvoltage levels.
A drawback is slightly higher switching losses at high
DC-link voltages or high currents. This can be
Figure 10: SKiM temperature cycling test compensated by reducing the switching frequency at
high operating currents.
With the power cycling test a similar result is
observed (Figure 11). Compared to the standard
soldered module the numbers of cycles could be
increased by 75%, i.e. 70.000 cycles compared to
40.000 cycles with the conventional module.
Although bond wire lift-off is the predominant failure
mechanism at the end of life of the module, in case
of the soldered module this effect is accelerated by
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Figure 14: SKAI HV radiated emissions 30MHz –
Figure 12: SKAI 2 600V IGBT switch-off (450VDC, 1000MHz (750VDC, 20kHz, 50A)
900A, 75V/div, 180A/div, 200ns/div, T j=25°C), blue =
VCE, green = IC The effect of filter 1 is clearly visible in Figure 14.
The filter is directly mounted on the power
3.3 The EMI challenge semiconductor module and has a very high
Another topic which should be looked at is EMI resonance frequency. At 50MHz the noise level is
compliance. The SKAI HV inverter is designed so attenuated by approximately 20dBµV. The blue curve
that the requirements of the EU directive shows the measured peak value without filter 1, the
72/245/EWG on EMI for road vehicles can be met black curve shows it with filter 1. The green curve
without additional external measures. gives the average value (filter 1 mounted). The load
conditions represented worst case conditions in
This has been achieved by implementing Y- regard to the emissions.
capacitors, two RC filters as well as two common
mode chokes for the filtering of critical frequency 3.4 The power terminal challenge
ranges (Figure 13). The SKAI HV system also allows
for connection of shielded power cables. With a current rating of 300Arms continuous for the
SKAI HV system it becomes obvious that special
care has to be taken on the customer interface for
the connection of the DC and AC terminals.
The traditional solution with cable glands, cable lugs
and screw terminals offers a high degree of
flexibility. There are many suppliers and types to
choose from to suit the individual application. The
cable assembly is done during mounting of the
inverter in the final product and the logistical effort
for the cable confection is small.
In case of higher production volumes new
requirements are demanded by the customer:
The assembly of the power connections must be
fool-proof.
The assembly must be of high and reproducible
Figure 13: Built-In SKAI HV EMI filter
quality which means that the assembly process
Figure 14 shows the results of the EMC tests. The has to be controlled (e.g. mounting torques).
measurement setup was in accordance with CISPR The assembly must be fast.
25. EMI cable glands and shielded power cables The solution implemented in Figure 15 can meet the
were used. above mentioned requirements. The cables can be
fully pre-assembled and tested. The final assembly
is reduced to three controlled process steps of
screwing per power connection.
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On the DC side two contacts can be connected in
parallel if currents of more than 300A continuous are
required in the application. If the DC currents are
smaller than 300A then the second pair of blades
can be used to connect other DC loads or the
connector can be equipped with dummy blades.
For this solution with 1.8mm x 14.5mm contact
blades it was necessary to introduce additional
cooling for the mating contacts inside the SKAI
system. The power terminals are pressed against
the inverter housing via Al 2O3 DBC substrates
(Figure 17). The housing is thermally well connected
to the water cooling system which results in a
considerable reduction of the terminal temperatures.
Figure 15: SKAI HV power terminals in IPT solution
(Protection IP6K9K, cable harness max. 50mm2)
This solution consists of a cable harness terminated
with cable lug and an IPT Terminal. The IPT terminal
replaces the cable gland functionality. The IPT
Terminals are coded to avoid assembly failures.
In a further application the controlled IPT power
terminal solution is not sufficient to meet customers’
requirements for a “plug-and play” power connection Figure 17: AC and DC power terminals with cooling
with integrated high voltage interlock (HVIL) for via DBC substrates onto housing
safety reasons.
With the introduction of the power terminal cooling
Special challenges are the contacts for a current the temperatures could be reduced by 30K (Figure
rating of 300A continuous in confined space. The 18). With this solution a very compact power
maximum cable section is 50mm2 copper. Figure 16 connection is feasible.
shows the solution which was developed with 1.8mm
x 14.5mm contact blades. 160
power terminals without cooling
140
120
T [°C]
100 DBC cooled power terminals
80
60
40
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
T [s]
Figure 18: SKAI HV maximum power terminal
temperatures at 300Arms
4. SKAI MCB system in tractor application
The multi converter box system is also integrated in
tractors. An example:
A tractor manufacturer was developing an electric
Figure 16: SKAI HV with high power blade connector power supply system for its upper power-class
assembly tractors, with the aim of reducing fuel consumption
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and noise emissions. The development was also respect to passive temperature cycling lifetime. The
intended to introduce the architecture needed for combination of established pressure contact
additional electric drive applications in agricultural technology and sinter technology is the preferred
machinery. one to cover the automotive requirements. Pressure
Until now, secondary equipment in tractors has been contact load terminals allow high current capacity
connected to the main drive mechanically via gears. while maintaining mobility to sustain thermal
This does not enable these functions to operate at expansion. This principle has been used for
the optimum operating point, leading to poor overall connection of power semiconductor substrates to the
efficiency and consequently to increased fuel terminals as well as the cooling of connector terminal
consumption and pollutant emissions. The aim was blades.
therefore to disconnect the secondary equipment The assembly technology of the polypropylene film
from the main drive. For this purpose, a modified capacitors in use has been optimized to cover the
20kW AC induction generator connected to the main temperature cycling demands.
drive would be used to generate electric power. This Built-in EMI filters are optimized to fulfil the
would then be electrically converted to ensure requirements of the European EMI directive
optimum operation of the fan (10kW AC induction 72/245/EWG.
motor), air conditioning compressor (5kW permanent
The versatile connectivity of power cable harnesses
magnet motor) and the 14V/300A on-board power-
simplifies the product application.
supply (Figure 6).
Further advances in reliability, efficiency, size and
A highly-integrated power electronics system from
versatility will be needed to increase the market
the multi-converter system family was developed to
acceptance of integrated power systems. Research
meet the customer’s specifications. The system
and development efforts at SEMIKRON are high in
comprises of multiple converters used to control
order to develop even higher levels of integration,
electric current flow under harsh ambient conditions.
improved cooling technologies, higher silicon
Different operating modes are possible, for example
operating temperatures, higher performance from
the system can be supplied with electric power by
ASICs and novel packaging techniques. New
way of a three-phase generator or an HVDC bus.
insulation systems, new methods of silicon attach
The system communicates with the vehicle master
and, in time, the total removal of wire bonds, will all
controller via a CAN bus. The integrated
improve efficiency and reliability still further.
semiconductor components come from the tried and
tested MiniSKiiP family (2nd generation). The signal
6. Acknowledgement
interface features analogue and digital I/Os to allow
for the connection of a wide variety of sensors, such The authors acknowledge the contribution of their
as temperature sensors and resolver inputs. colleagues to this work and in particular P.
The new electric power supply system is the basis Beckedahl, A. Wintrich, K. Backhaus, U.
for the introduction of ultra-precise, highly efficient Scheuermann, V. Demuth.
electric drives for attachment and trailer equipment,
as well in final drive systems. The combination of 7. References
different technological solutions results in far lower
fuel consumption and reduced noise emissions, and [1] Datasheet SKAI 90 A2 GD06-W12CI,
ensures that future emissions limits are met. All of [Link]
the power transmission components were developed [2] Datasheet SKAI 45 A2 GD12-W12CI,
or optimised in order to improve overall efficiency. In [Link]
summary, this constitutes a milestone on the path [3] A. Wintrich, P. Beckedahl, T. Wurm: "Electrical and
towards ultra-low consumption in upper power class thermal optimization of an automotive power
tractors, which are normally prone to high module family", APE, Paris/France, 2007.
consumption. [4] U. Scheuermann, P. Beckedahl: "The Road to the
Next Generation Power Module – 100% Solder
5. Conclusion Free Design", CIPS, Nürnberg/Germany, 2008.
[5] A. Wintrich, U. Nicolai, W. Tursky, T. Reimann: :
Many advances in the drive for higher integration of "Applikationshandbuch Leistungshalbleiter ", ISLE
power systems have been made. Today a platform Verlag, 2010.
of off-the-shelf power conversion systems for a wide
range of vehicle applications is available and ready 8. Glossary
to be used.
AC: Alternating Current
Reliability requirements for power electronics in
Al2O3: Aluminium Oxide
vehicle applications are moderate with respect to
active power cycling lifetime, but challenging with ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit
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CAN: Controller Area Network
CISPR: Comité International Spécial des
Perturbations Radioélectriques
DBC: Direct Bonded Copper
DC: Direct Current
DSP: Digital Signal Processor
EMC: Electromagnetic Compatibility
EMI: Electromagnetic Interference
HALT: Highly Accelerated Life Testing
HV: High Voltage
HVIL: High Voltage Interlock
IGBT: Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor
IPT: Integrated Power Terminal
I/O: Input/Output
LV: Low Voltage
MCB: Multi Converter Box
MOSFET: Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect
Transistor
QUASAR: Quality Software Architecture
SKAI: SEMIKRON Advanced Integration
SKiiP: SEMIKRON Intelligent Integrated Power
SKiM: SEMIKRON Integrated Module
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