Temperature Control of IGBTs by Thermoelectric Cooler

High operation temperature prevents increasing current through power electronic devices, and high operating temperature reduces lifetime of power electronic modules. Moreover, conventional heavy and bulky heat sinks reduce cooling efficiency and system flexibility; therefore, temperature of power electronic cells cannot be controlled with fast response. This study aims active temperature control solution to overcome thermal overloading constraint in power electronic semiconductor chip. The active cooling technology comprises thermoelectric cooler (TEC), thermally connected to the semiconductor chip and high performance heat sink. The results show that, by thermoelectric cooling the peak temperature zone moves from the semiconductor chip to the heat sink. Furthermore, optimal current density across the TEC module is explored in the current study in order to minimize operating temperature on the power electronics semiconductor chip.