The curamik high quality metallized ceramic substrates have been in production since 1983. They are widely used in power modules as circuit material for bare semiconductor chips as they efficiently dissipate the waste heat from these devices and increase the lifetime of modules. The curamik micro channel coolers are the unique and best-in-class solution for direct liquid cooling of laser diodes.

As the environmental consciousness keeps growing, new markets, new applications and new requirements for power electronics and thermal management solutions are emerging at a very fast pace. The Rogers PES team has identified these unmet needs and strives to develop innovative solutions in many ways.

Innovation often starts with the extension of legacy curamik products. As an example, selective silver (Ag) plating (Fig. 5) and Data Matrix Code (Fig. 6) recently have been added to the list of options that we offer in our curamik ADVANTAGE portfolio of features. Our customers can select any of these options as required by their specific application.

Innovation also means that new product platforms have to be invented. The Rogers PES team is conducting a thorough trend and technology analysis in order to identify the opportunity spaces for which new products will be required.

As wide bandgap semiconductor devices emerge, we see an increasing demand for compact, low weight, thermally efficient and low inductive substrates in fast growing markets like advanced mobility. We tackle this challenge with a multilayer substrate approach as shown in Fig. 7. This solution not only provides a very efficient path for heat dissipation as it integrates a pin fin structure on the back side for direct liquid cooling but it also helps reduce the stray inductance in the commutation circuit to take full advantage of the fast switching wide band gap devices and significantly decreases the switching losses.

Also, the next generation of substrates with a better price and performance fit are required as power density keeps on increasing. For low to medium voltage applications, thin Al2O3 DBC substrates with thick copper metallization and trench coating (Fig. 8) can handle high current, enable very good heat spreading and heat capacity and survive up to one thousand cycles in passive temperature cycling tests.

Process and material innovation is the foundation for these new features and product platforms.

In the past, many processes have been automated to optimize the production yield and guarantee the best and most consistent product quality for our customers. As technology keeps on evolving and in an effort to steadily improve product performance and reliability, our engineering team is qualifying and installing new processes for mass production of substrates. Recent examples include the introduction of direct laser imaging to achieve the most accurate circuit designs and the implementation of ultra-short pulse laser technology to realize high quality scribing lines as shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 that do not induce significant stress in ceramics and prevent the generation of micro cracks.

Also, new sources for critical raw materials undergo a thorough qualification process to secure a stable and steady supply chain. And we keep on looking for new materials to enhance the performance of our products. For instance, AlN ceramic material with a thermal conductivity higher than 200 W/mK has been introduced for our newest generation of isolated micro-channel coolers to achieve the most efficient cooling performance and generate the most optical power from laser diodes.

These few examples illustrate the commitment of the entire Rogers PES team to innovation. We are excited about the future and are looking forward to hearing about your next challenge. Please do not hesitate to challenge our team! As always, you can rely on us to turn the newest materials and technologies into solutions that fit your needs!

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