Technical innovations in power module packaging are mainly driven by the challenging system requirements of the booming EV/HEV industry and the entrance of WBG materials.
The introduction of the WBG semiconductors, SiC and GaN is today pushing the development of new power packaging solutions, announces the market research and strategy consulting company, Yole. SiC technologies become step by step an essential solution to answer the industrial requirements, with a market estimation reaching 29% CAGR between 2017 and 2023 . Actually, WBG devices can work at higher switching frequencies and higher junction temperatures.
Beyond the semiconductor industry, the EV/HEV industry’s demand for high power density and mechatronics integration is also driving many power electronics innovations with dedicated packaging solutions. New standards in terms of electrical devices and systems become a reality, pushing electronic components to work in non-conventional environments for longer.
Under a continuous process of innovations, the power module packaging industry is in a good shape. This market is showing a 8.2% CAGR during the period 2017-2023, reaching a global sector of almost US$ 2 billion at the end of the period.
With two major technical trends, over-molded double-side cooled modules for hybrid cars and single-side cooled modules with pin-fin baseplates for full electric cars, this industry is dominated by IGBT power modules:
“The IGBT power module market grew 18.1% in 2017”, announces Dr. Milan Rosina, Senior Technology & Market Analyst, Power Electronics & Batteries at Yole. “No doubt today, that IGBT modules are driving the power module packaging materials business.”
Indeed 2017 was an impressive year for the IGBT power module market. And 2018 perspectives are even better, with over 20% growth in the first half of the year. The main explanation of this drastic market explosion is the boost from the EV/HEV sector, especially in China. It has also been an exceptional year for industrial motor drives in Asia. In parallel, other device modules, like those based on MOSFETs and bipolar transistors, show a slight decrease.
Consequently the overall power module market is expected to be over US$5.5 billion in 2023. This promising market is directly beneficial for the packaging material business.
The power module packaging material business is worth US$1.2 billion, a little more than a third of the total power module market. “It is a very dynamic market, where continuous innovations and material enhancements and a lot of R&D investment are needed”, comments Alejandra Fuentes Suarez, Technology & Market Analyst at Yole.
The companies Yole Développement (Yole) and System Plus consulting, both part of Yole Group of Companies propose , two dedicated analyses to get a better understanding of the market evolution and technical issues of the power module packaging industry: Power Module Packaging Report, 2018 edition and Automotive Power Module Packaging Comparison 2018 report
