Additive Manufacturing for Power Electronics: New Challenges in Design, Manufacturing and Applications

Additive Manufacturing for Electronics (AME) techniques are currently becoming more widespread as they allow for the rapid production of electronic devices with confined costs. In this context, AME represents a relatively novel fabrication technique when used for power electronics applications. The research presented in this paper is focused on the investigation of the feasibility of inkjet-based AME for the fabrication of structures and components for power electronics applications. Seven circuit models for a power module were developed and printed with a multimaterial 3D printer. The models were then analyzed to optimize their design in terms of dimensional accuracy. Furthermore, the electrical conductivity and the magnetic field of one of the devices were examined with numerical simulation tools to verify its effectiveness and efficiency when compared to factory-built power modules. The resulting devices could be considered for coupling and improving the functionality of a module built using non-AME technology, showing that custom-built electronic devices of this kind can be a valid upgrade to the current state of the art. Thus, AME-fabricated devices might be considered as potential enablers for next-generation wide-bandgap (WBG) devices.