Development and application of semiconductor device cooler using high performance plate fin heat exchanger

In recent years, development of power electronics technology which is represented by IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) is remarkable, and control of power Sources by an inverter is becoming a mainstream in various fields. The capacity of semiconductor devices, which is used for these power sources, has been progressing. At the same time the cooling technology of the devices is becoming very important. In the past, heat pipes were generally used to cool the semiconductor device., with a large capacity. However, the cooling equipment tends to be larger in this method, so further superior performance of the cooler is required. Therefore, we developed a compact and high-performance cooler (called SIPHOREX) using plate fin heat exchanger (hereinafter called PFHE) technology, which has been widely used for electric railway cars, etc. This paper introduces the basic structure, process of development. advantages, and application example of SIPHOREX.