Electronic Design Automation Group

With the emergence of next-generation, wide bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor devices, the field of power electronics packaging is poised to undergo a revolution in terms of vastly increased efficiency and power density of multi-chip power electronics modules (MCPM). However, to realize these results, a multi-physics design approach involving the co-simulation of thermal, mechanical, and electrical phenomena currently necessitates the use of computationally-expensive and time-consuming finite element analysis (FEA) during the design phase as the material and geometrical limits of packaging technologies continue to push the envelope. New tools and methods for developing MCPMs need to be developed to reduce design-validation time and decrease cost-to-market issues plaguing WBG device adoption. To this end, our group has continued to develop an integrated, design-automation environment, PowerSynth, to synthesize MCPM layouts based on a multi-objective optimization framework incorporating thermal and electrical design constraints. This project is a collaborative effort between the University of Arkansas and ANSYS to develop mathematical models that will extend the current capabilities of PowerSynth to include both electromagnetic interference (EMI) and thermally-induced stress and strain mitigation.