A team of U of A researchers from the departments of mechanical and electrical engineering was a phase one winner in the U.S. Department of Energy's Silicon Carbide Packaging Prize, a challenge to design the next generation of packaging for semiconductor devices. 

"This challenge was a unique opportunity to showcase the skills and talents that we have within the Power Group," said David Huitink, associate professor of mechanical engineering, director of the High Density Electronics Center and the team lead on the project. 

Eight teams advanced to the second phase of the contest, part of the DOE's American Made Challenges program. 

Silicon carbide can operate faster and at higher temperatures than traditional silicon semiconductors. It can handle higher current and voltages. But the existing technology for packaging silicon carbide often keeps the devices from reaching their full potential. Packaging is the step when one or more semiconductor die, a tiny, thin chip with a circuit transferred onto it through photolithography, is assembled in a layer so it can connect with other devices while also protecting it from dangers like heat and static shock. 

The design proposed by the U of A team embeds the silicon carbide in low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC), a novel approach that allows the device to handle nearly 10 megawatts with higher temperatures in a package small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. 

"The more we condense this, the more we're saving on materials. And by doing this, we have more space for controls," said Matthew Norris, a graduate student in mechanical engineering working under Huitink and the key technical contributor to the team. 

The design also uses an innovative parallel structure that improves performance. 

The other members of the team, dubbed "Project Raiju" after the mythical Japanese creature that can produce lightning and thunder, are electrical engineering professor Xiaoqing Song and his graduate students Tanzila Akter and Dehan Rahman. 

As first phase winners, the U of A team will receive $50,000 to build a prototype of their design.  

"Having that thumbs up from DOE and the review committee gives us momentum to get support from industry and other funding agencies," Huitink said.