Design towards higher integration levels in power electronics

A giant leap forward for converters in the power electronic industry is possible by increasing the level of integration, i.e. by integrating the function performed by several discrete parts (electrical, thermal, mechanical, packaging, etc.) into one single integrated part. By incorporating these multi-functional parts and components, instead of conventional discrete component technology, a converter can be put together using fewer parts and less manufacturing processes, reducing size and cost. To comment on the current level of integration of any given converter requires that the, often subjective, implementation of the three issues: packaging, integration and thermal management be scrutinized. Figures of merit are introduced here to provide a systematic way to perform exactly that, in order to advance towards designing converters for higher integration levels. If these figures of merit are adopted in converter design one can systematically design power electronics with higher integration levels resulting in cheaper, more power dense converters enabling the power electronic industry to meet the low cost and high performance demand.