Hierarchical Layout Synthesis and Optimization Framework for High-Density Power Module Design Automation

Multi-chip power module (MCPM) layout design automation has become an emerging research field in the power electronics society. MCPM physical design is currently a trial-and-error procedure that heavily relies on the designers' experience to produce a reliable solution. To push the boundary of energy efficiency and power density, novel packaging technologies are emerging with increasing design complexity. As this manual design process becomes the bottleneck in design productivity, the power electronics industry is calling for more intelligence in design CAD tools, especially for advanced packaging solutions with stacked substrates. This paper presents a physical design, synthesis, and optimization framework for 2D, 2.5D, and 3D power modules. Generic, scalable, and efficient physical design algorithms are implemented with optimization metaheuristics to solve the hierarchical layout synthesis problem. Corner stitching data structure and hierarchical constraint graph evaluation have been customized to better align with power electronics design considerations. A complete layout synthesis process is demonstrated for both 2D and 3D power module examples. Further, electro-thermal design optimization is carried out on a sample 3D MCPM layout using both exhaustive and evolutionary search methods. Our algorithm can generate 937 3D layouts in 56 s, resulting in 10 layouts on the Pareto-front. In addition, our optimized 3D layouts can achieve 1.3 nH loop inductance with 38 °C temperature rise and 836 mm2 footprint area, compared to 2D layouts with 8.5 nH, 99 °C, and 2000 mm2.