The power electronics field is struggling for new material, technological and conceptual evolutions. These changes induce breakthrough in the conventional design and fabrication of static power converters with the aim to offer more efficient, reliable and compact solutions in an increasingly demanding techno economical context. This PhD thesis presents the results obtained by analyzing, realizing and characterizing an innovative concept based on vertical voltage terminations that opens the way towards the 3D integration of power devices. Moreover, the proposed concept authorizes the integration of a microchannel cooler directly into the drift region of the power device. Based on the realization of deep trench terminations, a technique initially developed for the microelectronics field, this PhD thesis presents an approach allowing the integration of multiple power devices in the same die, all sharing the same backside electrode. This document also focuses on the DRIM Cooler (Drift Region Integrated Microchannel Cooler) concept that allows the direct cooling of the device through multiple parallel microchannels integrated perpendicular to the plane of the device's PN junction. The analytical analysis is completed with numerous realizations, characterizations and practical implementations of the above mentioned concepts.
New concepts for the 3D integration and cooling of vertical power semiconductor devices