2026, Vol. 7, Issue 1, Part A
Thermal management approaches for power electronic semiconductors in cold climate applications
Author(s): Michael James Robertson, Jennifer Anne MacLeod, Daniel Christopher Wong and Laura Elizabeth Chen
Abstract: Power electronic converters operating in northern Canadian environments face thermal management challenges spanning extreme temperature ranges from winter lows approaching -40°C to summer peaks exceeding 35 °C. This research evaluated thermal performance of four semiconductor device technologies across multiple cooling approaches under conditions representative of year-round operation in continental Canadian climates. Laboratory testing at the University of Toronto Power Electronics Research Centre between January 2023 and October 2023 characterized junction temperature distributions, thermal resistance values, and reliability under accelerated thermal cycling for silicon IGBTs, silicon MOSFETs, silicon carbide MOSFETs, and gallium nitride HEMTs. Wide bandgap devices demonstrated substantially lower operating temperatures, with silicon carbide MOSFETs averaging 85 °C junction temperature compared to 118 °C for silicon IGBTs under equivalent power dissipation conditions. Thermal resistance characterization revealed that liquid cooling achieved 0.45 °C/W average compared to 2.8°C/W for natural convection, though phase change systems offered further reduction to 0.22°C/W where application constraints permitted their implementation. Accelerated thermal cycling tests established reliability correlations following Coffin-Manson relationships, with cycles to failure decreasing from 285,000 under 40 °C temperature swings to 28,000 under 160 °C excursions. Cold start performance emerged as a particular concern, with silicon devices requiring pre-heating intervals of 3-8 minutes to achieve stable operation when ambient temperatures fell below -25 °C. Wide bandgap semiconductors tolerated immediate full-power operation at temperatures as low as -35 °C without performance degradation. These findings provide design guidance for power electronic systems intended for deployment across Canadian geographic regions experiencing substantial seasonal temperature variations.
DOI: 10.22271/27083969.2026.v7.i1a.93
Pages: 34-40 | Views: 42 | Downloads: 15
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How to cite this article:
Michael James Robertson, Jennifer Anne MacLeod, Daniel Christopher Wong, Laura Elizabeth Chen. Thermal management approaches for power electronic semiconductors in cold climate applications. Int J Electr Data Commun 2026;7(1):34-40. DOI: 10.22271/27083969.2026.v7.i1a.93
