Current and Potential Applications of Additive Manufacturing for Power Electronics

To meet the upcoming challenges of higher power density and higher efficiency for power electronics, a system level approach to the design of power electronic devices must be carried out. Higher system integration and packaging will allow for more compact designs but will also result in challenges for component manufacturing and thermal management. Additive manufacturing can potentially mitigate some of these challenges due to the design flexibility and intricate features that additive manufacturing methods can provide. This paper presents an overview of the additive manufacturing technologies currently in practice at the academic and industry level. A detailed review is presented of current applications of additive methods for the production of power electronic components, advanced heat exchanger designs and integrated power electronic systems.