Editorial Technical Reference

Power electronics board (inverter power-stage assembly: power modules, gate-driver board, DC link and busbars on a liquid-cooled cold plate)

Inverter power-stage board assemblies · SiC or IGBT half-bridge modules, isolated gate drivers, DC-link capacitors, laminated busbars and liquid-cooled cold plates for traction, drive and charger inverters

A power electronics board here is the power stage of an inverter or converter built as one assembly: half-bridge power modules (SiC or IGBT) bolted to a liquid-cooled cold plate, a gate-driver board on top, DC-link capacitors, laminated or copper busbars and current and voltage sensors. Ask three things first: what DC bus voltage, phase current and switching frequency the stage must handle, which power modules and gate drivers it uses, and how the cold plate, coolant and busbars keep losses and inductance in limits.

Power-stage board assemblies for three-phase inverters and high-power converters: power modules, gate-driver boards, DC-link capacitors, busbars, sensors and the liquid cold plate they mount on. Packaged DC-DC converter modules are covered on the DC-DC converter page; bare power semiconductors, complete drives and chargers, and general control or consumer PCBAs are outside this page.

CNFX editorial research · Sources checked October 12, 2026 · 3 sources

Rate the power stage Plan cooling and mounting

Two power circuit boards with black power modules, blue and red capacitors and copper busbars bolted to thick aluminium plates with coolant fittings, on a bench with test equipment and an inspection machine behind — Inverter power-stage boards on liquid-cooled aluminium plates

Start with your task

Rate the power stageBus voltage, current, switching. Plan cooling and mountingCold plate, modules, busbars.

Rate the bus voltage, phase current and switching frequency

Wolfspeed's CRD300DA12E-XM3 is a 300 kW three-phase inverter reference design built on its XM3 SiC power modules, with a "complete stackup" of modules, cooling, bussing, gate drivers, voltage and current sensors and controller. It lists 800 V DC bus nominal (900 V maximum), 360 A RMS output, 80 kHz maximum switching frequency, 300 µF DC-link capacitance, a liquid-cooled cold plate and a CAN interface. Its component call-outs name the CAB450M12XM3 1200 V, 450 A SiC half-bridge module, the ADuM4135 isolated gate driver with Miller clamp and DESAT protection, and a 2 W isolated DC-DC converter giving +15 V/-4 V for the drivers. [1]

Wolfspeed's reference design range spans inverters, PFC stages, LLC and other converters from 0.020 kW to 600 kW, in discrete and module packages. [2]

Editorial calculation: energy stored in the DC link is ½ × C × V², so 300 µF at 800 V holds 0.5 × 300 × 10⁻⁶ × 800² = 96 J (about 122 J at 900 V). Plan discharge and safe access around that figure for your own capacitance and voltage. [1]

Give the board maker the application (traction, motor drive, charger, grid inverter), topology, DC bus voltage range, phase current and overload, switching frequency, power module part numbers or package, gate-driver requirements (isolation, DESAT, Miller clamp, supply voltages), DC-link capacitance and type, busbar and terminal layout, sensors, coolant type, flow, inlet temperature and pressure drop, cold plate material and fittings, insulation and creepage standard, and quantity.

Plan the cold plate, module mounting and busbars

Wakefield Thermal makes standard liquid cold plates by friction stir welding, "a solid-state welding method" that joins metals without melting them, citing high-strength, fatigue-resistant joints, a narrow heat-affected zone and dimensional stability. Its part 132814 is a friction stir welded cold plate for three IGBT modules measuring 8.86 × 5.12 × 0.79 in, cross-referenced to Infineon CoolSiC FF2MR12KM1 and FF3MR12KM1, Mitsubishi CMH300DU-24NFH, Semikron SEMITRANS 3 and Wolfspeed CAS300M12BM2 and WAB400M12BM3 modules among others. [3]

Wolfspeed describes the XM3 platform as a "high-density; low-inductance footprint" whose low-parasitic bussing lets the inverter be compact and light, and claims about twice the power density of a silicon-based inverter. [1]

Editorial conversion: Wakefield's 8.86 × 5.12 × 0.79 in plate is about 225 × 130 × 20 mm. [3] Check that the cold plate's module footprint and hole pattern match the exact module part number on your board.

SiC modules, gate drivers, driver supplies, DC link, busbars and cold plate

The 300 kW reference design names an isolated gate driver with Miller clamp and desaturation protection for its six modules and a 2 W isolated supply giving +15 V/-4 V.

Part	Role	Fix in the order
Power modules	SiC or IGBT half-bridges. [1] [3]	Part number, rating.
Gate-driver board	Isolated drivers with DESAT and Miller clamp. [1]	Driver IC, protection.
Driver supplies	Isolated DC-DC, +15 V/-4 V. [1]	Voltages, isolation.
DC-link capacitors	Bus energy storage. [1]	Capacitance, type.
Busbars	Low-inductance bussing. [1]	Layout, inductance.
Sensors	Voltage and current. [1]	Type, accuracy.
Cold plate	Liquid cooling for the modules. [3] [1]	Footprint, fittings, flow.

Power, bus voltage, phase current, switching frequency and DC-link size

The electrical values come from one 300 kW SiC reference design; the cold plate dimensions come from a separate maker's FSW plate for three modules.

Field	What it means and published values	Ask the supplier for
Output power (kW)	Example: 300 kW reference design. [1]	Rated and peak.
DC bus voltage (V)	Example: 800 V nominal, 900 V max. [1]	Range.
Phase current (A RMS)	Example: 360 A RMS. [1]	Continuous and peak.
Switching frequency (kHz)	Example: up to 80 kHz. [1]	Range.
Power module	Example: 1200 V, 450 A SiC half-bridge. [1]	Part number.
DC-link capacitance (µF)	Example: 300 µF. [1]	Value, type.
Cooling	Liquid cold plate; FSW construction. [1] [3]	Coolant, flow, ΔP.
Interface	Example: CAN. [1]	Bus and protocol.
Dimensions	Example: cold plate 225 × 130 × 20 mm (converted). [3]	Drawing.

Send electrical, module and cooling data together

Paste it into your enquiry below or into an email to a maker, then replace every bracket.

Application: [traction; drive; charger; grid]
Electrical: [DC bus; phase current; switching frequency]
Modules: [part number; package]
Gate drive: [isolation; protection; supplies]
DC link: [capacitance; type]
Cooling: [coolant; flow; inlet temperature]
Tests: [double-pulse; full load; thermal]
Quantity: [assemblies]

See manufacturer records Send an enquiry through CNFX

Buyer questions

How is this different from a DC-DC converter module?

This page covers inverter power-stage assemblies on cold plates; packaged DC-DC converter modules are on the DC-DC converter page. [1]

What does a complete power stage include?

Wolfspeed's 300 kW design includes modules, cooling, bussing, gate drivers, voltage and current sensors and a controller. [1]

How are the cold plates built?

Wakefield Thermal makes standard liquid cold plates by friction stir welding, a solid-state joining method. [3]

How much energy is in the DC link?

For 300 µF at 800 V, ½CV² gives 96 J (editorial calculation). [1]

Sources and what still needs a direct check

Sources checked 2026-10-12. Wolfspeed publishes its 300 kW inverter reference design and reference design range; Wakefield Thermal publishes its friction stir welded power module coolers.

Wolfspeed — 300 kW XM3 Three-Phase Inverter reference design CRD300DA12E-XM3 ↗ Maker reference design Return to text ↑
Wolfspeed — Power reference designs ↗ Maker product page Return to text ↑
Wakefield Thermal — Power module coolers, friction stir welded cold plates (data sheet) ↗ Maker data sheet Return to text ↑

Still to check yourself

Fix bus voltage, current and switching frequency.
Name modules and gate drivers.
Match cold plate to module footprint.
Plan DC-link discharge.
Verify the legal supplier and factory.