PowerSynth: Overview

The PowerSynth project started in 2010 when Prof. Mantooth realized that wide bandgap power module layout was too multidimensional and manual. After winning a 2009 R&D 100 Award for the world's highest temperature power module at the time, a collaborative effort with Rohm Semiconductor, Arkansas Power Electronics International, and the University of Arkansas, he and his team's research was leading the field. But, it was clearly a process in need of improvement and formalization. Prof. Yarui Peng co-leads the Powersynth team since 2017 and brings in his expertise in EDA for 3D ICs and multi-chip packaging. His team started to formulate the CAD algorithms, EDA methodologies, and design flows since PowerSynth v1.1.

Our vision is to develop PowerSynth as a flag-bearer for EDA in power electronics, and inspire new computer-aided design methodologies, similar to how EDA reshaped the VLSI industry in the 1980s. The PowerSynth project began with PC board layout optimization and then grew to 2D (v1.1), 2.5D (v1.9) and now 3D (v2) power module layout generation. The project continues to this day and has been supported by the NSF GRAPES Center, the NSF POETS Center, NSF under a GOALI grant with ANSYS, and the Army Research Laboratory. Several companies have also had vital input into the tool's specifications and requirements.

The listing below describes some of the details and key publications of versions of the tool that we make freely available for download. If you wish to support the PowerSynth project, please contact Prof. Alan Mantooth or Prof. Yarui Peng for more information.

For publications not associated with a specific release, please refer to the publication page for the most up-to-date publication list and downloadable pdfs.

PowerSynth (v1.4) won the First Place Award in ECCE 2021 Student Demo Competition (Software Track)! Demonstration title: PowerSynth an MCPMs Layout Optimization Tool (University of Arkansas), Team Members: Quang Le, Imam Al Razi, Tristan Evans, Alan Mantooth (Advisor), Yarui Peng (Advisor)

The PowerSynth 1 series (v1.0-v1.9) is now open-sourced. Check it out on github!

Overview Video of PowerSynth 1 (v1.4)
Overview Video of PowerSynth 2 (v2.0)

PowerSynth: Disclaimer

The software can be evaluated and distributed for academic research and non-commercial use. The University of Arkansas only requests that you attribute this work in your publications and presentations as appropriate in return for the free usage of the tool.

The software is provided "AS IS", without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and noninfringement. In no event shall the authors or copyright holders be liable for any claim, damages or other liability, whether in an action of contract, tort or otherwise, arising from, out of or in connection with the software or the use or other dealings in the software.

Release: PowerSynth 2 (v2.0)

Overview

Abstract

Moving toward an electrified world requires ultrahigh-density power converters. With the adoption of wide-bandgap semiconductors (e.g., SiC and GaN), the next-generation power converters are on the horizon. However, the complexity of compact and high-speed converters is beyond the current industry-standard design flow based on manual and iterative steps. Therefore, research on design automation and optimization has been identified as an emerging topic in the power electronics society. Among different components of the converter, the physical design of power modules has proven critical for achieving high power density and energy efficiency. We present the latest design automation flow for high-density (2-D/2.5-D/3-D) and heterogeneous multichip power modules (MCPM) through PowerSynth 2 framework. In this article, we further demonstrate electro-thermal optimization for state-of-the-art (SOTA) 3-D packaging technologies. Using the latest PowerSynth 2 framework, electro-thermal design optimization is carried out on a sample 3-D MCPM layout using both exhaustive and evolutionary search methods. The optimized design is hardware-validated against physical measurements. The measurement result has shown an order of magnitude productivity improvement within 10% accuracy compared to the SOTA industry design flow.

Related Publications

Imam Al Razi, Quang Le, Tristan Evans, H. Alan Mantooth, and Yarui Peng, "PowerSynth 2: Physical Design Automation for High-Density 3D Multi-Chip Power Modules", IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 4698-4713, 2023. [PDF]

Note

This version requires Matlab to run. The source code and runtime environment are included in the package.
For installation instructions, please refer to PowerSynth 2 Github.

For preview, you can checkout a PS2 demo video based on a development version.

Release (v2.0)

[Windows Package] [User Manual]

Release: PowerSynth 1 (v1.1-v1.9)

Archived Release

These release packages are posted for archival purposes of PowerSynth 1. Please use the supported PowerSynth 2 packages.

Release (v1.1)

Tristan Evans, Quang Le, Shilpi Mukherjee, Imam Al Razi, Tom Vrotsos, Yarui Peng, and H. Alan Mantooth, "Powersynth: A Power Module Layout Generation Tool", IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 34, no. 6, pp. 5063–5078, Jun 2019, Highlighted Paper. [PDF]

[Installation Package] [User Manual]

Release (v1.3)

Yarui Peng, Quang Le, Imam Al Razi, Shilpi Mukherjee, Tristan Evans, and H. Alan Mantooth, "PowerSynth Progression on Layout Optimization for Reliability and Signal Integrity", IEICE Nonlinear Theory and Its Applications, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 124-144, Apr 2020, Invited Paper. [PDF]

[Installation Package] [User Manual]

Release (v1.4)

Tristan Evans, Shilpi Mukherjee, Yarui Peng, and H. Alan Mantooth, "Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Tools and Considerations for Electro-Thermo-Mechanical Co-Design of High Voltage Power Modules", in Proc. IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition, pp. 5046–5052, Oct 2020. [PDF]

[Installation Package] [User Manual]

Release (v1.9)

Imam Al Razi, Quang Le, Tristan Evans, Shilpi Mukherjee, H. Alan Mantooth, and Yarui Peng, "PowerSynth Design Automation Flow for Hierarchical and Heterogeneous 2.5D Multi-Chip Power Modules", IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 36, no. 8, pp. 8919–8933, 2021. [PDF]

[Installation Package] [User Manual]

PowerSynth: In Development

Abstract

We are currently developping new features for PowerSynth including layout synthesis for power converters, and reliability optimizations. Will update once a new package is released.

Related Publications

In Submission

Release (vNext)

Comming Soon!