In particular the great heat conductivity (up to 180W/mK) and high capacity and spread of the thick copper coating (200-600um)make DBC substrates indispensable in high performance electronics.
Using the purest of copper makes for a unique current carrying capacity as compared to alternative technologies. Another reason for this is the low mechanical load of the uncased silicon chips, which have a similar thermal expansion as DBC substrates.
For about ten years, this DBC technology has been used for high performance cooling devices as well. As its heart is a channel structure made of thin copper foils, which are assembled into a hermetically tight block in the curamik bonding process. This creates a strongly enlarged copper surface, enabling efficient liquid cooling.
Particularly effective cooling is achieved by a combination of DBC substrates with a cooling channel structure, where direct contact of the uncased power chips and the water-cooled basis plate is possible.