Subaru Evaluates onsemi’s Embedded Power Platform for Future EV Architectures

Subaru Corporation has established a technical collaboration with onsemi to evaluate the Embedded Power Platform for integration into future electrified vehicle architectures. The cooperative initiative targets automotive engineering, focusing on power electronics optimization and vehicle energy efficiency.

Operational Challenge and Partner Roles
Electrified transport designs demand higher power density, reduced weight, and superior thermal management within constrained vehicle spaces. Subaru Corporation requires scalable power architectures to advance its vehicle electrification roadmap while managing system complexity and development cycles. onsemi provides semiconductor fabrication and packaging solutions, supplying hardware samples, simulation models, and technical support. The joint effort pairs automotive system requirements with semiconductor packaging innovation.

Technical Architecture and Responsibilities
The evaluation centers on onsemi's Embedded Power Platform, an architecture that incorporates multiple semiconductor devices directly into a silicon-based wafer-level package. Unlike traditional packaging that functions as a passive mechanical housing, this method turns the package into an active component contributing directly to thermal and electrical performance. Under the collaboration framework, onsemi delivers engineering samples alongside modeling assets. Subaru conducts electrical and thermal evaluations to analyze how integrated power modules perform within high-voltage traction inverter topologies.

Implementation and System Integration
The initial phase focuses on simulation testing and engineering evaluations. Subaru engineers are benchmarking the wafer-level modules against current discrete and conventional power module designs. This testing establishes baseline performance parameters for thermal resistance, switching losses, and spatial packaging within traction inverter housings. Findings from Subaru provide onsemi with empirical operating parameters to guide the refinement and manufacturability of the semiconductor architecture.

Applications and Operational Impact
The primary application target is traction inverters and power conversion units for battery-electric and hybrid vehicle platforms. Moving from discrete packaging to wafer-level power integration reduces the overall mass and physical volume of the inverter unit. The scalable architecture allows design reuse across diverse vehicle power classes, eliminating the need to requalify distinct power stages for different vehicle segments. This modularity reduces development overhead, streamlines thermal management designs, and supports vehicle weight reduction to improve overall operational range.

Edited by Natania Lyngdoh, Induportals editor, assisted by AI.

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