Patent ID: 8654554

Claim:
A semiconductor device comprising: at least one arm series circuit comprising: an upper arm having a first switching device and a first diode connected to and provided in inversely parallel with the first switching device; a lower arm having a second switching device and a second diode connected to and provided in inversely parallel with the second switching device, the lower arm being connected in series with the upper arm; a positive-electrode terminal; a negative-electrode terminal; and an output terminal disposed between the positive-electrode terminal and the negative-electrode terminal, the first switching device and the first diode being disposed between the positive-electrode terminal and the output terminal, the second switching device and the second diode being disposed between the negative-electrode terminal and the output terminal; a conductive first thermal buffer member disposed between the first switching device and at least one of the positive-electrode terminal and the output terminal, the first thermal buffer member having a linear expansion coefficient greater than a linear expansion coefficient of the first switching device and smaller than a linear expansion coefficient of one of the positive-electrode terminal and the output terminal; and a conductive second thermal buffer member disposed between the second switching device and at least one of the negative-electrode terminal and the output terminal, the second thermal buffer member having a linear expansion coefficient greater than a linear expansion coefficient of the second switching device and smaller than a linear expansion coefficient of one of the negative-electrode terminal and the output terminal.