To fill this void, a new technology known as processed power inductors has emerged. Offering better high-current and high-frequency performance than conventional wound inductors, processed power inductors are finding use in a wide range of applications. They are being designed into voltage regulator modules (VRMs), as well as automotive and industrial power applications. When compared with traditional wound inductors, processed power inductors can offer lower cost and smaller size, which result from improvements in electrical and thermal parameters such as ac resistance, DCR tolerance, core losses and heat dissipation.
Higher Switching Frequencies
The demand for higher performance in switch-mode power supplies has led to an increase in typical switching frequencies by a factor of 10 over the last decade of product development. The current generation of power-supply design is now focused on increasing switching frequency by another factor of 10 to reach several megahertz. One of the primary benefits of increasing switching frequency is the overall size reduction that is possible in the design of a high-frequency dc-dc converter, particularly in the magnetic components used in such a power supply, as expressed by the equation: where L is the inductance (H) of the magnetic component, VOUT is the output voltage (V), DMAX is the maximum duty cycle, VINMIN is the minimum input voltage (V), VOUTMIN is the minimum output voltage (V), FSW is the switching frequency (Hz) and IOUTMIN is the minimum output current (A).
In addition to smaller inductor size, increasing the switching frequency enables faster dynamic response from the power supply. Despite the benefits, higher switching frequencies also result in higher losses for the magnetic components. Many research papers have been dedicated to the optimum design of power inductors with minimum power losses, including the use of planar technology to save pc-board space and to decrease losses. However, planar-wound magnetic components have remained high in cost and, although they have succeeded in reducing component height, have not reduced the pc-board footprints of these devices. To select the optimum high-frequency magnetic inductors, a designer must consider several factors including winding geometries, magnetic core materials and packaging design to achieve the lowest losses.
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