High Current Power Inductors

As the demand for servers continues to grow to meet ever-increasing data processing requirements, reducing power consumption provides a major driver for the key performance issues facing server power supply designers. Energy efficiency is very important, but by no means the only design consideration that needs to be addressed when choosing the right High Current Power Inductors for a particular application.

Today's Server Power Challenges

Due to efficiency requirements mandated by regulations from governments around the world and the need to reduce the carbon footprint of their products, server power supply designers are under tremendous pressure to maximize efficiency. There is also a need to improve the efficiency of server power systems and reduce power losses for strictly competitive reasons.

Once the design is optimized, High Current Power Inductors are one of the components that can improve efficiency. In addition to the higher current, higher operating temperature, and higher frequency requirements required for higher efficiency, other important selection criteria for power inductors include:

Smaller size - reduces circuit layout area

Tighter tolerances - ensuring consistent circuit performance

Very low DC resistance (DCR) - improves power efficiency

Multi-Stage Integration - Reduces PCB Footprint and Component Count

Key parameters for evaluating inductor performance include:

DC Resistance (DCR)

Open Inductance (OCL)

Full Load Inductance (FLL)

Peak Saturation Current (Isat) vs. Temperature

Thermal effect current (Irms)

Magnetic saturation flux density in Gauss (Bsat)

Bp-p (Gaussian) K factor for iron loss determination

AC Resistance (ACR)

From the above, it is clear that optimizing the selection of high-current inductors requires evaluating a wide variety of physical and electrical variables. While all customers want higher efficiency and lower losses, all customers' applications are different. Thermal management, space constraints, and other aspects make optimal selection of power inductors a daunting task. For Aillen's inductor designers, fundamental to the process is the choice of core material.

Reduce PCB footprint

The electronics industry's need for high efficiency and high power density in a smaller area is driving inductor suppliers to reduce the overall size of the high-current inductor form factor. To meet this need, factors affecting inductor design include:

higher switching frequency

better core material

higher operating frequency

Higher Bsat

Reduce iron loss

Wider operating temperature range

Addressing tighter tolerances

Although inductors are rarely used in current sensing applications, tight DCR tolerances are still a desired product feature. Tighter DCR and OCL tolerances provide designers with important advantages in ensuring circuit stability and consistent lot-to-lot performance in volume manufacturing. Achieving this level of precision is the result of a combination of factors:

Consistent Manufacturing Process

High-quality raw materials for cores and windings

Optimized Design for Manufacturing

Precision test system

For Aillen, the application-specific approach allows selecting the right inductor for each application. This may involve modifying existing designs to meet customer needs. While this is not uncommon in the inductor business, the differentiation occurs in the experience and expertise of the inductor suppliers.

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