Power Design With Ferrite Cores 2021
Power Design With Ferrite Cores 2021
Ferrite is an ideal core material for transformers, inverters and inductors in the frequency
range 20 kHz to 3 MHz, due to the combination of low core cost and low core losses. Ferrites
may be used in the saturating mode for low power, low frequency operation (<50 watts
Design
and 10 kHz). Ferrite cores may also be used in flyback transformer designs, which offer low
®
core cost, low circuit cost and high voltage capability. Powder cores (MPP, High Flux, Edge ,
® ® ® ®
Kool Mµ , Kool Mµ MAX, Kool Mµ Hƒ, and XFLUX ) offer soft saturation, higher Bmax ,
and superior temperature stability and are often the best choice for minimum size and robust
performance in power choke, inductor, and flyback applications.
CORE GEOMETRIES
POT CORES enables the core to handle a higher output power. The L material was formulated for high-frequency and
Pot cores, when assembled, nearly surround the wound round center leg eliminates the sharp bend in the wire high-temperature applications. L is designed for DC-DC
bobbin. This aids in shielding the coil from pickup of EMI that occurs with winding on a square center leg. converters, filters and power supplies that operate from
from outside sources. The pot core dimensions follow 0.5 – 3.0 Mhz. Curie temperature is high for a ferrite
IEC standards so that there is interchangeability between E, ER AND PLANAR E CORES material at 280˚C.
manufacturers. Both plain and printed circuit bobbins are E cores offer the advantage of simple bobbin winding
available, as are mounting and assembly hardware. R material is an economical, low-loss choice for a broad
and ease of assembly. A wide variety of standard range of applications.
lamination-size, metric and DIN sizes are available. E
ROUND SLAB, DOUBLE SLAB & RM CORES cores are a low-cost choice in designs that do not require P material offers similar properties to R material, but is
Slab-sided solid center post cores resemble pot cores, self-shielding. Planar cores are the best selection for more readily available in some sizes.
but have a section cut off on either side of the skirt. low profile applications. Copper traces that are layered
F material is an established material with a relatively
The additional openings allow larger wires to be in the printed circuit board are the windings in most
high permeability and 210˚C Curie temperature.
accommodated and assist in removing heat from the planar applications. This type of design provides superior
assembly. RM cores are also similar to pot cores, but are thermal characteristics, economical assembly, low leakage Power Supplies, DC-DC Converters, Handheld Devices,
designed to minimize board space, providing at least a inductance, and consistent performance. High Power Control (gate drive) and EMI Filters are just
40% savings in mounting area. Printed circuit or plain a few of the applications that are typical for Magnetics
bobbins are available. One-piece clamps permit simple EP CORES ferrite power materials.
assembly. Low profile is possible. The solid center post EP cores are round center post cubical shapes which
generates less core loss and minimizes heat buildup. enclose the coil completely except for the printed circuit FILTER
board terminals. The particular shape minimizes the effect Magnetics high permeability materials are engineered for
PQ CORES of air gaps formed at mating surfaces in the magnetic optimum frequency and impedance performance in signal,
PQ cores are designed specifically for switched mode path and provides a larger volume ratio to total space choke and filter applications.
power supplies. One result is an optimized ratio of volume used. Shielding is excellent. J and W materials offer high impedance for broadband
to winding area and surface area, meaning that maximum transformers and are suitable for low-level power
inductance and winding area are possible with a minimum TOROIDS transformers.
core size. The cores provide maximum power output with Toroids are the least expensive ferrite shape. Available in a
minimum assembled transformer weight and volume, in variety of sizes, outer diameters of 2.54 mm – 140 mm, J material is a medium perm, general-purpose material.
addition to taking up a minimum amount of area on the toroids have good self-shielding properties. The fact that J’s properties are well suited both for EMI/RFI filtering
printed circuit board. the core is a solid with no sections to assemble makes it a and broadband transformers.
good choice if mechanical integrity is important in a high
Assembly with printed circuit bobbins and one piece vibration environment. Toroid cores are available uncoated W material has set the industry standard for high perm
clamps is simplified. PQs provide a more uniform or with an epoxy, nylon or Parylene coating. materials. In filter applications, W perm has 20-50% more
cross-sectional area, so they tend to operate with less impedance below 1 MHz than J perm.
pronounced hot spots than most other cores. CORE MATERIALS
M material is Magnetics’ highest permeability material
EC, ETD AND EER CORES POWER at 15,000µ. Applications for M include: EMI/RFI
These shapes combine the benefits of E cores and pot Magnetics R, P, F, T and L materials provide superior suppression filters, common mode chokes, signal
cores. Like E cores, they have a wide opening on each saturation, high temperature performance, low losses and processing, and broadband transformers.
side. This provides ample space for the large wires used product consistency.
for low output voltage switched mode power supplies. It
also increases the flow of air which keeps the assembly
T material is ideal for consistent performance over LINEAR FILTERS AND SENSORS
a wide temperature range. Applications for T include: Magnetics C, E and V materials offer excellent
cooler. The center leg is round, like that of the pot core. Automotive, Electronic Lighting, Outdoor LCD Screens, properties for low-level signal applications. These materials
One of the advantages of the round center leg is that the Mobile Handheld Devices and AC adapters and chargers. set the standard for high quality factor, long-term stability
winding has a shorter path length around it (11% shorter)
and precise and adjustable inductance. Applications
than the wire around a square center leg with an equal
for these materials include high Q filters, wideband
area. This reduces the losses of the windings by 11% and
transformers, pulse transformers and RLC tuned circuits.
63
Inductor
Design
Ferrite E cores and pot cores offer the advantages of decreased cost and low POT CORES
core losses at high frequencies. For switching regulators, power materials are 1300 B - 40704
recommended because of their temperature and DC bias characteristics. By C - 40905
G H J K L D - 41107
adding air gaps to these ferrite shapes, the cores can be used efficiently while 1100 E - 41408
avoiding saturation. F - 41811
900 G - 42213
A L(mH/1000 turns)
These core selection procedures simplify the design of inductors for switching E F H - 42616
regulator applications. One can determine the smallest core size, assuming a J - 43019
700 K - 43622
winding factor of 50% and wire current carrying capacity of 500 circular mils per
L - 44229
ampere.
500
Only two parameters of the design applications must be known:
B C D
(a) Inductance required with DC bias 300
(b) DC current
100
1. Compute the product of LI² where: 0.01 0.1 1 10 100
L = inductance required with DC bias (millihenries) 2
LI (millijoules)
I = maximum DC output current + 1/2 AC Ripple
ETD AND EER CORES
2. Locate the LI² value on the Ferrite Core Selector charts shown. Follow this 1300 A - 42814
coordinate up to the intersection with the first core size curve. Read the 42817 (EER28)
maximum nominal inductance, AL, on the Y-axis. This represents the smallest 1100 B - 43434 (ETD34)
C - 43521 (EER35L)
core size and maximum AL at which saturation will be avoided. A B C D E F H G I D - 43939 (ETD39)
900 E - 44013 (EER40)
A L(mH/1000 turns)
3. Any core size line that intersects the LI² coordinate represents a workable core F - 44216 (EER42)
for the inductor if the core’s AL value is less than the maximum value obtained 44444 (ETD44)
700 G - 44818
on the chart. 44821 (EER48)
500 45418 (EER54)
4. Required inductance L, core size, and core nominal inductance (AL) are known. H - 44949 (ETD49)
Calculate the number of turns using I - 45959 (ETD59)
300
N = 103 ;''
L 100
0.1 1 10 100
AL
LI 2 (millijoules)
where L is in millihenries. RS (ROUND-SLAB) & DS (DOUBLE-SLAB) CORES
5. Example: If IMAX = 8 Amps; L, inductance required = 100 µHenries 1300 A - 41408
(RS)
LI² = (0.100 mH) X (8² Amps) = 6.4 millijoules B - 42311
1100 (DS, RS)
6. There are many ferrite cores available that will support the energy required. 42318
B
Any core size that the LI² coordinate intersects can be used at the A L value 900 (DS, RS)
A L(mH/1000 turns)
A C - 42616
shown on the chart.
(DS)
700 D - 43019
7. Some choices based upon an LI² value of 6.4 millijoules are: D E F
(DS, RS)
Pot core 43622 AL = 400 Double Slab 43622 AL = 250 C
500 E - 43622
PQ core 43220 AL = 300 E core 44317 A L = 250 (DS)
F - 44229
8. For the following AL values the number of turns required is: 300 (DS)
A L = 400, N = 16 A L = 300, N = 19 A L = 250, N = 20
Make sure the wire size chosen will support the current and fit into the core set. 100
0.01 0.1 1 10 100
LI 2 (millijoules)
64 MAGNETICS
Inductor
Design
RM AND EP CORES PQ CORES
A - 40707 (EP7) 1300 A - 42016
1200 41010 (EP10) 42020
41110 (RM4) B - 42614
B - 41313 (EP13) 1100 C - 42610
1000 C - 41510 (RM5) 42620
A B C D E F
D - 41717 (EP17) 900
A L(mH/1000 turns)
42625
A L(mH/1000 turns)
800 E
E - 41812 (RM6) 43214
F - 42316 (RM8) D - 43220
G - 42120 (EP20) 700 43230
600 D F G H J H - 42819 (RM10) E - 43535
C J - R43723 (RM12) 44040
400 500 F - 45050
B
200 A 300
0 100
0.01 0.1 1 10 0.01 0.1 1 10 100
2 2
LI (millijoules) LI (millijoules)
A L(mH/1000 turns)
A L(mH/1000 turns)
D - 41515 (EFD)
1200 43616 (EE, EI) 1200 K H L M E - 41826 (ER)
F - 43808 (EE, EI) F - 42517
1000 G - 44008 (EE, EI) 1000 42521 (ER)
H - 44308 (EE, EI) G - 42313 (ER)
800 800 G I 42523 (EFD)
D G E H F I J K 44310 (EE, EI) J H - 43021 (ER)
600 C B
I - 45810 (EE, EI) 600 44119 (EC)
J - 46410 (EE, EI) F I - 42014 (ER)
400 K - 49938 (EE) 400 43030 (EFD)
A B D C E
200 200 A J - 43225 (ER)
K - 43517 (EC)
0 0 L - 45224 (EC)
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 M - 47035 (EC)
2 2
LI (millijoules) LI (millijoules)
www.mag-inc.com 65
Inductor
Design
DC BIAS DATA — FOR GAPPED APPLICATIONS
The above curves are limit curves, up to which effective permeability remains
constant. They show the maximum allowable DC bias, in ampere-turns, AL • le
µe =________
without a reduction in inductance. Beyond this level (see insert), inductance
drops rapidly. 4 Ae p
Example: How many ampere-turns can be supported by an R42213A315 1 1 l
pot core without a reduction in inductance value? ___ =___+___
g
µe µi le
le = 3.12 cm µe = 125
Maximum allowable H = 25 Oersted (from the graph above) Ae = effective cross sectional area (cm2)
NI (maximum) = 0.80 x H x le = 62.4 ampere-turns AL = inductance/1,000 turns (mH)
or (Using top scale, maximum allowable H = 20 A•T/cm.) µi = initial permeability
NI (maximum) = A•T/cm x le
lg = gap length (cm)
= 20 x 3.12
= 62.4 A•T Inductance falls off rapidly above the limit
curve. The dashed lines illustrate the µe curve
for individual gapped core sets.
66 MAGNETICS
Transformer
Design
Magnetics offers two methods to select a ferrite core for a power application.
FLUX DENSITY VS. FREQUENCY P MATERIAL
CORE SELECTION BY POWER HANDLING CAPACITY 2000
The Power Chart characterizes the power handling capacity of each ferrite core
based upon the frequency of operation, the circuit topology, the flux level selected,
and the amount of power required by the circuit. If these four specifics are known, 1500
the core can be selected from the Power Chart on page 68.
www.mag-inc.com 67
Typical Power Handling Chart
Power in Watts Pot, RS, E Cores RM, PQ, UU, UI, ETD, EFD, Planar Toroid
20 kHz 50 kHz 100 kHz 250 kHz DS EP UR EER, EC
2 3 4 7 41811 RS DS PC 41205 EE 41313 EP 42107 EE 40907 TC 41406 TC 41303 TC
41707 EE 41812 RM 41805 EE 41435 TC 41304 TC 41206 TC
41912 RM 41506 TC 41407 TC 41405 TC
41305 TC
12 18 27 52 41810 EE 42316 RM
42510 EE
13 20 29 56 42213 PC 42614 PQ
15 22 32 62 42318 RS DS HS 42214 EE
68 MAGNETICS
Typical Power Handling Chart
Power in Watts Pot, RS, E Cores RM, PQ, UU, UI, ETD, EFD, Planar Toroid
20 kHz 50 kHz 100 kHz 250 kHz DS EP UR EER, EC
220 350 495 962 44721 EE 44119 UR
410 650 922 1793 44033 EE 44130 UR 44821 EER 46410 EI 44416 TC 44419 TC 43825 TC
45724 EE 44949 ETD
700 1100 1575 3062 45528 EE 45716 UR 45454 ETD 46410 EE 44920 TC 44916 TC
1000 1600 2250 4375 43428 UG 47228 EE 45917 UR 45959 ETD 46013 TC
46022 EE 47035 EC 46113 TC
Ferrite Core selection listed by typical Power Handling Capabilities (Chart is for Power Ferrite Materials, F, P, R, L and T, Push-Pull Square wave operation)
Wattage values shown above are for push-pull converter design. De-rate by a factor of 3 or 4 for flyback. De-rate by a factor of 2 for feed-forward converter.
Example: For a feed-forward converter to be used at 300 watts select a core that is rated at 600 watts based on the converter topology.
Note: Assuming core loss to be approximately 100 mW/cm³, B Levels used in this chart are:
@ 20 kHz - 200 mT, 2000 gauss; @ 50 kHz - 130 mT, 1300 gauss; @ 100 kHz - 90 mT, 900 gauss; @ 250 kHz - 70 mT, 700 gauss
www.mag-inc.com 69
Area Product Distribution (WaAc) Chart
4
WaAc (cm ) RS, DS, HS E EC, EER, EP, RM ER Planar Pot PQ TC U, UR
EFD, ETD
<0.001 40200 TC
40301 TC
40502 TC
0.001 40401 TC
40402 TC
40503 TC
40601 TC
0.002 40904 EE 40704 UG
0.003 40906 EE 40905 UG 40603 TC
0.004 41009 EFD 41126 EE
0.005 40707 EP
0.006 41308 EI 41107 UG
0.008 41434 EI 40705 TC
0.01 41212 EFD 41010 EP 41308 EE 41425 EE 41109 UG 41003 TC 41106 UI
41110 RM 41426 EE
0.02 41408 RS DS HS 41203 EE 41515 EFD 41510 RM 41434 EE 41408 UG 41005 TC 41106 UU
0.03 41205 EE 41313 EP 41826 EE 42107 EI 40907 TC
41707 EE 41805 EI
0.04 41805 EI 41303 TC
41435 TC
0.05 41811 HS 41812 RM 42313 EE 41206 TC 41304 TC
41405 TC 41407 TC
41506 TC
0.06 41717 EP 42107 EE 41410 UG 41305 TC
41912 RM
0.07 41811 RS DS 42014 EI 42107 EE 41811 UG 42610 UG 41306 TC
41805 EE 41406 TC
0.08 42311 DS HS 41808EE 42517EI 41450TC
0.09 42019 EFD 41814 UG
0.1 42311 RS 41810 EE 42014 EE 42216 EI 41605 TC
0.2 42318 RS DS HS 42510 EE 42523 EFD 42013 RM 42517 EE 42214 EI 42213 UG 42016 UG 41606 TC 41607 TC
42515 EI 42120 EP 43021 EI 42020 UG 41410 TC 41610 TC
42316 RM 42614 UG
0.3 42616 RS DS HS 42513 EE 43030 EFD 42521 EE 43618 EI 43214 UG 41809 TC 42515 UI
43225 EE 42216 EE 42106 TC
42214 EE
0.4 42526 EE 42819 RM 42217 EE 42616 UG 42620 UG 42109 TC
43208 EI 42206 TC
44008 EI
0.5 42520 EE 42814 EER 43021 EE 42207 TC
43007 EE
0.6 43019 DS HS 42515 EE 43618 EE 42823 UG 42625 UG 42220 UU
43009 EE 42515 UU
0.7 43019 RS 42530 EE 42929 EFD 43208 EE 43019 UG 42507 TC
42817 EER
0.8 43517 EC 44008 EE 43220 UG 42506 TC 42512 UU
42212 TC
0.9 43808 EI 42508 TC
70 MAGNETICS
Area Product Distribution (WaAc) Chart
4
WaAc (cm ) RS, DS, HS E EC, EER, EP, RM ER Planar Pot PQ TC U, UR
EFD, ETD
<1 43622 RS DS HS 43515 EE 43434 ETD 43723 RM 44308 EI 42712 TC 42530 UU
44011 EE 42908 TC
44020 EI
2 44016 EE 43521 EER 44230 RM 44310 EI 43622 UG 43230 UG 42915 TC
44317 EE 43939 ETD 43808 EE 43113 TC
43520 EE 44013 EER 43806 TC
44119 EC
3 44229 RS DS 44721 EE 44216 EER 43809 EE 43535 UG 43610 TC 44119 UR
44818 EER 44308 EE 43813 TC 44121 UR
4 44020 EE 44444 ETD 44310 EE 44229 UG 43615 TC 44125 UR
44022 EE 44821 EER
45224 EC
45418 EER
5 45810 EI 44040 UG 43620 TC 44130 UR
44416 TC
6 44033 EE 44949 ETD 46410 EI 44419 TC
46016 EE
7 45724 EE 43825 TC
44015 TC
8 45810 EE 45050 UG 44715 TC
9 45454 ETD 44920 TC 45716 UR
10 45528 EE
11 46410 EE 44916 TC
12 45530 EE
13 47035 EC 44925 TC
14 45959 ETD 45917 UR
15 47228 EE
16 46013 TC
46113 TC
21 46022 EE 44932 TC
22 46420 UU
23 47133 EE 43428 UG
24 46527 EE
25 46019 TC
47313 TC
34 48020 EE 46325 TC
46326 TC
46 48613 TC 49316 UI
51 49938 EE 47325 TC
61 49925 UI
70 48619 TC
91 49928 EE 48625 TC 49316 UU
48626 TC
49715 TC
106 49718 TC
121 49925 UU
171 49725 TC
286 49920 UU
372 49740 TC
www.mag-inc.com 71