The Inductor Full-time Job

An Inductor is a passive electrical component consisting of a coil of wire which is designed to take advantage of the relationship between magentism and electricity as a result of an electric current passing through the coil.

In our tutorials about Electromagnetism we saw that when an electrical current flows through a wire conductor, a magnetic flux is developed around that conductor. This affect produces a relationship between the direction of the magnetic flux, which is circulating around the conductor, and the direction of the current flowing through the same conductor. This results in a relationship between current and magnetic flux direction called, “Fleming’s Right Hand Rule”.There are complex trade-offs that engineers need to understand regarding power inductors’ characteristics and the parameters of how they are used.

This difficulty originates from the many characteristics of power inductors and their applications. These may include factors such as temperature and current magnitude.Current compensated chokes and common mode chokes are different terminologies for the same thing. One point to consider when talking about CMC’s is the economic advantages and disadvantages.Most audio system design engineers are well aware of the power-efficiency advantages of Class D amplifiers over linear audio-amplifier classes such as Class A, B, and AB. In linear amplifiers such as Class AB, significant amounts of power are lost due to biasing elements and the linear operation of the output transistors. Because the transistors of a Class D amplifier are simply used as switches to steer current through the load, minimal power is lost due to the output stage. Any power losses associated with a Class D amplifier are primarily attributed to output transistor on-resistances, switching losses, and quiescent current overhead. Most power lost in an amplifier is dissipated as heat. Because heatsink requirements can be greatly reduced or eliminated in Class D Amplifier Inductors, they are ideal for compact high-power applications.

In the past, the power-efficiency advantage of classical PWM-based Class D amplifiers has been overshadowed by external filter component cost, EMI/EMC compliance, and poor THD+N performance when compared to linear amplifiers. However, most current-generation Class D amplifiers utilize advanced modulation and feedback techniques to mitigate these issues.

GaN Choke for High Frequency Switching Mode Power Supply

With low power loss, high power factor correction and a small magnetic leakage, GaN Power Supply Choke plays an important role in the circuit of GaN Power Devices.