Magnetic Components for
Power Applications
One of the primary applications of magnetic components is in the field of power electronics.
Almost all of the most fundamental and widely used power circuits, such as switched-mode
power supplies, center on the use of magnetic components for their operation. These applications
tend to exploit the rising and collapsing magnetic fields within a component to manipulate
voltages and currents for use in a system. Since these applications tend to be high-stress and
mission-critical, it becomes increasingly important that the circuit's magnetics offer high degrees
of efficiency, safety, and reliability.
Unfortunately, achieving all three simultaneously tends to be difficult in practice, and trade-offs
need to be made. Often, designers need to choose between conflicting characteristics such as
size and efficiency, or performance and cost. These trade-offs tend to increase the difficulty of
choosing appropriate magnetics for a given application.
Chapter Two
8 I Magnetic Components for Power Applications
"When designing power
applications, the biggest
trade-offs tend to be between
component size, shape, and
power loss."
Aleksei Zhmakin
Senior Hardware Design Engineer,
Arrival
The biggest design challenges for power applications are
maintaining high efficiency while ensuring the component will
fit in the specified geometry as defined by the PCB or enclosure.
Cathal Sheehan
Senior Technical Market Manager, Bourns, Inc.
