High-Efficiency Imperative: More Power, Less Loss

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Published September 23, 2025

Today, as we strive for greater power density in designs, the fundamental components that make up our power electronics are evolving, with large ferrite cores playing a key role in that evolution. This week’s New Tech Tuesdays looks at the benefits of large ferrite cores and how a new lineup of large-size ferrite cores from TDK is enabling engineers to push the boundaries of power, efficiency, and low-core losses in demanding industrial applications.

While many electronic designs strive for smaller, compact components, when it comes to power management, sometimes bigger can be better. When it comes to ferrite cores, that extra size is not about managing more volume but about enabling entirely innovative design possibilities for high-power applications. With larger core volumes, designers can create bigger air gaps, which in turn helps prevent magnetic saturation. This allows for higher currents and, consequently, a significant increase in a component's total power delivery. As a result, high-frequency power transformers and chokes that incorporate these larger cores can manage the massive energy requirements of industrial motors and utility-scale systems.

The need for such high-power, high-efficiency magnetic components is growing across a wide range of heavy-duty industrial sectors. For example, large ferrite cores are used in high-frequency power transformers for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, where fast charging requires significant power handling capabilities. They are also vital for railway and traction applications, where power density and reliability are paramount. Other critical uses for large ferrite cores include power supplies for welding equipment, medical devices, uninterrupted power supplies (UPS), and solar inverters, all of which demand robust and efficient power management.

In addition to the benefits of larger sizes, the core’s material composition is critical for efficiency. TDK’s large-size ferrite cores are available in a variety of high-performance power materials (Figure 1), each optimized for specific operating conditions. For example, the available N95 material offers exceptionally low-core losses across a wide temperature range, from −40°C to +100°C. For applications that run hot, the N88 material maintains low losses even at high operating temperatures up to +130°C. These material choices allow engineers to fine-tune their designs to minimize heat generation and maximize energy transfer, which is a key consideration in high-reliability systems.

Figure 1: TDK’s large-size ferrite cores enable optimized power transfer with various core and material combinations. (Source: Mouser Electronics)

Engineers can also incorporate TDK’s B66375 and B66894 distributed gapped (DG) cores to increase power density and assist with downsizing designs. These DG cores are the catalyst to the development of the large-size ferrite cores and their distributed air gaps help optimize efficiency and thermal performance in a range of power management applications.

TDK’s large-size ferrite cores provide significant advantages for high-power electronics. By offering increased core volume and a wide selection of low-loss materials, these cores enable a new generation of high-frequency power transformers and inductors. The result is higher power handling, reduced core losses, and improved efficiency, making them ideal for the most demanding applications in the industrial, automotive, and renewable energy sectors.