Turn-coupling in thick-film integrated magnetic components for power converters

Driven by the need to reduce the size and weight of power converters, there have been several attempts to provide a structural integration of inductors and transformers. However, most of them are focused on the MHz-range handling very low currents. A recent work has proven the suitability of thick-film technology to produce power inductors, but the design suggested did not provide turn-coupling in the structure. The present paper builds on the results of the above mentioned work indicating new conductor arrangements that allow obtaining turn coupling in thick-film magnetic structures. The benefit of having such a coupling is twofold. On the one hand, it allows integrating inductors in even smaller volumes. On the other hand, it makes it possible to design flat power transformers using this integration technique. A complete design procedure of both, power inductors with turn-coupling and power transformers, is presented in this paper. A full characterization of these thick-film transformers is also given. Some experimental results are included as well so that the reader can validate the modeling proposed.