Design and characterization of planar integrated passive component for power converters

This paper proposes the planar passive components integration technology for power converters to investigate the technology feasibility. The planar passive components integration technology with the advantage of component amounts reduction, compact volume, better thermal management, high reliability and potential cost saving is an enabling platform technology for power converters miniaturization. It is introduced to combine inductor (L), capacitor(C) and transformer (T) into a single integrated passive component (L-C-T) to replace the discrete passive components. The manufacture process is fully compatible with PCB process by using embedded capacitor materials. Innovative integration structures with magnetic flux decoupling for planar integrated L-C-T component are proposed. Electromagnetic modeling method with higher accuracy has been developed to predict integrated L-C-T component parameters and electromagnetic field distribution. The prototype of integrated L-C-T component has been tested with promising performance. Planar passive components integration technology application outlook is presented finally.