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Finite element modeling of nanoscale-enabled microinductors for power electronics

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Abstract

This article focuses on the finite element modeling of toroidal microinductors, employing first-of-its-kind nanocomposite magnetic core material and superparamagnetic iron nanoparticles covalently cross-linked in an epoxy network. Energy loss mechanisms in existing inductor core materials are covered as well as discussions on how this novel core material eliminates them providing a path toward realizing these low form factor devices. Designs for both a 2 µH output and a 500 nH input microinductor are created via the model for a high-performance buck converter. Both modeled inductors have 50 wire turns, less than 1 cm3 form factors, less than 1 Ω AC resistance, and quality factors, Q’s, of 27 at 1 MHz. In addition, the output microinductor is calculated to have an average output power of 7 W and a power density of 3.9 kW/in3 by modeling with the 1st generation iron nanocomposite core material.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This project was supported by Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Project number 17-0341. This work was performed, in part, at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, an Office of Science User Facility operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. Special thanks to Robert E. Delaney and John O’Brien for their help with ferrite core testing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MEMS Technology Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87185, USA

    Eric D. Langlois

  2. Nanoscale Sciences, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87185, USA

    Todd C. Monson

  3. Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87185, USA

    Dale L. Huber & John Watt

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  1. Eric D. Langlois
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  2. Todd C. Monson
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  3. Dale L. Huber
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  4. John Watt
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Correspondence to Eric D. Langlois.

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This author was an editor of this journal during the review and decision stage. For the JMR policy on review and publication of manuscripts authored by editors, please refer to http://www.mrs.org/editor-manuscripts/.

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Langlois, E.D., Monson, T.C., Huber, D.L. et al. Finite element modeling of nanoscale-enabled microinductors for power electronics. Journal of Materials Research 33, 2223–2233 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2018.236

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