Types of Inductors

Posted by Custom Coils on May 20, 2022 10:39 pm | Comments Off

inductor

An inductor is one of the basic electrical components commonly used in electric circuits. Typically, an inductor consists of an electrical conductor wound into a coil, often including an iron core. The inductor stores energy in a magnetic field when current flows through it. This magnetic field induces an electromotive force (in the form of voltage) that opposes any change in current. are common in radio frequency systems, where they conduct currents and reduce feedback and interference. In circuits, inductors are crucial in controlling electrical flow.

Custom Coils produces a wide range of inductors and can work with you throughout the product development life cycle to customize inductors for your application. As you review your options and specifications, consider the following types of inductors.

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Inductors can follow multilayered, coupled, molded, ceramic, or other designs. Here are more details on the most common inductor types on the market.

Air Core Inductor

Air core inductors are hollow, which gives them low permeability and low inductance. They are most effective in high-frequency settings.

Iron Core Inductor

Also called ferrite core, these inductors have high resistance to electricity, high permeability, and low eddy current losses—all of which results in excellent performance in high-frequency applications.

Toroidal Inductor

These inductors are made of a donut-shaped iron core wrapped in wire. Thanks to its closed-loop, circular shape, toroidal inductors create strong magnetic fields.

Laminated Core Inductor

Laminated core inductors consist of thin steel sheets stacked to form the core. These stacks help block eddy currents and minimize energy loss.

Powdered Iron Core Inductor

These inductors are composed of magnetic iron material with air gaps. This construction allows the core to store more energy than other types of inductors. They also offer low eddy current and hysteresis losses.

Axial Inductor

An axial inductor is made by wrapping copper wire around a dumbbell-shaped ferrite core. A molding procedure then prints colored bands on it, and users can read these bands using a color code chart to determine the inductance value.

Shielded Surface Mount Inductor

The inductor wire wraps around a cylindrical bobbin and is secured in a specially made ferrite housing. These inductors are specifically created for PCB applications since the shielding minimizes EMI and noise from the inductor.

Coupled Inductor

These inductors feature two wires wound around a common core. The wires can be connected in various ways and transfer energy through mutual inductance. An example of a coupled inductor is a transformer.

Multilayer Chip Inductor

Multilayer inductors are made up of thin ferrite plates with coil patterns printed on them. The layered coils and insulation between them create high inductance.

Shielded Variable Inductor

With these inductors, a wire wraps around a hollow cylinder bobbin and can change inductance according to the core material placed inside. Ferrite cores increase inductance while brass cores decrease inductance.

Molded Inductor

Inductors with molded plastic or ceramic insulation are often found in circuit boards. They’re shaped as either bars or cylinders.

Ceramic Core Inductor

Ceramic cores are dielectric and cannot store much energy, but they do provide low distortion and heat loss.

Inductor Applications

The following are popular applications for each inductor.

Air Core Conductor

RF tuning coils
Filter circuits
Snubber circuits
TV and radio receivers

Iron Core Conductor

Transformers
High-frequency applications