Transformer designs keep pace with dc/dc converter technology

摘要

In recent years, as is the case with many sectors of the electronics industry, companies involved in the design and manufacture of dc/dc converters have been under significant commercial and competitive pressure. The market demand has been for smaller, higher-density, and more-efficient products in a wide choice of power ratings and in robust package styles. Because the transformer is a key component in a dc/dc converter design in terms of cost, size, and performance, considerable efforts are being made to optimize this component to match the advances in semiconductor and passive component developments. Although conventional wirewound transformers are still in use in many larger-form-factor power applications, several newer technologies have emerged in recent years that bring significant benefits to dc/dc converter designs―an example being planar wound transformers.