On-chip Coupled Power Inductor for Two-Phase Switching Power Converter

Abstract:
Power inductor is one of the largest and most weighted components in power converters. On-chip power inductor with high saturation current and a relatively large inductance value is desired to be with a smaller size (footprint) [1-5]. Coupled power inductor (CPI) has many applications, and one of them is in multi-phase power converters [6-10]. One of the main advantages of the CPI used in DC-DC power converters is the ability to obtain smaller equivalent transient inductance (advantageous for lower output voltage dynamic deviation under transients) with a larger equivalent steady-state inductance (advantageous for smaller steady-state output voltage ripple and higher power efficiency). Inversely coupled power inductor was employed in the multi-phase switching power converters to improve both the steady-state and transient performances [8-10].