Inductors are essential in modern electronics, particularly in power electronics. They play a key role in ensuring interference-free operation and high efficiency across a wide range of applications. Their primary functions include suppressing electromagnetic interference (EMI), reducing output ripple, and enabling nearly “lossless” voltage conversion in buck or boost circuits.

In the coming months, we will share a series of insights on how to make the most of various components to help you achieve your circuit design goals. Often, there are multiple ways to reach the same objective, with factors such as space limitations, power loss, EMC requirements, and cost guiding the choice of a particular component. Trade-offs are frequently necessary, so we will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different options, including aspects like resistance and remagnetization losses.

Many components are versatile. For instance, storage chokes can serve multiple purposes, from EMC suppression to smoothing and switching applications. We’ll explore these applications in more detail soon.

To read the full paper, you can download it here.