A New Model for Designing Multiwindow Multipermeability Nonlinear LTCC Inductors

Nonlinear inductors have wide applications in dc/dc converters. The multiwindow multipermeability nonlinear inductor based on low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology has been proven to have a gradually changing wide-range inductance value curve while requiring no extra dc bias, which makes them suitable in various high-efficiency dc/dc converters. This paper focuses on the design of such a multiwindow multipermeability inductor based on an innovative module. Currently, the design of the LTCC inductors requires complicated simulation when coupling matrices among all the windows are taken into consideration. A simplified model for calculating the inductance value is proposed in this paper to reduce complexity. In the proposed model, the complicated inductance simulation is simplified to calculating inductance of three basic units in a nine-window inductor. By simulating the nine-window inductor, inductance of a rectangle-shaped inductor with any number of evenly distributed windows on it can be calculated. Based on the proposed model, the design guideline of the nonlinear inductor is also summarized. A 16-window two-permeability prototype is presented to demonstrate the design process according to the new model. The complete simulation and the test results are also provided to verify the model. The proposed model correlates with the simulation results very well.