The Effect of DC Bias Conditions on Ferrite Core Losses

In switched-mode power supplies - the predominant type of power converter in contemporary electronic equipment - ferrite magnetic components under dc bias conditions are typically large and have relatively high losses. The nature of these losses is not widely understood, and research in this area has been hampered by the difficulty of obtaining accurate core loss measurements. This paper reviews previous studies on the nature of core losses under dc bias, and presents new results, measured by a technique that has not previously been utilized for the measurement of core losses under dc bias conditions. The results show that ferrite core losses increase significantly with an increasing dc bias, and highlight the need for further research over a wider range of conditions to fully characterize the phenomenon.