Surface Mount Devices

Inductors are just one more area where the requirements for less space and greater performance in high volume miniature end products have spurred industry leaders into action. The ultimate shrink occurs when the inductor's dimensions go to zero. Essentially that is what can happen to some inductors by applying MEMS technology to semiconductor ICs. Here are five products that provide more inductance in smaller surface mount technology (SMT) packaging.

HIGH POWER INDUCTORS

EPCOS has developed a new series of High Power Inductors (HPI) that offer a high current carrying capacity in a 12×12 mm footprint. Designed as output inductors for dc/dc converters, voltage regulator modules (VRMs) and point-of-load (POL) converters, the HPIs have inductance of 0.5 to 3.92 µH with current carrying capacities from 12 to 30A. The HPI coils are helical (flat rectangular wire wound on edge) resulting in a helix that allows higher window copper utilization with a copper-filling factor approaching unity. The increased copper results in lower ohmic resistance and higher efficiency. The coils smaller component size with the same or higher current carrying capacity saves circuit board space. For more information onEpcos High Power Inductors, go to http://rbi.ims.ca/4416-621.

WIRE-WOUND CHIP INDUCTOR

Taiyo Yuden has developed a 1A rated wire-wound chip inductor in an EIA standard 1210 case size. With an inductance of 4.7 µH, the CBC3225-4R7MR targets space-limited dc-to-dc converter choke-coil applications providing a 70 percent surface area reduction compared to a 1A-class power inductor. Designed for high performance, the SMT inductor is extremely small— only 8 mm². To improve end-device manufacturability, these units have non-polarized electrodes that allow mounting in any orientation on the circuit board. For more information on Taiyo Yuden wire-wound chip inductors, go tohttp://rbi.ims.ca/4416-619.

SURFACE MOUNT POWER INDUCTORS

NIC Components Corp. has developed a new series of surface mount power inductors, NPI (standard) and NPIS (shielded) that provide an expanded range of power inductor requirement choices. The range of sizes, current ratings, and inductance values target dc-dc and point of load (POL) converter usage, VRMs, and other power supply applications. The NPI and NPIS series are offered in both low profile sizes and miniaturized for today's ultra-thin portable electronic environment with restrictive height and size requirements. The lowest saturation current units, such as the non-shielded low profile NPI S with a package size of 4.8×3.0×1.1 mm have inductance values ranging from 1.0 to 3300 µH. At the other extreme, the 52A shielded high current low profile NPIS P is 13.6×12.9×3.5 mm with values from 0.1 to 10 µH. For more information on NIC Components' surface mount power inductors, go tohttp://rbi.ims.ca/4416-620.

SURFACE MOUNT SHIELDED INDUCTOR

Vishay Intertechnology, Inc.'s new wirewound, surface-mounted, shielded inductor enables easier surface-mounting and higher reliability. Designed for use in low-to-medium-frequency resonant circuits for electronic systems applications such as PCs, flash memory devices, and converters, the ISC-1008 inductor offers a wide inductance range of 1.0 to 1,000 µH. The inductor resists soldering heat and has excellent solderability offering engineers improved board space functionality while maintaining performance and reliability. The ISC-1008 is available with values (at 100 KHz) ranging from 1.0 to 1,000 µH with dimensions of 0.142×0.142 inch [3.6×3.6 mm] with a height of 0.098 inch [2.50 mm]. It is RoHS-compliant, 100 percent lead-free, and rated for temperature range of 40 to +85C. For more information on Vishay's surface-mounted, shielded inductors, go tohttp://rbi.ims.ca/4416-622.

CHIP INDUCTORS

NIC Components Corp.'s ultra small (0201 ~ 1812 size) surface-mount chip inductors have a high Q-factor over a wide frequency range. The industry's increased requirement for miniaturized digital equipment and hand-held portable electronic products with more complex features and higher operating frequencies has increased the demand for SMT chip inductors. The chip inductor's thin film construction allows precision tolerances with high DCI and stable characteristics. The thin film chip inductors have values between 1.0 to 100 nH with Q minimum typically greater than 40 at 2 GHz for 0201, 0402, and 0603 packages. For more information on NIC Components' surface mount chip inductors, go tohttp://rbi.ims.ca/4416-623.

100NH INDUCTOR IN 0201 PACKAGE

Taiyo Yuden offers a new100 nH-rated chip inductor in EIA 0201 case size and a new line of 0201 high-Q chip inductors rated at 1 to10 nH with 30 percent higher Q values than previous series devices, relative to case size. The high frequency multilayer chip inductors provide high-Q factor (HKQ series) performance characteristics and high-inductance (HK series) allowing high-density pc board mounting by reducing the size of noise-suppression filters in power amplifiers, voltage-controlled oscillators, cell phone RF circuits, and other choke-coil applications. Downsizing from an existing 0402 package to a 0201 case size saves 64 percent of the pc board area and 78 percent volume per component. For more information on Taiyo Yuden's 100 nH rated multilayer chip inductors, go tohttp://rbi.ims.ca/4416-624.

MEMS INDUCTORS

MEMSCAP used its micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) capability to develop a method for the semiconductor industry to integrate high-Q inductor designs. The new methodology will allow the elimination of discrete circuit board inductors and will help shrink form factors. This makes room for more functionality by manufacturing the inductors on top of semiconductor chip—integrated with an RF IC. The designs use an IC-compatible process to reduce costs, improve performance, and integrate high density. With its small size, the inductor is well suited for the new ultra-thin and miniaturized wireless devices such as cell phones, PDAs, and pagers. The inductance values range between 1.5 to 15 nH with quality factors of more than 55 at 2 GHz. Potential applications include oscillators, low-noise amplifiers, and power amplifiers in wireless devices. For more information on MEMSCAP integrate high-Q inductor, go to http://rbi.ims.ca/4416-625.