A Review of Tunable Inductors for Power Electronics: Techniques and Applications

Abstract

Magnetic components are recently being researched and believed to be a main source of losses, and increasing the weight of power converters, which has become a real challenge for designers. Controlled magnetics for power electronic applications is a promising but still-evolving technology that started to gain momentum as it enabled circuit designers to achieve greater optimization in terms of cost, losses, and size during the design stages of different power converters. In this paper, a comprehensive review is carried out on practical tunable magnetic technologies that may turn out to be a viable solution and find their usage in power electronic applications. In addition, several techniques that can be used in the realization of controlled magnetic components, including but not limited to current-controlled magnetics, voltage-controlled magnetics, and self-regulated magnetics, are being investigated to define the merits and drawbacks of each technology for potential future usage. This article is mainly focused on controlled power inductors for various power electronic applications, and its main goal is to assist designers in selecting the suitable technology for their applications.