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FTI-12x2A-1B
FTI-12x2A-1B-R
FTT KIT #1
FTT KIT #2
APPLICATION NOTE AN01 FTT KIT #3
FTT KIT #4
FTT KIT #5
Flat Transformer Technology's
TRANSFORMER-INDUCTOR MODULE
For Half Bridge, Full Bridge and Push Pull Circuits
W
hen designing power supplies operating at 250
kHz, and above, the transformers and inductors of copper plates that are bonded to the inside surface of square
are usually one of the biggest stumbling block. ferrite core. This winding follows a 180 degrees helical path.
While there are many 'cookbook designs' on transformers When the primary windings are sleeved through the core, the
and inductors, optimizing them requires complex calculations, coupling between the primary and secondary windings is
and measurements with expensive equipment. In many cases, improved tremendously. This feature coupled with the absence
specific data on the core materials are not available from the of multiple windings, results in a very low leakage inductance,
manufacturers. Important design parameter such as leakage typically, around 4 nH per turn squared.
inductance is difficult to calculate and in addition, many
designs require a very low profile. Thermal management is Flat Transformer's modular construction also has a low profile,
another important issue. Non uniform heat dissipation in high density, and vastly improved thermal characteristics, a
transformers produces hot spots, and causes transformers combination not found in a conventional transformer design. In
to overheat. addition, a matching inductor is packaged into the module,
resulting in a tightly integrated transformer-inductor module
Conventional transformers are designed with multiple (FTI- series). Each module comes with easy to use mounting
windings on a single core. These windings cause higher holes that can be fastened down to any flat surfaces with
leakage inductance, more noises and higher losses. Flat superior resistance to vibration.
Transformer uses an innovative approach. Instead of using
multiple windings on a single core, Flat Transformer uses a The FTI series module make designing the entire output stage
single winding on multiple cores, resulting in a modular of the power supplies a very simple process. This application
structure with many inherent advantages. notes provide a step by step approach in designing the entire
output stage consisting of the transformer, inductor, rectifiers,
and output capacitors.
Application Note AN01 FLAT TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY CORP., 240 Briggs Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Rev. 2 Tel.: 714-850-7320 Fax: 714-850-7321 www.flattransformer.com 1
The FTI series of transformer inductor modules are optimized FTI-12x2A-1A and FTI-12x2A-1B
for a low output voltage, and a high output current. These
modules have the lowest leakage inductance, and a minimal These integrated FTI modules (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4) are designed
inter-winding capacitance. Low leakage inductance is important for output voltages from zero to 15 volts at a maximum of 40
in high output current application. Each FTI module has a amps per module. The main difference between the two
leakage inductance of 4nH per turns squared, which is about modules is the top and bottom plates. FTI-12x1A-1A does
2000 times smaller than any other types of comparable not have an extension on the bottom plate for the rectifier
transformers. The modules are connected in parallel with a connection. In this case, the rectifier is mounted directly onto
copper strap over the modules. Please see Figure 14. the heat sink. The FTI-12x1A-1B has a newer and better
design of the top and bottom plates with an extension for
Low leakage inductance and low inter-winding capacitance rectifier connection. We recommend that all new power
is possible because the number of passes over the cores, N, supply designs use the FTI-12x2A-1B configuration.
(usually referred as "number of turns") is low with Flat
Transformers. The number of turns, N, is not to be confused
with turns ratio, n.
L 0.4π N2 Ae µ
leakage = . . . . (1)
Le
Where,
N = No. of turns, Fig. 3. FTI-12x2A-1A: 15V, 40 A,
Ae = Cross sectional core area (cm2) “A” Version, no extension for rectifier.
µ = Permeability of core in air
Le = Magnetic path length (cm)
FLAT TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY CORP., 240 Briggs Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
2 Tel.: 714-850-7320 Fax: 714-850-7321 www.flattransformer.com Application Note AN01
Transformer Losses
5
Fig. 6. Inductor Section:
T
0m
3.5 turns on specially
30
blended iron powder cores
T
2
0m
The built-in inductor in FTI-12x2A-1A or 1B consists
25
Core + winding loss in watts
of a specially blended iron powder core. This built-in
T
0m
inductor is also available in MPP and Sendust material for
20
1
T
0m
high end applications. It has 3.5 turns of AWG #16 wire.
15
Under normal circumstances, #16 wire for an inductor
T
0m
0.5
application handles 10 amps of current. The top and
10
mT
bottom copper plates are bonded to the inductor in the
75
FTI module and these plates have large surface area for
mT
good heat dissipation. The copper plates which also 0.2
50
doubles as the output terminals act as a good heat
extractor, thereby allowing the #16 wire to handle up to
0.1
40 amps of current through the inductor.
mT
25
Table 1: Transformer Section
0.05
Built-in secondary winding 1+1 center tap 60 100 200 500 In kHz.
0.6 cm2
kHz Hz
kHz
kHz
0.2
Le (Magnetic length) 2.64 cm
150
300
kHz
500
kHz
200
Hz
100
Different inductance values, wire sizes and materials (MPP or Sendust) is available. Graph 2. Core Loss Vs
Please call. Flux Density in gauss
FLAT TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY CORP., 240 Briggs Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Application Note AN01 Tel.: 714-850-7320 Fax: 714-850-7321 www.flattransformer.com 3
Inductor Core loss
10,000
5000
Fig. 8. Rectifiers with correctly
sized packaging
2000
Core loss (mW per Inductor Core)
1000
500
z
kH
500
200
z
kH
200
100
50
10
20 50 100 200 500 1000
-4
Peak AC Flux Density (gauss) NOTE: tesla = gauss x 10
FLAT TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY CORP., 240 Briggs Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
4 Tel.: 714-850-7320 Fax: 714-850-7321 www.flattransformer.com Application Note AN01
FTT KIT # 1
D
Fig. 15. 3 modules of FTI-12 x 2A-1B
Fig. 13. C, D, — Power and Ground with power and ground
copper straps copper bus bar
“B” FTT KIT # 1
FLAT TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY CORP., 240 Briggs Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Application Note AN01 Tel.: 714-850-7320 Fax: 714-850-7321 www.flattransformer.com 5
FTT KIT #2 to KIT # 5 Design Guides for Buck Converters
Figure 16, 17, 18, and 19 shows the picture of transformer- Buck converters are step down converters. Forward, Half
inductor KITs 2 to 5 respectively. These kits have five Bridge, Full Bridge, and Push Pull are different classes of
modules connected in parallel on a heat sink. KIT #3 has buck converters. The FTI series modules are designed for Half
rectifiers, and capacitors connected which comprises the Bridge, Full Bridge and Push Pull circuits. For applications in
entire output stage of a power converter. KIT #4 has two Forward topology, please contact technical support for details.
passes of teflon coated wires threaded through the modules
as the primary windings resulting in a turns ratio of 10:1. The basic buck converter circuit is shown in Figure 20.
KIT #5 has four passes of teflon coated wires as primary
windings resulting in a turns ratio of 20:1. L
Vi Q1 Vo
CR C R
Vc
Where,
D = Duty cycle,
Vo = Output voltage,
Vi = Input voltage
FLAT TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY CORP., 240 Briggs Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
6 Tel.: 714-850-7320 Fax: 714-850-7321 www.flattransformer.com Application Note AN01
The average ripple current =
IL b
I peak
∆I
Inductor
a c } 2 ∆I Vi DL T ( 1 - DL )
. . . . (7)
Current I avg 2 = 2 Lmin
0 T
ON = DT OFF = (1-D)T
DoT
Hence, the minimum output inductor value is:
Fig. 21. Inductor current Vs time
Rmax T ( 1 - DL )
Lmin = . . . . (8)
Output Inductors 2
1
I min = Minimum Inductor Current
∆Q =2 ( 21 DT + 21 DOT ) (21 ∆I ) = T∆I
8
. . . (9)
Vo = Output voltage,
L di =Vi - Vo = Vi ( 1 - DL ) . . . . (4) 2
dt ∆Q T∆I Vo T ( 1-DL ) . . . . (10)
Vo = = =
where, C 8C 8LC
∆T = D T
L
FLAT TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY CORP., 240 Briggs Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Application Note AN01 Tel.: 714-850-7320 Fax: 714-850-7321 www.flattransformer.com 7
Half Bridge (HB) Converter Design Example If three modules are used, as in KIT #3, the modules are
connected in parallel (Fig. 24). The total output current in
A typical schematic of the HB circuit is shown in Figure 22. such a configuration is a sum of currents from each module.
This equal current sharing characteristic is inherent in this
approach of designing transformers and inductors. Therefore,
VI for a three module configuration, each module only need to
carry 1/3 the output current load. Similarly, in a five modules
L configuration (FTT KIT #2 to 5), each module needs to carry
1:n Vo 1/5 the output current load.
C R
VI
1:n Vo
C1 R
Fig. 22. Typical Half Bridge Circuit L1
C2
In a conventional circuit representation, the inductor is on
the positive side of the output terminal. In actual case, it does L2
not make any difference if the inductor is connected to the
positive or ground side of the output terminal. For ease of
manufacturing, the output inductor of the FTI module is
connected to the ground side of the output terminal. C3
L3
Figure 23 shows a HB schematic using a single FTI-12x2A-1B
module. The transformer has an inductance of 6.8 µH per turn Fig. 24. HB Circuit using 3 modules of FTI-12x2A-1B
squared. The built in inductor has a value of 2.2 µH at zero
amps and 1.4 µH at 20 amps.
Referring to Figure 24, the parallel connection of the module
causes the inductors L1, L2, L3 to be in parallel too.
VI Let,
Vout = 5 V, Io = 60 amps, f = 300 KHz and up,
1:n Vo Input: 240 Vdc to 375 Vdc
Output Power = 300 watts
C R Assume a diode drop of 1v, then Vo = 6v
L
Assume a 10% minimum load,
Io min = 6 amps. R max = 5/6 ohms
V I max = 375 Vdc, V i min = 240 Vdc
FLAT TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY CORP., 240 Briggs Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
8 Tel.: 714-850-7320 Fax: 714-850-7321 www.flattransformer.com Application Note AN01
1
When the FTI modules are connected in parallel, Re-calculating the above, with n = ,
15
n, the turns ratio = M x N, where M is the number of modules
connected together, and N is the number of passes through all
6 1
the modules (or the number of turns). 120 = DH ( 15 ),
To achieve a turn ratio of 16:1, the number of modules used
DH = 0.75.
(M), must be a multiple of 16. In this case, either 2, 4, 8, or
16 modules can be used. If two modules are used, then the
number of passes (N) is 8 (2x8 = 16). Since the output
current is 60 amps, two modules would mean 30 amps per We will use a 75% duty cycle at low line (240v).
module. To calculate duty cycle at high line,
Vo 1
1V = nDL , n= ,
(2 imax) 15
5 = nD , D = 0.4
187 L L
1
Hence, with n = 15 , the duty cycle ranges from 0.4 to 0.75.
FLAT TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY CORP., 240 Briggs Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Application Note AN01 Tel.: 714-850-7320 Fax: 714-850-7321 www.flattransformer.com 9
Teflon coated, triple insulated or thermoleze wires are Since the built-in inductance from iron powder core is 0.466
recommended for good dielectric isolation. The isolation µH, an additional inductance of 0.34 µH ( L 4) is required at
between the primary and secondary windings already has a the output. See Figure 27.
layer of teflon sleeve. A dielectric breakdown of 40,000 volts
between primary and secondary windings is possible with Alternatively, use the higher inductance built-in inductor using
these configurations. MPP or Sendust material. Call factory for details.
502.5 µH
= 1673 C3
300 x 10-3 µH L3
FLAT TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY CORP., 240 Briggs Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
10 Tel.: 714-850-7320 Fax: 714-850-7321 www.flattransformer.com Application Note AN01
-6
Flux densities and Losses calculations ∆I = Vo T( 1-DL ) = 6 x 1.8 x 10 x 0.6 = 2.3 amps
2L ( 2 x 1.4 x 10 -6 )
To calculate the flux density of the transformer, one can use
either the primary or the secondary windings since flux
generated by primary winding equals to flux generated by
Hence,
secondary winding. In the FTI series, the secondary winding
is always one, so we choose to use the secondary windings in
1.4 x 10 -6 x 2.3 x 10 8
calculating the transformer's operating flux density. ∆B = = 76.6 gauss
(2 x 0.6 x 3.5)
(At 20 A, L = 1.4 µH. See Table 2)
B peak = Vo x 10 8 6 x 10 8
=
(4 Ae N F) (4 x 0.68 x 1 x 550 x 10 3) The inductor will be DC biased to 20 amps of DC current,
and the flux density are due the ripple current riding on top of
= 401 gauss = 40.1 mT.
the DC level. Figure 28 shows the operating B-H loop due to
DC bias. The DC bias on the inductor will shift the operating
hysterisis B-H loop to the DC current level, but will not cause
appreciable core loss. The core loss is primarily due to the
Since the maximum flux density of the transformer is 450 mT, flux density from the ripple current.
the transformer is operating at only 10% of the flux capacity.
With three modules, the total transformer core loss is 600 mW.
H
8
∆B peak = Vo x 10 , HDC
(4 Ae N F)
∆H
FLAT TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY CORP., 240 Briggs Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Application Note AN01 Tel.: 714-850-7320 Fax: 714-850-7321 www.flattransformer.com 11
2
The inductor winding loss = I R. In this case, I is the DC Disclaimer
bias current of 20 amps in each module. From Table 2, the
DC resistance of windings in inductor is: 0.132 mΩ/cm. The All statements, information and data given herein are
wire length used in the inductor is 18 cm. believed to be accurate and reliable, but are presented
without guarantee, warranty or responsibility of any kind,
-
Winding loss = 20 x 20 x 0.132 x 10 3 x 18 = 0.95 watts. express or implied. Statements or suggestion concerning
possible use of the circuits and components described
The total winding or copper loss = 3 x 0.95 = 2.85 watts herein are made without representation or warranty that
any such use is free of patent infringement, and are not
Total inductor plus winding loss is: 2.85 + 1.2 = 4.05 watts recommendations to infringe any patents. The use shall not
assume that all safety measures are indicated, or that other
The total module loss = 0.6 + 1.2 + 2.85 = 4.65 watts measures may not be indicated.
The design example shows that the highest loss is the inductor
windings or copper loss. The heat generated in the inductor’s © 1998 Flat Transformer Technology Corp.
winding is sinked away by the top plates where the inductor 240 Briggs Avenue, Costa Mesa, California 92626, U.S.A.
windings are connected. Therefore, the overall temperature All Rights Reserved
rise is still quite low compared to any other conventional type
of transformer and inductor in the market. If MPP or Sendust
type inductor core is selected, the losses will be much lower.
Efficiency,
Po Po 300
n= = = = 98.5%
PI (Po + total loss) 304.65
300 = 99.8% ,
300.6
without accounting for output inductor loss.
Additional Information
FLAT TRANSFORMER TECHNOLOGY CORP., 240 Briggs Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
12 Tel.: 714-850-7320 Fax: 714-850-7321 www.flattransformer.com Application Note AN01