Skin effect

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"Skin depth" redirects here. For the depth (layers) of biological/organic skin,
see skin.

Distribution of current flow in a cylindrical conductor, shown in cross section. For alternating current, the
current density decreases exponentially from the surface towards the inside. The skin depth, δ, is defined
as the depth where the current density is just 1/e (about 37%) of the value at the surface; it depends on the
frequency of the current and the electrical and magnetic properties of the conductor.

Induction cookers use stranded coils (Litz wire) to reduce losses due to the skin effect.

Skin effect is the tendency of an alternating electric current (AC) to become

distributed within a conductor such that the current density is largest near the surface
of the conductor and decreases exponentially with greater depths in the conductor.
The electric current flows mainly at the "skin" of the conductor, between the outer
surface and a level called the skin depth. Skin depth depends on the frequency of
the alternating current; as frequency increases, current flow moves to the surface,
resulting in less skin depth. Skin effect reduces the effective cross-section of the
conductor and thus increases its effective resistance. Skin effect is caused by
opposing eddy currents induced by the changing magnetic field resulting from the
alternating current. At 60 Hz in copper, the skin depth is about 8.5 mm. At high
frequencies the skin depth becomes much smaller.
Increased AC resistance caused by the skin effect can be mitigated by using
specially woven litz wire. Because the interior of a large conductor carries so little of
the current, tubular conductors such as pipe can be used to save weight and cost.
The skin effect has practical consequences in the analysis and design of radio-
frequency and microwave circuits, transmission lines (or waveguides), and antennas.
It is also important at mains frequencies (50–60 Hz) in AC electrical power
transmission and distribution systems. It is one of the reasons for preferring high-
voltage direct current for long distance power transmission.
The effect was first described in a paper by Horace Lamb in 1883 for the case of
spherical conductors,[1] and was generalised to conductors of any shape by Oliver
Heaviside in 1885.

Contents

 1Cause
 2Formula
 3Current density in a round conductor
 4Impedance of round wire
o 4.1Inductance
o 4.2Resistance
 5Material effect on skin depth
 6Mitigation
 7Examples
 8Skin effect reduction of the internal inductance of a conductor
o 8.1Inductance per length in a coaxial cable
o 8.2Characteristics of telephone cable as a function of frequency
 9See also
 10Notes
 11References
 12External links

Cause[edit]
Cause of the skin effect. A current I flowing through a conductor induces a magnetic field H. If the current
increases, as in this figure, the resulting increase in H induces circulating eddy currents IW which partially
cancel the current flow in the center and reinforce it near the skin.

Conductors, typically in the form of wires, may be used to transmit electrical energy
or signals using an alternating current flowing through that conductor. The charge
carriers constituting that current, usually electrons, are driven by an electric field due
to the source of electrical energy. A current in a conductor produces a magnetic field
in and around the conductor. When the intensity of current in a conductor changes,
the magnetic field also changes. The change in the magnetic field, in turn, creates an
electric field which opposes the change in current intensity. This opposing electric
field is called “counter-electromotive force” (back EMF). The back EMF is strongest
at the center of the conductor, and forces the conducting electrons to the outside of
the conductor, as shown in the diagram on the right. [2][3]
Regardless of the driving force, the current density is found to be greatest at the
conductor's surface, with a reduced magnitude deeper in the conductor. That decline
in current density is known as the skin effect and the skin depth is a measure of the
depth at which the current density falls to 1/e of its value near the surface. Over 98%
of the current will flow within a layer 4 times the skin depth from the surface. This
behavior is distinct from that of direct current which usually will be distributed evenly
over the cross-section of the wire.
An alternating current may also be induced in a conductor due to an alternating
magnetic field according to the law of induction. An electromagnetic wave impinging
on a conductor will therefore generally produce such a current; this explains the
reflection of electromagnetic waves from metals. Although the term "skin effect" is
most often associated with applications involving transmission of electric currents,
the skin depth also describes the exponential decay of the electric and magnetic
fields, as well as the density of induced currents, inside a bulk material when a plane
wave impinges on it at normal incidence.

Formula[edit]
The AC current density J in a conductor decreases exponentially from its value at the
surface JS according to the depth d from the surface, as follows:[4]: 362 
where  is called the skin depth. The skin depth is thus defined as the depth below
the surface of the conductor at which the current density has fallen to 1/e (about
0.37) of JS. The imaginary part of the exponent indicates that the phase of the
current density is delayed 1 radian for each skin depth of penetration. One
full wavelength in the conductor requires 2π skin depths, at which point the
current density is attenuated to e−2π (1.87×10−3, or −54.6 dB) of its surface value.
The wavelength in the conductor is much shorter than the wavelength in vacuum,
or equivalently, the phase velocity in the conductor is very much slower than
the speed of light in a vacuum. For example, a 1 MHz radio wave has a
wavelength in vacuum λo of about 300 m, whereas in copper, the wavelength is
reduced to only about 0.5 mm with a phase velocity of only about 500 m/s. As a
consequence of Snell's law and this very tiny phase velocity in the conductor, any
wave entering the conductor, even at grazing incidence, refracts essentially in
the direction perpendicular to the conductor's surface.
The general formula for the skin depth when there is no dielectric or magnetic
loss is:[5][6]
where
 = resistivity of the conductor
 = angular frequency of current =  where  is the frequency.
 = permeability of the conductor, 
 = relative magnetic permeability of the conductor
 = the permeability of free space
 = permittivity of the conductor, 
 = relative permittivity of the conductor
 = the permittivity of free space
At frequencies much below  the quantity inside
the large radical is close to unity and the formula
is more usually given as:
This formula is valid at frequencies away
from strong atomic or molecular resonances
(where  would have a large imaginary part)
and at frequencies that are much below both
the material's plasma frequency (dependent
on the density of free electrons in the
material) and the reciprocal of the mean time
between collisions involving the conduction
electrons. In good conductors such as
metals all of those conditions are ensured at
least up to microwave frequencies, justifying
this formula's validity.[note 1] For example, in the
case of copper, this would be true for
frequencies much below 1018 Hz.
However, in very poor conductors, at
sufficiently high frequencies, the factor under
the large radical increases. At frequencies
much higher than  it can be shown that the
skin depth, rather than continuing to
decrease, approaches an asymptotic value:
This departure from the usual formula
only applies for materials of rather low
conductivity and at frequencies where the
vacuum wavelength is not much larger
than the skin depth itself. For instance,
bulk silicon (undoped) is a poor
conductor and has a skin depth of about
40 meters at 100 kHz (λ = 3 km).
However, as the frequency is increased
well into the megahertz range, its skin
depth never falls below the asymptotic
value of 11 meters. The conclusion is
 that in poor solid conductors, such as
undoped silicon, the skin effect doesn't
need to be taken into account in most
practical situations: Any current is equally
distributed throughout the material's
cross-section, regardless of its
frequency.

Current density in a round

conductor[edit]
When the skin depth is not small with
respect to the radius of the wire, current
density may be described in terms
of Bessel functions. The current density
inside round wire away from the
influences of other fields, as function of
distance from the axis is given by:[7]: 38 

Current density in round wire for various skin

depths. Numbers shown on each curve are the
ratio of skin depth to wire radius. The curve
shown with the infinity sign is the zero frequency
(DC) case. All curves are normalized so that the
current density at the surface is the same. The
horizontal axis is the position within the wire with
the left and right extremes being the surface of
the wire. The vertical axis is relative current
density.

where
 = angular frequency of current = 2π × frequency
 distance from the axis of the wire
 radius of the wire
 current density phasor at distance, r, from the axis of the wire
 current density phasor at the surface of the wire
 total current phasor
 Bessel function of the first kind, order 0
 Bessel function of the first kind, order 1
 the wave number in the conductor
 also called skin depth.
 = resistivity of the conductor
 = relative magnetic permeability of the conductor
 = the permeability of free space = 4π x 10−7 H/m
 = 
Since  is
complex, the
Bessel
functions are
also
complex.
The
amplitude
and phase of
the current
density
varies with
depth.

Impeda
nce of
round
wire[edit]
The internal 
impedance p
er unit length
of a segment
of round wire
is given by:[7]: 
40 

.
This impedanc
is
a complex qua
ity
corresponding
to a resistance
(real) in series
with
the reactance 
maginary) due
to the wire's
internal self-
inductance, pe
unit length.
Inductance
dit]
A portion of a
wire's
inductance ca
be attributed t
the magnetic
field inside the
wire itself whic
is termed
the internal
inductance; th
accounts for th
inductive
reactance
(imaginary par
of the
impedance)
given by the
above formula
In most cases
this is a small
portion of a
wire's
inductance
which includes
the effect
of induction fro
m magnetic
fields outside 
the wire
produced by th
current in the
wire. Unlike
that external in
uctance, the
internal
inductance is
reduced by the
skin effect, tha
is, at
frequencies
where the skin
depth is no
longer large
compared to t
conductor's
size.[8] This sm
component of
inductance
approaches a
value of  (50
nH/m for non-
magnetic wire
at low
frequencies,
regardless of
the wire's
radius. Its
reduction with
increasing
frequency, as
the ratio of the
skin depth to t
wire's radius
falls below
about 1, is
plotted in the
accompanying
graph, and
accounts for th
reduction in th
telephone cab
inductance wit
increasing
frequency in
the table below

The internal
component of a
round wire's
inductance vs. the
ratio of skin depth
radius. That
component of the
self inductance is
reduced below μ /
8π as the skin de
becomes small (a
frequency
increases).

The ratio AC resis

to DC resistance o
round wire versus
ratio of the wire’s
to the skin depth.
skin depth becom
small relative to th
radius, the ratio o
DC resistance
approaches one h
the ratio of the rad
the skin depth.

Resistance
dit]
The most
important effe
of the skin effe
on the
impedance of
single wire,
however, is th
increase of the
wire's
resistance, an
consequent lo
es. The effecti
resistance due
to a current
confined near
the surface of
large conducto
(much thicker
than δ) can be
solved as if th
current flowed
uniformly
through a laye
of
thickness δ ba
d on the DC
resistivity of th
material. The
effective cross
sectional area
approximately
equal to δ time
the conductor'
circumference
Thus a long
cylindrical
conductor suc
as a wire,
having a
diameter D lar
e compared
to δ, has a
resistance app
oximately that
a hollow tube
with wall
thickness δ ca
ying direct
current. The A
resistance of a
wire of
length ℓ and
resistivity  is:
The final
approximation
above assume
A convenient
formula (attrib
to F.E. Terma
the diameter D
wire of circula
cross-section
whose resista
will increase b
10% at
frequency f is:
This formula fo
increase in AC
resistance is a
only for an iso
wire. For near
e.g. in a cable
the AC resista
also affected
by proximity e
which can cau
additional incr
the AC resista

Material e
on skin
depth[edit]
In a good cond
skin depth is
proportional to
root of the res
This means th
conductors ha
reduced skin d
The overall re
of the better c
remains lower
with the reduc
depth. Howev
better conduct
show a higher
between its AC
resistance, wh
compared with
conductor of h
resistivity. For
at 60 Hz, a 20
MCM (1000 sq
millimetre) cop
conductor has
more resistanc
does at DC. T
size conducto
aluminum has
10% more res
with 60 Hz AC
does with DC.
Skin depth als
as the inverse
root of
the permeabili
conductor. In t
of iron, its con
is about 1/7 th
copper. Howe
being ferroma
permeability is
10,000 times g
This reduces t
depth for iron
1/38 that of co
about
220 micrometr
60 Hz. Iron wi
useless for AC
lines (except t
mechanical st
serving as a c
non ferromagn
conductor like
aluminum). Th
effect also red
effective thickn
of laminations
transformers,
increasing the
Iron rods work
for direct-curre
welding but it
impossible to
at frequencies
higher than 60
few kilohertz,
welding rod w
red hot as cur
through the gr
increased AC
resistance res
from the skin e
with relatively
power remaini
the arc itself. O
magnetic rods
used for high-
welding.
At 1 megahert
effect depth in
is about 5.0 m
seawater it is
0.25 m.[11]