New Industry Products

TDK Develops Downsized, Compact, Thin-film Power Inductors for Automotive Power Circuits

August 15, 2021 by Hailey Stewart

TDK Corporation has developed a series of thin-film metal power inductors for automotive power circuits. The new TFM201210ALMA inductors feature a mounting area downsized approximately 22 % from TDK’s conventional product, TFM201610ALMA (2.0 mm (L) x 1.6 mm (W) x 1.0 mm (H)). Mass production will begin in August 2021.

Image courtesy of TDK. 

Demand has recently increased in ECU* mounting for the electrification of various automotive controlling functions, autonomous driving, information communication and other purposes. Downsized inductors for power circuits contribute to space-saving in a mounting substrate, at a time when quick advances in ADAS** performance increase the number of components typically used in system architectures.

In addition to its compact dimension of 2.0 mm (L) x 1.25 mm (W), this series uses the TDK proprietary metallic magnetic material as its core material. The thin-film inductors support a wide range of operating temperatures from -55 °C to +150 °C, the highest level in the industry***. Moreover, it features increased robustness against mechanical stress, such as vibrations and shocks due to the resin electrode structure.

In addition to the new items, TFM series includes a lineup of products with a rated voltage of 40 V, allowing use on an automotive power circuit side directly connected with a 12 V battery.