Types of Inductors In Electronic Components

Types of Inductors In Electronic Components - The function of inductors in electronic circuits has a fairly important role. Although the inductor component is not always present in every electronic circuit, the presence of this component is one of the core functions of the electronic circuit that uses it.

Definition of Inductor

An inductor is one of the electronic components consisting of a coil of wire or coil with a core and a certain number of turns so as to produce an electromagnetic field to be utilized in accordance with the design of electronic circuits.

The inductor is a passive component, meaning that the inductor does not require an external voltage source. There are so many uses from inductors in various electronic circuits to household electronic devices.

The inductor component was first discovered by a scientist named Joseph Henry in about 1830 with Michael Faraday who also developed the electromagnetic system. Because of these findings, the unit of inductance of the inductor component is Henry (H). The unit of inductance is taken from the name of its inventor. While the magnetic field system in the inductor uses the principle of Faraday's law, because this law was adopted from the name of the inventor.

In the unit of inductance, the Henry (H) unit has several derivatives below it, including the popular electenry (mH), and H. While in electronic circuits, the symbol for the inductor component is usually marked with a large "L".

In an inductor, there are several parameters that affect the inductance value of an inductor, including the number of turns, the diameter of the inductor, and the core used. For example, in the number of turns, the more turns in an inductor, the greater the inductance value.

Functions of Inductors and Uses of Inductors

The function of an inductor in the application of electronic circuits is basically to produce an electromagnetic field that is utilized in such a way for various electronic design uses. For example, the inductor functions as a filter, as a generator of a magnetic field, as a frequency generator (oscillator), as a current and voltage transformation, and so on.

Inductor function as filter

Filter is an electronic circuit that functions to filter certain frequencies so that they can be blocked or passed. In the filter circuit, the role of the inductor component is very important, because the inductor function in the filter circuit will filter certain frequencies so that they can be blocked or passed.

An example of the application of an inductor in a filter is a series of low pass filters, band pass filters, and high pass filters. In the filter circuit, the inductor component cannot stand alone. Because usually the inductor component is combined with several other components such as capacitors and resistors to produce the desired filter frequency.

The function of the inductor as a generator of a magnetic field

A magnetic field can be generated by applying an electric current to a coil with a certain core. The function of an inductor as a generator of a magnetic field has many applications, especially in electronic components.

Some uses of inductors as magnetic field generators include relay components, electric motors, loudspeakers, microphones, and so on. In the relay component, a switch will move to disconnect or connect electric current when the magnetic field in the inductor inside works. At the loudspeaker the magnetic field force which is fed with an output current with an audio frequency will move the loudspeaker membrane so that the magnetic field will turn into a sound that can be heard, and the same working principle occurs in other components.

The function of the inductor as a frequency generator (oscillator)

The inductor function is also widely used as a component to produce a magnetic field that is resonant with capacitors and resistors so that they become insulated and produce a certain frequency. The frequency that can be generated can be either low frequency or high frequency.

One of the uses of the inductor component in the frequency generator circuit (oscillator) is in the radio circuit (Radio Frequency), audio frequency generator, and others.

The function of the inductor as a current transformation (transformer)

The working principle of a transformer is basically two coil windings that are aligned closely with an iron or infi-ferrite core. Transformer or transformer is one part of the inductor with an iron core.

This current transformation function is needed to produce a certain voltage or current that is different according to use. These include power transformers, oscillator transformers, switching transformers, and so on.

Types of Inductors

There are many types and forms of inductors that are attached to various electronic circuits. Whether it's a manufacturer inductor or a custom inductor that is made by yourself according to the desired specifications for the circuit to be made. However, when viewed from the way the inductance value changes, inductors consist of two types, namely fixed value inductors and variable or variable value inductors.

This type of fixed inductor usually consists of windings of an air core or other core which is permanently attached to produce a fixed and irreversible value. While the type of inductor is not fixed or variable is a type of inductor whose value can be changed by rotating or shifting the core of the coil, or by branching it on a certain number of turns.

Meanwhile, if viewed from the core used, the inductor is further divided into several types, namely as follows:

Air core inductor

An inductor with an air core can be said to have no core at all. This means that in the middle of the coil is just an empty space filled with air. That's why this type of winding is called an air core inductor. Usually inductors with an air core have a high flux density so they are widely used in radio and television frequency circuits.

Iron core inductor

This type of iron core inductor is widely used in transformers that work at low frequencies such as power supply transformers associated with low-frequency AC voltages. The iron core material in this inductor is not made from ordinary iron core material, but from a soft iron core. In addition, inductors with iron cores are also widely found in input or input transformers that function as loudspeaker couplings which are widely applied to TOA brand amplifiers.

Ferrite core inductor (ferrite)

Ferrite core inductors have several advantages compared to iron core inductors, namely a matter of better efficiency because it can reduce hysteresis losses that usually occur in inductors. In addition, ferrite core inductors can operate at much higher frequencies.

The use of ferrite core inductors is widely found in radio and television circuits that work at high frequencies. In addition, inductors with ferrite cores are also widely applied to various switching power supplies such as computer power supplies, laptop chargers, and so on.

Toroid core inductor

Toroid is a ferrite-like core material that is shaped like a donut. In theory, the toroid core type inductor has a much lower flux leakage rate compared to other types of core inductors. Inductors with toroid cores are widely applied to very small electronic circuits such as TL lamp circuits and smartphone charger circuits. Even toroid core inductors are often combined with ferrite type inductors such as those found in computer power supplies and laptop chargers.

Film core inductor

This type of film core inductor is a type of inductor that is rarely found in conventional electronics stores. Because the film core type inductor is specially manufactured and designed using very thin film processing resulting in a very small size inductor type. The function of this type of inductor is widely applied to chips or integrated circuits (IC), which are generally used in high-frequency electronic circuits. The average value of the film core type inductor is around the Henry nano value.