Coreless planar Printed-Circuit-Board (PCB) transformers - A fundamental concept for signal and energy transfer

Magnetic cores have been used in transformers for over a century. In this paper, the authors present a fundamental concept of using "coreless" printed-circuit-board (PCB) transformers. With the aid of a high-frequency equivalent circuit, the use and basic characteristics of coreless PCB transformers are described. Optimal operating conditions for minimum input power requirement and maximum efficiency operations are identified. Coreless PCB transformers have the advantages of low costs, very high power density, no limitation due to magnetic cores, no magnetic loss and ease of manufacturing. They have the potential to be developed in microcircuits. A printed planar PCB transformer with a diameter of about 1.0cm and power capability of 19W has been successfully tested. The power density of the PCB transformer demonstrated in this paper is 24 W/cm ². The maximum efficiency can be greater than 90%. The analysis has been confirmed with experiments. Coreless printed transformers have great potential in applications in which stringent height and space requirements have to be met. © 2000 IEEE.