What is a ferrite core?

What is a ferrite core? The ferrite core manufacturer will explain it to you! Ferrite core is a high-frequency magnetic material (the principle is the same as that of silicon steel sheet, but it is used in a high-frequency environment). Frequency transformers (such as switching power supplies, line output transformer machines, etc.), high-frequency magnetic rings (for anti-interference), etc., to increase the permeability and improve the quality factor, it is used in transformers.

Ferrite cores are mainly composed of three metal elements, iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn), which are usually called manganese-zinc ferrites. The ferrite ring has a variety of specifications and sizes, which can be selected according to the different materials of the magnetic ring. In addition, different coatings can be used to simplify the winding and increase the breakdown voltage.

The ferrite core is made of dense and uniform non-metallic magnetic material with ceramic structure and low coercivity, also known as soft ferrite, which is composed of iron oxide (Fe2O3) and one or several other metals (such as manganese, zinc, nickel and magnesium) oxide or carbonate compounds, the ferrite raw material is pressed, then sintered at 1300 ° C, and finally machined to produce a finished magnetic core that meets the requirements of use, and other types Compared with other magnetic materials, ferrite has the advantages of high permeability, high resistance, and low eddy current loss in a wide frequency range. Ideal material for high frequency circuits up to 50MHz.

The coil wound on the ferrite core can be made into inductance or transformer machine, which is widely used in instrumentation, communication equipment and household appliances. There are many grades of ferrite materials and various geometric shapes, including cylindrical , I-shaped, hat-shaped, single-hole, double-hole, four-hole, U-shaped, pot-shaped, E-shaped, EI-shaped, EC-shaped, RM-shaped, PQ-shaped, EP-shaped, etc. Each shape of magnetic core has its own series for users to choose from. Ferrites have a wide selection range, and different materials and shapes can be selected according to different magnetic parameters. Due to their low magnetic loss at high frequencies, they are widely used. Widely used in RF transformer machines, ferrite cores of various shapes and sizes are used in inductors, pulse transformers, high frequency transformers and noise filters in the high frequency power supply and high quality communication markets, the largest ferrite It is characterized by high permeability, good temperature characteristics and low decay rate.

Compared with the air core coil of the same volume, the ferrite core has a larger inductance and a higher Q value (quality factor) by winding the coil on the ferrite core. For example, the can core is used as a 4mH inductance , only need to wind 43 turns. If you don’t need a can core, you need to use an air core to wind it. It takes 600 turns to get an inductance of 4mH. It can be seen that using a ferrite core can greatly reduce the volume of the inductance or transformer machine.