Inductors, Chokes & Coils
Inductors, Chokes & Coils Product Categories
View All Inductors, Chokes & CoilsTypes of Inductors, Chokes & Coils
Common Mode Choke
The common mode inductor, or common mode choke (CM choke), is a passive electronic component used to remove EMI (electromagnetic interference). Common mode chokes are designed for high-speed applications, DC power lines, switch-mode power supplies, circuits with poor / no grounding, and circuits with signal and noise that are mixed (on top of each other). This device is specifically designed for its unique frequency-selective properties. The windings are designed for effective EMI suppression. Two windings are precisely wound on a common magnetic core, and the result is a device that can scrub out noise that is very close to the desired frequency, and return a clear and balanced signal.
Inductors
An inductor is a length of conductor, typically wire, wound into a coil and around a core to concentrate the magnetic force (field) and maximize the inductance. The more turns of wire in the coil, the higher the inductance value. Found in various areas of electronic design, inductors are not specific to one application area. Its primary properties are to resist changes in AC (alternating current) and to store and release energy from its magnetic field.
Fixed Inductors
Fixed inductors are available in Power Inductors - SMD and Leaded, RF Inductors - SMD and Leaded as the name implies inductors with a fixed inductance. They are composed of a metal wire wrapped around an iron core, ferrite core, or even just an air core. By far the most common type of inductor, they are available in a very wide range of inductance values and are often used in analog signal processing and power management applications where a steady, fixed inductance is required.
View Power Inductors - SMD, Power Inductors - Leaded, RF Inductors - SMD, and RF Inductors - Leaded
Multilayer Inductors
Multilayer inductors can be made from one of two different cores, ceramic (air core) or ferrite. When made in a ceramic core, these inductors usually possess high SRF’s and current ratings for higher frequency applications. When made in a ferrite core, the inductor will be shielded and will generally have higher inductance values and higher Q factors at lower frequencies.\
Thin Film Inductors
Thin film inductors are the tightest tolerance inductors. These are made specifically for high Q factor and high current characteristics within high frequency and lower inductance applications. Typically, this would include RF and wireless applications like Bluetooth, Telecom Market, GPS, PDA, cell phones, etc. Generally, thin film inductors are used for impedance matching on an RF circuit. Another use for thin film inductors is for creating a resonant circuit (tuning a circuit).
Wirewound Inductors
Wirewound inductors are the most versatile when it comes to their use in applications. This category of inductors includes chip inductors, as well as leaded inductors. A wirewound inductor will have the option to be magnetically shielded, which helps control unwanted signals from interfering with other components on the board and is needed for filtering within applications.
About Inductors, Chokes & Coils
A choke, also known as an inductor, is used to block higher-frequency while passing direct current (DC) and lower frequencies of alternating current (AC) in an electrical circuit. The name comes from blocking, or "choking", high frequencies while passing low frequencies. Typically, a choke consists of a coil of insulated wire often wound on a magnetic core, although some consist of a doughnut-shaped "bead" of ferrite material strung on a wire.
At TTI, we carry a wide selection of inductors/chokes/coils, such as Common Mode Chokes/Filters and Variable Inductors. Whether you need them for mobile applications or satellites, you can browse TTI to find the right resistor for your electronic design. We stock high-quality electronic components from trusted manufacturers like AVS, EPCOS, Panasonic, Pulse, TDK, Vishay, and more.
Inductors are one of three major passive components used in electronic circuits. The other two (often used in conjunction with inductors), are capacitors and resistors. Inductors are simplistic in form and materials that they are made of, but they can perform a variety of functions within electronic circuits. Inductors store electrical energy in a magnetic field and resist a sudden change in current which allows for their use in applications such as EMI filtering, switch-mode power supplies, analog circuits & signal processing, and RF circuits. Typically made of wire wrapped around a magnetic core of either ferrite or iron, inductors can be toroid form, rod core and drum core, among others. Inductors are measured in henries, typically nanohenries (nH), microhenries (uH), and millihenries (mH) which is a measure of the overall strength of the magnetic field. Therefore, the greater the number of wire windings around the core, the higher the inductance.
In EMI filtering applications, inductors are used alongside capacitors to remove harmonics, or unwanted noise, from DC signals. Design engineers will often need these types of inductors in order to pass specific EMC testing parameters, which measures an electronic device’s immunity, as well as its radiated emissions, with respect to external electronic devices within a certain proximity.
In switch mode power supplies, specifically DC/DC converters, inductors serve as an energy storage device, supplying DC power to the output circuit while the switch itself is in the “off” state. Conversely, while the switch is “on”, the inductor will resume charging its magnetic field once again, and so this process repeats several thousand times per second, which is what is meant by the term “switching frequency.” These types of inductors are referred to as “power inductors.” The type of core material a power inductor uses is also critical, and will have a large effect on the inductor’s effectiveness while operating at a given switching frequency, and throughout varying current ranges.
TTI is an authorized distributor for many of the world’s leading inductor manufacturers and offers the broadest and deepest inventory of inductors for today’s market. Regardless of the specific inductor application described above, TTI has all your inductor needs covered.