This paper provides a practical guideline for conductor arrangement in a planar inductor by investigating various arrangements for conductors. In order to have a comprehensive study, four different structures have been considered and compared. Numerous design parameters such as track width, track length, location of the conductors between the central limb and the lateral limb, and number of transposition points among sub-tracks for both air-core and ferrite-core inductors are considered. Each structure is evaluated according to AC resistance, RAC /RDC, and inductance. Measurement results reveal that it is critical to take into account all three characteristics when deciding the suitable structure for the conductors. Studies are carried out based on measurement results for experimental prototypes in the frequency range of 10Hz-1MHz and a set of guidelines has been provided with regard to the design of planar inductors to achieve desired characteristics.

Due to the necessity for highly efficient and compact power electronic converters to operate at higher frequencies, traditional wire-wound magnetics are not suitable. A comprehensive review of planar magnetic technologies is provided in this paper, which discusses the advantages as well as the disadvantages that can be associated with them. An extensive review of research literature is presented with the purpose of suggesting models for planar magnetics. Several strategies are presented to overcome the shortcomings of planar magnetics, such as winding conduction loss, leakage inductance, and winding capacitance. The purpose of this study is to provide engineers and researchers with a clear roadmap to designing planar magnetic devices.