In modern electronic equipment, magnetic core plays an extremely critical role, it is widely used in transformers, inductors and other electronic components, the performance of the equipment has a decisive impact. Amorphous cores and ferrite cores are two of the more common core types. An in-depth understanding of the differences between them can help electronic engineers, electronic equipment manufacturers and related industries to make better choices in the process of product design and manufacturing, thereby improving product performance and enhancing market competitiveness. Therefore, to explore the differences between amorphous cores and ferrite cores is of great practical significance in the electronics industry.
Amorphous magnetic cores are made of amorphous alloy. Its unique formation process is: the liquid metal is cooled at a very fast rate through a rapid quenching technique. During this process, the metal atoms are too late for regular arrangement, and eventually an amorphous structure is formed with a disordered arrangement of atoms. This special structure gives amorphous cores many unique properties.
Iron-based amorphous soft magnetic alloys: with high saturation magnetic induction strength, they are more widely used in some low-frequency power fields that require high magnetic induction strength, such as high-power transformer cores.
Iron-nickel based amorphous soft magnetic alloy: good overall performance, high permeability, in the medium power and permeability requirements of some electronic equipment applications, such as some of the precision electronic instruments in the inductive components.
Cobalt-based amorphous soft magnetic alloys: with excellent high-frequency characteristics, they play an important role in high-frequency communication equipment, high-frequency transformers and other fields with stringent requirements for high-frequency performance.
High saturation magnetic induction strength: able to work under large magnetic field strength, adapted to some high-power, high flux density application scenarios, such as power transformers can effectively improve the energy transfer efficiency.
Low hysteresis loss: In the process of repeated changes in the magnetic field, the energy loss is relatively low, which helps to improve the energy utilization efficiency of the equipment, reduce the heating phenomenon, and extend the service life of the equipment.
Wide operating temperature range: It can maintain stable magnetic properties over a wide temperature range, and can work reliably in both high-temperature industrial environments and low-temperature special application scenarios.
High corrosion resistance: Compared with some traditional magnetic materials, amorphous cores have better corrosion resistance, and can still maintain good performance in humid, corrosive gases and other harsh environments.
High-frequency inductors: With its excellent high-frequency characteristics and low-loss performance, amorphous cores enable high-frequency inductors to operate more stably, reduce signal distortion, and improve the performance of inductive components.
Transformers: In power transformers, its high saturation magnetic induction strength and low hysteresis loss can improve the energy conversion efficiency of the transformer and reduce energy loss; in electronic transformers, it can meet the design requirements of miniaturization and high performance.
Power supply: the application of amorphous magnetic cores in switching power supplies helps to increase the power density of the power supply, reduce the size of the power supply, and at the same time, reduce the heat generated when the power supply is working, improve the stability and reliability of the power supply. Transformer core: Amorphous magnetic core can improve the measurement accuracy of the transformer, reduce the measurement error, play an important role in power measurement, protection and other aspects.
Ferrite cores are mainly composed of iron, manganese, zinc and other metal elements. The production process begins with mixing various raw materials in specific proportions, and then through the pressing process, the mixed raw materials are made into the required core blanks. Next, the blank is put into a high-temperature furnace for sintering, under the action of high temperature, the internal physical and chemical reaction of the blank occurs, so that it is densified and has stable magnetic properties. Finally, the sintered core is processed according to the actual application requirements, such as cutting and polishing, to make the finished product.
Mn-Zn ferrite: with high permeability, it shows good magnetic properties in low frequency band, commonly used in low frequency transformers, power inductors and other electronic components, suitable for low frequency signal processing and power transmission of demanding scenarios, such as switching power supply in the low-frequency transformer, etc.
Nickel-zinc ferrite: With lower loss and better frequency characteristics in the high frequency band, it is suitable for high frequency circuits, such as filters and antenna matching inductors in RF communication, etc. It can effectively process high frequency signals and reduce signal attenuation and interference.
High magnetic permeability: it can gather and guide magnetic field efficiently, so that electronic components can achieve strong magnetic performance in a smaller volume, which helps the miniaturization design of electronic equipment.
Low conductivity: can effectively reduce the eddy current loss, in high frequency operation, reduce the energy loss due to the current generated inside the magnetic core, improve the working efficiency of the equipment.
High frequency and low loss: especially NiZn ferrite, under high frequency environment, the energy loss of the magnetic core is low, which ensures the stable transmission and processing of high frequency signals, and it is suitable for high frequency applications such as high speed communication and radio frequency identification.
Good thermal stability: within a certain temperature range, the magnetic properties of ferrite cores are less affected by temperature, and they can maintain relatively stable performance under different operating temperatures, ensuring the normal operation of the equipment under various ambient temperatures.
Power Electronics: in transformers, ferrite cores can realize efficient voltage conversion; in inductors, they can provide stable inductance; in filters, they can effectively filter out the spurious and interfering signals in the power supply to ensure the stability of the power supply output.
RF & Communication: In RF circuits, ferrite cores are used to make filters, inductors and other components, which can improve signal selectivity and anti-interference ability, guarantee the accurate transmission of RF signals, and are widely used in cell phones, base stations and other communication equipment.
Data Storage: In data storage devices such as hard disk, ferrite cores can be used as an important part of the magnetic head to read and write data, and their high permeability and good magnetic properties help to improve the density of data storage and read/write speed.
Electromagnetic interference filtering: Using the suppression effect of ferrite cores on high-frequency interference signals, ferrite magnetic rings or beads can be installed in the power lines, signal lines and other parts of electronic equipment to effectively reduce electromagnetic interference and improve the electromagnetic compatibility of the equipment.
Amorphous magnetic cores show a disordered amorphous structure, the atoms are randomly distributed in space, without obvious crystal structure characteristics. This structure makes amorphous cores have unique physical properties, such as higher permeability and lower hysteresis loss. Ferrite cores, on the other hand, have a polycrystalline structure, consisting of numerous tiny crystal particles, with grain boundaries between the crystal particles. This polycrystalline structure determines the performance characteristics of ferrite cores, such as their relatively low permeability, which effectively reduces eddy current losses in high-frequency applications.
Significant Differences in Magnetic Properties
Magnetic permeability: amorphous cores have a high magnetic permeability in the low frequency band, and the magnetic permeability is more stable in a certain frequency range; ferrite cores have a higher magnetic permeability in general, of which MnZn ferrite has a very high magnetic permeability in the low frequency band, while Ni-Zn ferrite has a better performance of magnetic permeability in the high frequency band.
Saturation magnetic induction strength: The saturation magnetic induction strength of amorphous cores is relatively high and can withstand large magnetic field strength; the saturation magnetic induction strength of ferrite cores is generally lower than that of amorphous cores, and the saturation magnetic induction strength of different types of ferrite cores also varies.
Maximum magnetic energy storage density: amorphous cores have a higher maximum magnetic energy storage density, in the same volume can store more magnetic energy; ferrite cores have a relatively low maximum magnetic energy storage density.
Coercivity: amorphous cores have lower coercivity, which means that their hysteresis loop is narrower and hysteresis loss is smaller; ferrite cores have relatively higher coercivity, and the coercivity of different types of ferrite cores varies.
Amorphous cores are produced using a rapid quenching process, in which liquid metal is cooled in a very short period of time to form an amorphous structure. The process requires high requirements for equipment and process parameters, requiring specialized rapid cooling equipment and precise control technology.
The process of making ferrite cores includes the steps of raw material mixing, pressing, high-temperature sintering and subsequent processing. Among them, the high temperature sintering process requires strict control of temperature, time and other process parameters, which directly affects the final performance of the core.
Amorphous cores are more suitable for high-frequency and high permeability requirement scenarios, such as high-frequency transformers, switching power supplies, etc., due to their high saturation magnetic induction strength, low hysteresis loss and good high-frequency performance. Ferrite cores are widely used in low frequency and high power applications (e.g., low frequency transformers) and high frequency anti-interference applications (e.g., filters in RF communications) due to their high permeability, low conductivity and good high frequency low loss characteristics.
Based on Frequency Requirements
If the application scenario mainly involves low-frequency signals, such as industrial-frequency transformers, manganese-zinc ferrite in ferrite cores is usually a better choice because of its extremely high permeability in the low-frequency band, which enables it to efficiently process low-frequency signals. For high-frequency applications, such as RF circuits and high-frequency switching power supplies, amorphous cores or Ni-Zn ferrite in ferrite cores are more appropriate, as they maintain good performance in high-frequency environments, reducing signal loss and distortion.
Considering Power Requirements
In high power applications, such as high power power transformers, cores are required to have a high saturation magnetic induction strength to withstand large flux densities. At this point, ferrite cores are better able to meet high power requirements due to their relatively high saturation magnetic induction strength. If the power requirement is not particularly high and more attention is paid to other properties of the core, such as low hysteresis loss, amorphous cores may be a better choice.
Combined with the Cost Factor
Generally speaking, the fabrication process of amorphous cores is relatively complex, with high equipment requirements and relatively high costs. The production process of ferrite cores is relatively mature and the cost is lower. Under the premise of meeting the performance requirements, prioritizing the lower-cost cores can effectively control product costs. However, if there are strict requirements on the performance of the core, even if the cost is higher, it is necessary to choose a core that can meet the performance requirements to ensure product quality and performance.
Performance optimization: In the future, the permeability of amorphous cores will be further improved, losses will be reduced, and the stability of amorphous cores in extreme environments, such as high temperature and high humidity, will be improved, so as to broaden their application areas.
Expansion of new applications: With the continuous development of science and technology, amorphous cores are expected to be more widely used in new energy vehicles, high-efficiency motor drive systems, a new generation of communications technology and other emerging areas.
High-frequency: continuously improve the performance of ferrite cores at higher frequencies to meet the demand for high-frequency cores in emerging technologies such as 5G communications and the Internet of Things.
Miniaturization: through the optimization of material formulations and production processes, to achieve miniaturization and lightweight ferrite cores to adapt to the development trend of miniaturization and portability of electronic equipment.
High-performance: further improve the comprehensive performance of ferrite cores, such as increasing the saturation magnetic induction strength, reducing the coercivity, etc., to enhance their competitiveness in various application scenarios.
Amorphous magnetic cores and ferrite cores differ significantly in material structure, magnetic properties, fabrication process, and application areas. In practical applications, it is necessary to consider the selection of suitable cores according to specific frequency requirements, power requirements and cost constraints. With the continuous progress of science and technology, both amorphous cores and ferrite cores will continue to develop in the direction of optimizing performance and expanding application areas. In-depth understanding of the differences between the two, and closely follow the development trend, for the electronics industry practitioners, to better grasp the direction of technological development, product innovation and performance enhancement to provide strong support.