In-circuit Measurements of

Inductors and Transformers in

Switch Mode Power Supplies
––
APPLICATION NOTE
In-circuit Measurements of Inductors and Transformers in Switch Mode Power Supplies APPLICATION NOTE

FIGURE 1. Inductors and transformers serve key roles in switch mode power supplies, including filters, step-up/step-down, isolation, energy
storage, and oscillation.

Introduction
THIS APPLICATION NOTE
In switched mode power supplies (SMPS), magnetic components,
• Reviews the basic theory of
namely inductors and transformer, play important roles. Inductors inductors and transformers,
serve as energy storage devices or filters. Transformers are used especially as it relates to in-circuit
measurements
convert voltage levels and to provide isolation. Transformers
also play an important role in sustaining oscillation in SMPS • Explains how to use an oscilloscope
and appropriate probes to
systems. Much of the SMPS design process relies on component
measure inductor and transformer
specifications and simulation models. However, due to actual performance during power supply
signal conditions, parasitics, temperature and other environmental operation.

factors affecting the magnetic component’s performance, a power • Explains the use of inductance
measurements and B-H curves to
supply may not perform exactly as predicted by the datasheet
gain insight into performance.
specs and simulations. Thus, in-circuit measurements of inductors
While some of the measurements
and transformers, made under operating conditions, can provide
described can be set up manually,
important information. power analysis software running on
the scope can provide faster setups
and improved repeatability. The
examples in this application note were
developed using 5-PWR Advanced
Power Analysis software on a 5 Series
MSO oscilloscope. The 6 Series MSO
with 6-PWR operates identically.
Many of the inductor and transformer
measurements described herein, are
also available with DPOPWR Advanced
Power Analysis, although the displays
and controls will be different from the
ones shown.

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In-circuit Measurements of Inductors and Transformers in Switch Mode Power Supplies APPLICATION NOTE

A Quick Review of Inductor

N - turns
Theory
Faraday’s and Lentz’s laws tell us that the current
through an inductor and the voltage across the
inductor are related as:
I

This shows that inductance can be thought of as

the extent to which a changing current results in
an opposing voltage. By integrating, rearranging,
and ignoring the sign, we can get

This shows that inductance may be determined Toroid

as a function of voltage and current over time.
This is a perfect job for an oscilloscope equipped FIGURE 2. A basic inductor – a coil wound on a closed ferromagnetic core. Current of I
with a voltage probe, current probe, and able to amperes flows through the coil which has N turns. The inductance of the coil describes
the relationship between the current flowing in the coil and the magnetic flux.
perform integration and plot X versus Y.

In contrast to a theoretical inductor, the MAGNETIC CORES

inductance value of a real inductor is dependent
As an example, the inductance of the toroid in Figure 2 may be
on current levels, temperature and frequency
approximated by
of operation. In a power supply, these
characteristics vary in real time with operating
conditions.
Where:

µ is magnetic permeability of the core

N is the number of turns of wire on the toroid

r is the radius of the core from the dashed center-line in cm

A is the cross-sectional area of the core in cm2 (assumed to be small

relative to the radius of the toroid)

Since this number of turns is squared, this is the biggest contributor to

inductance. The permeability of the core material also plays a significant role.
However, the value of the inductance is also related to the physical size of the
component. To minimize the size of the inductor, most inductors in electronics
use core materials which have a much higher permeability than air.

In short, the characteristics of the core material and geometry are critical in
determining inductance over various operating conditions, as well as power
loss in the device.

TEK.COM/INNOVATIVE-SCOPES | 3
In-circuit Measurements of Inductors and Transformers in Switch Mode Power Supplies APPLICATION NOTE

Inductance Measurements and I vs. ∫V

Power supply designers often use simulation techniques to determine
the appropriate inductor value for a design. After manufacturing the
inductor, it is common practice to verify the inductance using an
LCR Meter. However, most LCR meters stimulate the component
with sinusoids over a narrow frequency range, so while this is a good
technique for confirming that the component is roughly the correct
value, it is a poor predicter of in-circuit performance.

The inductance characteristics of an inductor are dependent upon

the current and voltage source excitation signal, wave shape, and
frequency of operation, which may vary in real-time operating
conditions. Therefore, it is desirable for designers to be able to measure
and observe the behavior of an inductor in the dynamically changing
environment of the power supply. Tektronix Advanced Power Analysis
software (such as 5-PWR) automates this measurement.

FIGURE 3. Specifying voltage channel and current

channel to set up inductance and i vs. ∫v measurements.
MAKING THE MEASUREMENT
Measurements are made by probing the voltage across the device,
usually with a differential voltage probe. A current probe is usually used
to measure the current through the magnetic component.

To determine inductance the application integrates the voltage over time

and divides by the change in current. It removes any DC offset and uses
averaging to calculate the inductance value.

Note on Making Inductance Measurements on Transformers and

Coupled Inductors
When you are measuring the inductance of a transformer, do not load
the secondary winding. Measuring inductance at the primary winding
under a no-load condition is equivalent to measuring the inductance for
a single winding inductor. When you are measuring the inductance of the
coupled inductor with multiple windings on the same core, the measured
value of the inductance will deviate from the actual value, due to the
influence of the current on the other winding/s.

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In-circuit Measurements of Inductors and Transformers in Switch Mode Power Supplies APPLICATION NOTE

FIGURE 4. Inductance measurement gives the average

inductance value in Henries. The yellow waveform (CH1) is
the voltage across the inductor and the blue waveform (CH2)
is the current through the inductor. The plot on the left shows
current, i versus ∫vdt, the slope of which is inductance.

TEK.COM/INNOVATIVE-SCOPES | 5
In-circuit Measurements of Inductors and Transformers in Switch Mode Power Supplies APPLICATION NOTE

FIGURE 5. I vs ∫V measurement gives additional insight

on inductor performance. Designers can see any DC bias
building up over multiple cycles. The yellow waveform (CH1)
is the voltage across the inductor and the blue waveform
(CH2) is the current through the inductor.

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In-circuit Measurements of Inductors and Transformers in Switch Mode Power Supplies APPLICATION NOTE

B-H Curve Measurements

Magnetic Flux Density (B)
Magnetic power supply components are Bs
designed for expected operating voltage, current,
topology, and the particular type of power
converter. The operating regions of inductors Br
and transformers help determine the stability of
a switch mode power supply. However, power
supply operating characteristics can vary during
power-on, steady state operation, load changes
and environmental changes, making it extremely
difficult to consider all possible scenarios during Magnetic Field Strength (H)
the design process. Hc

Thus, to ensure the stability of the power supply,

it is important to characterize the operating
region of a magnetic component while it operates
in the SMPS. Generally, the goal is to avoid
saturation and operate in the linear region of the
hysteresis curve. However, it is extremely difficult
to design a magnetic component and ensure
that it will operate in a linear region under all
conditions.

FIGURE 6. Typical B-H curve, or “hysteresis curve”. Manufacturers of core material

To help visualize the performance of an inductor
may provide such a hysteresis curve as part of their specifications.
and its core, designers use B-H curves like
the one shown in Figure 6. On this curve, H,
measured in A/m, is the magnetizing force in the
device. It is measured in Amperes/meter and it is
proportional to the current.

TEK.COM/INNOVATIVE-SCOPES | 7
In-circuit Measurements of Inductors and Transformers in Switch Mode Power Supplies APPLICATION NOTE

The resulting flux density, B is proportional to the integral Indications of potential instability include:
of the voltage across the device. Magnetic flux density B,
• Measured peak flux density close to the saturation flux
measured in units of Tesla, is the strength of the magnetic field.
density specified by the core datasheet indicates that the
It determines the force that is exerted upon a moving charge component is getting close to the saturation
by the magnetic field.
• A BH curves that changes from cycle to cycle, indicating
From this curve we can see: saturation. In a stable/efficient power supply the BH curve
will have a symmetrical return path and will trace this path
• Permeability, µ. Measured H/m. This is a characteristic of consistently.
the core material, and it is the rate at which magnetizing
force H (driven by current) produces flux density B An oscilloscope can be used to performs an in-circuit
(integrated voltage). It is the slope of the B-H curve. measurement of voltage across, and current through, the
Designers use high permeability material to enable
winding of an inductor.
physically smaller inductors and transformers.
Given the number of turns in the device, the magnetic length
• Saturation flux density. The point at which additional
magnetizing force, H stops producing incremental flux of the device, and the cross-sectional area of the core, it is
density, B. Designers avoid saturation in most power possible to derive the actual B and H values based on real-
supply applications. time voltage and current measurements. From the plotted
curve, one can derive the saturation flux density, remnant flux
• Hysteresis characteristics. Hysteresis is the “width” of the
curve and indicates loss in power supplies. Most designs density, permeability and coercivity.
seek to use magnetically “soft” core materials to minimize
these characteristics.

- Remanence, Br. The magnetic flux density that remains

in the material after the magnetizing force, H, drops to
zero.

- Coercive Force, or Coercivity, Hc. The value of H required

to drive the flux density, B, to zero.

8 | TEK.COM/INNOVATIVE-SCOPES
In-circuit Measurements of Inductors and Transformers in Switch Mode Power Supplies APPLICATION NOTE

FIGURE 7. 5-PWR Magnetic Property measurement gives Hysteresis plot of the magnetic component in the design to check if the magnetic
components are at saturation or not as this leads to instability of the Power Supply.

MAKING THE MEASUREMENT In order to analyze the B-H curve with power
analysis software, several pieces of information
To generate a B-H plot, the voltage across the magnetic element and
must be provided in the configuration panel:
the current flowing through it are measured. In the case of a transformer,
the currents through the primary as well as secondary windings are of • Number of turns (N)
interest.
• Magnetic path length (l)
A high-voltage differential probe is connected across the inductor
• Cross-sectional area (Ae)
or primary winding of the transformer. A current probe measures the
current through the inductor or primary. Current probes are also used to The power analysis software can then calculate
measure the current through the secondary windings, if needed. the magnetizing current using the data from
oscilloscope channels where the current probes
are connected.

The magnetic property results are presented as

shown in Figure 11.

TEK.COM/INNOVATIVE-SCOPES | 9
In-circuit Measurements of Inductors and Transformers in Switch Mode Power Supplies APPLICATION NOTE

FIGURE 8. Magnetic measurements on multi secondary winding transformer. The Ref1 (white) waveform is the voltage across the inductor and the
Ref 2 (blue) waveform is the inductor current. The math wfm (orange) which is the resultant current wfm is created when the user configures to test
multiple secondary windings.

Measurement results B-H CURVES FOR TRANSFORMERS

• Permeability: The degree of magnetization of the material
To measure the magnetic characteristics of a
• Bpeak: The maximum magnetic flux density induced in a magnetic transformer under operating conditions, care
component must be taken to account for current being
transferred into the secondary. When measuring
• Br: The point on the curve where H = 0 but B still has a positive
the B-H curve on a transformer, it is helpful
value. This is known as the Remanence of the component, a
measure of its Retentivity. The higher the remanence, the more to consider a theoretical element call the
magnetization the material will retain. “magnetizing inductor”. Let’s look at commonly-
used multiple-secondary transformer and its
• Hc: The point on the curve where B = 0 and H is a negative value.
equivalent circuit.
This represents the external field required to cause B to reach zero.
This value of H is known as the coercive force. A small coercive force
value means that the component can be demagnetized easily.

• Hmax: The maximum value of H at the intersection of the H-axis and

the hysteresis loop

• I-ripple: The peak-to-peak value of the current

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In-circuit Measurements of Inductors and Transformers in Switch Mode Power Supplies APPLICATION NOTE

i1 (t) i2 (t) i1 (t) i1 (t) i2 (t)

+ n1 : n 2 + + n1 : n 2 +
i M (t)

v1 (t) v2 (t) v1 (t) LM v2 (t)

- - - -

i3 (t) i3 (t)
+ +

v3 (t) v3 (t)

:n3 - :n3 -
Ideal Transformer

FIGURE 9. Transformer schematic (left) and equivalent circuit (right) showing magnetizing current flowing through an imaginary inductor, LM in
parallel with the primary. LM models the magnetic characteristics of the transformer.

The magnetizing current is the current that would flow through the primary of the transformer
when the secondary is open (unloaded). In other words, the magnetizing current does not
produce any current in the secondary. As shown in Figure 9, transformers are modeled
with this magnetizing current flowing through a “magnetizing inductor” across the primary.
Generally, this is used to model the magnetization characteristics of the core material.

5-PWR software includes the ability to measure the current in transformer secondaries and
performing math to isolate the magnetizing current and present an accurate B-H curve of a
transformer under operating conditions.

TEK.COM/INNOVATIVE-SCOPES | 11
In-circuit Measurements of Inductors and Transformers in Switch Mode Power Supplies APPLICATION NOTE

FIGURE 10. Transformer losses may be modeled as a combination of linear elements.

Loss Analysis
Losses in magnetic components are significant contributors to overall loss in a power
supply. Figure 10 shows the major elements determining loss in magnetic components:

• Core loss depends on the magnetic properties of the material and includes hysteresis
loss and eddy current loss

• Copper loss due to the resistance of the windings. It also depends on the load
connected to the secondary side of a transformer

A number of techniques exist for estimating core loss. One such technique is the
Steinmetz empirical formula which, relates core loss to frequency and flux density:

where k, a, and b are constants for the core material, generally take from the core
manufacturer’s datasheet. Datasheets may also give loss estimates at various frequencies
and flux densities; however, these are typically given in response to sinusoidal excitation.
However, in power applications, components are usually driven with non-sinusoidal
stimuli, causing uncertainty in such approximations.

The 5-PWR analysis software measures total magnetic loss. It is computed by average
power of voltage and current waveforms, average (v(t) ∙ i(t)). The total magnetic loss
includes both copper loss and core loss.

12 | TEK.COM/INNOVATIVE-SCOPES
In-circuit Measurements of Inductors and Transformers in Switch Mode Power Supplies APPLICATION NOTE

FIGURE 11. 5-PWR Magnetic Loss measurement gives the Total Magnetic Loss which includes the Core Loss and Copper Loss. Designers
can find the Core Loss from the component manufacturer’s data sheet and derive the Copper loss by subtracting the Core loss from the Total
Magnetic loss.

MAKING THE MEASUREMENT Reference

5-PWR is capable of calculating the magnetic loss in a single winding 1. “Measurement of Inductance using digital
inductor, a multiple winding inductor, or even a transformer. In the case of storage oscilloscope under real time operating
a single-winding transformer, a differential probe is connected to measure environments-Patent Number-6876936”
the voltage across the primary winding. A current probe measures the 2. Alternating Current Machines
current through the transformer. The power measurement software can by, M G Say.
then automatically calculate the magnetic power loss.
3. In-circuit measurement of saturation flux
The magnetic power loss results are presented as shown in Figure 11. It density Bsat, coercivity Hc, and permiability of
shows the total power loss in the magnetic component. magnetic components using a digital storage
oscilloscope

TEK.COM/INNOVATIVE-SCOPES | 13
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