High-Frequency Tunneling Magnetic Loss in Soft Ferrites

This paper considers high-frequency (200 kHz-1.0 MHz) losses in MnZn power ferrites and shows that none of the three well-known magnetic loss mechanisms (namely, hysteresis, classical eddy-current loss, and excess eddy-current loss) can account for the experimentally observed dependence of the loss on the frequency and flux density. In order to investigate the origin of this discrepancy, the electric field that is induced in the typical core when the material is driven at high frequencies and flux densities was estimated. The estimates show that these electric fields can be quite large. The paper presents experimental data on the electrical conductivity for such large electric fields, which shows a highly nonlinear behavior that can give rise to a modified eddy-current loss mechanism. By a simple curve fit to the nonlinear conductivity, the experimentally observed flux density dependence of the high-frequency loss, which previously could not be explained, can be reproduced by using this modified eddy-current loss mechanism. A modified ferrite structure can eliminate most of these extra losses by reducing the electric field generated at the grain boundaries due to high frequencies and flux densities