Planar Magnetic Components in More Electric Aircraft: Review of Technology and Key Parameters for DC–DC Power Electronic Converter

The more electric aircraft (MEA) has motivated aircraft manufacturers since few decades. Indeed, their investigations lead to the increase of electric power in airplanes. The challenge is to decrease the weight of embedded systems and therefore, the fuel consumption. This is possible thanks to new efficient power electronic converters made of new components. As magnetic components represent a great proportion of their weight, planar components are an interesting solution to increase the power density of some switching mode power supplies. This paper presents the benefits and drawbacks of high-frequency planar transformers in dc/dc converters, different models developed for their design and different issues in MEA context related to planar's specific geometry and technology.