Magnetics Business & Technology - May/June 2023 - 4

EDITOR'S CHOICE
AT&S Develops Printed Circuit Magnetic Inlays to Produce
Mini Electromagnets
Volume 22, Issue 3
Editor & Publisher
David Webster
Contributing Editor
Dr. Stan Trout
Director of Operations and
Support Services
Ross Webster
Director of Sales and Content
Scott Webster
Design & Layout
Scott Webster
Austrian substrate manufacturer AT&S is developing a new generation of miniaturized
inductors that can be integrated into multi-layer printed circuit boards. They can enable the
production of tiny voltage converters or ultra-thin wireless charging devices. Now researchers
at the company are working on perfecting the technology and applying it to more
applications. Part of the progress stems from a research and development effort funded by
the European Union.
If you want to supply an electric car with electricity or charge your mobile phone wirelessly,
you have to rely on electromagnets, which consist of a core made of ferromagnetic material
and a coil wound around it. Such magnetic components are ubiquitous in the electrical
and electronics industry and the basis for technical progress in many areas. That is why
the European Union, as part of its IPCEI initiative (Important Projects of Common European
Interest) in the field of microelectronics, has made research into the next generation
of such components a priority. AT&S is involved in the project together with more than 30
partners from industry and research.
AT&S uses its experience and production capacities in the manufacture of highly complex
printed circuit boards to create small electromagnets, which in turn are the basis for
integrated components such as inductors or transformers. AT&S engineers are already
demonstrating first prototypes, such as a wireless charging device for mobile phones with a
printed circuit board just one millimeter thick, at trade fairs.
" The magnetic components that are state of the art today are often wound by hand in lowwage
countries. With our know-how from printed circuit board production, we can not only
manufacture thinner components but also significantly improve reliability, " says Gerald
Weidinger, who heads development at AT&S. Instead of winding an actual wire around
an iron core, the windings are realized with the finest of holes around a tiny ring of special
magnetic materials that have been embedded in circuit board material.
" We drill through the core of the circuit board inside and outside the ring, the holes are
then plated with copper and connected with traces below and above the magnet ring. This
creates an embedded electromagnet, " says Weidinger. With this technology, thousands of
such elements can be produced in parallel on a single panel. This also enables automated
quality control, which contributes to the high reliability of the magnetic elements.
AT&S is currently working on perfecting the technology for customers. By expanding the
possible performance ranges, additional applications are being opened. In addition to
smaller wireless chargers and more efficient power supply circuits, the technology is also
being expanded to make tiny electromagnets in shapes other than toroids. Magnetic layers
inside a printed circuit board can also be used to shield sensitive electronic circuits from
each other. See www.ats.net.
4 Magnetics Business & Technology * May/June 2023
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