68cc637a7edc43050bfccc1c Dreamstime Biancoblue 193067636

Thin-Film Power Inductors Aimed at High-Current Automotive Applications

Sept. 18, 2025

TDK’s latest automotive-grade thin-film inductors offer higher rated current and lower DC resistance than conventional products.

Lee Goldberg

Related To:

Electronic Design

New members of the TFM201612BLEA series of automotive-grade thin-film power inductors from TDK Corp. expand the line’s current range to 5.6 A. The two latest components have a rated inductance of 0.33 µH and 0.47 µH, respectively.

They offer high reliability and a compact form factor (2.0 × 1.6 × 1.2 mm), suiting them for many automotive power circuits including ADAS, xEV, automotive camera modules, and cellular V2X.

Compared to the conventional 0.47-µH TFM-ALMA series inductor of the same dimensions, this new product achieves a 16% higher rated current of 5.6 A and a 31% lower DC resistance (22 mΩ). The reduced losses and improved efficiency helps designers create higher-current applications within the same or smaller footprint as conventional models.

In addition, the inductor ensures high reliability with an upper operating temperature range limit of +150°C, thanks to a product design assuming use in high-temperature environments in automotive applications.

About the Author

Lee Goldberg | Contributing Editor

Lee Goldberg is a self-identified “Recovering Engineer,” Maker/Hacker, Green-Tech Maven, Aviator, Gadfly, and Geek Dad. He spent the first 18 years of his career helping design microprocessors, embedded systems, renewable energy applications, and the occasional interplanetary spacecraft. After trading his ‘scope and soldering iron for a keyboard and a second career as a tech journalist, he’s spent the next two decades at several print and online engineering publications.

Lee’s current focus is power electronics, especially the technologies involved with energy efficiency, energy management, and renewable energy. This dovetails with his coverage of sustainable technologies and various environmental and social issues within the engineering community that he began in 1996. Lee also covers 3D printers, open-source hardware, and other Maker/Hacker technologies.

Lee holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Thomas Edison College, and participated in a colloquium on technology, society, and the environment at Goddard College’s Institute for Social Ecology. His book, “Green Electronics/Green Bottom Line - A Commonsense Guide To Environmentally Responsible Engineering and Management,” was published by Newnes Press.

Lee, his wife Catherine, and his daughter Anwyn currently reside in the outskirts of Princeton N.J., where they masquerade as a typical suburban family.

Lee also writes the regular PowerBites series.