33 µH shielded power inductor with AEC-Q200 qualification
The Coilcraft LPS4018-333MRC is a 33 µH shielded drum-core inductor in the LPS4018 series, qualified to AEC-Q200 for automotive passive-component stress testing. The 4.0 x 4.0 mm footprint and 1.80 mm seated height fit tight power-stage layouts where board height is constrained. Rated for 550 mA continuous current with a 420 mOhm max DCR, the self-heating at full load is about 127 mW — well within the thermal budget for a 125 °C ambient environment. The saturation current of 580 mA means the inductance holds within 10% of nominal up to that bias point; above it the core saturates and the inductance collapses.
AEC-Q200 qualification and deployment context
AEC-Q200 Grade 1 qualification covers -40 °C to +125 °C operation — the full under-hood and engine-bay temperature range. The ferrite core material is specified to retain permeability across this band; above 125 °C the inductance falls off as the core approaches its Curie temperature. The shielded construction (ferrite sleeve) contains the magnetic field, so the inductor can be placed near sensitive analog traces or RF front-ends without injecting switching noise into adjacent copper. The 20 MHz self-resonant frequency sets the useful bandwidth ceiling — for DC-DC converter input/output filtering, the switching frequency should be at least a decade below SRF.