Active production with AEC-Q200 qualification
The LQH3NPH4R7MMEL: Qualified to AEC-Q200, the pass/fail standard for passive components in automotive electronics. This means the inductor has passed the stress tests (thermal shock, vibration, solder heat, moisture resistance) required for a Tier-1 PPAP submission — not just a commercial-grade part dressed in an automotive-friendly package.
4.7 µH, 1.7 A rated — the DC-DC choke margin
Inductance is 4.7 µH ±20 %, measured at 1 MHz. The 1.7 A rated current is the DC bias at which the temperature rise stays within the winding's thermal budget; the saturation current is 1.3 A, below which the inductance drop stays under 10 % of the nominal value. For a 500 kHz to 2 MHz buck converter, the 4.7 µH value and 1.3 A saturation floor mean the inductor can handle the peak inductor current in a 12 V-to-3.3 V rail at 0.8 A load without saturating. The 120 mOhm max DCR sets the I²R conduction loss at 0.35 W at full rated current — a figure the 1212 body can dissipate with the standard PCB copper pour.
Shielded ferrite drum core for EMI-sensitive stacks
The shielded construction uses a ferrite drum core with a magnetic shield layer that contains the flux within the component body. This reduces radiated emissions from the inductor into adjacent traces or the enclosure — a requirement when the inductor sits near an antenna, a sensor front-end, or a CAN transceiver on the same board. The footprint is a standard surface-mount land pattern for this case size; the low profile clears a 1.6 mm PCB with a 2 mm keep-out zone under a metal enclosure lid. Self-resonant frequency is 40 MHz. Above this frequency the inductor behaves as a capacitor; the SRF sets the usable bandwidth ceiling, so the switching frequency of the converter must stay below 4 MHz (one-tenth of SRF) to keep the inductive impedance dominant.
Operating temperature range is -40°C to +125°C. This covers the full automotive Grade-1 ambient band per AEC-Q200 — underhood electronics, engine-bay modules, and transmission control units that see 105°C ambient with self-heating margin to 125°C junction.