What the Last Buy status means for your BOM line
Murata has placed the LQH3NPZ330MGRL on Last Buy status. This is not an NRND — it is a formal end-of-life notice. The manufacturer will accept final orders within a defined window, after which this order code is no longer produced. A design that depends on this specific inductance, current rating, and qualification grade should secure inventory or plan a requalification cycle for a replacement.
Rated current vs saturation current — the usable load window
The inductor is rated for 360 mA continuous with a saturation current of 320 mA. This 40 mA gap between rated and saturation means the part reaches its magnetic saturation limit before the thermal rating — the inductor cannot deliver its full rated current into a DC-DC converter without the inductance dropping. For a 33 µH choke in a filter or buck converter, the peak inductor current must stay below 320 mA to maintain the inductance value. The 1.032 Ohm max DCR produces 134 mW of I²R loss at 360 mA. In the 1.00 mm seated height, this heat must be conducted through the PCB copper plane — the ferrite core does not dissipate heat effectively.
AEC-Q200 — the only automotive-grade 33 µH in this footprint
The ferrite core material gives a soft saturation characteristic — the inductance rolls off gradually above the 320 mA Isat point. This is acceptable for EMI filter and DC-DC output choke applications where the current ripple stays below saturation, but the inductance drop at peak load must be accounted for in the control loop stability margin.