SEOUL, South Korea, July 21, 2023 - Samsung Electro-Mechanics will target the automotive power inductor market by beginning mass production of power inductors, an essential core component of electric and autonomous vehicles.
A car requires more than 100 power inductors, more than twice as many as a smartphone. The number of power inductor installations is expected to more than double by 2030 as the usage area expands to electric vehicles and autonomous driving.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics announced on July 16 that it is mass producing power inductors for electric vehicle cameras with autonomous driving systems. The power inductor provides stable power to semiconductors that process autonomous driving information by preventing sudden current changes. This is the first time Samsung Electro-Mechanics is mass-producing automotive power inductors.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics has developed two types of 2016 size (2.0 mm long and 1.6 mm wide) power inductors with capacities of 1.0 uH (microhenry) and 2.2 uH, respectively.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics' power inductors are thin film products where thin coils are formed on the package substrates, which has the advantage of higher productivity and miniaturization than the wire wound type where the coils are wound on magnetic substances.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics independently developed magnetic substances with excellent properties and low losses based on the materials technology accumulated through MLCC, and applied the photo-resist technology (a method of engraving circuits using light) used in semiconductor package substrates to precisely form coils with minute spacing.
In addition, this product also meets AEC-Q200, an automotive electronic component reliability test standard that requires a high level of reliability, allowing it to be used in other applications such as ADAS and in-vehicle infotainment.
The power inductor market size is expected to reach approximately USD 3.65 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of approximately 9%. In particular, power inductors that can withstand high currents are required as the amount of current used continues to increase as the number of semiconductors installed inside vehicles increases and their performance improves. The market for automotive power inductors is expected to show high growth at a CAGR of about 12%.
Chang Duckhyun, CEO of Samsung Electro-Mechanics said, "Power inductors are expected to experience high growth as the market for autonomous driving and electric vehicles expands," and added that, "Samsung Electro-Mechanics plans to develop power inductors into the 'second MLCC' based on our differentiated technology through the convergence of materials and package substrate technologies."
