Power conversion efficiency and resistance tunability in coil-magnetoelectric gyrators

The power efficiency and resistance tunability of magnetoelectric (ME) gyrators consisting of two-phase magnetostrictive-piezoelectric ME longitudinal-transverse (L-T) mode sandwich laminates and coils, have been studied. The copper wire coil provided an inductance-based coil port (Coil P) and the piezoelectric layer of the ME laminate provided a capacitance-based ME port (ME P). The device behaved as a 2-port 4-wire ME gyrator. The current-to-voltage and voltage-to-current (I-V and V-I, respectively) conversion ratios, resistance-inductance/capacitance tunabilities (T R-L and T R-C, respectively) and direct/converse power efficiencies (PE D and PE C, respectively) were measured. Maximum values of 1454 V/A and 0.468 mA/V for the I-V and V-I conversion ratios, 76 μH/Ω and 0.17 pF/Ω for T R-L and T R-C coefficients, and ∼35% for both PE D and PE C were found by measuring the performance characteristics. Compared with the electromagnetic and piezoelectric transformers, ME gyrators have good input and output characteristics that change the capacitance and inductance features of the input and output ports. Our findings open a promising direction for developing a generation of converters for power electronics.