To measure inductors with DC bias can provide valuable information about core saturation and thus the inductance as a function of the DC current. The measurements show that some inductors can exhibit an inductance drop of 50 % or even more at the rated nominal current.

Therefore, a measurement over frequency with DC bias could help to see the real behaviour of an inductor at the desired operation point.

Using the DC1000 current source

The following application note shows how to easily analyse inductors with DC current bias using the Bode 100 Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) in conjunction with the DC1000 current source: