AN-7018 Segmented Voltage Regulator Modules (VRM) as a Solution for CPU Core Voltage

The PC industry continues to move closer to the goal of having DC/DC converters that deliver up to 150–200 Amp at 0.95V in the near future. This goal may be an achievable one if engineers carefully consider all of the loss mechanisms, especially loss mechanisms are that most pronounced at high currents such as 30A to 40A per phase. As a step in moving closer to this goal, we have developed a segmented VRM in the form of several modules with each one being capable of delivering up to 40 Amps per phase at efficiency over 80%. With a five phase design, DC/DC converters could deliver 200 Amps. This approach divides a multi-phase DC-DC converter into the following sections: