A Practical Introduction to Digital Power Supply Control

The quest for increased integration, more features, and added flexibility – all under constant cost pressure – continually motivates the exploration of new avenues in power management. An area gaining significant industry attention today is the application of digital technology to power supply control. This topic attempts to clarify some of the mysteries of digital control for the practicing analog power supply designer. The benefits, limitations, and performance of the digital control concept will be reviewed. Special attention will be focused on the similarities and differences between analog and digital implementations of basic control functions. Finally, several examples will highlight the contributions of digital control to switched-mode power supplies.