As the world faces a long-term shortage of conventional energy resources, energy efficiency and power-management have taken centre stage. Switched-mode power supplies (SMPS) are the key enabling technology for efficiently delivering the tightly regulated supply voltages required by today’s modern mixed-signal (digital+analog) integrated circuits (ICs) and systems. The SMPS acts as the interface between the energy source, such as a battery, and the load ICs. A typical SMPS uses a combination of high-speed, low-resistance semiconductor switches, energy storage components, sensors and control circuits to regulate one or more output voltages in the presence of disturbances. State-of-the-art SMPS have a power conversion efficiency above 90%. The resulting low heat dissipation allows multiple SMPS to be integrated with their load circuits into a single IC. The clear trend in SMPS research is toward adaptive digital control-loops, increased integration within system-on-chip (SoC) applications, higher efficiency over the full operating range and higher switching frequency, resulting in smaller energy storage components. The long-term goals of the proposed research are to make tomorrow’s power management systems, smaller, more efficient, more robust, and more reliable, while reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI) and environmental impacts.

DC-DC Converter Evolution