In recent years, the concept of "digital power" was once just a theoretical idea with only a few prototypes for long-term evaluation, but very few real-world applications. However, by 2016, digital power had become a standard in high-power environments like data centers. Without digital power, it would be extremely challenging to deliver hundreds of amps across multiple DC circuits, given space limitations, efficiency demands, and thermal constraints.
Digital power has gained widespread adoption in high-energy applications for several reasons:
1. It offers high efficiency at lower operational costs, reduces heat generation, and helps meet environmental regulations more easily.
2. It can handle the complex and demanding requirements of modern processors and FPGAs.
3. It provides high flexibility during operation, allowing for intricate power-up and power-saving sequences.
Many power supply designers and users are cautious when dealing with high currents, voltages, and power levels, as any mistake could lead to equipment failure or safety hazards. Prudent users often prefer products with long-term reliability, lasting over a decade or more. They don’t rush into adopting new technologies just because they're on the cutting edge.
In the early days, some were hesitant to embrace firmware-based solutions, but this has changed. With reliable performance data from high-end digital power supplies, even industrial systems can now benefit at a lower level. These benefits include better efficiency from light load to full load, energy savings, reduced thermal stress on components, simpler cooling systems, and longer mean time between failures (MTBF).
The concept of digital power is actually quite straightforward: a power supply or converter must provide a stable and controlled DC output at a desired voltage, even when input voltage or load conditions change. This requires some form of closed-loop control, where the actual output voltage is measured, compared to the setpoint, and corrected accordingly.
Traditionally, this regulation was achieved using analog feedback loops in switching regulators. While low-dropout regulators (LDOs) are an alternative, they are only suitable for low-power applications. There are many standard architectures for these switchers, along with various enhancements that improve efficiency, performance, and stability across different loads. These enhancements can be quite sophisticated, such as the SEPIC (Single-Ended Primary Inductor Converter).
However, traditional analog systems lack the flexibility to adjust parameters in real-time. For example, the Intel/Xilinx VR13 standard requires dynamic voltage scaling, changing the output voltage from 1.2V to 0.9V and back, which is not possible with analog power. Adaptive Voltage Scaling (AVS) adjusts the supply voltage based on the processor's clock speed and workload, compensating for process and temperature variations. This requires a fully programmable, firmware-controlled converter.
Some adjustments can be made through I/O ports and digital parameter settings, resulting in hybrid power supplies that combine analog control with digital monitoring. These systems allow external control via protocols like PMBus, I²C, or SPI, as shown in Figure 2.
All-digital power supplies use a completely different internal architecture. Instead of relying on analog circuitry, they digitize critical voltages and currents using an ADC. A dedicated embedded processor (such as a DSP or FPGA) runs the control algorithm, then converts the results back to analog using a DAC to adjust the output. This approach enables complex control strategies and real-time adjustments, as seen in Figure 3.
Because the control algorithm is firmware-based, the system can manage multiple independent outputs, coordinate them, and track important parameters like voltage, current, and temperature. It also provides detailed diagnostics and historical data, allowing potential issues to be predicted before they occur.
For example, the NDM2Z-50 from CUI is an all-digital DC/DC point-of-load (PoL) converter capable of delivering up to 50A. Despite its compact size (30.85 x 20.0 x 8.2mm), it includes features like voltage tracking, active current sharing, programmable soft start and stop, and real-time monitoring. It supports SMBus and PMBus compatibility, making it ideal for a wide range of applications.
In summary, as electronic systems demand more from their power supplies, traditional analog solutions are no longer sufficient. Digital power offers greater flexibility, performance, and adaptability, and while it differs from conventional designs, it is becoming increasingly mature and widely adopted across various industries.
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