Impact of digital control in power electronics

In this paper, we discuss the impact of digital control in high-frequency switched-mode power supplies (SMPS), including point-of-load and isolated DC-DC converters, microprocessor power supplies, power-factor-correction rectifiers, electronic ballasts, etc., where switching frequencies are typically in the hundreds of kHz to MHz range, and where high efficiency, static and dynamic regulation, low size and weight, as well as low controller complexity and cost are very important. To meet these application requirements, a digital SMPS controller may include fast, small analog-to-digital converters, hardware-accelerated programmable compensators, programmable digital modulators with very fine time resolution, and a standard microcontroller core to perform programming, monitoring and other system interface tasks. Based on recent advances in circuit and control techniques, together with rapid advances in digital VLSI technology, we conclude that high-performance digital controller solutions are both feasible and practical, leading to much enhanced system integration and performance gains. Examples of experimentally demonstrated results are presented, together with pointers to areas of current and future research and development.