A new Electronic Design Automation tool for the optimization of PwrSoC/PwrSiP DC-DC converters

With the advent of PwrSoC/PwrSiP systems comes a wide range of process variables which the designer is required to optimize. However, as the number of parameters increases, so too does the complexity of the design. If active and passive components are not optimized in unison the advantages these highly integrated systems bring are negated. Considering this, the need for an intuitive design tool for the practicing engineer to quickly analyze a range of potential system configurations and find the Pareto optimal design with ease is clear. In this paper we present a new Electronic Design Automation (EDA) package, the Ferrochip Design Studio for the co-optimization of DC-DC converter systems, primarily for PwrSoC and PwrSiP systems using thin film integrated magnetics. We discuss its constituent parts as well as presenting the design flow used by the tool. Finally small signal measurement results are presented and compared to the analytical results generated by the design studio.