Evolution in Analog Design

The evolution of analog power conversion designs toward digital designs can be described by the following four major milestones. Microchip's 16-bit dsPIC® DSCs enable all four solution levels:

• Level 1 integration (Intelligent ON/OFF control and monitoring)
• Level 2 integration (Digital control of reference signals to the PWM chip)
• Level 3 integration (Digital control of the feedback and PWM topology)
• Level 4 integration (Complete digital DSP-based control algorithm)

Feedback from the power supply is obtained using high-speed ADCs. The power supply is controlled using specialized high-speed PWM peripherals. The PWM module can directly drive all popular power supply topologies and the CPU core allows digital compensation algorithms to be executed quickly. Microchip's dsPIC® DSCs can be used for various power conversion and power control applications. They offer higher power density, lower system cost, improved reliability, and lower manufacturing and maintenance costs.