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Powerful paper from Ericsson Power Modules
A lot can be gained in migrating onboard power systems from analogue to digital control, Ericsson said in its presentation at the Digital Power Forum on September 21.
October 6, 2006
The presentation, based on a recent paper from Ericsson Power Modules, described a case study comparing the difference between power regulators implemented with analog and digital techniques. The study was performed during Q2-Q3 2006.
In the paper it is stated that there will be definite overall cost savings associated with the digital design.
Patrick Le Fèvre, marketing director, Ericsson Power Modules, says: "We are the first power supply manufacturer to demonstrate the real benefits of digital control versus analogue at product level, confirming Ericsson's leadership in developing solutions to improve system efficiency while reducing power consumption and total cost of ownership.
"At the conference, the paper received unprecedented coverage from market analysts and sparked several questions from equipment manufacturers and systems designers looking to implement such technology as soon it becomes widely available."
The study focused on a single design but the paper states the conclusions can be generalized to other power module families. The actual module used in the study was an Ericsson PMH8918L point-of-load regulator.
They investigated such aspects as electrical performance, parts count, power density, cost, and reliability. The comparison was done from an end-user's perspective rather than focusing on benefits to the regulator designer.
The study found the electrical performance, including efficiency, of the digitally controlled regulator was equal to, or better, than the analog version. The digital solution resulted in a more than 60 percent reduction in parts count and this increased integration would reduce the cost of the regulator. The reduced parts count would also result in smaller regulatory circuitry and increase the predicted reliability of the device.
The report stated digital control could be used as an enabling technology to offer cost, reliability and power density improvements to the end user with no additional design effort required from the system designers. The digital regulator module could be used interchangeably with the analogue version and required no special interface or design accommodation.
