Multi-Phase Power Supply Telemetry Self-Calibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturers face challenges in trimming circuits for optimal performance due to assembly-to-assembly variations and errors introduced by interconnects and other components, leading to suboptimal or insufficient trimming, which can result in inaccurate telemetry data and reduced efficiency in power supplies.
Innovation Solution
A power supply controller with self-calibration capabilities, including phase control logic, analog-to-digital converters, and digital logic, allows for individual calibration of each power phase, enabling adjustments for offset, gain, and temperature compensation, improving telemetry accuracy and overall system performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If characterization testing is used to trim circuits, then productivity is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-calibration by automatically comparing measured values against stored reference values and adjusting trim values without requiring external intervention or separate characterization testing, thereby maintaining high productivity while achieving accurate calibration
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from ADC measurements and compares them against reference values stored in memory to automatically adjust trim values, creating a closed-loop calibration process that ensures measurement precision without requiring separate testing phases
2Measurement precision
If separate testing of every circuit is performed, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Reference values are pre-calculated and stored in memory during manufacturing, allowing the system to perform rapid self-calibration later without requiring time-consuming separate testing of each circuit, thus maintaining both precision and productivity
3Device complexity
If average value trimming is applied to full production run, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of applying a single average trim value to all circuits, the system determines individual trim values for each circuit based on its specific characteristics and compares them against reference values, allowing each circuit to be optimized locally for its own performance requirements
Data Source
AI summary
A circuit includes a phase control logic, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and digital logic. The phase control logic is configured to couple to a plurality of power phases of a multi-phase power supply. The digital logic is configured to couple to the phase control logic and the ADC, to receive an instruction to operate in a self-calibration mode of operation, receive a first message including a value associated with a calibrated load configured to couple to the plurality of power phases, perform a self-calibration sub-routine for each power phase of the plurality of power phases based at least partially on the received instruction, the received first message, and a signal received from the ADC, and receive a second message instructing the digital logic to store a result of the self-calibration in a memory of the circuit.