Digital Power Electronics

Topics covered include:

• New Power Architectures Enabled by Digital Power
• Emergence of Adaptive Control Techniques
• Next-Generation Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs)
• Adoption of Digital Control by Applications
• State Machines vs. MCU-based Solutions
• Implications of Digital Power for the Supply Chain
• Pricing Trends for Digital Controller ICs
• Recent Product Introduction Trends
• Threats to the Adoption of Digital Power
• Standards Contributing to the Adoption of Digital Power

Executive Summary

The digital landscape will be recast this year. Digital power management and control is entering a new phase of commercial adoption with the introduction of third-generation digital control technology. This includes: enabling new power architectures through digital control techniques; the migration of digital control into nearly all application segments; the adoption of digital control in high-volume and cost-sensitive consumer devices; the realization of adaptive control techniques in cost-effective controllers; the shift from predictive to proactive real-time power system diagnostics with digital power; and neural-based digital controller chips that will result in power supplies that can “learn” and improve their performance over time.

Digital power management and control is on the cusp of widespread implementation, and despite a slower economy, the technology developments are not only likely to continue, but are likely to enable the very efficiencies and cost-effectiveness that customers are looking for. The next couple of years should see the emergence of an even more-established market for digital control products.

 The digital landscape will be recast this year. Digital power management and control is entering a new phase of commercial adoption with the introduction of third-generation digital control technology. This includes: enabling new power architectures through digital control techniques; the migration of digital control into nearly all application segments; the adoption of digital control in high-volume and cost-sensitive consumer devices; the realization of adaptive control techniques in cost-effective controllers; the shift from predictive to proactive real-time power system diagnostics with digital power; and neural-based digital controller chips that will result in power supplies that can “learn” and improve their performance over time.

The “mainstream” adoption of digital control has happened relatively recently and includes the introduction of dedicated, digital controller ICs. Since these products have only been around for the past few years, we are still a way from even a 50% market penetration of digital control into the overall power supply market. Darnell estimates that the digital power controller IC unit market share will be about 30% by 2013, but this is still a unit growth rate of about 10.8% between 2008 and 2013. Cumulative shipments of digital power supply controller ICs are expected to exceed five billion units by 2010. This includes embedded and external ac-dc power supplies, along with all dc-dc converters.

It took 10 years for switch-mode to go from mainstream commercial products to 55% of the market. If digital follows this line, it has a lot of market potential ahead of it. In fact, Darnell sees digital just starting to enter its “growth phase,” with the lifecycle curve not even flattening in the next five years. It is still rare to find a “pure digital solution,” for instance. Price declines will only begin to slow by 2013, so dollar sales will experience a healthy growth rate of just over 29% up to this point.

What does this mean for power supply companies? First, the digital power management and control market is not only alive, it is just entering its adolescence. Its biggest growth spurts are immediately ahead, and maturity is still years away. This is always an exciting time for any market, since the groundwork has already been established and companies don't have to “make a case” for the technology anymore. Even though the major players are established, the way is now opened for companies to differentiate themselves in specific application segments and product lines.

Like switch-mode regulation, digital control is not a limited technology. It has applications in embedded and external ac-dc power supplies, isolated and non-isolated dc-dc converters, telecom rectifiers, and lighting ballasts. Most importantly, digital has penetrated nearly all application segments, from high-performance computing to high-volume consumer products.

Companies are also offering products for newer segments such as medical and solid-state lighting, and newer functions such as power factor correction and regenerative power. Lighting, in particular, has proven to be a successful application for digital control products, including high-intensity discharge (HID), fluorescent and solid-state, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Dimming, load shedding and building lighting automation are all expected to drive the adoption of digital control techniques in ballast technology.

New digital product designs and architectures are expected, as well, including those emphasizing efficiency, configurability and reliability, along with more accurate voltage and current regulation. Centralized control and multi-phase system architectures are increasingly being deployed. Controller IC architectures can take the “state machine” approach or the “microcontroller-based” approach; the two are not mutually exclusive, But recent trends are clarifying where and how these two approaches can be best utilized.

Customers continue to demand efficiency, with regulations and the cost of energy driving this demand. Power supply prices are at historic lows, and the global economic downturn has made efficiency an important differentiating factor. The concept of “intelligent power management” is being extended to higher-level system implementation, as well.

Although the adoption of digital control is occurring in a more measured fashion, several developments are being cited as “likely to have the biggest impact on the digital control power supply market” over the next year or so. Recent acquisitions of digital solution suppliers by large semiconductor makers is one such trend. Acceptance in the mainstream desktop, server and graphics markets will also push adoption, proving an advantage (as well as being able to compete) at a competitive cost level. Auto-compensation and auto-tuning are seen as important developments in digital control technology.

Digital power management and control is on the cusp of widespread implementation, and despite a slower economy, the technology developments are not only likely to continue, but are likely to enable the very efficiencies and cost-effectiveness that customers are looking for. The next couple of years should see the emergence of an even more-established market for digital control products.