POWER FEATURE OWER SUPPLY DEVELOPMENT


Figure 2. An alternative power supply architecture


but from the 5V DC link voltage with Converter 2. Figures 1 and 2 show not only the architecture but also the calculated efficiencies. The overall efficiency of the architecture from Figure 2 is only 86.3%. This is 5.3% below the solution from Figure 1.


MAKING THE DECISION When deciding which architecture is best, you can compare the costs of the respective solution, the efficiency performance of the entire architecture, and the respective solution size. These considerations are difficult to make without a sketching tool like the LTpowerPlanner. The LTpowerPlanner can be used as a


standalone tool for creating a power supply architecture (see Figure 3). It is available within LTpowerCAD, which can be downloaded free of charge from the ADI website. LTpowerPlanner can be accessed under the blue field ‘System Design’. The LTpowerPlanner tool is intended to provide


a clear overview of different power supply architectures. In addition, the built-in calculation function can be used to determine which architecture offers an efficiency advantage.


USEFUL TOOLS Within the power management tool chain, the first step is the optimisation of the power management architecture. A useful tool is the LTpowerPlanner from ADI. It can be used to draw


the power tree in various configurations and compare them. It also includes an efficiency calculation feature that provides valuable information about each possible architecture,


enabling quick architecture selection.


Analog Devices www.analog.com


Figure 3. Finding the LTpowerPlanner within LTpowerCAD under “System Design” DECEMBER/JANUARY 2025 DESIGN SOLUTIONS 45


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52