Life after the schematic: the impact of circuit operation on the physical realization of electronic power supplies

The impact of the nonlinear analog operation of power electronic circuits on the physical realization process is considered. Portions of the physical realization process of a switched-mode power supply are compared with those of a digital circuit board assembly of exactly the same size and power dissipation. This comparison serves as an illustrative example of how differences in circuit operation prevent power supply engineers from using many of the design methodologies that are so effective in digital applications