Recent developments in digital control strategies for DC/DC switching power converters

In this paper, an overview of recent advances in digital control of low to medium power DC/DC switching converters is presented. Traditionally, such DC/DC converters have been almost exclusively controlled through analog electronics methods. However, with the steadily decreasing cost of integrated circuits, the feasibility of digitally controlled DC/DC switching converters has increased significantly. This paper outlines some of the existing design challenges related to digital control and reviews a sample of recently proposed solutions. In addition, present-day research pertaining to applications such as online efficiency optimization, controller auto-tuning and specialized non-linear control is presented. Such applications demonstrate the true advantages and potential of digital control as their complexity prevents practical implementation in the analog domain.