Smart power IC for DC-DC low power regulation

Design strategies are presented for a smart power circuit for DC-DC low power regulation applications, the switching power devices of which, as well as their control and protection circuitries, are integrated in the same chip. The circuit was fabricated using a low-cast standard 1.5 μm, N-well, double metal CMOS technology, optimized for 5 V applications. Consequently, the power transistor structure had to be modified to withstand voltages up to 20 V, using the standard processing steps. The methodology presented is aimed at high power per volume factor DC-DC power regulation for mobile equipment with low power requirements (up to 10 W), supplied by low-voltage batteries (2.4 V). Simulation and experimental results that validate the design methodology are presented