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 ICs, 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 autotuning, and specialized nonlinear control is presented. Such applications demonstrate the true advantages and potential of digital control as their complexity prevents practical implementation in the analog domain.