Today’s sophisticated communication satellites demand unprecedented levels of computational processing which demands higher power, greater efficiency and lower noise all in a shrinking footprint. Because hard–switched converters have drawbacks in size, efficiency and electromagnetic interference, system engineers and power supply designers need to consider more advanced power supply topologies. Due to the physical size of modern ASICs, FPGAs, CPUs and GPUs—and their necessary cooling solutions—circuit board real estate around these big chips is precious. These chips require progressively lower voltages with increasing currents—hence the need for an optimized power delivery network (PDN). Because of these challenges power design flexibility and scalability are paramount.
Top challenges for satellite power system designers:
- Higher and higher load current requirements, from tens of amps to hundreds of amps.
- Loads requiring faster transient response with tighter tolerance windows.
- Requirements for lower PDN losses and impedances.
- Need Low power supply electromagnetic interference.
This paper will provide proven tips and techniques to optimize your space based PDN using our patented Factorized Power Architecture (FPA™) when compared to a hard–switched, multi-phase topology.