Design Space Exploration of Distributed On-Chip Voltage Regulation Under Stability Constraint
Design Space Exploration of Distributed On-Chip Voltage Regulation Under Stability Constraint
复制标题
稳定性约束下分布式片上电压调节的设计空间探索
DOI：
10.1109/tvlsi.2018.2818079
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发表时间：
2018
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
E. Sanchez
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Xin Zhan;Joseph Riad;Peng Li;E. Sanchez
将多个片上电压调节器集成在功率输送网络（PDN）中可以在电压调节和功率效率方面提供有希望的改进。然而，有源调节器和周围的寄生无源网络之间的复杂的相互作用创建了大量的反馈回路，从而引起对分布式调节网络的稳定性问题。最近出现的PDN设计方法的基础上的混合稳定性理论（HST）提供了一个独特的机会，驯服复杂的PDN稳定性问题。然而，基于HST的稳定裕度对电路设计者来说是不熟悉的，因此稳定性约束的设计直觉是可推导的。在这篇文章中，我们的系统分析揭示了独特的设计考虑，这些考虑可以显着影响系统级的稳定性和性能。在一个大的设计空间内，进行了一系列全面的设计研究，以阐明基于HST的稳定裕度和其他PDN设计规格（如静态电流消耗、最大开关噪声和面积开销）之间的权衡。有用的设计见解，如稳压器拓扑结构，无源去耦电容，和片上稳压器的数量可能会被优化，以改善稳定性和系统性能之间的权衡进行了讨论。这些见解可以帮助电路设计人员在设计过程开始时做出适当的设计选择，以改进系统权衡。
Integrating multiple on-chip voltage regulators in a power delivery network (PDN) can offer promising improvements in both voltage regulation and power efficiency. However, the complex interactions between active regulators and the surrounding parasitic passive network create a large number of feedback loops and thus cause stability concern for the distributed regulation network. The recently emerged PDN design methodology based on the hybrid stability theory (HST) provides a unique opportunity for taming the complex PDN stability problem. However, the HST-based stability margin is unfamiliar to circuit designers, and therefore stability-constrained design intuitions are derivable. In this brief, our systematic analysis reveals unique design considerations which can significantly impact the system-level stability and performances. Within a large design space, a comprehensive set of design studies are conducted to shed light on the tradeoffs between the HST-based stability margin and other PDN design specifications such as the quiescent current consumption, maximum switching noise, and area overhead. Useful design insights like how regulator topology, passive decoupling capacitance, and the number of on-chip regulators may be optimized for improved tradeoffs between stability and system performance are discussed. These insights can aid circuit designers to make appropriate design choices at the beginning of the design process for improved system tradeoffs.