Fundamentals of Power-Supply Distribution Topologies

The fundamentals course will look at the many issues, tradeoffs, and options when an engineer has to provide multiple DC rails for a single PCB or product, starting from the AC line. This is a complex, multi-dimensional problem, and it requires balancing multiple voltage and current requirements (even for the same nominal rail), as well as regulation, efficiency, footprint, cost, and other parameters. There is no "single" solution to this problem, and available tools are very limited in scope and availability. [Note that the course will not look at the internal designs of the power-supplies themselves, except where it affects the system-level topology decision.] The course will explore the approaches to analyzing the problem and understanding the various solutions, as well as areas of concern and caution.