利用PMBus數字電壓調節器控制

　　數字控制優化了直流至直流開關穩壓器的效率、線路和負載調節。工程師能夠適應調節器的閉環響應，例如，完美地匹配他們產品的需求。

　　然而，數字控制實際上是在一個由幾個監管者組成的更復雜的系統中形成的。個人設備可以監督由中央電力系統控制主機通過如標準化電源管理總線數字通信總線（PMBus）。主機可以是一個專用于電力系統控制的集成電路，一個通用的微控制器，帶有圖形用戶界面（GUI）的筆記本電腦，或一個ATE（用于電源或系統測試過程中）。

　　本文探討了PMBus，描述它是如何工作的，并確定了一些數字電源芯片，已經接受了技術。

　　The basics

　　PMBus is based on the System Management Bus （SMBus） typically found in computer motherboards for communication with the power source. However， while SMBus is designed for communication with low-bandwidth devices， PMBus is targeted at digital management of power supplies， components， and power-related chips such as a rechargeable battery subsystem or temperature-， fan- and voltage-sensors and clock chips.

　　SMBus itself was based on Inter-Integrated Circuit （I2C）， the serial single-ended computer bus originally designed by Philips and used for attaching low-speed peripherals to a motherboard or other embedded system. As a result of this foundation， PMBus is a relatively low speed， two-wire communications protocol. However， unlike SMBus and I2C， PMBus defines a substantial number of domain-specific commands rather than just detailing how to communicate using commands defined by the reader.