Industry Articles
Understanding why power management IP is so important-February 5, 2025 |
By Chris Morrison, VP Product Marketing, Agile Analog
Power management IP is indispensable in modern chip design, especially for battery applications where power is constrained and for high-power applications where thermal efficiency is vital. Power management IPs are specialized blocks or circuits that help to control the power consumption, voltage levels and energy efficiency of a system.
The key components of power management IP
First, let’s review the common components of power management IP. These include low drop-out (LDO) linear voltage regulators, voltage references, and power-on-reset (POR) circuits and can be combined into a dedicated power management unit (PMU) that contains all of the sub-blocks.
LDOs: These are typically used to provide a precise, low-noise, regulated voltage level from a power source such as a battery. A minimal voltage drop (or drop-out voltage) could result from this. A drop-out of 200mV in a standard LDO is typically enough to filter the incoming supply for line and load regulation, producing a low noise and stable output voltage against power supply and load variations.