Chapter 11. Overview of Power Integrity Engineering

Ralf Schmitt

High-performance electronic systems require high-quality power supply systems, in order to achieve their full potential. An ideal power supply network provides a constant voltage, at a nominal value, to all the system components. This voltage/value remains unchanged over time, regardless of temperature, activity, or interference from other system components. In simulation (for example, using the SPICE circuit simulation software), this ideal power supply is modeled as a global supply node with an ideal DC voltage source. In reality, supply voltage varies over time due to environmental changes (for example, temperature drift), changes in the circuit activity (and the resulting variations in current dissipation), and interference from other systems. Furthermore, at any given time, the supply voltage varies for different components in the system due to differences in the local environment, local current dissipation, and local current paths. These supply variations, the deviations of the supply voltage from the nominal value over time, and the different voltages for different components, have to be taken into consideration when designing an electronic system to assure functionality and performance.