Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1441485
56 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2022 One recurring question I get is how to fac- tor the DC drop into the power distribution network design process. Whether you pre- fer time-domain based or frequency-domain based design approach, the DC drop on the distribution path must be considered. Here, I will walk you through some of the important options and considerations. To connect the source to the load, the power distribution network has a series of conduc- tive elements (connectors, cables, PCB planes, traces and potentially also inductors, ferrite beads, current-sensing and current-limiting devices) and parallel bypass capacitors. In our typical electronic circuit, we feed our load with clean DC power with a known, regulated voltage. e active DC source in the example of Figure 1 could be a linear or switching reg- ulator, monitoring, and keeping its average output voltage constant across its output con- nections. In such a scenario (Figure 2), due to the uncompensated voltage drop across the Uncompensated DC Drop in Power Distribution Networks Quiet Power Feature Column by Istvan Novak, SAMTEC Figure 2: Voltage regulator with feedback loop monitoring the output connections of the regulator. Figure 1: Simplified block schematics of a 1V 10W point-of-load (POL) power distribution network.