Specialized digital signal processor for control of multi-rail/multi-phase high switching frequency power converters

This paper describes a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) whose architecture has been purposely developed for executing power converter control algorithms. It is intended for use in the control of multi-phase or multi-rail switching power converters. The DSP's novel dual multiplier-accumulator datapath allows multiple operations to be executed in a single clock cycle, thus shortening required execution times of power control algorithms compared with standard low-end DSPs. The processor has been designed using the Verilog Hardware Description Language (HDL), implemented on an FPGA development board and tested in a closed-loop system controlling three independent 500 kHz synchronous buck converters.