The continuous march in electronics toward lower supply voltages and higher load currents puts tremendous pressure on point-ofload DC/DC converters to maintain a fast pace of performance improvements. For instance, a lower supply voltage means a regulator must support a higher step-down ratio from a 12V or 24V power rail while maintaining high efficiency. Regulation accuracy also becomes more important as supply voltages drop—and accuracy must be maintained in the presence of parasitic IR drops and dynamic load transients. EMI generated by switching converters is also of concern, especially in RF applications. October 2011 Volume 21 Number 3 I N T H I S I S S U E 2-channel and 4-channel Fast, Accurate Step-Down DC/DC Controller Converts 24V Directly to pin-selectable I2C multiplexer 11 high efficiency power supply for Intel IMVP- 1.8V at 2MHz 6/6+/6.5 CPUs 20 Bud Abesingha 3A linear regulator easily The continuous march in electronics toward lower supply voltages paralleled to spread power and higher load currents puts tremendous pressure on point-of- and heat 24 ……