Henry W. Koertzen

Impact of die sensing on CPU power delivery

This study is regarding power delivery to a desktop microprocessor. It shows the advantages and disadvantages of sensing the feedback signals of the voltage regulator at the silicon die of the CPU, compared to the current method of sensing it at the socket. The main advantage is that the response time of the voltage regulator is improved, without increasing the bandwidth of the feedback loop. The down side is that the tolerance band of the voltage regulator increases. In most cases the net benefit of die sensing is positive, resulting in increased microprocessor performance at no additional cost. Simulated and measured results are presented.