01741nas a2200121   4500008004100000245009700041210006900138260001200207520130900219100002501528700002401553856004201577       2013                        eng d00aA DC-DC Converter Efficiency Model for System Level Analysis in Ultra Low Power Applications0 aDCDC Converter Efficiency Model for System Level Analysis in Ult  c06/20133 aThis paper presents a model of inductor based DC-DC converters that can be used to study the impact of power management techniques such as dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS). System level power models of low power systems on chip (SoCs) and power management strategies cannot be correctly established without accounting for the associated overhead related to the DC-DC converters that provide regulated power to the system. The proposed model accurately predicts the efficiency of inductor based DC-DC converters with varying topologies and control schemes across a range of output voltage and current loads. It also accounts for the energy and timing overhead associated with the change in the operating condition of the regulator. Since modern SoCs employ power management techniques that vary the voltage and current loads seen by the converter, accurate modeling of the impact on the converter efficiency becomes critical. We use this model to compute the overall cost of two power distribution strategies for a SoC with multiple voltage islands. The proposed model helps us to obtain the energy benefits of a power management technique and can also be used as a basis for comparison between power management techniques or as a tool for design space exploration early in a SoC design cycle.1 aShrivastava, Aatmesh1 aCalhoun, Benton, H.  uhttp://www.mdpi.com/2079-9268/3/3/215