Delivering a tightly regulated voltage to the next generation of microprocessors with extremely high di/dt loads is a severe challenge. We present a straightforward procedure to evaluate the effect of a printed circuit board layout on the system performance of microprocessors powered by Voltage Regulator Modules. Using the combined strengths of both the SIMPLIS and SIMetrix simulation engines, we demonstrate how to characterize the extracted Power Distribution Network (PDN) and create a reduced-order equivalent circuit of the PDN to be used to accurately predict the system performance of microprocessors powered by Voltage Regulator Modules. In addition, we highlight some new features of SIMetrix/SIMPLIS 9.2 including an improved estimate of transformer leakage inductance for our Magnetics Design Module and our new Python interface to SIMetrix/SIMPLIS with an example of how it can be used to customize measurements and reports in our Design Verification Module.
