What makes a good power-supply design?

In general, for every power-supply design, trade-offs are made between performance, form factor, and cost. Know which of these factors has the highest priority, because these factors directly impact the quality of the design.

Why is switch-mode power-supply design so mysterious?

Switch-mode power-supply design can be a mysterious thing because there is a great variety of topologies and controller types from which to choose. This application brief series describes how to pick the most fitting power supply topology for an application and the knowledge needed to get there.

What information should be included in a power supply specification?

In many cases, this information decreases the number of usable topologies and controllers. The specification should also include requirements for the output-voltage tolerance of the power supply, maximum acceptable output-voltage ripple, average output current, and peak output current.