As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
An information handling system may include a voltage regulator to provide a constant voltage level and a current to power the system. For example, a voltage regulator may receive an input voltage and produce an output current at a predetermined output voltage required by a load, i.e., the circuit element(s) for which it is providing power. Moreover, modern information handling systems may include components that maintain current requirements across a broad range from relatively high peak currents to very low stable currents. More particularly, voltage regulators may be required to maintain a high efficiency, or low power loss, over such ranges. In particular, a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) voltage regulator may include a controller, one or more drivers, and one or more power stages. Furthermore, a power stage may include one or more metal oxide-semiconductor-field-effect-transistors (MOSFETs), which may be driven by the drivers.
Additionally, some voltage regulators may be capable of operating in multiple phases. To this end, the concept of a phase for a voltage regulator may typically refer to combining an inductor and a power stage to form one phase. A power stage (which may also be known as a Pstage) may comprise a high-side MOSFET and a low-side MOSFET each driven by a driver. In some embodiments, a power stage may be fully integrated into a single integrated circuit, known as an integrated power stage.
A multi-phase voltage regulator may include multiple instances of such phases. Alternatively, a multi-phase voltage regulator may be thought of as a combination of single phase voltage regulators. For example, a multi-phase voltage regulator may include a plurality of single phase voltage regulators coupled in parallel to provide varying ranges of output current. During periods of high loads, the multi-phase voltage regulator may function with all phases in operation. In contrast, for lower loads, it may employ phase-shedding and operate with a reduced number of phases.
To manage power delivery and consumption by voltage regulators, power control systems in information handling systems often execute power management algorithms. For such power management algorithms to effectively manage power, accurate power, current, voltage, and/or other measurements must be obtained. An inherent conflict in obtaining power measurements is that measurement circuitry itself may add power losses to a system.