Like all embedded systems, those considered part of the Internet of Things (IoT) require power, and that power needs precise management for the system to function as designed. A typical IoT-related system will comprise a number of elements that generate and/or process analog, digital, and serial-data signals.
Consider a generic example of an IoT system (Fig. 1), consisting of a 32-bit CPU, power-supply block, digital I/O, DDR, an FPGA, and more. Such systems might also include sensor signals, making it what some might call a “deeply embedded” system, as well as some form of wireless connectivity such as a Bluetooth transceiver. Powering it all is a (typically) 12-V supply that feeds a power-management IC (PMIC).