Design of a mission-critical, rapid-start, isolated power system needs to be flawless. These systems need to start in milliseconds and start every time.
The purpose of the power supply in an electronic system is to provide a regulated voltage and / or current to a load. Attention is given to the performance of the power system in its response to rapidly‑changing loads and to rapidly-changing voltages demanded by the load. The input voltage and start-up time of the power system is given much less consideration because it is generally assumed that the power source to the system is always present.
However, there are systems where the power source isn’t present and the system must be active within milliseconds of application of input power. These systems typically require isolation from the power source to keep grounds isolated or to meet military specifications such as Military Standard 704.
For example, in many missile launch systems, the target information isn’t programmed into the missile until moments before the time of launch. There are several systems that need to be active within the missile before target information is loaded and the power system is only one of these systems and it needs to be the first system that is active to drive all others. So it is essential to get it right.
