Hi carlosdelfino,
it looks like your are now all over all the places (discussion here)... (cool).
No: "...STM32s that can be used to control Switched Mode Power Supplies...": they have an SMPS inside.
OK: you could use a TIM, PWM, ... in order to control an external SMPS.
SMPS in MCUs: (as I understand):
- MCU has integrated SMPS feature, e.g. to generate waveform for a buck-down converter,
- it needs still external components, esp. the coil (inductor)
- the SMPS inductor is not possible to be integrated into silicon (chips)
SMPS features are great:
- the provide a better efficiency, less power burned - so they are provided for "low power" applications,
MCU vendors provide option to toggle between SMPS and LDOs (e.g. STM32)
But they are "bad" in terms of signal quality:
- the SMPS "noise" can travel into analog signals, e.g. ADC, OpAmps, ...
- therefore, often an option to have still LDOs on MCUs (or to use external LDOs)
I work at a chip design company and the big picture I know (and I can share):
- yes, SPMPS often inside chips (e.g. MCU), even needing external components (coil)
- but also with requirements for external components (and careful PCB design) - components very close to chip pins
- we use (in "Mixed Signal Application Products") still a lot of analog (internal LDOs), esp. when it comes
to power the analog parts, to do analog signal processing (ADC, DAC)
SMPS are good for digital signals, but when it comes to combine digital with analog signals (e.g. sensitive sensor data) - not so easy (or complicated to remove the SMPS noise or to be EMI conformant).
