Opportunities for Harmonic Cancellation with Carrier Based PWM for Two-Level

and Multi-Level Cascaded Inverters

D.G. Holmes and B. P. McGrath
Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering,
Monash University
Wellington Road, Clayton, 3168, AUSTRALIA
Abstract -- PWM strategies have been the subject of many
years of research effort, and the merits of the various
alternatives investigated have been argued extensively. In
general, it is now accepted that natural or asymmetrical regular
sampled PWM with a third harmonic injected or a Space
Vector centered reference waveform gives the best harmonic
performance, with discontinuous modulation having some
advantages for higher modulation ratios.
This paper uses a general analytical solution for carrier
based PWM to mathematically identify the harmonic
cancellation that occurs in various PWM implementations and
converter topologies. This solution provides a formal
justification for the superiority of natural and asymmetrical
regular sampling techniques in eliminating half of their
sideband harmonics simply by virtue of their phase leg
switching. Then the use of fundamental reference phase shifting
between phase legs to create single and three phase l-l output
voltages is reviewed, and the harmonic cancellation that occurs
is identified. One significant result from this analysis is the
realisation that an odd/triplen carrier/fundamental ratio has no
intrinsic harmonic benefit, contrary to the generally accepted
wisdom. Finally, opportunities for harmonic elimination in
multi-level cascaded inverter systems by carrier phase shifting
are investigated, and the optimum phase shift is identified.
I. INTRODUCTION
PWM strategies have been the subject of many years of
research effort, and the harmonic benefits of strategies such
as 3
rd
harmonic injected reference waveforms, space vector
modulation and discontinuous conduction, for two level
converters, are now well established [1,2,3]. In contrast
however, a mathematical explanation for these benefits is less
well known, and this can lead to misunderstandings among
less experienced engineers as to which PWM strategies are
advantageous in particular applications. Additionally, for
multi-level cascaded inverter systems, whilst the benefits of
phase shifting the carrier waveform have been recognised
[4,5], a complete mathematical explanation of these benefits
for both naturally and regular sampled PWM has not been
published to date.
Recent work [6] has presented a general mathematical
technique for determining the theoretical harmonic
components of any carrier based PWM strategy. In particular,
this work presents a common approach for analysing
naturally sampled and regular sampled (both symmetrical
and asymmetrical) PWM strategies, together with closed
form analytic solutions for all the major PWM variations that
are in use. This paper now uses these closed form solutions to
determine exactly how and which harmonics are cancelled
for different PWM strategies applied to two level and multi-
level converters. The results of this work show why
particular fundamental and carrier phase relationships have
distinct harmonic advantages when used in two level and
multi-level cascaded inverter topologies.
II. PWM HARMONICS GENERATED BY A TWO LEVEL PHASE LEG.
The basic building block of voltage source type inverters is
a single two level switched phase leg, consisting of two
active switches and their associated anti-parallel diodes, as
shown in Figure 1(a). The fundamental constraint for this
structure is that one of the two switches must always be ON,
to provide a continuous conduction path for the output load
current. From this building block, two level single phase and
three phase inverters, and multi-level voltage source
inverters constructed from cascaded single level inverters,
can be developed, as shown in Figures 1(b), 1(c) and 1(d).
The most common PWM strategy for a two level phase leg
is a sine-triangle comparison of a (sinusoidal) low
frequency fundamental reference waveform against a high
frequency carrier waveform. The phase leg switches to the
upper or the lower dc rail supply depending on whether the
reference waveform is respectively greater than or less than
the carrier waveform. A wide variety of PWM strategies have
been proposed based on this principle, the variations of
which can be broadly categorised according to:
the sampling technique, i.e. natural, symmetric regular
sampled or asymmetric regular sampled;
the offset waveform which is added to the fundamental
reference, i.e. none, 1/6 or 3
rd
harmonic, an offset to
centre the reference in the carrier interval (otherwise
known as space vector modulation), or an offset to set the
reference to one dc rail for part of the fundamental cycle
(discontinuous switching);
the carrier waveform triangle, sawtooth, trapezoidal.
Each of these variations have particular harmonic benefits,
the merits of which have been argued for years. However,
from reference [6] the general harmonic form of the switched
output waveform of a single phase leg controlled by any
carrier based PWM scheme can be written as:
( ) [ ] ( ) { }
[ ] [ ] ( ) { }

+ + + +
+
1
1
0
cos
cos
m n
o o c c mn
n
o o n
t n t m C
t n C t F


(1)
where (1) has been adapted from reference [6] to include an
arbitrary phase offset for both the fundamental (
o
) and the
carrier (
c
) waveforms, and complex harmonic co-efficients
C
mn
(determined by the specific PWM strategy used) instead
of the more usual separate sine and cosine co-efficients. The
two summation terms in (1) represent fundamental/baseband
harmonics and carrier/sideband harmonics, respectively.
For the simplest PWM strategy of a triangular carrier and a
simple sinusoidal fundamental reference, the solution process
described in [6] leads to harmonic components as detailed in
(2) for the cases of naturally sampled PWM, symmetrical
sampled PWM and asymmetrical sampled PWM,
respectively. These expressions define fundamental and
baseband harmonics (m=0, n0), carrier multiple harmonics
(m0, n=0), and sideband harmonics centered around the
carrier multiples (m0, n0).
In particular it can be seen from 2(a) and 2(c) that by
virtue of the [ ] ( )"
2
sin "

n m+ terms present in the summation
expressions, naturally sampled and asymmetrical regular
sampled PWM eliminate every odd sideband harmonic for
each odd carrier multiple, and every even sideband harmonic
for each even carrier multiple. Symmetrical regular sampled
PWM in contrast has a [ ] ( )"
2
sin "

n q + term in the
summation expressions, which does not achieve similar
sideband harmonic elimination. Thus symmetrical regular
sampled PWM generates more sideband harmonic
components than asymmetrical sampling, and so cannot
achieve the same level of harmonic cancellation as
asymmetrical sampling for any converter topology.
Examination of the harmonic co-efficients developed in
reference [6] for more complex PWM schemes with various
offsets added to the fundamental reference, shows the same
odd and even sideband harmonic cancellation for all
continuously modulated naturally and asymmetrical regular
sampled PWM strategies. Hence this harmonic elimination
within a phase leg can identified as an intrinsic advantage of
+Vdc
-Vdc
Switched
output

+Vdc
-Vdc
1 Phase
Output

+Vdc
-Vdc
3 Phase
Output

1(a) two level phase leg 1(b) single phase VSI 1(c) three phase VSI 1(d) cascaded multilevel three phase VSI
Figure 1: Development of Single Phase, Three Phase and Multilevel Cascaded Inverters from a single two level Switched Phase Leg

( )
( )
[ ] [ ] [ ] ( )

'

'

+ + +
,
_

,
_

+
+ +

1
cos
2 2
sin
1 4
cos
m n
o o c c n
o o
dc pn
t n t m M m J n m
m
t M
V t V

(naturally sampled) (2a)
( )
( )
[ ] [ ] [ ] ( )

'

'

+ + +
,
_

,
_

+
+ +

,
_

,
_

,
_

1
1
cos
2 2
sin
1
cos
2 2
1 sin
1
4
m n
o o c c n
n
o o
c
o
n
c
o
c
o
n
dc
ps
t n t m M q J n q
q
t M n J n
V
t V

(symmetric regular sampled) (2b)

( )
( )
[ ] [ ] [ ] ( )

'

'

+ + +
,
_

,
_

+
+ +

,
_

,
_

1
1
cos
2 2
sin
1
cos
2 2
sin
1
4
m n
o o c c n
n
o o
c
o
n
c
o
n
dc
pa
t n t m M q J n m
q
t M n J n
V
t V

(asymmetric regular sampled) (2c)

where M = modulation depth,
c
o
n m q

+ .
Equation 2: Analytical solutions for switched output of a single phase leg under simple sine-triangle PWM
natural and asymmetrical regular sampling for continuous
modulation, irrespective of the modulation strategy.
For discontinuous modulation strategies, no equivalent
harmonic sideband elimination occurs within the individual
two level phase leg. Furthermore, these PWM strategies
create significant baseband harmonic components for each
phase leg outputs, and rely on common mode cancellation
across multiple phase legs to eliminate these harmonics from
the final output. As a practical matter, this increases the risk
of incomplete cancellation depending on the accuracy of
implementation of the switching waveform.
Equation (2) also identifies that what are often referred to
in the literature as subharmonics can be more usefully
described as carrier sideband harmonics which intrude below
the fundamental component when the carrier/fundamental
ratio is low. Evaluation of the magnitude of the Bessel
functions in (2) identifies the significant (i.e. greater than
0.5%) lower frequency sideband harmonics as
o s o s o s o s o s o s h
f f f f f f f f f f f f f 5 2 , 3 2 , 2 , 6 , 4 , 2 t t t t t t
for natural or asymmetric regular sampling (symmetric
regular sampling has twice as many significant harmonics
because of less harmonic sideband elimination), and these
will only intrude below the fundamental when
o s
f f 7 < .
Hence the conventional wisdom of maintaining
o s
f f 9 represents a comfortable safety margin, but there
appears to be no theoretical rationale for requiring f
s
to be an
odd triplen integer multiple of f
o
as is often stated in the
literature unless perhaps the phase leg load creates cross-
modulation interference between nearby sideband harmonics.
Note also that symmetric and asymmetric regular sampled
PWM creates low order baseband harmonic components as
identified in 2(b) and 2(c) irrespective of the reference
waveform, but these components are usually insignificant for
any reasonable carrier/fundamental ratio.
The solutions of (2) identify one opportunity for harmonic
cancellation, by using natural or asymmetric regular
sampling irrespective of the fundamental and carrier
waveforms. A second opportunity for harmonic cancellation
comes about by arranging the switching of multiple phase
legs to create common mode harmonics which cancel across
phase legs, as discussed in the next sections.
III. OPPORTUNITIES FOR HARMONIC CANCELLATION IN SINGLE PHASE
CONVERTERS.
For a single phase inverter with two phase legs, a
sinusoidal l-l output fundamental is achieved across the phase
legs if the second phase leg reference waveform is phase
delayed by 180
o
. Under these conditions, the phase leg
switched waveforms and the inverter l-l output voltages can
be developed from (2) into (3) below.
The ( )[ ] ( )" 1 2 ... cos " t n
o
+ term in 3(b), 3(c), 3(d) shows
that complete cancellation occurs in the single phase inverter
l-l output voltage for all even sideband harmonics
irrespective of the modulation strategy and the
carrier/fundamental frequency ratio. For naturally and
asymmetric regular sampled PWM (3(b) and 3(d)), this
consequently eliminates all odd carrier multiple sideband
harmonics, thus confirming the well known harmonic benefit
of three level modulation for a single phase inverter.
However, the same benefit is not achieved for symmetric
regular sampled PWM (3(c)) because this strategy does not
eliminate odd sideband harmonics at odd carrier multiples
within each phase leg, and hence complete sideband
harmonic cancellation between the two phase legs at odd
carrier multiples does not occur.

( ) ( ) [ ] [ ] [ ] ( ) 1 , 0 , cos
2 2
sin
1 4
cos
1

'

'

+ +
,
_

,
_

+ + +

k k t n t m M m J n m
m
k t M V t V
m n
o c n o dc pn
k

(3a)
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) [ ] ( ) [ ] ( )[ ] ( )

'

'

+
,
_

+ + +

1
0
1 2 ln
1 2 2 cos
2
2 1 cos
2
1 8
cos 2
1 0
m
n
n
o c n o dc pn pn l
t n t m M m J n m
m
t M V t V t V t V

(3b)
( ) ( ) ( )
[ ]
[ ] [ ] ( )[ ] ( )
[ ] ( ) [ ] ( )[ ] ( )
[ ]
c
o
m n
o c n
n
o
c
o
n
c
o
c
o
n
dc
ps ps ls l
n m q
t n t m M q J n q
q
t n M n J n
V
t V t V t V

1 2 ,
1 2 cos
2 2
1 2 sin
1
1 2 cos
2
1 2
2
1 1 2 sin
1
8
'
1
'
1 2
'
'
1
1 2
1 2
1 0
+

'

'

+
,
_

,
_

+
+

,
_

,
_

,
_

(3c)
( ) ( ) ( )
[ ]
[ ] [ ] ( )[ ] ( )
[ ] ( ) [ ] ( )[ ] ( )
[ ]
c
o
m n
o c n
n
o
c
o
n
c
o
n
dc
pa pa la l
n m q
t n t m M q J n m
q
t n M n J n
V
t V t V t V

1 2 2 ,
1 2 2 cos
2
1 cos
1
1 2 cos
2
1 2
2
1 2 sin
1
8
'
1
'
1 2
'
1
1 2
1 2
1 0
+

'

'

+
,
_

+ +
+

,
_

,
_

(3d)
Equation 3: Analytical solutions for l-l output of a single phase inverter under three level sine-triangle PWM
In contrast, the common alternative of two level
modulation (achieved by switching the second phase leg in
direct opposition to the first) is equivalent to phase delaying
both the fundamental and the carrier waveforms by 180
0
.
Under these conditions the phase leg and l-l output voltages
become as shown in (4) and odd carrier sideband harmonic
cancellation does not occur between the two phase legs
irrespective of the modulation sampling process and strategy.
It is important to recognise that in all of these examples,
carrier sideband harmonic cancellation is a consequence of
the internal phase leg modulation strategy and the various
phase shifts of the fundamental and carrier waveforms that
are used. The carrier/fundamental ratio has no influence, and
need not even be integer.
IV. OPPORTUNITIES FOR HARMONIC CANCELLATION IN THREE PHASE
CONVERTERS.
For a three phase inverter with three two level phase legs,
a balanced set of three phase l-l output voltages is obtained if
the phase leg references are displaced by 120
o
. Under these
conditions, the phase leg and l-l voltages are given (for
naturally sampled PWM) by (5) below:
In this case the triplen sideband harmonics around each
carrier multiple are cancelled (i.e. when ( ) " 0
3
sin "

n ),
and hence the major significant sideband harmonics become
o s o s o s o s h
f f f f f f f f f 5 2 , 2 , 4 , 2 t t t t as is well defined
in the literature. However, it is again significant to recognise
that the sideband cancellation is not caused by any triplen
carrier ratio requirement, and there is no identifiable
harmonic benefit in maintaining an odd carrier/fundamental
ratio. (In passing it is commented that a triplen odd
carrier/fundamental ratio does create low pass filtered l-l
voltages which are visually symmetrical, but this is a nicety
only, and offers no intrinsic harmonic benefits).
For regular sampled PWM, the triplen sideband harmonics
are similarly cancelled in a three phase system, with extra
harmonics at
o s o s o s o s h
f f f f f f f f f 4 2 , 2 2 , 5 , t t t t
occurring for symmetrical regular sampling because of the
poorer harmonic elimination that occurs within the phase leg
for this modulation strategy.
The sideband harmonic cancellation process described
above is independent of the fundamental reference
waveform, since it occurs only because of the 120
o
reference
waveform phase shift causing matching phase shifts in the
sideband harmonics created in each phase leg. More complex
reference waveforms only change the magnitude of these
harmonics, and hence similar cancellation occurs for the
more sophisticated PWM strategies of third harmonic
injected, space vector, discontinuous modulation, etc.
The popular misconception that it is a triplen
carrier/fundamental ratio which causes carrier and sideband
harmonic cancellation between phase legs appears to have
arisen from early harmonic analysis work which assumed an
integer carrier ratio and a general harmonic form of:
( ) [ ] ( ) { }

+
1
cos
n
o o n
t n C t F (6)
Setting
3
2
0

t to appropriately displace the three
fundamental carriers for three phase operation then seems to
logically require n to be a triplen ratio when the carrier
harmonic is created to achieve cancellation between phase
legs. But the error is in the use of the general harmonic form
of (6), which implicitly assumes a zero degree phase
relationship between the reference waveform and the carrier.
This relationship is not true for the other two phase
references without a triplen carrier ratio, so that the general
harmonic form of (6) is only valid for a triplen carrier, rather
than requiring such a ratio. Equation (1) is the correct more
general harmonic form for fixed carrier PWM systems.
( ) ( ) [ ] [ ] [ ] ( ) 1 , 0 , cos
2 2
sin
1 4
cos
1
'

'

'

+ + +
,
_

,
_

+ + +

k k t n k t m M m J n m
m
k t M V t V
m n
o c n o dc
pn
k

(4a)
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) [ ] ( )

'

'

+
,
_

,
_

+ +

1
' '
ln
'
cos
2 2
sin
1 8
cos 2
1 0
m n
o c n o dc
pn pn l t n t m M m J n m
m
t M V t V t V t V

(4b)
Equation 4: Analytical solutions for l-l output of a single phase inverter under two level naturally sampled PWM


( ) [ ] [ ] 2 , 1 , 0 ,
3
2
cos
2 2
sin
1 4
3
2
cos
1

'

'

,
_

1
]
1

+
,
_

,
_

+ +
,
_

k k t n t m M m J n m
m
k t M V t V
m n
o c n o dc pn
k

(5a)
( ) ( ) ( )
[ ]

'

'

,
_

,
_

1
]
1

+
,
_

,
_

,
_

+ +
,
_

1
3
sin
3
sin 2
2 2
sin
1 4
6
cos 3
1 0
m n
o c n o dc
pn pn abn
t n t m n M m J n m
m
t M V
t V t V t V

(5b)
Equation 5: Analytical solutions for l-l output of a three phase inverter under naturally sampled sine-triangle PWM
V. OPPORTUNITIES FOR HARMONIC CANCELLATION IN CASCADED
SINGLE PHASE CONVERTERS.
Multi-level cascaded inverter topologies as shown in
Figure 2(d) use series connected full bridge inverters to
achieve increased voltage range and reduced output
harmonics. Previous work has identified how careful
modulation of each single phase inverter can lead to
significant reduction in harmonics in the switched output
voltage [5]. This harmonic reduction can now be
mathematically evaluated and optimised using the analytic
solutions developed earlier for three level (3) and two level
(4) modulation of a single phase inverter.
For three level modulation (naturally or asymmetrically
sampled), the odd carrier multiple sideband harmonics are
already eliminated within each single phase inverter as has
been shown in (3). Hence sideband harmonics only exist at
even carrier multiples for each single phase inverter.
If the carrier waveforms for N series inverters in a phase
leg are now phase shifted by
[ ]
N
i

1
, where i = i
th
converter, the harmonics in the complete phase leg are
defined by (7a) below. Therefore, since

[ ]
... 3 , 2 , 1 , 0
1 2
cos
1

,
_

k kN m for
N
i m
N
i

, (8)
the only phase leg harmonics remaining across the cascaded
inverters will be sideband harmonic components centered
around 2N
th
carrier multiples as defined in (7b).
So, for two cascaded inverters with carrier phase shifts of
90
o
, harmonic cancellation up to sidebands around multiples
of 4f
c
will be achieved; for three cascaded inverters with
carrier phase shifts of 60
o
, harmonic cancellation up to
sidebands around multiples of 6f
c
will be achieved, and so
on.
Equation (7c) gives the phase leg solution for multiply
cascaded asymmetric regular sampled single phase inverters.
Note that once again this cancellation is not dependent on
the carrier/fundamental ratio, and is valid even for very low
pulse ratios. And of course, additional triplen sideband
harmonic cancellation around the 2N
th
carrier multiples will
also occur between the phase legs as a separate process
because of the 120
o
phase shift that occurs between the
fundamental reference components of the three phase system.
For cascaded inverters controlled by two level modulation,
the carrier phase shift required between the cascaded
inverters becomes
[ ]
N
i

1 2
, because of the lesser
harmonic elimination that is achieved by this modulation
strategy within each single phase inverter. Hence this strategy
will only achieve harmonic elimination up to the N
th
carrier
multiples and is therefore not recommended for multi-level
cascaded inverters, since it only achieves half the harmonic
benefits of a three level inverter modulation strategy.
VI. CALCULATED AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS.
Figure 2 shows the calculated harmonics for a single phase
leg under naturally, symmetric and asymmetric sampled
PWM, where the anticipated partial elimination of the odd
and even harmonic sidebands can be clearly seen.
Figure 3 shows the calculated harmonics for a single phase
inverter under three level modulation, with complete
elimination of all odd carrier sideband harmonics for
naturally and asymmetric sampled PWM as expected.
Figure 4 shows the harmonics for a three phase inverter
under asymmetric regular sampled, space vector and a
non/integer carrier/fundamental ratio. The partial triplen only
carrier sideband harmonic cancellation can be clearly seen in
contrast to the single phase inverter harmonics of Figure 3.
Figure 5 presents experimental results showing the
progressive elimination of lower groups of sideband
harmonics as the number of series inverters in a cascaded
multilevel increases (harmonics of one phase leg only are

( ) ( )
( )
[ ] ( )
[ ]
( )[ ]

'

'

,
_

+
1
]
1

+
,
_

+ +
+

1
0
1
1 2
1 2
1
2 cos
2
2 1 cos
1 4
cos 2
m
n
n
N
i
o c n
o
dc
pn
i
pn
t n
N
i
t m M m J n m
m
t MN
V t V t V

(7a)
( )
( )
[ ] ( ) [ ] ( )[ ] ( )

'

'

+
,
_

+ +
+
>

1
0
1 2
1 2 2 cos
2
2 1 cos
1 4
cos 2
m
n
n
o c n
o
dc pn
t n t Nm M Nm J n Nm
m
t MN
V t V

(7b)
( )
[ ]
[ ] [ ] ( )[ ] ( )
[ ] ( ) [ ] ( )[ ] ( )
[ ]
c
o
m n
o c n
n
o
c
o
n
c
o
n
dc
pa
n Nm q
t n t Nm M q J n Nm
q
t n M n J n
NV
t V

1 2 2 ,
1 2 2 cos
2
1 cos
1
1 2 cos
2
1 2
2
1 2 sin
1
8
'
1
'
1 2
'
1
1 2
1 2
+

'

'

+
,
_

+ +
+

,
_

,
_

(7c)
Equation 7: Analytical solution for cascaded single phase inverter under three level sine-triangle PWM
shown, so triplen sideband cancellation across phase legs will
provide further benefit). Figure 6 shows the experimental
switched waveforms for the multi-level phase legs.
It should be particularly noted that effective harmonic
sideband cancellation relies on all single phase inverter
having exactly the same DC bus voltage (i.e. well within a
few percent of each other). Also, it is essential that the
reference waveform for each single phase inverter is sampled
at the top and bottom of that inverters particular triangular
carrier (i.e. reference samples must be phase shifted by the
carrier phase shift). Otherwise harmonics across the multiple
inverters do not have the correct magnitude or phase
relationship to achieve proper cancellation.
VII. SUMMARY.
Carrier based PWM is the most common strategy used for
inverter control in power electronic switching systems.
However, the harmonic consequences of the sampling
strategy, the fundamental reference waveform and carrier
phase shifts are often not clearly or correctly understood by
many engineers. This paper shows how the recently
developed general analytical solution for carrier based PWM
schemes can be used to precisely identify what harmonic
cancellation is possible for various modulation strategies.
The results confirm that natural and asymmetric regular
sampled PWM offer the particular advantage of eliminated
sideband harmonics within the switched phase leg. The
conclusion is also made that there is no particular benefit in
an odd/triplen carrier/fundamental frequency ratio despite
many previous references to the contrary, and that an integer
carrier ratio is only important for
o s
f f 9 < , to avoid
significant sideband harmonics intruding below the
fundamental and being regarded as subharmonics. Finally,
the optimum carrier phase shift is identified for multi-level
cascaded inverters to achieve the best possible harmonic
cancellation within each phase leg.
VIII. REFERENCES.
[1] S. R. Bowes and A. Midoun, "Suboptimal Switching Strategies for
Microprocessor-controlled PWM Inverter Drives," IEE Proceedings,
Vol. 132 Pt. B, No. 3., pp. 133-148, May, 1985.
[2] J. T. Boys and P. G. Handley, "Harmonic Analysis of Space Vector
Modulated PWM Waveforms," IEE Proceedings, Vol. 137, Pt B, No.
4, pp. 197-204, July, 1990.
[3] J. Holtz, "Pulse Width Modulation A Survey", IEEE Transactions
on Industrial Electronics, Vol 39, No 5, pp410-420, Dec, 1992.
[4] J.W. Dixon and B.T. Ooi, Dynamically Stabilised Indirect Current
Controlled SPWM Boost Type 3-Phase Rectifier, in Conf. Rec.
1988 IEEE Industry Applications Conf, pp.700-705.
[5] Yiqiao Liang & C.O. Nwankpa, A New type of Statcom based on
Cascading Voltage Source Inverters with Phase-Shifted Unipolar
SPWM, ", in Conf. Rec. 1998 IEEE Industry Applications Conf,
pp.1447-1453.
[6] D.G. Holmes, "A General Analytical Method for Determining the
Theoretical Components of Carrier Based PWM Strategies", in Conf.
Rec. 1998 IEEE Industry Applications Conf, pp.1207-1214.
0 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 3 0 0 0
1 0
- 4
1 0
- 3
1 0
- 2
1 0
- 1
1 0
0
Si ngl e Phase Leg -
Nat ur al l y Sampl ed PWM
Fr equency
H
a
r
m
o
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f o = 50. 0 Hz
f s = 1050 Hz
0 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 3 0 0 0
1 0
- 4
1 0
- 3
1 0
- 2
1 0
- 1
1 0
0
Si ngl e Phase Leg -
Symmet r i c Regul ar Sampl ed PWM
Fr equency
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f o = 50. 0 Hz
f s = 1050 Hz
0 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 3 0 0 0
1 0
- 4
1 0
- 3
1 0
- 2
1 0
- 1
1 0
0
Si ngl e Phase Leg -
As ymmet r i c Regul ar Sampl ed PWM
Fr equency
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f o = 50. 0 Hz
f s = 1050 Hz
Figure 2: Harmonic Components for Single Phase Leg Natural,
Symmetrical , and Asymmetrical Regular Sampled PWM.
1 0
- 4
1 0
- 3
1 0
- 2
1 0
- 1
1 0
0
0 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 3 0 0 0
Thr ee Level Si ngl e Phase i nver t er -
Na t ur a l l y Sa mpl e d PWM
Fr equency
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f o = 50. 0 Hz
f s = 1050 Hz
1 0
- 4
1 0
- 3
1 0
- 2
1 0
- 1
1 0
0
0 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 3 0 0 0
Thr ee Level Si ngl e Phase i nver t er -
Symme t r i c Re gul a r Sa mpl e d PWM
Fr equency
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f o = 50. 0 Hz
f s = 1050 Hz
1 0
- 4
1 0
- 3
1 0
- 2
1 0
- 1
1 0
0
0 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 3 0 0 0
Three Level Si ngl e Phase i nvert er -
As ymmet r i c Regul ar Sampl ed PWM
Fr equency
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f o = 50. 0 Hz
f s = 1050 Hz
Figure 3: Harmonic Components for Three level Single Phase
Inverter Natural, Symmetrical , and Asymmetrical Regular Sampled
PWM.
1 0
- 4
1 0
- 3
1 0
- 2
1 0
- 1
1 0
0
0 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 3 0 0 0
Thr ee Phase i nver t er , si mpl e si ne- t r i angl e -
As ymme t r i c Re gul a r Sa mpl e d PWM
Fr equency
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f o = 50. 0 Hz
f s = 1050 Hz
1 0
- 4
1 0
- 3
1 0
- 2
1 0
- 1
1 0
0
0 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 3 0 0 0
Thr ee Phas e i nver t er , Space Vect or cent er ed -
As ymme t r i c Re gul a r Sa mpl e d PWM
Fr equency
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f o = 50. 0 Hz
f s = 1050 Hz
10
- 4
10
- 3
10
- 2
10
- 1
10
0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Thr ee Phase i nver t er , Space Vect or cent er ed - Asymmet r i c
Regul ar Sampl ed PWM, non i nt eger car r i er r at i o
Fr equency
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f o = 50. 0 Hz
f s = 1005 Hz
Figure 4: : l-l Output Harmonic Components for Three Phase
Inverter Asymmetrical Regular Sampled PWM with sinusoidal
reference, space vector reference and non/integer carrier ratio.
0Hz 6400 1280 2560 3840 5120
Harmonic Frequency (Hz)
100%
10%
1%
0.1%
0.01%
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Mod Depth = 0.8
FC = 1kHz
Asymmetric Regular Sampled Single Phase Inverter - FFT Analysis
0Hz 6400 1280 2560 3840 5120
Harmonic Frequency (Hz)
100%
10%
1%
0.1%
0.01%
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Mod Depth = 0.8
FC = 1kHz
Asymmetrical Regular Sampled 5 Level Cascaded Inverter - FFT Analysis
0Hz 6400 1280 2560 3840 5120
Harmonic Frequency (Hz)
100%
10%
1%
0.1%
0.01%
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Mod Depth = 0.8
FC = 1kHz
Asymmetrical Regular Sampled 7 Level Cascaded Inverter - FFT Analysis
Figure 5: Experimental results showing progression of harmonic
cancellation from single phase inverter, two cascaded inverters (5
level modulation) and three cascaded inverters (7 level modulation).
250V
-250V
250V
-250V
2A
-2A
Phase
Current
Phase
Voltage
H Bridge
Voltage
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (mSec)
Asymmetrical Regular Sampled 5 Level Inverter Waveforms
(2 cascaded single phase inverters per phase)
Mod Depth = 0.8
FC = 1kHz
F0 = 50Hz
100V
-100V
250V
-250V
5A
-5A
Phase
Current
Phase
Voltage
H Bridge
Voltage
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time (mSec)
Asymmetrical Regular Sampled 7 Level Inverter Waveforms
(3 cascaded single phase inverters per phase leg)
Mod Depth = 0.8
FC = 1kHz
F0 = 50Hz
Figure 6: Experimental switched phase leg voltages and(filtered)
load current for two and three cascaded inverters per phase leg.