A Double-Modulation-Wave PWM for Dead-Time-Effect Elimination and Synchronous Rectification in SiC-Device-Based High-Switching-Frequency Converters

Abstract

The adoption of fast-switching silicon carbide (SiC) devices enables power converters to operate at high switching frequencies (e.g., 100 kHz). However, as a limiting factor at high switching frequencies, the dead-time in the conventional pulsewidth modulation (PWM) can cause significant voltage losses, bring serious low-frequency voltage/current harmonics, and reduce the linear modulation region with lower dc-link voltage utilization. Using the dead-time compensation can effectively eliminate the dead-time effect but further reduce the linear modulation region. The dead-time elimination PWM essentially has no dead-time effect. But due to the abandon of drive pulses for generating synchronous rectification, it has a lower converter efficiency, as well as current jumps at zero-crossings. In this article, to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional PWM and the dead-time elimination PWM, a double-modulation-wave PWM for dead-time-effect elimination and synchronous rectification is therefore proposed, where extra drive pulses for generating synchronous rectification are added based on the dead-time elimination PWM. The added drive pulses can also help with mitigating current jumps at zero-crossings. At last, the proposed PWM is experimentally validated and compared with the conventional PWM and the dead-time elimination PWM at 100 kHz on a three-phase converter with SiC mosfets and SiC Schottky diodes, showing the merits of low voltage losses, low output harmonics, high dc-link voltage utilization, large linear modulation region, and high efficiency.