EMI Reduction in an Interleaved Buck Converter Through Spread Spectrum Frequency Modulation

Spread spectrum frequency modulation is applied in a high-frequency DC/DC power converter to reduce conducted EMI. A new modulation biasing technique is developed to further reduce EMI levels in converters equipped with hardware filters. In the lab, this biasing shows effective shaping of the EMI spectrum

Fast-processing sigma-delta strategies for three-phase wide-bandgap power converters with common-mode voltage reduction

© 2022 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.The electromagnetic compatibility of wide-bandgap (WBG) power converters can be greatly improved using spread-spectrum modulation techniques. This article proposes a family of reduced common-voltage sigma–delta modulations (RCMV- S¿ ) for voltage source converters (VSC) that use gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors. Specifically, this article proposes three new techniques: two reduced-state sigma–delta modulations (RS- S¿1 &2), and an active sigma–delta strategy (A- S¿ ). The proposed modulation techniques reduce or eliminate the common-mode voltage (CMV) dv/dt transitions and suppress the noise spikes in the conducted electromagnetic interference spectrum. Furthermore, this article proposes the use of fast-processing quantizers for RCMV- S¿ techniques as well as for hexagonal sigma–delta (H- S¿ ). These quantizers use a novel calculation methodology that simplifies the implementation of the proposed modulations and considerably reduces their computational cost. The performance and the total harmonic distortion (THD) of RCMV- S¿ techniques are analyzed here using MATLAB/Simulink and PLECS. Experimental results performed on a VSC converter that uses GaN e-HEMTs show how RCMV- S¿ techniques considerably improve electromagnetic compatibility and exhibit similar efficiencies and THD to those of H- S¿ .This work was supported by the Industrial Doctorates Plan of the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya, the Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial (IDI-20200864), and in part by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades of Spain under Project PID2019-111420RB-I00.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Development of an active power filter based on wide-bandgap semiconductors

Pla de Doctorat Industrial, Generalitat de CatalynuaElectrical and electronic equipment needs sinusoidal currents and voltages to function properly. Equipment such as computers, household appliances, electric vehicle chargers, and LED lights can distort the grid and worsen grid quality. Distorted electrical grids can cause malfunctions, reduce service life, and decrease the performance of connected equipment. Industry commonly solves these problems using active power filters, which can minimise the harmonics of the grid, eliminate undesirable reactive power, and restore balance to unbalanced power grids. This thesis deals with the design and implementation of an active power filter based on wide-bandgap semiconductors, which have properties that are superior to classical silicon devices. An active power filter’s design must take advantage of these benefits to build converters that are smaller, more efficient, and consume fewer resources. However, wide-bandgap semiconductors also present design challenges. Because the most commonly used active power filters in the industry are based on two-level voltage source converters, the research for this doctoral thesis focuses on this converter topology. Moreover, its main objective is to contribute new modulation techniques that are specially designed to work with wide-bandgap semiconductors. The proposed modulations consider different aspects, such as the computational cost of the algorithms, converter losses, and the electromagnetic distortion generated. First, this thesis presents a hexagonal sigma-delta (H-S¿) modulation based on sigma-delta (S¿) modulation. The properties of this modulation are studied, and the technique is compared with other widely used modulations. The comparison considers efficiency, harmonic distortion, the electromagnetic compatibility of the converter, and the type of wideband semiconductor used. In addition, a fast algorithm is mathematically developed to simplify the presented modulation and reduce its computational cost. Secondly, this thesis presents a family of sigma-delta modulations specially designed to improve electromagnetic compatibility: the reduced common-mode voltage sigma-delta (RCMV-S¿) modulations. These modulations avoid using the vectors that generate the maximum common-mode voltage, which significantly reduces the generated electromagnetic distortion without affecting the performance of the converter and its harmonic distortion. Finally, the proposed modulations are applied in a wide-bandgap power converter working as an active filter. Thus, it is verified that the techniques presented in this thesis will obtain satisfactory results when implemented in commercial active power filters.Els equips elèctrics i electrònics necessiten corrents i tensions sinusoïdals per funcionar correctament. Existeixen equips com els ordinadors, els electrodomèstics, els carregadors de vehicle elèctric o les llums LED, que poden distorsionar la xarxa i empitjorar la qualitat d'aquesta. Les xarxes elèctriques distorsionades poden causar el mal funcionament dels equips que s'hi connecten, reduir la seva vida útil i també empitjorar la seva eficiència. A la industria és habitual utilitzar filtres actius per a solucionar aquests problemes. Els filtres actius permeten minimitzar els harmònics presents a la Δxarxa, eliminar la potència reactiva no desitjada i equilibrar xarxes elèctriques desequilibrades. Aquesta tesi tracta sobre el disseny i la implementació d'un filtre actiu basat en semiconductors de banda ampla. Aquests semiconductors presenten propietats superiors als clàssics dispositius de silici. El disseny d'un filtre actiu ha d'aprofitar aquests avantatges per a construir convertidors més petits, eficients i que consumeixin menys recursos. Tanmateix, els semiconductors de banda ampla també presenten problemes que el disseny ha de solucionar. Els filtres actius més utilitzats en la indústria són els basats en convertidors de font de tensió (voltatge source converters) amb dos nivells. La recerca d'aquesta tesi doctoral està focalitzada en aquesta topologia de convertidor, i el seu principal objectiu és l’aportació de noves tècniques de modulació especialment dissenyades per treballar amb semiconductors de banda ampla. Les modulacions proposades tenen en compte diferents aspectes: el cost computacional dels algoritmes, les pèrdues del convertidor i la distorsió electromagnètica generada. En primer lloc, es presenta una modulació sigma-delta hexagonal (H-__) que es basa en la modulació sigma-delta (ΣΔ). S'estudien les propietats d'aquesta modulació i la tècnica es compara amb altres modulacions àmpliament usades. La comparativa realitzada considera l’eficiència, la distorsió harmònica, la compatibilitat electromagnètica del convertidor i el tipus de semiconductor de banda ampla emprat. Addicionalment, es desenvolupa matemàticament un algoritme ràpid per simplificar la modulació presentada i reduir el seu cost computacional. En segon lloc, es presenta una família de modulacions sigma-delta especialment dissenyades per millorar la compatibilitat electromagnètica: les modulacions sigmadelta amb tensió en mode comú reduïda (RCMV-ΣΔ ). Aquestes modulacions eviten fer servir els vectors que generen la màxima tensió en mode comú. D'aquesta manera es redueix significativament la distorsió electromagnètica generada sense afectar de forma notable al rendiment del convertidor ni a la seva distorsió harmònica. Finalment, les modulacions proposades s'apliquen en un convertidor de potència, basat en semiconductors de banda ampla, que treballa com a filtre actiu. Això es verifica que les tècniques presentades en aquesta tesi poden ser implementades en filtres actius comercials obtenint resultats satisfactoris.Postprint (published version

A review on conductive common-mode EMI suppression methods in inverter fed motor drives

The impact of electromagnetic interference (EMI) is an increasingly important aspect of the performance of switching inverters. The challenges of managing EMI continue to grow with the emergence of wide bandgap (WBG) devices, the trend towards ever-greater integration and higher power rating. This paper reviews suppression methods for the conductive common-mode (CM) EMI in inverter fed motor drives. In order to span EMI suppression across the full system design process, the review considers both mitigation from the sources and suppression along the conduction paths. Furthermore, the shortcomings and merits of the reviewed publications are discussed, and their attenuation frequency range and attenuation level are compared. It is demonstrated that the CM EMI at low frequency is mainly determined by the PWM strategies and can be reduced or even theoretically eliminated through zero common-mode control. On the other hand, the CM EMI at high frequency is markedly influenced by the switching transients of the power devices. Thus, various drive circuits are reviewed which improve the switching behavior. Finally, the deployment of passive and active filters to suppress or compensate for the EMI is discussed

Electromagnetic Interference and Compatibility

Recent progress in the fields of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has created new application scenarios and new Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) challenges, along with novel tools and methodologies to address them. This volume, which collects the contributions published in the “Electromagnetic Interference and Compatibility” Special Issue of MDPI Electronics, provides a vivid picture of current research trends and new developments in the rapidly evolving, broad area of EMC, including contributions on EMC issues in digital communications, power electronics, and analog integrated circuits and sensors, along with signal and power integrity and electromagnetic interference (EMI) suppression properties of materials

Nickel-substituted Lithium-Zinc-Manganese Ferritefor the Suppression of Radiated Emission Noise

Nickel-substituted lithium-zinc-manganese ferrite of the composition,  Li0.25-x/4 Zn0.5-x/2NixMn 0.1Fe2.15-x/4O4 where x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 have been investigated for electromagnetic interference(EMI)  suppression to meet the EMI standards. Various compositions were prepared by theconventional ceramic technique using mixed oxides. The ferrites were characterised for theirstructural, electrical, and magnetic, properties. The ferrites were found to posses high saturationmagnetisation, permeability, Curie temperature and resistivity, which are the desirablecharacteristics for noise-suppression application. The operating frequency of the ferrite rangedfrom 1 MHz–700 MHz, which is high enough for absorbing the electrical fast transients andradiated emission noise suppression as shown for three devices–currency counting machine,energy meter and dc-dc converter where the radiated emission noise  is suppressed from 10 dBto 20 dB. In energy meter where the electrical fast transients (EFTs) are suppressed up to 5.5kV, 4.5 kV, 3.5 kV, 2.8 kV, 1.6 kV, and 1.2 kV with composition x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, respectively.This material has tremendous scope of application in military equipment  to comply the EMIrequirements of the military standards