STUDY OF SINUSOIDAL AND SPACE VECTOR PULSE WIDTH MODULATION TECHNIQUES FOR A CASCADED THREE-LEVEL INVERTER

This paper compares and evaluates the performance of Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM) and Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation (SVPWM) techniques for a three-level inverter by cascading two two-level inverters. In this topology, four power semiconductor switches are used per phase and a total of twelve switches are required. The simulation study shows that SVPWM is superior to SPWM in the aspects of better DC-bus utilization and offering better spectral performance. Index Terms: space vector modulation, multi-level inverters, sine-triangle modulation, and cascaded inverter 1