IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 25, NO.
1, JANUARY 2010
A Theoretical Analysis of the Harmonic Content
of PWM Waveforms for Multiple-Frequency
Modulators
Milijana Odavic, Mark Sumner, Senior Member, IEEE, Pericle Zanchetta, Member, IEEE,
and Jon C. Clare, Member, IEEE
Abstract—This paper theoretically identifies the harmonic com-
ponents of a carrier-based pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) voltage-
source converter (VSC) output voltage when the modulating wave
includes fundamental and baseband harmonic components. This
occurs, for example, when a VSC is used as an active power fil-
ter. The general analytical solution provided can be applied with
a minimum additional mathematical effort to any harmonic com-
bination in the modulation signal. The analysis undertaken in this
paper determines how the fundamental and low-order harmonics
(in the modulation signal) interact with the carrier to produce the
low (and high) order frequencies in the PWM VSC output voltage.
The analysis is based on a double Fourier series expansion in two
variables. This approach to harmonic identification is evaluated by
a comparison with a fast Fourier transform analysis of simulated
PWM waveforms.
Index Terms—Active power filter, harmonic analysis, pulsewidth
modulation (PWM), voltage-source converter (VSC).
I. INTRODUCTION
CTIVE power filters have received considerable atten-
A tion from the research community over recent years as
a tool for reducing harmonic pollution in a power distribution
network. As the number of harmonic-producing loads has in-
creased, particularly higher power rectifiers such as those found
in variable-speed motor drives, commercial active power filters
have been developed and are now being applied to industrial ap-
plications [1]–[4]. Shunt active filters (SAFs) provide a mecha-
nism for removing harmonic currents from a power system, and
their successful operation requires correct identification of the
polluting harmonic currents as well as a tight control of the SAF
current. This latter requirement provides a challenge as, for ex-
ample, the 13th harmonic SAF compensation current on a 50-Hz
system (650 Hz) will have to be controlled with minimum phase
shift compared to the distorting harmonic, and therefore, “ad-
vanced” control techniques such as resonant controllers [5], [6],
deadbeat controllers, and predictive controllers [7], [8] have
been proposed to achieve high-bandwidth current control.
Manuscript received February 5, 2009; revised April 16, 2009. Current
version published January 29, 2010. Recommended for publication by Associate
Editor A. Rufer.
The authors are with the Department of Electrical and Electronic En-
gineering and the Power Electronics, Machines and Control (PEMC) Re-
search Group, Electrical Systems and Optics Research Division, Faculty
of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, U.K.
(e-mail: milijana.odavic@nottingham.ac.uk; mark.sumner@nottingham.ac.uk;
pericle.zanchetta@nottingham.ac.uk; jon.clare@nottingham.ac.uk).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPEL.2009.2026751
0885-8993/$26.00 © 2010 IEEE
131
One of the assumptions usually made in the development
of these advanced controllers is that the power converter and
its associated pulsewidth modulation act as an ideal controlled
voltage source. This assumption is usually justified as the con-
trol sample frequency and the pulsewidth-modulated (PWM)
switching frequency are usually much higher than the highest
harmonic to be controlled. However, there are two emerging
application areas for active power filters where this assumption
may not be valid. For high-kilovoltampere (KVA) active power
filters, the switching frequency must be kept low to restrict
switching losses to an economically acceptable level. Switching
frequencies may be of the order of 1–2 kHz and are, therefore,
of a similar order for the 11th and 13th harmonics of a 50-Hz
system. The second emerging application is that of more elec-
tric aircraft (MEA). The proposed use of more power electronic
equipment for actuators, environmental systems, landing gear,
and deicing on future aircraft [9], [10] creates a significant chal-
lenge for the aircraft’s power system. For MEA systems, the
power supply is derived from a generator coupled to the aircraft
engine, and therefore, the system frequency can vary between
360 and 800 Hz [9]. If harmonic compensation is required,
then the active filter may have to control harmonic frequen-
cies up to 5.6 kHz (seventh harmonic at 800 Hz fundamental)
and beyond; realistically, for this application, the switching fre-
quency will not be greater than 20 kHz. For the emerging SAF
applications described, the power converter and PWM can no
longer be considered to be an ideal voltage source. The use
of multiple frequencies in the modulation waveform together
with a relatively low carrier frequency creates a combination
of sideband harmonics around integer multiples of the carrier
frequency, and these sideband frequencies can encroach into the
low-frequency range (i.e., the range where the current must be
controlled accurately). These sidebands can act as significant
voltage disturbances to the current controller and their charac-
teristics must, therefore, be fully understood in order to ensure
correct operation of the harmonic cancellation.
The theoretical analysis of the modulation of a single si-
nusoidal signal with a carrier wave has been well reported
[11]–[15]. There is, however, little discussion in the literature
of the theoretical composition of PWM waveforms when mul-
tiple modulation frequencies are used and the analysis of such
waveforms is, therefore, the subject of this paper. One approach
suggested is to decompose the modulation wave into its con-
stituent harmonics, and then determine the harmonic content of
the PWM output of each of these harmonics individually using
132 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 25, NO. 1, JANUARY 2010

the technique described in [11]. The combined PWM output

can be determined using superposition of the results for the in-
dividual harmonics. However, as will be shown in this paper,
this approach lacks accuracy especially when low switching fre-
quency to modulating frequency ratios are used. An alternative
approach is to use a simulation package to create PWM wave-
forms using multiple modulators, and then analyze this with a
spectrum analysis routine (for example, using MATLAB). The
accuracy of this approach is very dependent on the simulation
package, the computing capability, and is also very sensitive
to subtle simulation errors. This paper, therefore, develops a
theoretical solution to the problem based on a double Fourier
series expansion in two variables, which is a method originally
developed by Bennett [16] and Black [17] and later adopted
for a PWM switching waveform by Bowes and Bird [18]. This
analytical approach identifies the exact harmonic components
in the PWM waveform.
The analysis presented in this paper first identifies the har-
monic components of the PWM output for a single-phase con-
verter leg. This represents the basic building block of most
power converters. The harmonic spectra of a single-phase leg
PWM output modulating the fundamental, fifth, and seventh
harmonic combination are presented in Section III-A, and then,
a general solution for an arbitrary modulation wave is presented
in Section III-B. Based on this solution, the harmonic content
of the line-to-line PWM voltage of a three-phase two-level ac-
tive shunt filter (ASF) is determined in Section V. In addition,
for comparison, the harmonic components of a simulated single- Fig. 1. Graphical representation of the PWM process. (a) Naturally sampled
phase leg voltage output and a simulated line-to-line three-phase PWM. (b) Asymmetrically sampled PWM.
voltage output are also obtained using a standard spectrum anal- modulating wave, respectively. The resultant PWM wave is the
ysis package (Sections IV and V). Conclusions show that the value of the function f (t) = f (x(t),y(t)) represented by the z-
proposed technique provides an accurate analysis of a PWM axis, which is perpendicular to the x0y plane. The shaded parts
signal with multiple modulation frequencies. represent the areas of constant values of the function f (t) while
II. ANALYSIS FOR A SINGLE MODULATION WAVE the carrier and modulating waves are periodically changing. The
contours of the shaded areas represent the boundary between the
In this paper, carrier-based PWM schemes are considered. two switching levels of the PWM wave. The function f (t) can
The switching instants are defined by the intersection of the be represented as a Fourier series if it is periodic in both x and
modulation and carrier waves. The digital implementation of y. The relationship between x and y in time in the x0y plane
the carrier-based PWM is not a straightforward task because defines a straight line passing through the origin (in this anal-
the intersection points are difficult to calculate. A commonly ysis, the phase shift of both carrier and modulation signal is
accepted alternative is to sample the modulation signal at the neglected, Θc = Θo = 0) defined with
positive and/or negative peaks of the triangular carrier wave-
ωo
form, and then keep the samples constant over the switching pe- y= x. (1)
riod [11]. This modulation strategy is known as regular sampled ωc
PWM. If the modulation wave is sampled at the positive or at the The switching instants are then defined by the intersections
negative peaks of the carrier, the sampling is said to be symmet- of this line and the boundary between the two switching levels
rical, while if the modulation wave is sampled at the positive and (the contour of the shaded areas). The carrier and modulation
at the negative peaks, the sampling is said to be asymmetrical wave [i.e., f (x) and f (y)] in terms of the variables x and y are
defining an asymmetrical regular sampled PWM. In this paper, defined as follows:
an asymmetrical regular sampled PWM is considered. 2x
f (x) = −1 − , −π ≤ x < 0 (2)
A double Fourier series expansion in two variables is ap- π
plied for the case of a single sinusoidal modulating wave. First, 2x
consider the approach for a naturally sampled single sinusoidal f (x) = −1 + , 0≤x<π (3)
π
modulation wave. A graphical representation of the method is
f (y) = M cos y, −π ≤ y < π (4)
illustrated in Fig. 1(a) for the modulated PWM wave. The vari-
ables x(t) and y(t) are considered as independently periodic where M is the amplitude modulation index. The function f (x,
representing the high-frequency carrier wave and low-frequency y) is not zero when the condition f (y) > f (x) is fulfilled. Thus,
ODAVIC et al.: THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF THE HARMONIC CONTENT OF PWM WAVEFORMS FOR MULTIPLE-FREQUENCY MODULATORS 133

for naturally sampled modulation, the switching instants can be

expressed as
π
xr = 2πk − (1 + M cos y)
2
where xr denotes the switching instants from 0 to Vdc (“rising”)
and
π
xf = 2πk + (1 + M cos y)
2
where xf denotes the switching instants from Vdc to 0
(“falling”). The variable k = 0, 1, 2, 3, . . . defines the index
of the sample period.
The harmonic spectrum of a general carrier-based PWM wave
can be expressed in its most general form by [11]
∞
A00

f (t) = + (A0n cos(n(ω0 t + Θ0 ))
2 n =1
+ B0n sin(n(ω0 t + Θ0 )))
∞

soidal modulation reference, the rising and falling edges for the
+ (Am 0 cos(m(ωc t + Θc ))
m =1
+ Bm 0 sin(m(ωc t + Θc )))
∞

∞

xf = 2πk + (1 + M cos yf )
+ (Am n cos(m(ωc t + Θc )
m =1 n =−∞
n = 0
+ n(ω0 t + Θ0 )) + Bm n sin(m(ωc t + Θc )
+ n(ω0 t + Θ0 )))
where m and n represent multiples of the carrier frequency
(m—the carrier index variable) and multiples of the fundamen-
tal frequency (n—the baseband index variable). The fundamen-
tal frequency and the carrier frequency are denoted by ωo and
ωc , respectively. The first term in (7), A00 /2 with m = 0 and
n = 0, denotes the dc offset of the PWM wave f (t). The first
summation term defines the fundamental frequency component
and low-order frequency components around the fundamen-
tal, usually called baseband harmonics. The naturally sampled
PWM does not contain low-frequency components except the
desired fundamental. The second summation term with n = 0
defines the high-frequency components that correspond to the
(5)
(6)
Fig. 2. Single-phase inverter leg.
waveform. The switching instants are now defined by the inter-
sections of the boundary between two switching levels [contours
of shaded areas in Fig. 1(b)] and two staircase lines yr and yf .
The line yr defines a rising edge of the switching pulse in the
first half period, while yf defines a falling edge of the PWM
wave in the second half period. Therefore, for a single sinu-
asymmetrical sampled PWM can be defined as [11]
π
xr = 2πk − (1 + M cos yr ) (11)
2
π
(12)
2
where yr and yf are defined to maintain the reference waveform
constant during the carrier interval, and are, respectively, sam-
pled at the −π/2 and π/2 points within each carrier interval k
[see Fig. 1(b)]. (A phase shift of π/2 is included in the analysis
(7) for completeness. It accounts for the sample plus hold delay.)
Fig. 2 presents a single-phase leg, which is the basic building
unit for most power converters. Switches S1 and S2 are mod-
ulated in a complementary mode. The single-phase leg output
voltage van is switched to the Vdc level when the modulation
signal is greater than the carrier signal, while if it is less, the out-
put is switched to 0. Note that an ideal case has been considered
here—the effects of device switching times and deadtime are
neglected. The harmonic spectrum in this case is still given by
(7), but the coefficients of the single-phase leg output voltage,
modulated by asymmetrically sampled PWM, with respect to
the dc bus midpoint o are [12]
4Vdc

1  π   π
∞ ∞

carrier wave harmonics. The double sum with n = 0 defines the Cm n (1st) Jn q M sin (m+n)
2π m =0↔ n =1 q 2 2
sideband harmonics around the carrier harmonic components. m > 0↔ n =−∞
The coefficients are defined as (13)
 π  π where Jn (qM π/2) is an nth-order Bessel function [19] of the
1
Cm n = Am n + jBm n = f (x, y)ej (m x+n y ) dxdy first kind whose argument is qM π2 (see Appendix A). The
2π −π −π
(8) variable q is defined by
where ωo
q =m+n . (14)
ωc
x = ωc t + Θc (9) Regular sampled PWM will have baseband harmonics whose
y = ωo t + Θo (10) amplitude should be kept as low as possible to ensure that they
do not interfere with the fundamental behavior of the converter.
with Θ c and Θo denoting the phase shift angle for the carrier When a single-frequency modulator is used with a high carrier
and fundamental wave, respectively. frequency ratio ωc /ωo (i.e., greater than 20), the amplitudes of
For asymmetrically sampled PWM, the instants of switch- the baseband harmonics are very small and can be neglected. The
ing must be modified to account for the sampled modulation most dominant sideband harmonics are the second and the fourth
134 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 25, NO. 1, JANUARY 2010

Fig. 3. Fundamental, fifth, and seventh harmonic components in the modula-

tion wave (M = 0.3, M 5 = 0.24, M 7 = 0.4, ω c /ω o = 50).

around the first carrier frequency harmonic (m = 1). A common

feature of triangular carrier-wave-based PWM strategies is the
cancellation of the odd sideband harmonics around odd carrier
frequency harmonics and the even sideband harmonics around
even carrier frequency harmonics [the term sin π(m + n)/2 in
(13)]. This is an intrinsic characteristic of triangular carrier-
based PWM, unlike the cancellation process of the common-
mode terms between the phases, which depends mainly on the
accuracy of the PWM implementation.
III. ANALYSIS FOR MULTIPLE MODULATION WAVES
In active filter applications, the modulation wave usu-
ally consists of the fundamental harmonic component at fre-
quency ωo , and also multiple fundamental frequency harmonics
(5ωo , 7ωo , 11ωo , 13ωo ). The following section first provides an
analysis for the case where three modulation waves exist with
different frequencies (as shown in Fig. 3), and then goes on
to derive an analytical expression for an arbitrary modulation Fig. 4. Theoretical harmonic components (basebands and sidebands of the
waveform. first carrier group) for the single-phase output voltage v a o (M = 0.3, M 5 =
0.24, M 7 = 0.4, ω c /ω o = 50). (a) Harmonic identification applying (17). (b)
A. Fundamental, Fifth, and Seventh Harmonic Components Superposition principle applying (13).
in the Modulation Wave
where M5 and M7 are the modulation indexes of the fifth and
The analytical expression for the PWM wave harmonic spec-
seventh harmonic components, respectively. The harmonic spec-
trum with a modulation wave, which includes fundamental,
trum coefficients of the single-phase PWM output voltage for
fifth, and seventh harmonic components as shown in Fig. 3,
the asymmetrically sampled PWM are given in (17).
is derived in this section. The following analysis considers a
The solution (17) includes 19 summation terms defining com-
single-phase output voltage modulated by asymmetrical regular
binations of the k, h, and z variables (all varying from 1 to
sampled PWM. Equation (7) defines a general PWM wave har-
infinity) to determine a particular harmonic. However, because
monic spectrum that is applicable for an arbitrary modulation
of the rapid roll-off of the Bessel function values as the argu-
wave but the coefficients Am n and Bm n , which are defined by
ment increases, only the first ten terms of the sum need to be
(8), must be recalculated for each particular case. The limits of
considered [19]. The comprehensive mathematical derivation of
the inner integral, within which f (t) differs from zero for the
the harmonic spectrum coefficients is provided in Appendix B
case when the fifth and seventh harmonic components are added
and in [20].
to the modulation wave, can be obtained by modifying (11) and
An asymmetrically sampled PWM voltage for a single-phase
(12) as follows:
π leg when modulated using fifth and seventh harmonics of the
xr = 2πk − (1 + M cos yr + M5 cos 5yr + M7 cos 7yr ) fundamental, a frequency ratio ωc /ωo = 50, and modulation in-
2
dexes of M = 0.3, M5 = 0.24, and M7 = 0.4 is considered. The
(15) time-domain shape of this modulation wave is shown in Fig. 3.
π
xf = 2πk + (1 + M cos yf + M5 cos 5yf + M7 cos 7yf ) Fig. 4(a) shows the theoretical harmonic spectrum [defined by
2 (17)]. The harmonics shown are baseband and sidebands of
(16) the first carrier group. The harmonic spectrum is redistributed
ODAVIC et al.: THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF THE HARMONIC CONTENT OF PWM WAVEFORMS FOR MULTIPLE-FREQUENCY MODULATORS 135

compared to the case when a single sinusoidal modulating wave
is used. This issue is particularly emphasized for the lower
carrier/fundamental ratios. In the case of the single-frequency
sinusoidal modulating waveform, the dominant sideband har-
monics are the second and the fourth harmonics around the first
carrier group. If the modulation waveform also contains the
fifth and seventh harmonic components, the harmonic energy is
spread out and the individual sideband amplitudes are reduced
around multiple carrier groups, with significant harmonics up
to the 14th sidebands for the first carrier group. It can be seen
that the sidebands of the first carrier group appear as even har-
monics due to the even frequency ratio of ωc /ωo = 50. Note
that for an odd frequency ratio, only odd harmonics appear in
the harmonic spectrum due to the cancellation of the odd side-
band harmonics around the first carrier frequency harmonic for
asymmetrical regular sampled PWM with a triangular carrier
(as mentioned before). However, the analysis presented in (17),
shown at the bottom of this page, does not assume an integer
carrier frequency ratio.
The low-frequency harmonic range [Fig. 4(a)] contains the
fundamental, fifth, and seventh harmonic components as re-
quired. Other low-frequency baseband harmonics include the
11th, 13th, 15th, 19th, and 21st with amplitudes of the order
10−3 , as shown in Fig. 4(a). The appearance of unwanted low-
frequency harmonics is more apparent when compared to mod-
ulation with a single frequency and increases as the carrier fre-
quency ratio reduces. Moreover, only odd baseband harmonics
exist.
Intuitively, one would expect that reasonably accurate re-
sults could be obtained by applying the principle of superpo-
sition especially if the frequency ratio is high. Each individual
modulation wave is analyzed separately using (13). The three
sets of spectral results (i.e., for the fundamental, fifth, and sev-
enth harmonics) are summed directly to determine the harmonic








∞ ∞ 

4Vdc

1
Cm n (5th,7th) =
2π m =0↔ n =1 q 


m > 0↔ n =−∞ 



 π   π   π   π
Jo q M Jo q M5 Jo q M7 sin m |n |=0
2 2 2 2
 π   π   π   π 
+ Jk q M Jo q M5 Jo q M7 sin (m + k) |n |=k
2 2 2 2
 π   π   π  π 
+ Jo q M Jh q M5 Jo q M7 sin (h + m) |5h = |n|
2 2 2 2
 π   π   π  π 
+ Jo q M Jo q M5 Jz q M7 sin (z + m) |7z = |n|
2 2 2 2



        k + 5h = |n|
π π π π
+ Jo q M7 Jk q M Jh q M5 sin (m + k + h) k − 5h = |n|
2 2 2 2
−k + 5h = |n|



 π   π   π  π  k + 7z = |n|

+ Jo q M5 Jz q M7 Jk q M sin (m + k + z) k − 7z = |n|
2 2 2 2
−k + 7z = |n|


 π   π   π  π  −5h + 7z = |n|
+ Jo q M Jh q M5 Jz q M7 sin (h + m + z) 5h + 7z = |n|
2 2 2 2 5h − 7z = |n|

 π   π   π 
+ Jz q M7 Jk q M Jh q M5
2 2 2

7z + k + 5h = |n| 

7z + k − 5h = |n|  


π  −7z − k + 5h = |n|  

× sin (m + k + h + z) 7z − k + 5h = |n| . (17)
2 
−7z + k − 5h = |n|  


7z − k − 5h = |n|  


−7z + k + 5h = |n|
136 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 25, NO. 1, JANUARY 2010

spectrum of the combined modulation signal through superpo-

sition. The result is shown in Fig. 4(b) for the same modulation
wave, as shown in Fig. 3. It can be seen that there are significant
differences: only a few of the baseband and sideband harmon-
ics are identified compared with the results obtained when (17)
is applied [Fig. 4(a)]. If the modulation signal comprises only
a fundamental harmonic component, the second sideband har-
monic component appears as the dominant one while if the mod-
ulation signal comprises only a fifth (seventh) harmonic compo-
nent, the 10th (14th) sideband harmonic component is dominant,
as can be seen in Fig. 4(b). Thus, the superposition principle does
not identify interactive effects between the modulation wave-
forms. In addition, the amplitudes of these harmonics do not
match the amplitudes of the same harmonics calculated using
(17) for the full modulation signal. It is, therefore, concluded that
the superposition approach cannot be applied to this problem.

B. General Harmonic Solution for

an Arbitrary Modulation Wave
As stated earlier, form (7) defines the general harmonic spec-
trum for a PWM waveform. Coefficients Am n and Bm n must be
calculated for each specific combination of carrier and modula-
tion wave for the applied converter topology. For carrier-based
PWM with a triangular carrier wave and a modulation wave with
an arbitrary harmonic content, the harmonic spectrum coeffi-
cients of the single-phase output voltage vam can be obtained
following the analogy given in the expressions (13) and (17)
with a minimum additional mathematical effort. Finally, a gen-
eral solution for harmonic coefficients of a PWM output for a
single-phase converter leg can be defined as (18), shown at the
bottom of the next page, where the modulation wave comprises
an arbitrary group of harmonics denoted by h1st, h2nd, . . .,
h(N −1)th, hN th, and Mhi (i = 1, . . ., N ) represents the modu-
lation index of the hith harmonic component. Form (18) can be
applied for any harmonic combination in the modulation wave
and is, therefore, extremely useful for the analysis of modulation
PWM harmonics in an active power filter. The comprehensive
mathematical derivation of the harmonic spectrum coefficients
is provided in [20]

IV. VERIFICATION OF THE THEORETICAL APPROACH

In order to verify the theoretical harmonic spectrum expres-
sions presented in this paper, a comparison is made with results
obtained from the spectral analysis of a simulated waveform.
Fig. 5(b)–(d) presents the harmonic components obtained
by applying the MATLAB fast Fourier transform (FFT) al-
gorithm to a waveform obtained for a single-phase converter
leg derived from a time-domain simulation using MATLAB
and Simulink.1 They are compared to the results derived us-
ing the analytical approach presented in this paper, as shown
Fig. 5. Harmonic content of the single-phase converter voltage output modu-
in Fig. 5(a). The simulation results are for an ideal converter lated by the double-edge asymmetrical regular sampled PWM, M = 0.3, M 5
model applying instantaneous turn-ON and turn-OFF to a single = 0.24, M 7 = 0.4, ω c /ω o = 50. (a) Theoretical results applying (17). (b) FFT
switch and constant dc-link voltage. Depending on the carrier results—a simulation time step of 1/200 times the switching period. (c) FFT
results [an enlarged detail of Fig. 5(b)]—a simulation time step of 1/200 times
the switching period. (d) FFT results—a simulation time step of 1/4000 times
1 Using Simulink—model-based and system-based. the switching period.
ODAVIC et al.: THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF THE HARMONIC CONTENT OF PWM WAVEFORMS FOR MULTIPLE-FREQUENCY MODULATORS 137

frequency ratio, the sideband harmonics can coincide or overlap TABLE I

COMPUTATION TIMES FOR THE CALCULATION OF THE HARMONIC SPECTRA
with the baseband harmonics and/or adjacent carrier frequency SHOWN IN FIG. 5
harmonic groups. The results presented are characterized by a
carrier ratio of ωc /ωo = 50 and a fundamental frequency of
800 Hz. The even frequency ratio means that odd and even
harmonics exist in the harmonic spectrum with the first dom-
inant harmonics around the first carrier frequency group. In
this test, the modulation wave includes fundamental, fifth, and
seventh harmonic components with amplitude modulation ra-
tios of M = 0.3, M5 = 0.24, and M7 = 0.4, The modulation
wave is sampled twice per switching period at the peak and
the base of a triangle carrier to model asymmetrical sampling. voltage level Vdc /2; this notation is kept throughout the rest
The simulated results exactly match the theoretical harmonic of the section. The theoretical results [shown in Fig. 5(a)] are
components calculated using (17), as shown in Fig. 5(a) and obtained taking into account baseband harmonics and sideband
(d). The harmonic amplitudes are scaled with respect to the harmonics of the first three carrier groups. In order to obtain the

4Vdc
Cm n (h1st,h2nd,...,h(N −1)th,hN th) =
2πq
     π   π   π
π π
× Jo q Mh1 Jo q Mh2 · · · Jo q Mh(N −1) Jo q MhN sin m ||n| = 0
2 2 2 2 2
 π   π   π   π   π
+ Jk h 1 q Mh1 Jo q Mh2 · · · Jo q Mh(N −1) Jo q MhN sin (m + kh1 ) ||n| = kh1
2 2 2 2 2
 π   π   π   π   π
+ Jo q Mh1 Jk h 2 q Mh2 · · · Jo q Mh(N −1) Jo q MhN sin (m + kh2 ) ||n| = kh2 + · · · +
2 2 2 2 2
 π   π   π   π   π
Jo q Mh1 Jo q Mh2 · · · Jo q Mh(N −1) Jk h N q MhN sin (m + khN ) ||n| = khN
2 2 2 2 2

 π   π   π   π   π
+ Jk h 1 q Mh1 Jk h 2 q Mh2 · · · Jo q Mh(N −1) Jo q MhN sin (m + kh1 + kh2 ) ||n|
2 2 2 2 2
= ±kh1 ± kh2 + · · · +

 π   π   π   π   π 
Jk h 1 q Mh1 Jo q Mh2 · · · Jo q Mh(N −1) Jk h N q MhN ) sin (m + kh1 + khN ) ||n| = ±kh1 ± khN
2 2 2 2 2

 π   π   π   π   π
+ Jo q Mh1 Jk h 2 q Mh2 Jk h 3 q Mh3 · · · Jo q MhN ) sin (m + kh2 + kh3 ) ||n| = ±kh2 ± kh3 + · · · +
2 2 2 2 2

 π   π   π   π   π 
Jo q Mh1 Jk h 2 q Mh2 Jo q Mh3 · · · Jk h N q MhN ) sin (m + kh2 + khN ) ||n|= ±kh2 ± khN + · · · +
2 2 2 2 2

 π   π   π   
π
Jo q Mh1 · · · Jk h ( N −1 ) q Mh(N −1)) Jk h N q MhN ) sin (m + kh(N −1) + khN ) |n| = ±kh(N −1) ± khN
2 2 2 2

 π   π   π   π   π
+ Jk h 1 q Mh1 Jk h 2 q Mh2 Jk h 3 q Mh3 · · · Jo q MhN ) sin (m+kh1 +kh2 +kh3 ) ||n| =±kh1 ±kh2 ±kh3 +· · ·+
2 2 2 2 2

 π   π   π   π   π
Jk h 1 q Mh1 Jk h 2 q Mh2 · · · Jo q Mh(N−1)) Jk h N q MhN ) sin (m+kh1 +kh2 +khN ) ||n| = ±kh1 ±kh2 ±khN
2 2 2 2 2

 π   π   π   π   π
+ · · · Jk h 2 q Mh2 Jk h 3 q Mh3 Jk h 4 q Mh4 · · · Jo q MhN ) sin (m + kh2 + kh3 + kh4 ) ||n|
2 2 2 2 2
= ±kh2 ± kh3 + kh4 + · · · +

 π   π   π   π   π
· · · Jk h 2 q Mh2 Jk h 3 q Mh3 Jo q Mh4 · · · Jk h N q MhN ) sin (m + kh2 + kh3 + khN ) ||n|
2 2 2 2 2
= ±kh2 ± kh3 ± khN + · · · +

 π   π   π   π   π
Jk h 1 q Mh1 Jk h 2 q Mh2 · · · Jk h ( N −1 ) q Mh(N −1) Jo q MhN ) sin (m + kh1 + kh2 + · · · + kh(N −1) ||n|
2 2 2 2 2
= ±kh1 ± kh2 ± · · · ± kh(N −1) +

 π   π   π   π 
Jk h 1 q Mh1 Jk h 2 q Mh2 · · · Jk h ( N −1 ) q Mh(N −1) Jk h N q MhN )
2 2 2 2
  
π
× sin (m + kh1 + kh2 + · · · + kh(N −1) + khN ) |n| = ±kh1 ± kh2 ± · · · ± kh(N −1) ± khN . (18)
2
138 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 25, NO. 1, JANUARY 2010

TABLE II
ADDITIONAL LOW-AMPLITUDE LOW-ORDER HARMONICS DUE TO THE DEADTIME EFFECT

total harmonic component at a specific frequency, the phasors of

these partial harmonic groups are summed. The first nine terms
of a particular infinite sum in (17) are used. Graphical repre-
sentation of the harmonic spectrum is provided by implement-
ing the analytical expressions of (17) using a MATLAB m-file
(see Appendix C).
The accuracy of the FFT harmonic spectrum calculation
greatly depends on the simulation model accuracy. The har-
monic spectrum illustrated in Fig. 5(b) is obtained for a simu-
lation time step of 1/200 times the switching period—a value
expected to give a reasonable resolution for the harmonics range
considered. However, the FFT results for a simulation time step
of 1/200 times the switching period give some erroneous har-
monics of the order 10−3 [marked in Fig. 5(c)] that do not
appear in the theoretical spectrum shown in Fig. 5(a) or in the
FFT spectrum obtained using a much smaller simulation time
step (1/4000 times the switching period), as shown in Fig. 5(d).
However, the simulation in Fig. 5(d) took an extremely long
time to execute. This also emphasizes the importance of using
an analytical expression for the precise identification of har-
monic spectrum coefficients. The computation times needed to
find the solution using the proposed method and a simulation
together with a standard FFT are given in Table I. A standard PC
(Intel Pentium 4, CPU 3.2 GHz, RAM 1 GB) was used for the
harmonic spectra calculations. The data show that the computa-
tion time needed for an FFT to calculate an accurate harmonic
spectrum [shown in Fig. 5(d)] from a simulated voltage wave-
form is significantly longer than the proposed approach. This
becomes even more critical as the fundamental frequency period
increases and/or for a high carrier frequency ratio.
However, practical PWM waveforms are affected by a dead- Fig. 6. Harmonic content of the three-phase converter line-to-line volt-
age modulated by the asymmetrical regular sampled PWM, M = 0.3, M 5 =
time period that is not taken into account in this analysis. The 0.24, M 7 = 0.4, ω c /ω o = 50. (a) Theoretical results applying (21). (b) FFT
insertion of a deadtime period into the drive signals for the upper results—a simulation time step of 1/4000 times the switching period.
and lower switching devices (to prevent “shoot through”) will
increase the number of low-amplitude low-order harmonics in
of low-order harmonics increases linearly with the deadtime pe-
the spectrum of a PWM waveform, as reported in [21]. In order
riod, as concluded in [21]. For the analysis performed in this pa-
to investigate this effect, a deadtime period was included in the
per, the deadtime effect is much smaller than: 1) the effect of per-
simulation model of a single-phase converter leg (with a simu-
forming an FFT with an ill-chosen time step and 2) the inaccura-
lation time step of Ts /4000), and the results of the FFT analysis
cies introduced if the superposition principle is used, as shown
are shown in Table II. The results correspond to a typical dead-
in Fig. 4.
time period of 1% of the switching period. The converter was
operated with an inductive load. The changes in the sideband
harmonics amplitudes were very small for typical values of V. ANALYSIS OF THE LINE-TO-LINE VOLTAGES
deadtime period. The simulations have been performed for dif- Using the output voltage harmonic coefficients derived here
ferent values of deadtime, and the results show that the amplitude for a single-phase converter leg (17), the theoretical harmonic
ODAVIC et al.: THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF THE HARMONIC CONTENT OF PWM WAVEFORMS FOR MULTIPLE-FREQUENCY MODULATORS 139

spectra of most power converter topologies can be derived. This with respect to PWM using a single modulation frequency. It has
approach is demonstrated for the harmonic components in the also been shown that the principle of superposition cannot be
line-to-line PWM voltage of a three-phase two-level converter applied to deriving the harmonic content of PWM waveforms
as follows. Modulation waves, for each converter leg of the with multiple modulators, as this will give erroneous results.
three-phase voltage-source converter (VSC), are displaced in This is of particular importance when analyzing the disturbance
time by 120◦ and are usually compared with the same triangu- when designing the types of high-bandwidth current control
lar carrier signal. The analytical harmonic expression for the loops associated with active filters. The theoretical findings pre-
line-to-neutral voltages of a three-phase VSC can be derived sented in this paper have been validated through comparison
from (7) and (18) by setting Θ0 = 0, −2π/3, 2π/3 for phase with the spectrum analysis of simulated waveforms using the
legs a, b, and c, respectively, and for legs a and b are defined as same operating conditions.
vao (t) = Cm n (5th,7th) cos(m(ωc t + Θc ) + nωo t) (19)
APPENDIX A
  
2π JACOBI–ANGER EXPANSION
vbo (t) = Cm n (5th,7th) cos m(ωc t+Θc ) + n ωo t− .
3
In the mathematical derivation of the analytical solution of a
(20) PWM wave, a common expression e±j ξ cos Θ cos(nΘ) needs to
The line-to-line PWM output voltage for the three-phase VSC be integrated. In order to obtain the solution, the expression is
can be obtained from (19) and (20) as expanded into a Bessel series as
∞


vab (t) = vao (t) − vbo (t) (21) e±j ξ cos Θ
= Jo (ξ) + 2 j ±k Jk (ξ) cos(kΘ). (A1)
 π
k =1
vab (t) = 2Cm n (5th,7th) sin n
3
  π π APPENDIX B
× cos mωc t + n ωo t − + . (22)
3 2 SINGLE-PHASE CONVERTER OUTPUT
The term sin(nπ/3) in (22) accounts for the cancellation of The double integral form (8) for the case when the fifth and
the triplen harmonics in the line-to-line voltage. The carrier fre- seventh harmonic components are added to the modulation wave
quency harmonics are the same for all the phase legs, which can then be expressed as in (B1)–(B3), shown at the top of the
result in their cancellation in the line-to-line voltage. Note that next page (the rest of the mathematical derivation can be found
for the fundamental √ component (i.e., n = 1), the line-to-line in [20])
voltage amplitude is 3 times the phase-to-neutral voltage am-
plitude and the π/6 phase shift is expected. For comparison, a APPENDIX C
PWM wave was simulated for the line-to-line output of an ideal
three-phase two-level converter, using the modulation wave of PWM ANALYTICAL EXPRESSIONS IMPLEMENTED
IN MATLAB m-FILES
Fig. 3. The theoretical harmonic spectrum shown in Fig. 6(a) ex-
actly matches the FFT harmonic spectrum [shown in Fig. 6(b)] The MATLAB m-file code implementation example for the
for a simulation time step of 1/4000 times the switching pe- PWM wave harmonic spectrum with a modulation wave, which
riod. The harmonic spectrum results shown in Fig. 6 are scaled includes fundamental, fifth, and seventh harmonic components,
with respect to the maximum value of the line-to-line voltage is presented next. The example only includes last summation
fundamental component. term in (17).
—————————-
VI. CONCLUSION %m: carrier index variable; M : modulation index for the
This paper has presented a novel theoretical analysis of the fundamental component; M 5: modulation index for the fifth
harmonic component; M 7: modulation index for the seventh
harmonic content of a PWM voltage waveform when the mod-
ulation wave consists of more than one frequency, as can be harmonic component; NN: numbers of terms of a particular
found, for example, in active power filters. infinite sum; N 1 and N2: harmonic orders.
The most general conclusion of the analysis undertaken is for k = 1:NN
that the energy of the harmonic spectrum for PWM waves ob- for h = 1:NN
tained by a modulation process comprising multiple harmonic for z = 1:NN
components in the reference signal is distributed over a wider if (7*z+k+5*h)==abs(n)
range of frequencies with respect to the case of modulation Jk1=besselj(k,q*M*pi/2);
using only the fundamental frequency component. The side- Jz7=besselj(z,q*M7*pi/2);
band harmonics are spread around multiple carrier frequency Jh5=besselj(h,q*M5*pi/2);
groups, a phenomenon that is particularly critical for applica- suma=suma+Jk1*Jh5*Jz7*(sin((h+k+m+z)*pi/2));
tions with lower carrier ratio, such as active filters for aerospace end
applications. Furthermore, the appearance of the unwanted low- if (7*z-k+5*h)==abs(n)
frequency harmonics (baseband harmonics) is more dominant Jk1=besselj(k,q*M*pi/2);
140 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 25, NO. 1, JANUARY 2010

 π  π
1
Cm n (5th,7th) = Am n (5th,7th) + jBm n (5th,7th) = f (x, y)ej (m x+n y ) dxdy =
2π 2 −π −π
 
π 0
Vdc  ωo
ej (m x+n (y r + ω c (x+ 2 ))) dxdyr
π
=
2π 2 −π − π2 (1+M cos y r +M 5 cos 5y r +M 7 cos 7y r )

  
π 0
j (m x+n (y f + ωω oc (x+ π2 )))
+ e dxdyf . (B1)
−π − π2 (1+M cos y f +M 5 cos 5y f +M 7 cos 7y f )

After solving the inner integral:

  π
Vdc    
ej n y r e−j q 2 M cos y r e−j q 2 M 5 cos 5y r e−j q 2 M 7 cos 7y r e−j m 2 dyr 
π π π π
= −
2π 2 jq −π

 
π
j n y f j q π2 M cos y f j q π2 M 5 cos 5y f j q π2 M 7 cos 7y f
dyf
π
jm
+ e e e e e 2 . (B2)
−π

Introducing the Jacobi–Anger substitution (see Appendix A), the form (B2) can be expressed as

  
Vdc π   π 
∞  π  
j n y r −j m (π /2)
= 2
− e e Jo q M + 2 j −k Jk q M cos kyr
2π jq −π 2 2
k =1
  
 π 
∞  π    π 
∞  π  
Jo q M5 +2 j −h Jh q M5 cos 5hyr Jo q M7 +2 j −z Jz q M7 cos 7zyr dyr
2 2 2 z =1
2
h=1
 π 
  π 
∞  π  
j n y f j m (π /2)
+ e e Jo q M + 2 j k Jk q M cos kyf
−π 2 2
k =1
  
 π 
∞  π    π 
∞  π  
h  z  
Jo q M5 + 2 j Jh q M5 cos 5hyf Jo q M7 + 2 j Jz q M7 cos 7zyf dyf .
2 2 2 z =1
2
h=1

(B3)

Jz7=besselj(z,q*M7*pi/2); end
Jh5=besselj(h,q*M5*pi/2); if (7*z-k-5*h)==abs(n)
suma=suma+Jk1*Jh5*Jz7*(sin((h+k+m+z)*pi/2)); Jk1=besselj(k,q*M*pi/2);
end Jz7=besselj(z,q*M7*pi/2);
if (-7*z+k+5*h)==abs(n) Jh5=besselj(h,q*M5*pi/2);
Jk1=besselj(k,q*M*pi/2); suma=suma+Jk1*Jh5*Jz7*(sin((h+k+m+z)*pi/2));
Jz7=besselj(z,q*M7*pi/2); end
Jh5=besselj(h,q*M5*pi/2); if (-7*z+k-5*h)==abs(n)
suma=suma+Jk1*Jh5*Jz7*(sin((h+k+m+z)*pi/2)); Jk1=besselj(k,q*M*pi/2);
end Jz7=besselj(z,q*M7*pi/2);
if (-7*z-k+5*h)==abs(n) Jh5=besselj(h,q*M5*pi/2);
Jk1=besselj(k,q*M*pi/2); suma=suma+Jk1*Jh5*Jz7*(sin((h+k+m+z)*pi/2));
Jz7=besselj(z,q*M7*pi/2); end
Jh5=besselj(h,q*M5*pi/2); end %z
suma=suma+Jk1*Jh5*Jz7*(sin((h+k+m+z)*pi/2)); end %h
end end %k
if (7*z+k-5*h)==abs(n)
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Milijana Odavic received the M.Sc. degree in elec-
trical and electronic engineering from the Univer-
sity of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia, in 2004, and the
Ph.D. degree from the University of Nottingham,
Nottingham, U.K., in 2008.
From 2000 to 2005, she was with the Univer-
sity of Zagreb, where she was involved in teaching
and research in power electronics. She is currently
a Research Assistant in the Power Electronics, Ma-
chines and Control Group, University of Nottingham.
Her current research interests include the field of ad-
vanced control of power converters, active power filters, and power quality.
141
Mark Sumner (M’93–SM’05) received the B.Eng.
degree in electrical and electronic engineering from
Leeds University, Leeds, U.K., in 1986, and the
Ph.D. degree from the University of Nottingham,
Nottingham, U.K., in 1990.
He was with Rolls Royce, Ltd., Ansty. He was
involved in research on induction motor drives at the
University of Nottingham, where he was a Research
Assistant, was appointed a Lecturer in October 1992,
and is currently an Associate Professor and a Reader
in power electronic systems. His current research in-
terests include control of power electronic systems including sensorless motor
drives, diagnostics and prognostics for drive systems, power electronics for en-
hanced power quality, and novel power system fault location strategies.
Pericle Zanchetta (S’97–M’98) received the Lau-
rea degree in electronic engineering and the Ph.D.
degree in electrical engineering from the Technical
University of Bari, Bari, Italy, in 1993 and 1997,
respectively.
In 1998, he became an Assistant Professor of
power electronics and control at the Technical Univer-
sity of Bari. Since 2001, he has been a Lecturer of con-
trol of power electronics systems in the Power Elec-
tronics, Machines and Control (PEMC) Research Di-
vision, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K.
His current research interests include the field of power quality and harmonics,
active power filters, power systems impedance estimation, advanced control of
power converters, and control design and system identification using genetic al-
gorithms. He has authored or coauthored more than 100 papers in international
journals and conferences.
Jon C. Clare (M’90–SM’04) was born in Bris-
tol, U.K. He received the B.Sc. and Ph.D. de-
grees in electrical engineering from the University of
Bristol, Bristol.
From 1984 to 1990, he was a Research Assistant
and a Lecturer at the University of Bristol, where
he was involved in teaching and research in power
electronic systems. Since 1990, he has been with
the Power Electronics, Machines and Control Group,
University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K., where
he is currently a Professor of power electronics. His
current research interests include power electronic converters and modulation
strategies, variable-speed drive systems, and electromagnetic compatibility.
Prof. Clare is a member of the Institution of Engineering Technology.