Brief Introduction of Power Electronics and Pulse Width Modulation

In the past decades, microelectronics and power electronics technologies have been with significant progress. Microelectronics has brought the modern world to the information age. In comparison, the impact of power electronics on human civilization is still with great potential. Realization of electrical power conversion through switching of power semiconductor devices is the essence of power electronics, and the major approach of switching is through pulse width modulation (PWM). As the first chapter of this book, the background of power electronics and the progress of PWM technology will be introduced, as well as the opportunities and challenges for power electronics.