Systematic Reduction of Peak and Average Emissions of Power Electronic Converters by the Application of Spread Spectrum

This paper deals with the application of spread spectrum techniques on power electronic converters to reduce electromagnetic disturbances. These techniques aim for a spreading of the harmonics in a frequency domain in order to distribute the power over a wider frequency range. By doing so, the levels of the harmonics drop. In this paper, both peak and average detector measurements are considered. It is shown that different parameters are required to minimize either peak or average emissions. The reduction of peak and/or average emissions is mathematically described for a sine wave as a harmonic of pulse width modulation signals. These spread harmonics overlap for high orders and/or high-frequency variations. It is shown that this effect is a limiting factor for spread spectrum in practical applications. The resulting maximum achievable reduction is analyzed. From these results, parametrization strategies are derived to fulfill specific requirements. In test setups, the precision of the proposed parametrization strategies is demonstrated. Additionally, it is shown that the results for peak measurements can also be applied to quasi-peak measurements.