Pulse-frequency modulation

About: Pulse-frequency modulation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4151 publications have been published within this topic receiving 53039 citations. The topic is also known as: PFM.

Analysis of an asymmetric modulation method for cascaded multilevel inverters

Abstract: Traditional means for implementing the switching of the power switches in multilevel converters is subharmonic pulse width modulation (SHPWM) or triangulation approach involving a comparison between a target reference waveform and several high-frequency carrier waveforms where all the power switches usually work at high switching frequency. The asymmetric modulation method (AMM) which is derived from hybrid modulation method is illustrated. The contribution of asymmetric modulation is to provide a general method of finding the locus of the output stepped-wave for the hybrid modulation method. This study also provides an illustration of the ‘Mathematic expression of modulation process’ of SHPWM and AMM where it is easy to see how the two techniques are related, and the output expression of the AMM method can be easily obtained from the general N-level double-Fourier output expressions of SHPWM where cumbersome mathematical work has been avoided. Through the analysis of modulation process for SHPWM and AMM, results show that the AMM is an improved version of SHPWM method with optimised switching combination. Theoretical analysis, simulation and experimental results are provided to validate the feasibility of the proposed analysis method.

Optical frequency control system and method

Abstract: Method and apparatus for controlling the frequency of a laser in an optical transmission system which involves applying a frequency modulation to the laser, determining an amplitude modulation present in the signal downstream of the laser and attributable to the frequency modulation, and discriminating a portion of the amplitude modulation which is substantially in phase quadrature with the applied frequency modulation. The frequency of the laser is controlled on the basis of the discriminated quadrature portion. An optical component downstream of the laser may have a response which converts FM to AM. The response and the frequency output of the laser can be locked to one another, without errors caused by unwanted AM in the transmitted signal modulation frequency.

Spread Spectrum Modulation by Using Asymmetric-Carrier Random PWM

Abstract: This paper presents a new fixed-carrier-frequency random pulsewidth modulation method, where a new type of carrier wave is proposed for modulation. Based on simulations and experimental measurements, it is shown that the spread effect of the discrete components from the motor current spectra and acoustic spectra is very effective and is independent from the modulation index. The flat motor current spectrum generates an acoustical noise close to the white noise, which improves the acoustical performance of the drive. The new carrier wave is easy to implement digitally, without employing any external circuits. The modulation method can be used in both open- and closed-loop motor control applications.

Switching Frequency Analysis of Staircase-Modulated Modular Multilevel Converters and Equivalent PWM Techniques

Abstract: The large number of voltage levels in a modular multilevel converter (MMC) make staircase modulation a feasible alternative, particularly in high-power applications. However, staircase waveforms do not necessarily mean operation of the MMC submodules (SMs) at the fundamental frequency. This paper presents an analysis of SM switching frequencies in staircase-modulated MMCs and their correlation to the modulation index and load phase angle. A carrier-based pulsewidth-modulation (CB-PWM) equivalent technique is also developed. This analysis demonstrates that CB-PWM techniques provide a similar switching frequency with superior harmonic performance and improved voltage balancing characteristics at all modulation indices compared to staircase modulation. The theoretical analysis is verified with extensive simulation results for MMCs with different SMs and experimental results from a laboratory prototype.

Proposal of Application of Pulsed Vision Chip for Retinal Prosthesis.

Abstract: A vision chip based on pulse frequency modulation (PFM) is proposed as a retinal prosthesis device for use in subretinal implantation. A pixel circuit of PFM has been fabricated using standard CMOS technology. A dynamic range of 40 dB is demonstrated at a low power supply voltage of 1 V. It is found that the competition between the charge current to the photodiode and the photocurrent affects the output pulse characteristics under the conditionds of low power supply voltage and strong light illumination. For in vitro and in vivo experiments, two methods of improving the PFM circuits are considered. One is controlling the pulse frequency. By adding one transistor to the PFM circuit, the output pulse frequency can be experimentally controlled by a factor of two. The other is using a biphasic output, which is required to keep a charge balance in a living body. By introducing differential circuits, the biphasic output has been confirmed by simulation.