PWMlike

PWMlike refers to modulation techniques that produce switching signals whose duty cycle approximates a user-specified reference. Implemented in digital hardware, PWMlike controls generate a fast switching carrier and compare it to the reference to create an on/off output that, after filtering or averaging, follows the desired level.

Common implementations include digital versions of classic PWM: a carrier waveform such as triangular, sawtooth, or sinusoidal is generated in a microcontroller or digital signal processor and compared with the reference to yield the switching signal. Additional digital schemes, including accumulator-threshold methods, delta-sigma modulation, and multi-level or space-vector variants, are also described as PWMlike when they rely on digital timing rather than analog comparators.

Applications include DC-DC converters, motor drives, class-D audio amplifiers, and programmable power supplies. PWMlike offers flexibility in modulation index, carrier frequency, and resolution through software or programmable hardware, but can introduce quantization error, dead-time requirements, and switching losses depending on implementation and switching frequency. Carrier frequency and timing accuracy influence efficiency, EMI, and harmonic performance in practical designs.

In literature, PWMlike is used as an umbrella term for digitally realized PWM-like techniques, contrasted with traditional analog PWM or other switching modulation methods. See also PWM, delta-sigma modulation, and space-vector modulation.