vektorPWM

vektorPWM is a term used to describe vector-based pulse width modulation techniques applied in the control of three-phase power electronics, most commonly Space Vector PWM (SVPWM). The goal is to synthesize an effective three-phase output voltage from a fixed DC bus by arranging the inverter switching states so that the instantaneous output vector matches a desired reference vector within a hexagonal locus formed by the inverter’s active states.

How it works: An inverter has eight switching states: six active states and two zero states. The desired phase voltage vector rotates in the stationary a-b-C plane. The SVPWM algorithm determines which two neighboring active vectors to apply and which zero vectors to insert during each switching period. It then computes the corresponding duty cycles for the three phase legs so that the average output approximates the reference vector. Different variants optimize for maximum DC bus utilization or minimize switching losses; overmodulation may extend the useful range beyond the linear region.

Implementation and usage: In practice, SVPWM is implemented in digital controllers (microcontrollers or DSPs) using PWM peripherals and a modest amount of arithmetic. It is widely used in motor drives to control BLDC and PMSM motors, as well as in grid-tied inverters and other three-phase power electronics. The term vektorPWM is sometimes used in non-English contexts to refer to these vector-based methods.

Variants and related methods: SVPWM has variations such as traditional SVPWM, improved (or optimized) SVPWM, and overmodulation strategies. In hobbyist and open-source projects, vektorPWM implementations are available for various MCU families and hardware platforms.