Novel commutation technique of AC-AC converters

The AC-AC power converter, called the matrix converter, is very simple in structure and has powerful controllability. However, to date, there have been few practical applications for this converter, especially in power electronics fields. One of the major reasons is its commutation problem. The paper proposes a novel commutation technique which is very simple to implement. This commutation scheme allows the dead time to avoid current spikes of nonideal switches and, at the same time, establishes a current path of the inductive load to avoid voltage spikes. Experimental results obtained on a 5 kW prototype are discussed