A technology demonstrator with a SD Card flash memory for implementation of three-phase multi-optimal PWM generator

This paper investigates for the first time the use of a very large SD Card flash memory to the design of a three-phase Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) generator and describes the hardware and software used for implementation. The new digital architecture differs from conventional counter-based implementation and it follows a pre-programmed optimal PWM pattern that is read from memory with magnitude and phase as coordinates. This architecture allows the inclusion of multiple optimization criteria within the PWM pattern. Experimental results are shown with a PICDEM PIC18 Explorer Board and a SD Card Reader PICtail Daughter Board, both from Microchip. The optimal PWM pattern is defined in MATLAB and the entire design process is described in this paper.