Complete development platform for multi-level converters and complex control algorithms

This paper describes the modular development control platform including dedicated supporting tools. The platform was specially designed for the multi-level converters control therefore it provides up to 48 (plus 24 optional) of PWM outputs thanks to additional FPGA utilization. The combination of DSP enabled microcontroller and the FPGA allowed us to split the computational tasks between these parts which significantly helps with highly complex algorithms implementation. Fast application development is supported thanks to the software drivers covering broad range of elemental functions including communication, DMA transfers, AD service routines and basic user interface. Also an enhanced set of FPGA entities featuring various modulator functionalities are provided. Dedicated tools involves fully insulated JTAG interface with developed software allowing the platform to be programmed by a single JTAG emulator. An application example based on four level FLC converter is presented.