Novel pulse-width modulation technique with loss reduction for small power brushless DC motor drives

It is well known that small power brushless DC motor (BLDCM) drives have been widely applied to the information technology industry, especially for fan and spindle applications. For small power applications of BLDCM drives, due to the use of battery and limited space for heat dissipation, reduction of power consumption is one of the main concerns for the development of pulse-width modulation (PWM) technique. This paper presents a novel PWM technique for small power BLDCM drives, which significantly reduces the conduction losses, and thereby dramatically reducing the heat dissipation. Comparative results with conventional PWM technique are fully explored to highlight the advantages of the presented novel technique. Experimental results derived from an FPGA-based spindle drive are presented to confirm the theoretical analysis.