A power inverter, or inverter, is an electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current

(DC) to alternating current (AC). The input voltage, output voltage and frequency, and overall
power handling depend on the design of the specific device or circuitry.

How does a power inverter work?

Inverters can also be used with transformers to change a certain DC input voltage into
a completely different AC output voltage (either higher or lower) but the output power
must always be less than the input power: it follows from the conservation of energy that
an inverter and transformer can't give out more power...

"Inverter" redirects here. For the logic gate, see Inverter (logic gate). For other uses, see Inverter
(disambiguation).

An inverter on a free-standing solar plant

 Overview of solar-plant inverters

A power inverter, or inverter, is an electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC)
to alternating current (AC).[1]
The input voltage, output voltage and frequency, and overall power handling depend on the design
of the specific device or circuitry. The inverter does not produce any power; the power is provided by
the DC source.
A power inverter can be entirely electronic or may be a combination of mechanical effects (such as a
rotary apparatus) and electronic circuitry. Static inverters do not use moving parts in the conversion
process.

Contents
[hide]

 1Input and output

o 1.1Input voltage
o 1.2Output waveform
 1.2.1Square wave
 1.2.2Sine wave
 1.2.3Modified sine wave
o 1.3Output frequency
o 1.4Output voltage
o 1.5Output power
 2Batteries
 3Applications
o 3.1DC power source usage
o 3.2Uninterruptible power supplies
o 3.3Electric motor speed control
 3.3.1In refrigeration compressors
o 3.4Power grid
o 3.5Solar
o 3.6Induction heating
o 3.7HVDC power transmission
o 3.8Electroshock weapons
o 3.9Miscellaneous
 4Circuit description
o 4.1Basic design
o 4.2Advanced designs
o 4.3More on achieving a sine wave
  4.3.1Enhanced quantization
o 4.4Three-phase inverters
 5Size
 6History
o 6.1Early inverters
o 6.2Controlled rectifier inverters
o 6.3Rectifier and inverter pulse numbers
o 6.4Other notes
 7Research
 8See also
 9References
 10Further reading
 11External links

Input and output[edit]

Input voltage[edit]
A typical power inverter device or circuit requires a relatively stable DC power source capable of
supplying enough current for the intended power demands of the system. The input voltage depends
on the design and purpose of the inverter. Examples include:

 12 VDC, for smaller consumer and commercial inverters that typically run from a rechargeable
12 V lead acid battery or automotive electrical outlet.[2]
 24, 36 and 48 VDC, which are common standards for home energy systems.
 200 to 400 VDC, when power is from photovoltaic solar panels.
 300 to 450 VDC, when power is from electric vehicle battery packs in vehicle-to-grid systems.
 Hundreds of thousands of volts, where the inverter is part of a high-voltage direct current power
transmission system.

Output waveform[edit]
An inverter can produce a square wave, modified sine wave, pulsed sine wave, pulse width
modulated wave (PWM) or sine wave depending on circuit design. The two dominant
commercialized waveform types of inverters as of 2007 are modified sine wave and sine wave.
There are two basic designs for producing household plug-in voltage from a lower-voltage DC
source, the first of which uses a switching boost converter to produce a higher-voltage DC and then
converts to AC. The second method converts DC to AC at battery level and uses a line-
frequency transformer to create the output voltage.[3]

Square wave

Square wave[edit]
This is one of the simplest waveforms an inverter design can produce and is best suited to low-
sensitivity applications such as lighting and heating. Square wave output can produce "humming"
when connected to audio equipment and is generally unsuitable for sensitive electronics.

Sine wave

Sine wave[edit]
A power inverter device which produces a multiple step sinusoidal AC waveform is referred to as
a sine wave inverter. To more clearly distinguish the inverters with outputs of much less distortion
than the modified sine wave (three step) inverter designs, the manufacturers often use the
phrase pure sine wave inverter. Almost all consumer grade inverters that are sold as a "pure sine
wave inverter" do not produce a smooth sine wave output at all,[citation needed]just a less choppy output
than the square wave (two step) and modified sine wave (three step) inverters. However, this is not
critical for most electronics as they deal with the output quite well.
Where power inverter devices substitute for standard line power, a sine wave output is desirable
because many electrical products are engineered to work best with a sine wave AC power source.
The standard electric utility provides a sine wave, typically with minor imperfections but sometimes
with significant distortion.
Sine wave inverters with more than three steps in the wave output are more complex and have
significantly higher cost than a modified sine wave, with only three steps, or square wave (one step)
types of the same power handling. Switch-mode power supply (SMPS) devices, such as personal
computers or DVD players, function on quality modified sine wave power. AC motors directly
operated on non-sinusoidal power may produce extra heat, may have different speed-torque
characteristics, or may produce more audible noise than when running on sinusoidal power.
Modified sine wave[edit]
The modified sine wave output of such an inverter is the sum of two square waves one of which is
phase shifted 90 degrees relative to the other. The result is three level waveform with equal intervals
of zero volts; peak positive volts; zero volts; peak negative volts and then zero volts. This sequence
is repeated. The resultant wave very roughly resembles the shape of a sine wave. Most inexpensive
consumer power inverters produce a modified sine wave rather than a pure sine wave.
The waveform in commercially available modified-sine-wave inverters resembles a square wave but
with a pause during the polarity reversal.[3] Switching states are developed for positive, negative and
zero voltages. Generally, the peak voltage to RMS voltage ratio does not maintain the same
relationship as for a sine wave. The DC bus voltage may be actively regulated, or the "on" and "off"
times can be modified to maintain the same RMS value output up to the DC bus voltage to
compensate for DC bus voltage variations.
The ratio of on to off time can be adjusted to vary the RMS voltage while maintaining a constant
frequency with a technique called pulse width modulation (PWM). The generated gate pulses are
given to each switch in accordance with the developed pattern to obtain the desired output.
Harmonic spectrum in the output depends on the width of the pulses and the modulation frequency.
When operating induction motors, voltage harmonics are usually not of concern; however, harmonic
distortion in the current waveform introduces additional heating and can produce pulsating torques.[4]
Numerous items of electric equipment will operate quite well on modified sine wave power inverter
devices, especially loads that are resistive in nature such as traditional incandescent light bulbs.
Items with a switch-mode power supply operate almost entirely without problems, but if the item has
a mains transformer, this can overheat depending on how marginally it is rated.
However, the load may operate less efficiently owing to the harmonics associated with a modified
sine wave and produce a humming noise during operation. This also affects the efficiency of the
system as a whole, since the manufacturer's nominal conversion efficiency does not account for
harmonics. Therefore, pure sine wave inverters may provide significantly higher efficiency than
modified sine wave inverters.
Most AC motors will run on MSW inverters with an efficiency reduction of about 20% owing to the
harmonic content. However, they may be quite noisy. A series LC filter tuned to the fundamental
frequency may help.[5]
A common modified sine wave inverter topology found in consumer power inverters is as follows: An
onboard microcontroller rapidly switches on and off power MOSFETs at high frequency like ~50 kHz.
The MOSFETs directly pull from a low voltage DC source (such as a battery). This signal then goes
through step-up transformers (generally many smaller transformers are placed in parallel to reduce
the overall size of the inverter) to produce a higher voltage signal. The output of the step-up
transformers then gets filtered by capacitors to produce a high voltage DC supply. Finally, this DC
supply is pulsed with additional power MOSFETs by the microcontroller to produce the final modified
sine wave signal.

Output frequency[edit]
The AC output frequency of a power inverter device is usually the same as standard power line
frequency, 50 or 60 hertz
If the output of the device or circuit is to be further conditioned (for example stepped up) then the
frequency may be much higher for good transformer efficiency.

Output voltage[edit]
The AC output voltage of a power inverter is often regulated to be the same as the grid line voltage,
typically 120 or 240 VAC at the distribution level, even when there are changes in the load that the
inverter is driving. This allows the inverter to power numerous devices designed for standard line
power.
Some inverters also allow selectable or continuously variable output voltages.

Output power[edit]
A power inverter will often have an overall power rating expressed in watts or kilowatts. This
describes the power that will be available to the device the inverter is driving and, indirectly, the
power that will be needed from the DC source. Smaller popular consumer and commercial devices
designed to mimic line power typically range from 150 to 3000 watts.
Not all inverter applications are solely or primarily concerned with power delivery; in some cases the
frequency and or waveform properties are used by the follow-on circuit or device.

Batteries[edit]
The runtime of an inverter is dependent on the battery power and the amount of power being drawn
from the inverter at a given time. As the amount of equipment using the inverter increases, the
runtime will decrease. In order to prolong the runtime of an inverter, additional batteries can be
added to the inverter.[6]
When attempting to add more batteries to an inverter, there are two basic options for installation:
Series configuration
 If the goal is to increase the overall voltage of the inverter, one can daisy chain batteries in a
series configuration. In a series configuration, if a single battery dies, the other batteries will
not be able to power the load.
Parallel configuration
If the goal is to increase capacity and prolong the runtime of the inverter, batteries can be
connected in parallel. This increases the overall ampere-hour (Ah) rating of the battery set.
If a single battery is discharged though, the other batteries will then discharge through it. This
can lead to rapid discharge of the entire pack, or even an over-current and possible fire. To
avoid this, large paralleled batteries may be connected via diodes or intelligent monitoring
with automatic switching to isolate an under-voltage battery from the others.

Applications[edit]
DC power source usage[edit]

Inverter designed to provide 115 VAC from the 12 VDC source provided in an automobile. The
unit shown provides up to 1.2 amperes of alternating current, or enough to power two sixty watt
light bulbs.

An inverter converts the DC electricity from sources such as batteries or fuel cells to AC
electricity. The electricity can be at any required voltage; in particular it can operate AC
equipment designed for mains operation, or rectified to produce DC at any desired voltage.

Uninterruptible power supplies[edit]

An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) uses batteries and an inverter to supply AC power
when mains power is not available. When mains power is restored, a rectifier supplies DC
power to recharge the batteries.

Electric motor speed control[edit]

Inverter circuits designed to produce a variable output voltage range are often used within
motor speed controllers. The DC power for the inverter section can be derived from a normal
AC wall outlet or some other source. Control and feedback circuitry is used to adjust the final
output of the inverter section which will ultimately determine the speed of the motor
operating under its mechanical load. Motor speed control needs are numerous and include
things like: industrial motor driven equipment, electric vehicles, rail transport systems, and
power tools. (See related: variable-frequency drive ) Switching states are developed for
positive, negative and zero voltages as per the patterns given in the switching Table 1.The
generated gate pulses are given to each switch in accordance with the developed pattern
and thus the output is obtained.
In refrigeration compressors[edit]
An inverter can be used to control the speed of the compressor motor to drive variable
refrigerant flow in a refrigeration or air conditioning system to regulate system performance.
Such installations are known as inverter compressors. Traditional methods of refrigeration
regulation use single-speed compressors switched on and off periodically; inverter-equipped
systems have a variable-frequency drive that control the speed of the motor and thus the
compressor and cooling output. The variable-frequency AC from the inverter drives
a brushless or induction motor, the speed of which is proportional to the frequency of the AC
it is fed, so the compressor can be run at variable speeds—eliminating compressor stop-
start cycles increases efficiency. A microcontroller typically monitors the temperature in the
space to be cooled, and adjusts the speed of the compressor to maintain the desired
temperature. The additional electronics and system hardware add cost to the equipment, but
can result in substantial savings in operating costs.[7]

Power grid[edit]
Grid-tied inverters are designed to feed into the electric power distribution system.[8] They
transfer synchronously with the line and have as little harmonic content as possible. They
also need a means of detecting the presence of utility power for safety reasons, so as not to
continue to dangerously feed power to the grid during a power outage.

Solar[edit]

Internal view of a solar inverter. Note the many large capacitors (blue cylinders), used to store
energy briefly and improve the output waveform.

Main article: Solar inverter

A solar inverter is a balance of system (BOS) component of a photovoltaic system and can
be used for both grid-connected and off-gridsystems. Solar inverters have special functions
adapted for use with photovoltaic arrays, including maximum power point tracking and anti-
islanding protection. Solar micro-inverters differ from conventional inverters, as an individual
micro-inverter is attached to each solar panel. This can improve the overall efficiency of the
system. The output from several micro-inverters is then combined and often fed to
the electrical grid.

Induction heating[edit]
Inverters convert low frequency main AC power to higher frequency for use in induction
heating. To do this, AC power is first rectified to provide DC power. The inverter then
changes the DC power to high frequency AC power. Due to the reduction in the number of
DC sources employed, the structure becomes more reliable and the output voltage has
higher resolution due to an increase in the number of steps so that the reference sinusoidal
voltage can be better achieved. This configuration has recently become very popular in AC
power supply and adjustable speed drive applications. This new inverter can avoid extra
clamping diodes or voltage balancing capacitors.
There are three kinds of level shifted modulation techniques, namely:

 Phase Opposition Disposition (POD)

 Alternative Phase Opposition Disposition (APOD)
 Phase Disposition (PD)
HVDC power transmission[edit]
With HVDC power transmission, AC power is rectified and high voltage DC power is
transmitted to another location. At the receiving location, an inverter in a static inverter
plantconverts the power back to AC. The inverter must be synchronized with grid frequency
and phase and minimize harmonic generation.

Electroshock weapons[edit]
Electroshock weapons and tasers have a DC/AC inverter to generate several tens of
thousands of V AC out of a small 9 V DC battery. First the 9 V DC is converted to 400–2000
V AC with a compact high frequency transformer, which is then rectified and temporarily
stored in a high voltage capacitor until a pre-set threshold voltage is reached. When the
threshold (set by way of an airgap or TRIAC) is reached, the capacitor dumps its entire load
into a pulse transformer which then steps it up to its final output voltage of 20–60 kV. A
variant of the principle is also used in electronic flash and bug zappers, though they rely on
a capacitor-based voltage multiplier to achieve their high voltage.

Miscellaneous[edit]
Typical applications for power inverters include:

 Portable consumer devices that allow the user to connect a battery, or set of batteries,
to the device to produce AC power to run various electrical items such as lights,
televisions, kitchen appliances, and power tools.
 Use in power generation systems such as electric utility companies or solar generating
systems to convert DC power to AC power.
 Use within any larger electronic system where an engineering need exists for deriving
an AC source from a DC source.

Circuit description[edit]
 Top: Simple inverter circuit shown with an electromechanical switch
and automatic equivalent
auto-switching device implemented with two transistors and split winding auto-transformer in place
of the mechanical switch.

Square waveform with fundamental sine wave component, 3rd harmonic and 5th harmonic

Basic design[edit]
In one simple inverter circuit, DC power is connected to a transformer through the center tap
of the primary winding. A switch is rapidly switched back and forth to allow current to flow
back to the DC source following two alternate paths through one end of the primary winding
and then the other. The alternation of the direction of current in the primary winding of the
transformer produces alternating current (AC) in the secondary circuit.
The electromechanical version of the switching device includes two stationary contacts and
a spring supported moving contact. The spring holds the movable contact against one of the
stationary contacts and an electromagnet pulls the movable contact to the opposite
stationary contact. The current in the electromagnet is interrupted by the action of the switch
so that the switch continually switches rapidly back and forth. This type of electromechanical
inverter switch, called a vibrator or buzzer, was once used in vacuum tube automobile
radios. A similar mechanism has been used in door bells, buzzers and tattoo machines.
As they became available with adequate power ratings, transistors and various other types
of semiconductor switches have been incorporated into inverter circuit designs. Certain
ratings, especially for large systems (many kilowatts) use thyristors (SCR). SCRs provide
large power handling capability in a semiconductor device, and can readily be controlled
over a variable firing range.
The switch in the simple inverter described above, when not coupled to an output
transformer, produces a square voltage waveformdue to its simple off and on nature as
opposed to the sinusoidal waveform that is the usual waveform of an AC power supply.
Using Fourier analysis, periodic waveforms are represented as the sum of an infinite series
of sine waves. The sine wave that has the same frequency as the original waveform is
called the fundamental component. The other sine waves, called harmonics, that are
included in the series have frequencies that are integral multiples of the fundamental
frequency.
Fourier analysis can be used to calculate the total harmonic distortion (THD). The total
harmonic distortion (THD) is the square root of the sum of the squares of the harmonic

voltages divided by the fundamental voltage:

Advanced designs[edit]

H bridge inverter circuit with transistor switches and antiparallel diodes

There are many different power circuit topologies and control strategies used in inverter
designs. Different design approaches address various issues that may be more or less
important depending on the way that the inverter is intended to be used.
The issue of waveform quality can be addressed in many
ways. Capacitors and inductors can be used to filter the waveform. If the design includes
a transformer, filtering can be applied to the primary or the secondary side of the transformer
or to both sides. Low-pass filters are applied to allow the fundamental component of the
waveform to pass to the output while limiting the passage of the harmonic components. If
the inverter is designed to provide power at a fixed frequency, a resonant filter can be used.
For an adjustable frequency inverter, the filter must be tuned to a frequency that is above
the maximum fundamental frequency.
Since most loads contain inductance, feedback rectifiers or antiparallel diodes are often
connected across each semiconductor switch to provide a path for the peak inductive load
current when the switch is turned off. The antiparallel diodes are somewhat similar to
the freewheeling diodes used in AC/DC converter circuits.
 Signal
Harmonic Harmonic System
transition
Waveform s s descriptio THD
s
eliminated amplified n
per period

2-level
2 square ~45%[9]
wave

3-level
4 3, 9, 27, … modified >23.8%[9
]
sine wave

5-level
8 modified >6.5%[9]
sine wave

2-level
10 3, 5, 9, 27 7, 11, … very slow
PWM

3-level
12 3, 5, 9, 27 7, 11, … very slow
PWM

Fourier analysis reveals that a waveform, like a square wave, that is anti-symmetrical about
the 180 degree point contains only odd harmonics, the 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc. Waveforms that
have steps of certain widths and heights can attenuate certain lower harmonics at the
expense of amplifying higher harmonics. For example, by inserting a zero-voltage step
between the positive and negative sections of the square-wave, all of the harmonics that are
divisible by three (3rd and 9th, etc.) can be eliminated. That leaves only the 5th, 7th, 11th,
13th etc. The required width of the steps is one third of the period for each of the positive
and negative steps and one sixth of the period for each of the zero-voltage steps.[10]
Changing the square wave as described above is an example of pulse-width
modulation (PWM). Modulating, or regulating the width of a square-wave pulse is often used
as a method of regulating or adjusting an inverter's output voltage. When voltage control is
not required, a fixed pulse width can be selected to reduce or eliminate selected harmonics.
Harmonic elimination techniques are generally applied to the lowest harmonics because
filtering is much more practical at high frequencies, where the filter components can be
much smaller and less expensive. Multiple pulse-width or carrier based PWM control
schemes produce waveforms that are composed of many narrow pulses. The frequency
represented by the number of narrow pulses per second is called the switching
frequency or carrier frequency. These control schemes are often used in variable-frequency
motor control inverters because they allow a wide range of output voltage and frequency
adjustment while also improving the quality of the waveform.
Multilevel inverters provide another approach to harmonic cancellation. Multilevel inverters
provide an output waveform that exhibits multiple steps at several voltage levels. For
example, it is possible to produce a more sinusoidal wave by having split-rail direct
current inputs at two voltages, or positive and negative inputs with a central ground. By
connecting the inverter output terminals in sequence between the positive rail and ground,
the positive rail and the negative rail, the ground rail and the negative rail, then both to the
ground rail, a stepped waveform is generated at the inverter output. This is an example of a
three level inverter: the two voltages and ground.[11]

More on achieving a sine wave[edit]

Resonant inverters produce sine waves with LC circuits to remove the harmonics from a
simple square wave. Typically there are several series- and parallel-resonant LC circuits,
each tuned to a different harmonic of the power line frequency. This simplifies the
electronics, but the inductors and capacitors tend to be large and heavy. Its high efficiency
makes this approach popular in large uninterruptible power supplies in data centers that run
the inverter continuously in an "online" mode to avoid any switchover transient when power
is lost. (See related: Resonant inverter)
A closely related approach uses a ferroresonant transformer, also known as a constant
voltage transformer, to remove harmonics and to store enough energy to sustain the load for
a few AC cycles. This property makes them useful in standby power supplies to eliminate
the switchover transient that otherwise occurs during a power failure while the normally idle
inverter starts and the mechanical relays are switching to its output.
Enhanced quantization[edit]
A proposal suggested in Power Electronics magazine utilizes two voltages as an
improvement over the common commercialized technology, which can only apply DC bus
voltage in either direction or turn it off. The proposal adds intermediate voltages to the
common design. Each cycle sees the following sequence of delivered voltages: v1, v2, v1,
0, −v1, −v2, −v1.[9]

Three-phase inverters[edit]
 Three-phase inverter with wye connected load

Three-phase inverters are used for variable-frequency drive applications and for high power
applications such as HVDC power transmission. A basic three-phase inverter consists of
three single-phase inverter switches each connected to one of the three load terminals. For
the most basic control scheme, the operation of the three switches is coordinated so that
one switch operates at each 60 degree point of the fundamental output waveform. This
creates a line-to-line output waveform that has six steps. The six-step waveform has a zero-
voltage step between the positive and negative sections of the square-wave such that the
harmonics that are multiples of three are eliminated as described above. When carrier-
based PWM techniques are applied to six-step waveforms, the basic overall shape,
or envelope, of the waveform is retained so that the 3rd harmonic and its multiples are
cancelled.

3-phase inverter switching circuit showing 6-step switching sequence and waveform of voltage
between terminals A and C (23 − 2 states)

To construct inverters with higher power ratings, two six-step three-phase inverters can be
connected in parallel for a higher current rating or in series for a higher voltage rating. In
either case, the output waveforms are phase shifted to obtain a 12-step waveform. If
additional inverters are combined, an 18-step inverter is obtained with three inverters etc.
Although inverters are usually combined for the purpose of achieving increased voltage or
current ratings, the quality of the waveform is improved as well.

Size[edit]
Compared to other household electric devices, inverters are large in size and volume. In
2014 Google together with IEEE started an open competition to build a (much) smaller
power inverter, with a $1,000,000 prize.[12]

History[edit]
Early inverters[edit]
From the late nineteenth century through the middle of the twentieth century, DC-to-
AC power conversion was accomplished using rotary converters or motor-generator sets (M-
G sets). In the early twentieth century, vacuum tubes and gas filled tubes began to be used
as switches in inverter circuits. The most widely used type of tube was the thyratron.
The origins of electromechanical inverters explain the source of the term inverter. Early AC-
to-DC converters used an induction or synchronous AC motor direct-connected to a
generator (dynamo) so that the generator's commutator reversed its connections at exactly
the right moments to produce DC. A later development is the synchronous converter, in
which the motor and generator windings are combined into one armature, with slip rings at
one end and a commutator at the other and only one field frame. The result with either is
AC-in, DC-out. With an M-G set, the DC can be considered to be separately generated from
the AC; with a synchronous converter, in a certain sense it can be considered to be
"mechanically rectified AC". Given the right auxiliary and control equipment, an M-G set or
rotary converter can be "run backwards", converting DC to AC. Hence an inverter is an
inverted converter.[13]

Controlled rectifier inverters[edit]

Since early transistors were not available with sufficient voltage and current ratings for most
inverter applications, it was the 1957 introduction of the thyristor or silicon-controlled
rectifier (SCR) that initiated the transition to solid state inverter circuits.

12-pulse line-commutated inverter circuit

The commutation requirements of SCRs are a key consideration in SCR circuit designs.
SCRs do not turn off or commutateautomatically when the gate control signal is shut off.
They only turn off when the forward current is reduced to below the minimum holding
current, which varies with each kind of SCR, through some external process. For SCRs
connected to an AC power source, commutation occurs naturally every time the polarity of
the source voltage reverses. SCRs connected to a DC power source usually require a
means of forced commutation that forces the current to zero when commutation is required.
The least complicated SCR circuits employ natural commutation rather than forced
commutation. With the addition of forced commutation circuits, SCRs have been used in the
types of inverter circuits described above.
In applications where inverters transfer power from a DC power source to an AC power
source, it is possible to use AC-to-DC controlled rectifier circuits operating in the inversion
mode. In the inversion mode, a controlled rectifier circuit operates as a line commutated
inverter. This type of operation can be used in HVDC power transmission systems and
in regenerative braking operation of motor control systems.
Another type of SCR inverter circuit is the current source input (CSI) inverter. A CSI inverter
is the dual of a six-step voltage source inverter. With a current source inverter, the DC
power supply is configured as a current source rather than a voltage source. The inverter
SCRs are switched in a six-step sequence to direct the current to a three-phase AC load as
a stepped current waveform. CSI inverter commutation methods include load commutation
and parallel capacitor commutation. With both methods, the input current regulation assists
the commutation. With load commutation, the load is a synchronous motor operated at a
leading power factor.
As they have become available in higher voltage and current ratings, semiconductors such
as transistors or IGBTs that can be turned off by means of control signals have become the
preferred switching components for use in inverter circuits.

Rectifier and inverter pulse numbers[edit]

Rectifier circuits are often classified by the number of current pulses that flow to the DC side
of the rectifier per cycle of AC input voltage. A single-phase half-wave rectifier is a one-pulse
circuit and a single-phase full-wave rectifier is a two-pulse circuit. A three-phase half-wave
rectifier is a three-pulse circuit and a three-phase full-wave rectifier is a six-pulse circuit.[14]
With three-phase rectifiers, two or more rectifiers are sometimes connected in series or
parallel to obtain higher voltage or current ratings. The rectifier inputs are supplied from
special transformers that provide phase shifted outputs. This has the effect of phase
multiplication. Six phases are obtained from two transformers, twelve phases from three
transformers and so on. The associated rectifier circuits are 12-pulse rectifiers, 18-pulse
rectifiers and so on...
When controlled rectifier circuits are operated in the inversion mode, they would be
classified by pulse number also. Rectifier circuits that have a higher pulse number have
reduced harmonic content in the AC input current and reduced ripple in the DC output
voltage. In the inversion mode, circuits that have a higher pulse number have lower
harmonic content in the AC output voltage waveform.