A detailed analysis of the effect of dead time on harmonic distortion in a class D audio amplifier

Abstract

This paper presents an analytical method for determining the effect of dead time on harmonic distortion in a class D audio amplifier. The analysis is based on the well established double Fourier series, providing accurate analytical solutions to the pulse width modulated spectra under natural sampling. The proposed analytical model differs from that of previous work in the sense that the precise contribution of each separate component can be determined, i.e. the fundamental component, baseband, carrier and sideband harmonics.