Abstract
<jats:p>The Z-source inverter (ZSI) has emerged as an effective single-stage power conversion topology for renewable energy applications owing to its inherent capability to perform both voltage buck and boost operations. However, the shoot-through states required to achieve voltage boosting introduce additional harmonic distortion that can degrade output power quality and increase the dependence on passive filtering. This paper presents a comparative performance analysis of conventional and strategic PWM shoot-through placement within the Maximum Boost Control (MBC) framework for three-phase Z-source inverters. A strategic shoot-through placement approach, referred to as Modified Maximum Boost Control (MMBC), is proposed to redistribute shoot-through intervals without compromising the voltage boost capability. Both control strategies were modelled and evaluated in MATLAB/Simulink under identical operating conditions. Their performance was assessed using Voltage Total Harmonic Distortion (THDV), voltage gain, and boost factor as the primary evaluation metrics. The simulation results indicate that the proposed MMBC achieved a minimum THDV of approximately 1.69%, compared with 4.05% obtained using conventional MBC. The improved harmonic performance was accompanied by a reduction in the output voltage magnitude, highlighting the trade-off between power quality enhancement and voltage utilisation. These findings demonstrate that strategic PWM shoot-through placement can substantially enhance the power quality of Z-source inverters and reduce harmonic filtering requirements, making the proposed approach suitable for renewable energy conversion applications.</jats:p>