Discrete-time dynamic systems demonstrate quite exciting possibilities from the perspective of control as compared with the continuous-time counterpart. Interesting properties of discrete-time dynamic systems include the possibility to algebraically determine previously unknown system parameters by simply measuring the present inputs and outputs of the system. Additionally, achieving a finite settling time with zero steady-state error is only achievable in discrete-time dynamic systems. Deadbeat current control (DBCC) has been used to achieve a finite settling time, especially in grid-connected inverter applications. However, there is no comprehensive study on reviewing or evaluating existing control approaches, to the authors’ best knowledge. This paper systematically examined the existing methods by paying attention to four key research issues: 1) research evidence indicating the adoption of DBCC in grid-connected inverter applications (GCIAs), 2) the types of deadbeat control approaches adopted in GCIAs, 3) the best approach in terms of stability especially regarding grid-impedance variation, and 4) the barriers that might prevent the wide adoption of DBCC in GCIAs. Finally, this paper presents a hypothesis based on the simulated results on which approach is superior at present to give readers a direction for further research classification on deadbeat control.
