Self-balanced switched capacitors based thirteen level three-fold multilevel inverter for solar PV applications

Abstract

Abstract While the conventional topologies of multilevel inverters (MLIs) operate with unity voltage gain, switched capacitors-based MLIs (SCMLIs) offer a solution to realize an inherent voltage gain of more than one, thereby stepping up the voltage in the process of DC to AC conversion. This work proposes a novel SCMLI constituting thirteen levels, requiring only one DC input and 3-capacitors to achieve an inclusive three-fold gain in voltage. The number of power switches employed in the proposed module is thirteen, where nine switches peak-inverse-voltage (PIV) is considered as one-third of the output voltage amplitude. Experimental results validate the proposed inverter (PI), demonstrating its efficacy. The superior performance of the PI with respect to component count, power switch voltage ratings, and cost function (CF) is highlighted by comparison with other SCMLIs. The total standing voltage (TSV) per level, expressed in per unit with respect to $${V}_{in}$$ is 1.307, while the PIV per level is 0.153, which is competitive with recent literature. Additionally, the CF is 4.538, lower than other designs, enhancing the performance of the structure for real-time applications.