Switched capacitor based 7-level and 9-level multilevel inverters with single DC source and reduced voltage stress

Abstract

This paper proposes two different switched capacitor based Multilevel Inverter topologies having single dc voltage source. One of the proposed MLIs is a seven-level structure whereas the other circuit successfully generates a nine-level output voltage. The special features of the seven-level topology consist of reduced number of circuit elements, lower voltage stress on switches, and boosted output voltage. The nine-level MLI having unity gain also possess the reduced switch count along with lower value of switch voltage stress. Fundamental frequency based Nearest Level Control modulation and Level-Shifted Pulse Width Modulation have been used for generating the required voltage levels. Successful implementation of the proposed MLI circuits has been done with the help of a laboratory prototype and its results are presented and explained in the paper to show its practical suitability. Other type of analysis include loss analysis which has been done in PLECS software. From this analysis, the efficiency has been estimated. A comparative analysis of both the proposed structures has been carried out with some other similar topologies on different performance parameters. From the analysis and comparison, it is evident that the proposed MLIs are better than some of the existing topologies and can be used for industrial applications.