A Novel Single-Phase Multilevel High-Gain Inverter With Low Voltage Stress

This article proposes a high performance with 13-step, switched-capacitor multilevel inverter (SCMLI). The gain factor of 6 is achieved, along with self-voltage balancing of capacitors. The suggested structure can be cascaded to generate any number of voltage steps with the inherent property of generating both positive and negative voltage steps. All the power switches withstand voltages lower than 50% of maximum output voltage. The number of power switches, the number of dc input sources, the voltage stress on the switches, and the power losses are reduced. Also, the presented inverter has a minimum cost function compared to the other similar structures. The performance of the proposed 13-step converter has been validated by the simulation, extracted by PSCAD/EMTDC, and also the experimental results, obtained from an implemented laboratory prototype.