Design and Evaluation of a High Quality Hybrid Current Multilevel Converter

This paper presents and discusses the design and evaluation a switched-linear current converter with its output voltage controlled suitable to high power applications. The proposed structure allows to build from a voltage source inverter that combines different semiconductors, operating at different frequencies, associated with a linear amplifier, in order to increase the output signal quality of its processed power without to penalize the volume of the passive filters. The system feedback control of the output voltage, eliminate ripples and its harmonics, sharing the current among each inverter leg, setting set individually current levels and its limits, defines operating ranges for each inverter, and mitigating the current which flows among each inverter branch. This proposal establishes an expandable configuration which operates even under failure in either converter and minimizes the total losses in to the linear converter. In addition, the structure allows to suppress the output filter capacitor. The system combination of the linear amplifier produces excellent output signal quality and fast dynamic responses. Examples of a projects are made performed, simulated and built to present the behavior and characteristics of the proposed hybrid converter.