A Novel Multigain Switched-Capacitor-Based Topology with Reduced Part Count

Abstract

In photovoltaic power plants, wind farms, and other types of renewable energy generating facilities, the usage of multilevel inverters (MLIs) is a popular and widely used choice. A unique structurally-based step-up self-balanced compact multigain switched capacitor inverter architecture (MGSCIT) is proposed in this study. The proposed MGSCIT uses two switched capacitors and nine switches to generate a seven-level (7L) output voltage with a voltage gain of three times the input. The suggested topology also includes several other important advantages, such as the minimum number of switching components, three-times voltage gain, inherent self-balancing of capacitor voltage, reduced voltage ripples, reduced voltage, and stresses. The negative voltage levels can be generated without the need for a backend H-bridge (HB). The structural design analysis of the proposed MGSCIT, self-balancing mechanism of capacitor voltages, determination of optimum values of capacitance, and control strategy are explained in detail. To demonstrate the benefits of the proposed topology, a fair comparison is offered with the most current 7-level single-source topologies, focusing on the cost function and the number of components per level. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the accuracy of the theoretical analysis, and the prototype built demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of the practical findings, with maximum measured efficiency reaching 95.62%. The voltage and current THD are 31.08% and 1.45%, respectively.