Symmetric multilevel inverter with reduced components based on non-insulated dc voltage sources

Multilevel inverters have an important portion in power processing in power systems. These inverters have some inherent advantages such as ability to operate with high power and voltage, improved output waveform quality and flexibility which make them attractive and more popular. This study proposes a new topology based on the non-insulated dc voltage sources for multilevel inverter with reduced number of switching devices. As a result, it reduces control complexity and gate driver circuits. The proposed topology is a general topology which can be easily extended to a desired number of voltage levels. All of the desired output voltage levels (both odd and even) can be achieved using the proposed topology. The validity of the proposed multilevel inverter is verified with both computer simulation and experimental results from a 15-level laboratory prototype.