An Extended High Step-Up Switched-Capacitor Based Multi-Level Inverter Topology

In this paper, a developed single-phase basic 17-level inverter topology has been proposed that is based on Switched-Capacitor Cell (SCC). The proposed basic topology consists of a main unit and two SCCs. The proposed basic unit can be extended by increasing the number of SCCs on both sides of main unit that leads to entirely symmetric extended topology. Reduced device (DC source, switch, capacitor and, diode) count is the main advantage of proposed topology that results in less size, weight and cost. Application of two half-bridges instead of one full-bridge leads to less total standing voltage on the switches. Self-voltage balancing of capacitors, lesser cost function as well as high step-up capability is another main merits of proposed topology. Note that the self-voltage balancing property of capacitors discards the need for an extra complicated voltage regulation controller circuitry. Also, the proposed topology can successfully supply low power factor (R-L) loads. Simulations have been done in PSCAD/EMTDC software to verify the performance of proposed topology. The comparison and simulation results prove the superiority of proposed topology.