A new coupled inductor multilevel inverter based on switched DC sources

A new multilevel inverter is proposed in this paper. In the proposed topology, the output current is increased (in comparison with the switches current) using the coupled-inductors at the output stage of the inverter. It consists of two parts; one part includes the floating dc voltage sources connected by the power electronic switches in a special arrangement and the other part includes two power electronic switches. These two parts are connected to each other by a coupled-inductor. Most of the switches in the proposed topology have low current and voltage ratings making it suitable for high-current and also high-voltage applications. Also, the number of power components is reduced in the proposed topology. The 9-level case of the proposed topology has been investigated in details and its pulse-width modulation (PWM) based control is presented. The simulation results of the 9-level inverter are presented to verify its performance and control.