A Reduced Component Count Self-Balance Quadruple Boost Seventeen-Level Switched Capacitor Inverter

A switched capacitor multilevel inverter (SCMLI) enables high-quality output voltage waveforms for various industrial and renewable energy applications. SCMLI uses a combination of capacitors and switches to generate multiple voltage levels from a single dc source, thereby reducing the overall cost and size of the system. This article proposes a novel configuration of a 17-level SCMLI. The proposed converter can boost four times the input voltage by exploiting the series-parallel connection of capacitors with the dc voltage source. With simple pulsewidth modulated (PWM) control, the capacitor voltages are inherently balanced under different loading conditions. Furthermore, for 11 switches, only seven independent switching signals are required. Loss analysis reveals that the proposed SCMLI has significantly reduced conduction losses, capacitor ripple voltage, voltage stress, and cost function (CF) when compared with other topologies available in the literature. Finally, the simulation results are obtained at different loads and modulation indexes. The results are experimentally validated with a scaled-down laboratory prototype.