Efficiency and loss distribution analysis of the 3L-Active NPC qZS inverter

Quasi-Z-source (qZS) inverters have been found very suitable in boost operation applications. As a result, studies have focused on the three-level neutral-point-clamped (3L-NPC) qZS inverters. However, this topology has a shortcoming of loss distribution among the switches. Focus in this article is on the application of the 3L-Active NPC (3L-ANPC) to the qZS inverters. Our study will show the impact of this topology on the efficiency of the system as well as on the distribution of the switching losses. A shoot-through sinusoidal pulse with modulation adapted to the 3L-ANPC was used. A modified modulation was also implemented and tested. Several simulation tests were performed to analyze the adopted topology and modulation strategies.