Abstract
This brief presents a novel seven-level (7L) inverter topology for grid-connected renewable applications. It consists of ten active switches and one inner flying-capacitor unit forming a structure similar to conventional active neutral point clamped inverter. The proposed unique arrangement reduces the number of active, passive components and it does not require any sensor to balance the floating capacitor voltage, thereby reduces cost and complexity in the control system design. In addition, compared to major conventional 7L inverter topologies, the proposed topology is capable of boosting the input voltage by a factor of 1.5, thereby, eliminating the need for an intermediate boosting stage. In other words, it reduces the dc-link voltage requirement by 50%. To prove the advantage of the proposed topology over other recent topologies, a comparative study in terms of power components and cost is presented. The operation and performance of the proposed topology for various loading conditions are validated through experimental tests and measurements.