A Single Source Nine‐Level Quadruple Boost Inverter With Optimized Switching Technique for EV Applications

ABSTRACT Traditional MLIs face several challenges, such as complex configurations, intricate switching control, difficulty in generating gate pulses, a large number of components, and high voltage stress on semiconductors. Additionally, increasing the number of voltage levels tends to raise the device count, which can add to the system's complexity, cost, and, in some cases, reduce reliability. In this paper, a new multilevel inverter (MLI) incorporating switched capacitors for improved performance is proposed. The proposed single source quadruple boost nine‐level inverter (SS‐QBNLI) topology addresses these issues by generating a nine‐level output voltage using only 10 switches, 1 diode, and 2 capacitors. Notably, the inverter achieves a voltage gain of four times the input. The capacitors are self‐balanced without requiring any external balancing circuitry. A simple pulse‐width modulation (PWM) technique based on logic gates is employed to ensure balanced capacitor operation. This approach also reduces the number of switches and minimizes voltage stress, while providing built‐in fault tolerance. The paper presents a detailed comparison with other related topologies. Simulations are conducted in MATLAB/Simulink under various conditions to validate the performance. Finally, the ability of the proposed inverter to achieve voltage boosting is experimentally confirmed from a laboratory prototype.