A Voltage-Boosting Switched-Capacitor Seven-Level Inverter With Reduced Component

To address the challenges of conventional multilevel inverter topologies, such as structural complexity, low voltage gain and difficulty in controlling capacitor voltage balance, a novel seven-level boost inverter based on switched-capacitor technology is proposed. This topology comprises one input source, three capacitors and nine power switches. It achieves a 1.5 times voltage gain while providing strong boosting capability, automatic capacitor voltage balancing and a reduced component count. The proposed inverter eliminates the need for an intermediate DC-boost stage, making it suited for photovoltaic applications with low input voltage. In addition, the operating principle and power losses of the proposed inverter are analyzed. A simple carrier-based modulation strategy is employed, which achieves capacitor voltage balancing without the need for complex control circuitry, thereby reducing system cost. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed topology are verified through comparative studies and simulation results.