Low Inductive Module Integration of Flying Capacitor Topology

The flying capacitor (FC) topology is already standard for solar boost circuits, but has only limited acceptance in unidirectional and bidirectional DC-AC operation. This is due to challenges in control, power flow, low-inductance partitioning of the topology with power modules, pre-charging, and voltage regulation of the flying capacitor. Another reason are the resources required to redevelop and qualify the control of the new topology. However, there are objective advantages over two-level and neutral point clamped (NPC) topologies. These advantages have the potential to provide a competitive edge when implementing flying capacitor inverters in future designs. The following section presents the function and advantages of the flying capacitor topology and explains how the functions and layout of the power modules support the topology. Further ideas for increasing efficiency and optimizing system costs are discussed in an outlook.