A novel reduced-switch asymmetric multilevel inverter with scalable structure and flexible source selection...

Multilevel inverter structures, due to their merits such as step voltage generation, reduction of total harmonic distortion, no need for passive filters, reduction of magnetic interference, and ability to withstand high voltages, can be used in various industries such as energy conversion, electric vehicles, and electric machine drives because of these positive features. This work proposes an innovative multi-level inverter architecture designed to overcome constraints inherent in conventional approaches. The structure facilitates the use of either symmetrical or asymmetrical DC sources. Notably, it features a significant reduction in the required number of switches for generating a given number of voltage steps compared to traditional inverters. The possibility of designing an asymmetric inverter with different voltage source selection algorithms is another feature of the proposed structure. For verification, the system performance has been investigated in MATLAB software. Furthermore, an experimental prototype was constructed. Test results confirm the inverter's capability to produce high-quality voltage waveforms.