Half bridge module asymmetric multilevel inverter based on novel PWM control strategy

Multilevel inverter (MLI) is an alternative for high power and high voltage applications. It has low switching stress on power switches, lower total harmonic distortion (THD), higher efficiency and low Electromagnetic Interference (EMI). Higher number of power switches contributes complexity of control and high cost. In this paper a five-level MLI is proposed with reduced switch count and improved performance. Optimal structures of this topology are investigated for interface with renewable energy resources. It uses single carrier and single input with hybrid modulation scheme. Proposed topology employs less power switches compared to that of conventional multilevel inverters. The digital simulation has been analysed and hardware prototype has been developed to validated the simulated results. The effect of DC voltage unbalancing and advantages of this structure is compared with conventional MLI topologies.