A Generalized Cascade Switched-Capacitor Multilevel Converter Structure and its Optimization Analysis

Abstract

This article introduces a new generalized cascade switched-capacitor multilevel converter based on the cascaded connection of several switched-capacitor units. The presented circuit can boost the magnitude of input dc voltage sources using switched-capacitor units. An optimization method is used to achieve maximum output levels with the least number of elements. The proposed converter is compared with other structures regarding the number of capacitors, switches, dc voltage sources, and standing voltage on switches. The comparison results reveal the superiority of the proposed converter regarding the number of elements. Moreover, the maximum value of voltage on the switches in the proposed structure is less than other structures. The mathematical analysis and experimental results of the proposed structure are presented.