Experimental validation of a thirteen level H-bridge photovoltaic inverter configuration

Highly efficient and compact multilevel inverters are desirable in many applications such as wind farms, solar energy harvesting and electric vehicles. The authors present a single-phase thirteen level inverter control method employing semiconductor power devices for photovoltaic applications. The unique configuration of source inverters with multilevel voltage capabilities enables large voltages together with minimal harmonic distortion without the employment of associated harmonized switching devices or transformers. A multilevel inverter is commonly used to create a desired voltage from several dc voltage levels. Therefore multilevel inverters can satisfy the large electric power requirements for high power devices. The proposed inverter system based on a simple H-bridge inverter structure provides accurate voltage control and excellent efficiency. The proposed inverter is demonstrated using MATLAB/SIMULINK simulation software and experimental validation is executed using high-efficiency ARM controller.