Abstract. Multilevel converters have been intensively investigated and developed since 1960s and have found successful industrial applications. The aim of this paper is to present state of the art as well as recent research and applications of cascaded multilevel converters, which are a very interesting solution for power distribution systems and renewable energy sources. Cascaded multilevel converters can easily operate at medium and high voltage based on the series connection of power modules (cells), which use standard low-voltage component configurations. Series connections of modules (cells) allow for high quality output voltages and input currents, reduction of passive components and availability of component redundancy. Due to these features the cascaded multilevel converters have been recognized as attractive solutions for high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission, solid state transformers (SST) and photovoltaic (PV) systems.Key words: multilevel converters, cascaded converters, modular multilevel converters, modulation, solid state transformer, photovoltaic systems.
Cascaded multilevel converters in recent research and applications
M. MALINOWSKIInstitute of Control and Industrial Electronics, Warsaw University of Technology, 75 Koszykowa St., 00-662 Warsaw, Poland for multilevel structures. Among the main benefits one may count a superior harmonic spectrum for a given switching frequency, a lower dv/dt stress at the converter terminals, cables and end windings of transformers/generators, a lower common mode voltage, and substantially lower semiconductor switching losses, particularly at medium to higher switching frequencies. A three-level topology is also a highly competitive alternative to the two-level structure in terms of cost, efficiency, and weight/size [2].The final choice of converter topology for RES depends on type of application, expected power, reliability demand and price. Three-phase multilevel converters, e.g. three-level neutral point clamped (3L-NPC) [3][4][5][6], three-level transistor clamped (3L-TCC) [4] or five-level active neutral point clamped (5L-ANPC) [7][8][9] are most popular in high power applications. However, 3L-NPC converters may be considered even in power range of few hundreds kVA, which was discussed in [2].