Three-phase seven-level cascaded DC-link converter (CDCLC) is proposed for solar photovoltaic (PV) applications. The proposed configuration is integrated with stepped DC-link module (DCLM) and H-bridge inverter. In CDCLC configuration, the stepped DC-link voltage is attained through DCLMs with reduced inverter voltage stress. Compared with conventional twolevel and three-level inverters, power spectral density in the multiples of switching frequency is significantly reduced. Elimination of inverter end filter components emphasises the advantage of CDCLC systems over conventional inverters. A reduction in DC sources, power switches, and gate driver units make the system more cost-effective over conventional cascaded multilevel inverter. To achieve the quality of power output in the proposed converter, carrier level shifted pulse width modulation (CLSPWM) schemes are developed for the DC-link converter switching. Simulated and experimental models of three-phase seven-level CDCLC configuration are developed and its performance is analysed for CLSPWM switching schemes.