Design and simulation of a novel cascaded transformer multilevel inverter topology for photovoltaic system

In this work, we propose a modified cascaded transformer multilevel inverter which minimizes the number of switching components. A comparison is made between the traditional cascaded transformer multilevel inverter and the proposed cascaded based on some criteria such as the form and amplitude of output voltage, the structure of power circuits for each inverter and the facilities of implementation. We also present another topology which contains two switches for each transformer. In this proposed topology, one switch device of semiconductor type IGBT transistor is engaged for each transformer. This switch is designed in a way which allows not only the reduction of number of device IGBT switches but also the decrease of the number of gate drivers for each transistor. Functioning is tested and verified by the Matlab/Simulink environment in order to obtain the different signals of command and output voltage. This work presents an enhanced and developed cascaded transformer multilevel inverter which allows decreasing the number of components and reducing the price of a complete system.