Novel DC-DC Multilevel Boost Converter

This paper proposes a new DC-DC converter. The DC-DC multilevel boost converter, based on one inductor, one switch, 2N-1 diodes and 2N-1 capacitor, for N levels plus the reference (total N+1 levels), is a boost converter able to control and maintain the same voltage in all the Nx output levels, and able to control the input current. This converter is based on the multilevel converters principle, and it is proposed to be used as DC-link in applications where several controlled voltage levels are needed with self balancing and unidirectional current flow, such as photovoltaic (PV) or fuel cell generation systems with multilevel inverters. Used to feed a multilevel inverter, the proposed topology achieves a self voltage balancing; experimental results prove the principle of the proposition.