A novel single-phase soft switching microinverter for photovoltaic applications

Microinverters provide a direct way to integrate an individual PV panel to the AC grid. We introduce a novel microinverter design comprising a high frequency full-bridge converter, a pseudo dc link filter, and a line commutated inverter. The approach is well matched to the requirements for high efficiency DC to AC grid-tied and stand-alone converters. We present a detailed working analysis of the proposed design in continuous, boundary, and discontinuous conduction mode. We also show that our design enables reduced device losses, flexible control, and low current harmonic distortion. We present a soft switching scheme for the high frequency full bridge converter stage. Results for design simulation in PSIM™ and implementation in hardware are presented.