A Novel Modular Multilevel Current Source Inverter with Reduced Number of Components

An advanced topology for multilevel current source inverters is introduced in this paper. This inverter is an appropriate alternative to be employed for low/medium power applications. The proposed inverter can generate all the current steps in the output with both positive and negative polarities. In multilevel current source structures, the number of required circuit devices is an essential factor, because the overall costs, circuit size, reliability and the control complexity are dependent of them directly. The comparison studies has validated this fact that, the proposed inverter reduces the requirements for circuit devices, including DC current sources, power semi-conductor switches and related gate driver circuits of switches. Hence, the total costs and the installation area are significantly reduced and the control scheme becomes simpler. Also, the reliability of the overall system is enhanced as well. The simulation and experimental results are presented and compared to confirm the practicality of the proposed multilevel structure