Multilevel inverters power topologies and voltage quality: A literature review

Abstract

Due to their performances and inherent benefits, especially in medium-voltage and high-power applications, multilevel inverters have received an increasing attention in real world industrial applications. The present paper deals with a review of the main multilevel inverter topologies as well their most common derived and hybrid structures quoted in previous research works. It also encompasses an investigation on voltage harmonic elimination and THD estimation. For that reason, the paper summarizes the most relevant modulation techniques used so far to enhance the output voltage quality. Theoretical formulas evoked in the literature, for calculating the output voltage THD upper and lower bounds are reported and verified by adequate simulations.