Abstract
This study presents a versatile single-phase multilevel inverter designed to accommodate varying input voltages and output levels. Unlike conventional fixed topologies, the proposed design utilizes a unified structure of 13 switches and three capacitors to realize two distinct configurations: a nine-level circuit employing three series-connected single-voltage clamping sets, and a thirteen-level variant utilizing a hybrid of single- and half-voltage clamping sets. A critical advantage of this architecture is its capability to achieve capacitor self-voltage balancing within a single AC cycle, thereby simplifying the control strategy. Verification through PSIM 9.1 simulations and a TI F280025C-based hardware prototype confirms the circuit’s operational effectiveness. Notably, the thirteen-level configuration demonstrates superior performance, achieving a total harmonic distortion (THD) of 1.25% and a peak efficiency of 97.5%, significantly outperforming the 1.43% THD and 94.5% efficiency of the nine-level counterpart.