Improved NPC Inverters without Short-Circuit and Dead-time Issues

The traditional neutral point clamped (NPC) inverter has short-circuit problem. The risk of short-circuit can be decreased by using dead-time in the switching signals. However, the dead-time decreases the achievable output voltage and causes distortion in the waveforms. To overcome the short-circuit problem, dual-buck NPC (DB-NPC) and split-inductor NPC (SI-NPC) inverters have been researched. However, the voltage stress of the two external diodes in the DB-NPC inverter is higher. On the other hand, the SI-NPC inverter has a problem of generating huge voltage spikes in the dead-time, which can destroy the semiconductor devices. In addition, the SI-NPC inverter cannot provide reactive power. This article presents a family of NPC inverters consisting of single-phase, three-phase, and cascaded inverters. The proposed inverters have no short-circuit and dead-time issues, therefore no high voltage and current spikes are caused. Also, the dead-time in the switching signals can be minimized. As a result, the magnitude of the output waveforms can be increased, and quality can be improved. Unlike the DB-NPC inverter, the voltage stress of all the semiconductor in the proposed inverter is lower, and unlike the SI-NPC inverter the proposed inverter provides reactive power. In this article, the proposed three-level NPC inverter is analyzed, designed, and tested. The voltage stress of the semiconductor devices in the proposed inverter is half of the source voltage, whereas in the conventional DB-NPC inverter the voltage stress of the two external diodes is the source voltage. In addition to the aforementioned benefits, the proposed cascaded inverter reduces the total number of inductors. To verify the analysis, detailed simulation, and experimental results of the proposed three-level inverter with input voltage 640 V, output power 1.2 kW, and output voltage 220 Vrms are provided.