An m-level active-clamped converter topology - operating principle

This paper presents a novel multilevel active-clamped converter topology, which is an extension to m levels of the three-level active neutral-point-clamped topology. The operating principle is established through the definition of a proper set of switching states and a transition strategy between adjacent switching states. The benefits of the proposed converter topology and control in comparison to alternative multilevel converter topologies are discussed. Simulation results of a simple dc-dc converter configuration are presented to illustrate the converter performance features.