Trans-Z-source and Γ-Z-source neutral-point-clamped inverters

Z-source neutral-point-clamped (NPC) inverters are earlier proposed for obtaining voltage buck-boost and three-level switching simultaneously. Their performances are, however, constrained by a trade-off between their input-to-output gain and modulation ratio. This trade-off can lead to high-voltage stress across the inverter bridge and poor output voltage spectrum. As alternatives with improved performances, two transformer-based Z-source NPC inverters are proposed, whose gain can be adjusted by varying the transformer turns ratio, and is hence less dependent on the inverter modulation ratio. Limitations faced by the earlier Z-source NPC inverters are therefore avoided by the proposed inverters, as demonstrated through experiments.