Abstract—This article presents a novel high step-up multilevel inverter (MLI) with a single dc source based on switched-capacitor modules in which it is suitable for the renewable energy applica- tions with low-voltage dc source. The proposed topology has the ability of the voltage self-balancing for the capacitors without any external or closed-loop circuits. Another merit of the proposed structure is the production of bipolar staircase waveform without any end-side full-bridge in which it reduces the voltage stress on components remarkably. The circuit topology and its operation principle, capacitance calculations and comparison of the proposed circuit with other well-known single-source MLIs are discussed in detail. Finally, a 21-level prototype of the proposed inverter with 32 V input voltage and high gain 10 by using four modules was evaluated by both simulation and experimental tests.
