Abstract
This article presents a self-balanced multistage DC-DC step-up converter for photovoltaic
applications. The proposed converter topology is designed for unidirectional power transfer and
provides a doable solution for photovoltaic applications where voltage is required to be stepped up
without magnetic components (transformer-less and inductor-less). The output voltage obtained from
renewable sources will be low and must be stepped up by using a DC-DC converter for photovoltaic
applications. 2 K diodes and 2 K capacitors along with two semiconductor control switch are used in
the K-stage proposed converter to obtain an output voltage which is (K + 1) times the input voltage.
The conspicuous features of proposed topology are: (i) magnetic component free (transformer-less
and inductor-less); (ii) continuous input current; (iii) low voltage rating semiconductor devices
and capacitors; (iv) modularity; (v) easy to add a higher number of levels to increase voltage gain;
(vi) only two control switches with alternating operation and simple control. The proposed converter
is compared with recently described existing transformer-less and inductor-less power converters in
term of voltage gain, number of devices and cost. The application of the proposed circuit is discussed
in detail. The proposed converter has been designed with a rated power of 60 W, input voltage is
24 V, output voltage is 100 V and switching frequency is 100 kHz. The performance of the converter
is verified through experimental and simulation results.