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Z packed U-cell (ZPUC) converter topology is presented in this paper as a new type of multilevel converter topology that can be operated in a single phase as well as in three-phase configurations while using a single DC source. Since each U-cell includes two switches and one capacitor, in this topology, three U-cells are needed to generate 5 or 7 voltage levels. Moreover, the configuration proposed for the ZPUC is more appropriate for high-power application modular multilevel converters (MMCs) to increase the voltage levels compared to other topologies. Accurate voltage balancing on small-sized auxiliary capacitors is due to integrated modulation strategy without using additional controllers; additionally, the reduction of total harmonic distortion (THD) in AC currents for higher voltage levels is an advantage of this configuration. A full topology sequence of operation and performance analysis of ZPUC based on the 5-L inverter is investigated in Matlab-Simulink and experimentally validated on a 3 kVA prototype. The obtained results illustrate the good dynamic performance of the proposed topology and the implemented integrated switching pattern voltage balancing. INDEX TERMS ZPUC topology, modular multilevel converter (MMC), ZPUC-MMC active voltage balancing, power quality, reliability.

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