The conventional multilevel inverters (MLIs) have the disadvantages of numerous devices

incapacity of boost

unbalance for capacitor's voltage

high complexity for control

and etc. Motivated by this issue

a seven-level boost inverter (7LBI) based on a switched capacitor is presented for single-phase applications in this paper. The proposed 7LBI using only seven transistors can achieve seven output levels

1.5 voltage gain

and natural balance of capacitors' voltages without sensors or other auxiliary methods

which illustrates its suitability for the applications of renewable energy generation. The configuration of topology and operating principles are illustrated in detail. The natural balance of capacitors and capacitance calculations are deduced as well. Moreover

the comparative study is conducted for different types of MLIs. The results illustrate the merits of the proposed 7LBI with respect to reduced devices

lower voltage stress

and less power loss. Finally

a simulation for the proposed 7LBI with PWM modulation is realized based on the theoretical analysis; an experimental prototype is also implemented

verifying multilevel output

boost ability

natural balance for switched capacitors

and performance of transient response.