Open AccessMicro‐scale inductorless maximum power point tracking DC–DC converter
Author(s) -
Grasso Alfio Dario,
Pennisi Salvatore
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
iet power electronics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.637
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1755-4543
pISSN - 1755-4535
DOI - 10.1049/iet-pel.2012.0553
Subject(s) - power (physics) , scale (ratio) , power optimizer , electrical engineering , tracking (education) , point (geometry) , computer science , maximum power point tracking , engineering , physics , mathematics , sociology , pedagogy , geometry , quantum mechanics , inverter
In this study, the authors propose a simple maximum power point tracking (MPPT) DC–DC converter amenable for micro‐scale photovoltaic applications. The solution avoids the use of inductors and exploits a charge pump as a voltage boost element. To take into account the temperature dependence of the MPP voltage, a passive temperature compensation circuit is also included. To validate the idea a prototype was realised with commercial off‐the‐shelf components. A system efficiency better than 83% for output power above 90 mW is obtained. The results show the viability of the proposed approach which could be further improved through a full custom integrated‐circuit design.