Ultra Low Voltage DC-to-DC Converter for Solar Applications

Inhalt:
In the field of electrical solar power conversion there are some applications for ultra-low voltage converters operating directly from one solar cell. With its MP-Point in the range of 0.55V / 10A to 20A they are able to produce up to 10 W of electrical power. Especially in the field of fluorescent lighting and in case of decentralized control applications, where high DClink voltages are necessary, a simple and rugged converter for voltage level adaptation is needed. EMC is also an important topic. The major goal of the design described in this paper was to build up a converter starting from below than 300 mV with a peak power of 12 W with the requirement of a most simple structure. The proposed approach discussed in this paper uses a combined structure of an auxiliary self- and a main power supply to fulfill the given requirements: Minimized output current ripple of the cells, cell-optimized maximum power point tracking and optimal power quality of the supplying grid.