Title :
A driver IC for photovoltaic module-integrated DC/DC converters
Author :
Doorn, T.S. ; Bergveld, H.J. ; Büthker, D. ; Castello, C. ; de Jong, A. ; van Otten, R. ; de Waal, K. ; van Ansem, T. ; Dijkstra, M. ; Keekstra, I. ; Sneep, J.
Author_Institution :
Central R&D, NXP Semicond., Eindhoven, Netherlands
Abstract :
Photovoltaic (PV) installations suffer from a disproportional decrease in output power in case irradiance differences are present in the system. The Delta converter improves the output power in such cases by routing current differences around the shaded substring or module. This paper presents a driver IC for the Delta converter that simultaneously reduces its cost and improves its reliability. The driver IC integrates the complete control loop, power supplies, protections and references. The driver IC demonstrated trouble-free operation for 3 months under real-life conditions in a PV installation with different shading patterns. Depending on the shading pattern the Delta converter energy gain was 8%-18%.
Keywords :
DC-DC power convertors; driver circuits; integrated circuit reliability; PV installations; control loop; delta converter energy; driver IC; photovoltaic module-integrated DC-DC converters; power supplies; reliability; routing current; shaded substring; trouble-free operation; DC-DC power converters; Integrated circuits; Photovoltaic systems; Power supplies; Reliability; Voltage control; DC/DC conversion; Delta converter; PV; Photovoltaic; power optimizer; solar;
Conference_Titel :
Power Semiconductor Devices and ICs (ISPSD), 2012 24th International Symposium on
Conference_Location :
Bruges
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4577-1594-5
Electronic_ISBN :
1943-653X
DOI :
10.1109/ISPSD.2012.6229022
