Sliding mode control of photovoltaic module integrated buck-boost converters

Module integrated converters (MIC) enhance the energy capture of photovoltaic modules under mismatch conditions. It seems that the H-bridge based buck-boost topology is a very attractive choice for this purpose due to its high efficiency and wide gain range. This work suggests a sliding mode control scheme for this topology that exhibits fast and stable dynamic response with inherent current limiting and smooth transition between operation modes (buck, boost, or bridge). Moreover, the switching frequency reduces as the photovoltaic module voltage approaches its nominal value, which increases the power efficiency.