Dynamic Integrated MPP Tracker in 0.35 μm CMOS

An integrated CMOS controller with fast maximum power point regulation for module-integrated automotive solar converters with nine solar cells per string is reported. It provides the 530-kHz switching signals for the module-integrated converter whereby the mean output current of the module is maximized. The on-chip “perturb and observe” algorithm bases on a quasi-analog principle and performs more than 1000 tracking cycles/s at a power consumption around 560 μW. In order to maximize the precision, the duration of the measurement intervals is automatically adjusted to the output current. Due to the use of a very small shunt resistance of 1 mΩ for the current measurement, the insertion loss is small and the circuit complexity is kept low. Between 0.25- and 5-A photocurrent, the tracker achieves a tracking efficiency better than 99.5%.