Integrated High-Efficiency Single-Inductor CCM Boost Converter for Multi-Junction PV Energy Harvesting

Abstract

This paper presents a dual-input, single inductor boost converter operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM) for multi-junction photovoltaic (PV) energy harvesting. The proposed inductor current regulation and inductor time-sharing scheme reduces the cross-regulation between the inputs caused by sharing the CCM converter between multi-junction PV (MJ-PV) sources. The existing hill-climbing maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm is modified for MJ-PV sources to ensure the maximum power point (MPP) operation of both PV sources. A dual-path architecture using hysteresis control is implemented to provide a regulated output voltage. The power switches and control circuits are designed and fabricated in standard 0.18-µm CMOS technology. Measured results show that the proposed converter achieves peak power efficiency of 85%.