Reconfigurable power management using novel monolithically integrated CMOS-on-PV switch

Abstract

This paper presents a novel reconfigurable power management architecture for PV modules. This architecture allows for operation or isolation (islanding) of individual or groups of cells. Flexible Voc and Isc combinations may be achieved with switching speeds up to 1MHz. Multiple advantages and functionalities can be achieved, such as lower power losses if one cell is shaded or degrading, variable optimized maximum power point tracking, integrated monitoring and communication from PV modules, longer lifetime and others. In order to properly understand the benefits of cell-level switching, bypassing and MPPT, a simulation framework was developed using NGSPICE and Octave which allows component-level simulation of PV modules.