A cell-level power management IC in BCD-SOI for partial power processing in Concentrating-PV systems

This work presents a power management IC used to mitigate the effects of mismatch in Concentrating-Photovoltaic (CPV) systems. The IC contains a bi-directional dc-dc converter, an auxiliary boost converter to generate the internal 10 V power supply, as well as protection and monitoring circuits. The main power converter, with a maximum current rating of 1.5 A, is designed to equalize the voltage between neighbouring CPV cells by using the Δ-converter approach. Due to partial power processing, the converter's power rating and efficiency requirements are relaxed, leading to a more cost-effective solution with a high switching frequency of 3.6 MHz. An on-chip, mixed-signal controller regulates the main converter using a digital voltage loop and an analog hysteretic current-mode loop. The IC has several advanced features to reduce the light-load power consumption, including burst-mode operation in both the auxiliary and main-stage converters, as well as an input supply switching scheme for the internal linear voltage regulators.