Analog Global MPPT Techniques for Complex I-V Curves

This work describes the implementation of two novel Maximum Peak Power Tracking methods devised for complex I-V curves. The two methods are the Analog Global Maximum Peak Power Tracking and the Analog Global Maximum Output Power Tracking. An interplanetary mission with complex power-voltage solar array characteristics, including several local maximum power points, is considered to evaluate each technique. The two peak power tracking techniques have been integrated in an unregulated battery bus topology using synchronous buck converters as solar array regulators. Only analog electronic parts with space-qualified counterparts have been considered. Each method has been optimized individually for the best performance and then compared with the other. The experimental validation reveals that both methods find the global maximum power point with an average efficiency higher than 93%.