Interconnection and optimization issues of multijunction solar cells - A new mitigation approach using switching power converters

Abstract

A multijunction solar cell can extract higher solar energy compared to a single junction solar cell using the spectrum splitting technique. Extensive research on efficiency enhancement of the solar cells to achieve near theoretical limit is in place. However, there are limited research activities to identify the optimum interconnection methods and necessary power electronics solutions for multijunction solar cell systems. A detailed study to identify the optimum interconnection method for various multijunction solar cells is revealed in this paper. The authors believe that the conducted research in this area is very limited and an effective power electronics solution could substantially improve the efficiency and utilization of a PV power system constructed from multijunction solar cells. A multiple input dc-to-dc boost converter has been used to demonstrate the advantage of the proposed interconnection technique. Both Simulation and experimental results have been attached to show the practicality and the potential benefit of the proposed concept. © 2012 IEEE.