A preliminary study of the distributed maximum power point tracker designs for different types of solar cells in solar and electric vehicle arrays

For solar and electric vehicles, a highly distributed maximum power point tracking (MPPT) scheme is preferred. A maximum power point (MPP) tracker has been previously presented for a single triple junction cell. The Texas Instruments MSP340 microprocessor, which is designed for 1.8V applications, provides the tracking intelligence. However the MPP voltages of other cell types under different environmental conditions may well fall below 1.8V. This paper conducts a preliminary study of maximum power point tracker designs for different cell types, which cover an input supply range from 0.3V to 3.0V. A comparison of applications, the topologies and the costs of the four designs is summarised at the end of the paper.