Low input voltage small form factor solar power charging module

Abstract

This paper analyzes the characteristics of solar array illumination in mobile and portable solar power generation applications and its impact on output power. It is pointed out that in such applications, the number of solar cells in series should be reduced as much as possible, and the number of parallel connections should be increased to reduce partial shading or non-unified illumination. In response to this demand, the LT8490 controller is used to design a Buck-Boost solar charging module with Maximum Power Point Tracking(MPPT) function. A method to extend the lower limit of the input voltage is proposed to make it better to solve the problem of lower array output voltage caused by reducing the number of solar cells in series. Experimental tests show that the method is feasible and effective. The proposed solar power charging module can meet the requirements of fewer solar cells in series and lower output voltage in mobile and portable applications.

Keywords

• portable solar power charging
• maximum power point tracking
• buck-boost topology