Chief Technology Officer Enteligent newington, New Hampshire, United States
A novel implementation of a photovoltaic (PV) module power optimizer with rapid shutdown (RSD) functionality is presented in this poster that utilizes an electrical topology which takes advantage of the intrinsic characteristics of switching power MOSFETs. Power semiconductor providers traditionally base their device design on one of two areas of optimization: those that work at high frequency, minimizing switching losses designed with low gate capacitance, resulting in relatively high RDSon; and those that minimize conduction losses designed with low RDSon resulting in high gate capacitance. The optimizer architecture presented in this poster uses both types of semiconductors. It operates by selecting the appropriate mode depending on the specific function which the PV solar panel needs at different stages of its performance, creating a low-cost optimizer which delivers the highest efficiency and greatest energy-harvesting in different operating conditions.
