A single-switch isolated DC-DC converter for photovoltaic systems

Isolated converters are desirable in the DC-DC power conversion applications where isolation or a large voltage step-up gain is needed. Traditional isolated DC-DC converters either utilize many switches to achieve high efficiency or use few switches which result in low efficiency. This paper proposes a new single-switch isolated DC-DC converter for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control and voltage regulation of solar photovoltaic (PV) system. The proposed DC-DC converter has the advantage of using less number of switches than other existing isolated DC-DC converters. The operating principle and parameter design of the converter are described in the paper. Simulation studies are carried out in MATLAB to verify the theoretical analysis and show that the proposed converter is effective for MPPT for PV systems. Experimental results further validate the simulation studies. The proposed converter is capable of tracking the maximum power point of the PV panel in different time of the day.