Interleaved step-up converter with a single-capacitor snubber for PV energy conversion applications

In this paper, an interleaved step-up converter with a single-capacitor snubber for PV energy conversion applications is proposed. The step-up converter adopts two sets of boost converters with an interleaved fashion and coupled-inductor technology to reduce output ripple current and increase output power level. To achieve higher conversion efficiency and reduce switching losses of the proposed converter, a lossless single-capacitor turn-off snubber is introduced. Therefore, the conversion efficiency can be increased significantly. In order to draw the maximum power from the PV arrays, a perturbation-and-observation method and a microcontroller are associated to implement maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm and power regulating scheme. Finally, a prototype of a soft-switching interleaved soft-switching boost converter with coupled inductors has been built and implemented. Experimental results have obtained to verify the performance and feasibility of the proposed converter for PV arrays applications.