This thesis presents a distributed power-management architecture for concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems. Specifically, the Δ-conversion scheme with voltage equalization is analyzed and verified for the CPV system from Morgan Solar, Inc. This architecture uses inverting buck-boost converters, denoted Δ-converters, which equalize the voltages of neighbouring CPV cells in a series-connected string of cells and improve the systems tolerance to parameter variations. The power benefits of Δ-conversion and the Δ-converter current distributions are investigated using statistical simulations. The effectiveness of Δ-conversion in the presence of randomly distributed mismatches is demonstrated, and current cascading is identified as the main design challenge. The Δ-converter is modelled and compensated using Middlebrook's Extra Element Theorem. Analysis of measured data from a six-cell CPV system demonstrate the benefits of Δ-conversion under realistic scenarios. Experimental results from prototype systems show up to 31% power benefits in the presence of mismatches.

This thesis presents a distributed power-management architecture for concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems. Specifically, the Δ-conversion scheme with voltage equalization is analyzed and verified for the CPV system from Morgan Solar, Inc. This architecture uses inverting buck-boost converters, denoted Δ-converters, which equalize the voltages of neighbouring CPV cells in a series-connected string of cells and improve the systems tolerance to parameter variations. The power benefits of Δ-conversion and the Δ-converter current distributions are investigated using statistical simulations. The effectiveness of Δ-conversion in the presence of randomly distributed mismatches is demonstrated, and current cascading is identified as the main design challenge. The Δ-converter is modelled and compensated using Middlebrook's Extra Element Theorem. Analysis of measured data from a six-cell CPV system demonstrate the benefits of Δ-conversion under realistic scenarios. Experimental results from prototype systems show up to 31% power benefits in the presence of mismatches.