Two-stage photovoltaic (PV) configurations have become increasingly popular due to the decoupling between the inverter dc-link voltage and the PV voltage, adding flexibility to extend the maximum power point tracking range. However, the additional dcdc converter increases the power converter losses. The concept of partial power converters (PPCs), which reduce the amount of power handled by the dc stage, can mitigate this effect. However, the type of topology, its power and voltage rating, efficiency, and an operating range can vary significantly depending on the function (boosting or reducing voltage) and type of PV application and scale (micro-, string-, or multisting inverter). This paper analyzes the possible configuration of connections of PPC depending on the application and scale of the PV system and introduces a new buck-type PPC. Three solutions for practical PV systems are further elaborated, including experimental validation. Results show that the PPC concept greatly improves the overall PV system efficiency with the added benefit that the dc-dc stage power ratings achieved are only a fraction of the PV system, reducing size and cost of the power converter without affecting the system performance.

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This work presents a partial power converter allowing us to obtain, with a single DC-DC converter, the same feature as the classical interleaved operation of two converters. More precisely, the proposed topology performs similarly as the input-parallel output-series (IPOS) configuration reducing the current ripple at the input of the system and dividing the individual converters power rating, compared to a single converter. The proposed topology consists of a partial DC-DC converter processing only a fraction of the total power, thus allowing high efficiency. Experimental results are provided to validate the proposed converter topology with a Flyback-based 100 W test bench with a transformer turns ratio n 1 = n 2 . Experimental results show high performances reducing the input current ripple around 30%, further increasing the conversion efficiency.