STMicroelectronics Up to 5 W Solar Battery Charger with Embedded MPPT Based on SPV1040

The STEVAL-ISV006V2 demonstration board is based on the SPV1040 high efficiency solar battery charger with embedded MPPT. The SPV1040 device is a low power, low voltage, monolithic step-up converter with an input voltage range from 0.3 V to 5.5 V, and is capable of maximizing the energy generated by even a single solar cell (or fuel cell), where low input voltage handling capability is extremely important. Thanks to the embedded MPPT algorithm, even under varying environmental conditions (such as irradiation, dirt, temperature) the SPV1040 offers maximum efficiency in terms of power harvested from the cells and transferred to the output. The device employs an input voltage regulation loop, which fixes the charging battery voltage via a resistor divider. The maximum output current is set with a current sense resistor according to charging current requirements. The SPV1040 protects itself and other application devices by stopping the PWM switching if either the maximum current threshold (up to 2 A) is reached or the maximum temperature limit (up to 155 °C) is exceeded.