Experimental analysis of PSM-based DC-DC converters under different temperature conditions

Power supply of Wireless Sensor Network is widely recognized as one of the most critical and essential part that requires an accurate and careful design. Most of the times, the electronic devices that made up the network are subjected to harsh operating conditions that could remarkably influence both electrical performances and system reliability. Among all the stresses that can negatively affect the ability of a power unit to supply the sensor node, temperature is the most critical one. As a matter of fact, different operating conditions in terms of ambient temperature have severe effects on critical parameters of power converters, such as the conversion efficiency, the output ripple, the component's failure rate, etc. To address this fundamental aspect, this paper introduces an innovative DC-DC converter with MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) algorithm driven using PSM (Pulse Skipping Modulation) to supply a smart device for environmental monitoring used in agriculture application. Firstly, the results of circuit simulations are presented to highlight the effects of extremely low and extremely high temperature on the converter in terms of efficiency and failure rate. Then, the experimental results of a temperature step-test are presented to validate the simulation by means of three customized converters. The measurement results emphasize a good stability of the prototypes under different operating conditions.