ELADIO DURA ´ N ARANDA, JUAN ANTONIO GO ´ MEZ GALA ´ N, MARIANO SIDRACH de CARDONA, and JOS  E MANUEL ANDU ´ JAR MA ´ RQUEZ T his article discusses a new experimental way to measure the I–V characteristic curve of photovol- taic (PV) generators based on dc–dc con- verters. The obtained results show that the classical buck and boost converters are not capable of repro- ducing the whole I–V curve of PV gen- erators and that the single-ended primary inductance converter (SEPIC) is optimal for this application. We propose a method based on SEPIC converters in parallel connection, op- erating in an interleaved mode. This method gives the following advan- tages with respect to the use of con- ventional methods: 1) It allows a direct display of the I–V curve. Analyzing Different dc–dc Converter Topologies Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MIE.2009.933882 4 IEEE INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE n SEPTEMBER 2009 1932-4529/09/$26.00&2009IEEE