This paper proposes a modified converter for use in photovoltaic system. In the modified converter, the voltage ratio of output to input is equal to that of the general boost converter. The difference between the two converters is the configuration of output terminal. Therefore, the working voltage of an output capacitor and the value of its capacitance can be lower than those of the general boost converter. This paper also presents an efficient parallel driving scheme to increase output power and to reduce the output voltage ripple. The parallel driving method using the modified converter and current mode control gives a good solution for alleviating the current sharing unbalance problem. It reduces the output voltage ripple by increasing the equivalent switching frequency of the modified converter. The performance of the proposed converter system is verified through computer-aided simulations and experimental results. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.