What Is a Boost Converter?

A DC boost converter, also called a boost converter or a DC boost chopper , is a DC-DC converter that can boost voltage. Its output (load) voltage will be higher than the input (power) voltage. A boost converter is a switching power supply with at least two semiconductor elements (a diode and a transistor) and at least one energy storage element (inductor). In order to reduce the voltage ripple, a filter made of a capacitor (and sometimes an inductor) may be installed at the input end and the output end.

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In order to have high efficiency of the switching power supply, its switch needs to be opened and closed quickly, and the loss should be low. The invention of commercial semiconductor switches in the 1950s was very important for switching power supplies, so switching power supplies such as boost converters were able to proceed. The main DC-DC converter technology was developed in the early 1960s when semiconductor switches were available. The aerospace industry needs small, lightweight and efficient

A step-up converter on a TI computer that can boost from 2.4V power provided by two AA batteries to 9V

Battery-powered systems generally use batteries in series to increase the voltage, but in many high-voltage applications, due to space constraints, it is not possible to use a sufficient number of batteries in series to the required voltage. A boost converter can boost the voltage and reduce the number of batteries required. Such as electric vehicles and lighting systems are systems that use batteries in conjunction with boost converters.

The NHW20 Toyota Prius hybrid uses a 500V electric motor. Without a boost converter, it needs nearly 417 batteries to drive the motor. However, the Toyota Prius only uses 168 batteries. The boost converter converts the total battery voltage from 202 V increased to 500 V. The boost converter can also be used to power some smaller devices. For example, portable lighting systems, like white LEDs, generally require 3.3V to emit light. With the boost converter, 1.5V voltage provided by alkaline batteries can be used. Re-power.

There is a circuit called a Joule thief that uses an unregulated DC boost converter as a boost mechanism. This circuit architecture is used in low-voltage battery applications. The purpose is to use a boost converter to obtain the residual power in the battery. When the battery is almost empty, because the voltage is not enough to drive a normal load, the residual power of the battery is wasted.