Op Amp Booster Designs:  National Semiconductor - Application Note   (app note added 2/06)

Palmpilot Turbo Boost Guage Interface:  (Electronic circuit added 4/05)

Pass Transistor Lowers Dropout Voltage:  02/18/99 EDN-Design Ideas / (added 6/03) With linear regulators,you measure dropout voltage, VIN–VOUT, at the minimum input voltage for which the IC sustains regulation. Low dropout means longer battery life, because the load circuit continues to operate while the battery discharges to a lower terminal voltage. The external transistor helps to form a linear-regulator circuit whose dropout voltage at 100-mA load current is only 10 mV (Figure 1). (The linear-regulator IC by itself specs a 100-mV dropout at 100 mA.) The external transistor also boosts the maximum available load current to 1A....

Photo-flash charger minimizes parts count :  10/22/98 EDN-Design Ideas  / (added 2/06) Photo-flash and strobe devices operate by discharging a high-voltage capacitor into a bulb. Charging the capacitor from a battery or other low-voltage source requires a step-up dc/dc converter to boost the voltage, typically to 300V. One way to generate the high voltage is to use a flyback converter. The circuit in Figure 1 provides a simple and reliable way to charge a high-voltage capacitor. The flyback converter performs two functions: It boosts the low-voltage input and provides isolation between the input (battery) and output (high voltage). Its main components are the power transformer; the output diode; the output capacitor; and the MIC3172 controller chip, which combines the switching transistor, voltage regulator, and control logic....

Positive regulator makes dual negative output converter:  06/26/03 EDN Design Ideas  /  (added 1/05)  Some systems, such as optical networks, require more than one negative voltage. A common procedure is to boost the main negative supply of -5V to -10V and then reduce it with a linear regulator to -9V. The -5V itself comes from a positive supply, typically 5 or 12V. Independently creating each of the two negative voltages requires the use of two switching-regulator ICs....

Positive regulator makes negative DC/DC converter:  12/26/02 EDN Design Ideas  /  (added 1/05)  Power-supply designers can choose from a plethora of available positive buck regulators that can also serve as negative boost dc/dc converters. Some buck regulators have a negative-feedback reference voltage expressly for this purpose, but ICs that have positive-reference feedback voltages far outnumber these negative-feedback regulators....

Power Booster Applications - App Note 14:  Apex Microtechnology Corp - App Note - (added 6/06)

Protection Feature Enhances Boost Converter:  10/27/94 EDN-Design Ideas / (added 2/06)  A boost-topology switching regulator is the simplest solution for converting a two- to three-cell input to a 5V output. Unfortunately, boost regulators have several inherent disadvantages, including a lack of short-circuit protection and shutdown capability. In some battery-operated products, external chargers or adapters can raise the battery voltage to a potential higher than the 5V output. Because of this increase, a boost converter can't maintain regulation because the high input voltage feeds through the diode to the output...  

Pushbuttons and Digital Potentiometer Control Boost Converter:  02/17/05 EDN Design Ideas  / (added 11/05)  Digitally controlled potentiometers are useful for generating analog control voltages under the control of a microcontroller. In some applications, manual pushbutton switches could replace a microcontroller and simplify product design. Mechanical switches exhibit contact bounce, and, when a user actuates them, they may open and close many times before reaching a stable state.

PWM Controller Drives LEDs from High Voltage Lines:  03/04/04 EDN Design Ideas  / (added 6/06)  Powering LEDs from a wide dc range—say, 30 to 380V—without wasting a lot of power in the regulating block, is a difficult task when the LED current needs to be constant. Dedicated LED drivers are available, but they usually implement boost structures and are thus inadequate for high-voltage inputs.