1.5 V to 5 V Converter Power Supply Chip

The MAX1724EZK50 is a step-up dc-dc converter integrated circuit (IC) manufactured by the Maxim Corporation. It is capable of converting a voltage from a 1.5 V dry cell to 5 V. This IC is for portable applications that require a greater voltage, from a small battery.

In this project, the 007-style detector is the size of a small pen with just enough room for a single AAA sized battery, and an ATtiny5 microcontroller, which requires between 1.8 V to 5.5 V. Therefore, the best option was to use the Maxim IC to step-up the voltage to 5 V, which is just enough to drive the miniature ionisation chamber, and the microcontroller chip.

The IC is available in a SOT23-5 surface-mount package, making it an ideal choice for small pocket sized gadgets. It will accept an input voltage between 0.8 V and 5.5 V, and provide a 150 mA current to drive any logic chip.

This Article Continues...