Arduino as boost converter

Other Hardware General Electronics
1

For a project we worked with a lt1173 boostconverter, to get 12V out of 3V3 and 5V. After analyzing the working thoroughly, I figured out that the duty cycle of the PWM, which operates the switch, controls the output voltage. So I thought; can't I use an arduino (or any other microcontroller) for this.

I thought I can put a PWM signal on an inductor and storage capacitor. And by controlling the duty cycle of the PWM signal (= analogRead) I could create a voltage higher then Vdd.

What I want to ask:

  1. is this possible or would the induction voltage would do harm to the arduino. I am using a schottky diode as flyback diode ofc.

  2. Do you need a feedback, I can use ofc the analog read and a voltage devider as feedback like existing boost converters do. But is it required, or would the output voltage be uncontrolable high

kind regards,

Bas

2

The answer appears to be "yes"...
https://www.google.com/search?q=avr+boost+converter

This looks promising...

I believe processors like the ATtiny85 are specifically designed for that kind of application.

From what I remember, the difficult part is getting the power stable for the processor itself; when self-powering is a concern.

Do you need a feedback...

I believe that's called "open loop"...
https://www.google.com/search?q=avr+boost+converter+open+loop

3

It's common practice as a method to convert the output of solar cells into something suitable to charge batteries. The output from the solar cells voltage is boosted by just the right amount by adjusting the pwm accordingly.

So yes, it's been done.