Boost Converter Intro with Arduino

August 7, 2011

Let’s say that you’re trying to drive a few Nixie clock tubes, or you want to make a strobe light. A variable high voltage DC power supply from 50-200+ volts may be required. Transformers are terrific, but difficult to find the right one and a pain to wind. Why not use a boost converter? They’re easy and don’t necessarily require a guru for basic operation. This guide is meant for the individual who wants to build a simple boost converter, and may need refreshing on the theory. It will also help determine what parts will be required.

Is this guide right for you?

Boost converters typically get less efficient as they increase voltage out/voltage in ratio. If 100+ volts are required from a 12v source, the load will need to be a fairly high impedance. Don’t expect to run a 60watt light bulb from this boost converter! If precision is required, you may want a dedicated boost converter IC which will do the job better. This guide is intended for educational purposes.



Microcontroller:

I’m going to be using, oh you guessed it — an Arduino for this example! As usual any micro controller will do (3.3v or 5v), but this project requires analog voltage reading. If your favorite micro controller doesn’t have an ADC (Analog to Digital Converter), buy one or you can make your own!

Theory:

Boost converters work by taking advantage of a fundamental property of inductors: inductors use stored energy to maintain current. The key is that the inductor will vary voltage to maintain whatever current was present before the system (circuit) changed. Once the power supply is removed from a charged inductor, it may be easier to think of the inductor as an electromotive force rather than a passive component. Refer to the images to see it a bit more illustrated. Some of the key inductor equations are also listed.

On state – Current can flow through the closed switch. There is a potential difference across the inductor. The fundamental property of inductors tells us that the inductor resists change in current. Initially the inductor current is near zero when the switch closes, but current will ramp up quickly as the inductor charges till the circuit goes into the Off state.

Off state – Current no longer flows through the switch. The inductor tries to maintain current, and it acts as a current source which means that voltage can sway, in this case it flips polarity due to discharge. The inductor voltage will immediately jump up to the voltage of C3 and maintain original current till the potential energy of the inductor is transferred to the capacitor. As the capacitor charges, the inductor will continue to jump up the the capacitor’s voltage, even if it’s much greater than Vin.

The Circuit:

The mosfet(FET1), diode (D1), and capacitor (C3) will need to be rated for voltages greater than the peak voltage. The mosfet and diode will need to have a current rating greater than the current peak — see equations. The more capacitance the better, and a ballpark number from the capacitor equation isn’t a bad idea. When it comes to duty, I would suggest not going over a .9 (230 duty for Arduino pwm) duty. If you already have a diode you want to use, then use the diode’s max current as the peak current and solve for the duty. This will be the maximum duty without damaging the diode.

Important: Mosfet Driver for the IRFP260N is required. This mosfet’s Gate-Source pins have a capacitor in parallel (downside on all mosfets). This capacitance is significant and will tend to resonate with the Arduino’s signal. This may damage the Arduino, and will dramatically reduce mosfet efficiency.



Frequency: My Arduino sample code will be using f = 31250 Hz pwm. It seems like any higher frequency results in a less efficient system, and 31250 hz is inaudible. This will also be using phase correct pwm – more on this in section 17.7.4 atmega328 datasheet.

Feedback: There are calculations to estimate the high voltage output, but in reality there are many factors which affect this output. I found that a feedback system works better. This feedback will output 5v when C3 is at 255 volts, and output 3.3v at 168V. If the feedback voltage is too high for the ADC, adjust the voltage divider! Look at the TI pdf at the bottom (pdf pg 9).



Selecting parts:

Here are the key components that may need to be purchased. I suggest buying from Jameco or Digikey if purchasing in the states.:

Capacitor – There will need to be a high voltage capacitor – larger the better. I used a 330uF 200V capacitor that I found in an old computer Power Supply Unit. Laptop PSU (usually), computer PSU, and CRT monitors will have decent sized high voltage capacitors. Find an old CRT monitor to dig into! Check my “Easy High Voltage” guide to safely discharge a CRT monitor. Buy some capacitors here, or here! Diode – A regular 1N4007, but it’s not recommended and will probably fail! A Schottky diode or some other ultra fast recovery diode is much better. There are some nice diodes in CRT monitors. I’ve used the RL4Z, 5JUZ47, 5VUZ47, all scavenged from CRT monitors. Buy some here, these should work too. N channel mosfet – IRFP260N available here or here, rated for 200v, 49A. Mosfet Driver – I’ll be using the MIC4422YN. The MCP1407 or the UCC27424P should work too. If using more than 12 volts, watch the voltage requirements of these guys. Inductor – Buy or make your own inductor. I’ve used a 120uH, 871uH, 1000uH, and a 5000uH inductor with this circuit. All work fine. Larger inductors store more energy in its inductance which requires less current. The main drawback is that Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) is higher with inductors that have many windings. When buying an inductor, watch the current rating!

Code for Arduino:

Simple code: boost code

PID code (Arduino pid library 1.0.1): boost code PID

Download .pde files from Rapidshare (down) – I’ll eventually put everything up on github. I know those pdfs are very inconvenient

Other Notes:

With boost converters, core saturation can be an issue with some designs. Remember that this design charges up a capacitor to 200V! This is dangerous and could be deadly if misused! The inductor is a current source when it’s discharging. Beginners are unfamiliar with current sources so I avoided explaining it like that.

Here’s an example of a dedicated buck/boost converter IC from sparkfun!

Handy References:

It’s always difficult knowing how in depth to go in the guides. My guide was written to get the nooblet up and on his feet. If this isn’t enough I’d suggest the links below. The TI boost guide really goes into detail.

Adafruit boost guide

Smps overview (pdf)

TI boost guide (slva061.pdf)

nixie clock from Jameco schematic

Daycounter Boost Converter guide