Hi, I have a client who is looking to incorporate a UV led that needs 6.5 V for operation. There is a existing 5V USB power but I wanted to know if anyone had suggestions on how to convert to 6.5 V or some other voltage to drive a UV led.
Regards, Scot
There are plenty of adjustable boost converter modules. Try eBay or your favourite electronic parts supplier.
The use of USB as a power source is ... flawed in a number of ways. Fine tuning is defeated if a different USB port has even a small voltage difference, filtering of the power is uncertain, current is limited (different sources, different limits), and software can cut power entirely.
For short uses, batteries are good (and there's no cord to break, tangle, lose). For long uses, a real power supply, with the right properties for your needs, might be worth buying. Or building.
How much current?
What UV LED requires a forward operating voltage of 6.5V? Most "small signal" UV LEDS I've seen have forward voltages of around 4-4.5 volts out to hundreds of mA; not much more than a blue
Even if it does need 6.5v, basic switched mode stepup topology is well known, and if the OP doesn't know it they sure won't be able to design one.
NT
The problem of the power really available on the USB port (whatever he may want to plug it into in the future) remains. USB-A is a mess, as everyone here I'm sure is aware.
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