3.3V to 5V DC-DC boost converter

During the development of the Arduino USB Host Shield, I designed a small and simple boost converter to provide 5V to the VBUS line from a 3.3V input. The circuit, built around Linear Technology’s LTC3426, performed so well that I decided to release a standalone version. There are many uses for such a converter—providing LCD contrast bias is one of the most common. Another scenario where a 3.3V-to-5V converter can be useful is with older Arduino shields. This photo shows my converter occupying an unused area on a 3.3V-only Arduino Pro board.