DC chopper
A DC-to-DC converter is an electronic circuit which converts a source of direct current (DC) from one voltage level to another. It is a class of power converter..
DC to DC converters are important in portable electronic devices such as cellular phones and laptop computers, which are supplied with power from batteries primarily. Such electronic devices often contain several sub-circuits,
each with its own voltage level requirement different from that
supplied by the battery or an external supply (sometimes higher or lower
than the supply voltage). Additionally, the battery voltage declines as
its stored power is drained. Switched DC to DC converters offer a
method to increase voltage from a partially lowered battery voltage
thereby saving space instead of using multiple batteries to accomplish
the same thing.
Most DC to DC converters also regulate the output. Some exceptions include high-efficiency LED power sources,
which are a kind of DC to DC converter that regulates the current
through the LEDs, and simple charge pumps which double or triple the
input voltage.