Raising the voltage to use a photocell

Question

Anyone know how can i raising the voltage of a photocell?, from 0.5 volts to 5 volts, the photocell give me 0.5 volts and 9 amp, the problem is that if i use operational amplifier, i don't have the power to energize a small engine, i appreciate any information that could be usefull or component that resist the power.

¿Alguien sabe como puedo utilizar esta celda solar?, entrega 0.5 v y 9 amp, por ende la potencia es de 4.5 Watts, necesito subir el voltaje a 5 V aunque se reduzca la corriente, pero los diseños con operacionales no me resultan funcionales ya que tendria que darme alrededor de medio amper, y no resisten la corriente, ¿tienen alguna idea de como puedo hacerlo?

johnbeetem · Answer

I think what you want to look for is a boost-mode switching regulator also known as a step-up DC-to-DC converter . They use an external inductor or transformer to boost a small input voltage. For example, here's a Linear Technology LTC3105 which takes input from 0.25 to 5.0V and produces 1.5V to 5.25V. However, this particular part doesn't produce much current with a 0.5V input, and its efficiency at that input voltage is poor, so I'm showing this as the kind of part to look for. TI and Maxim also offer these kinds of parts. The Linear Tech page has some articles on solar energy harvesting showing what you can expect from solar cells.