Is is possible/practical to run a regular (non-low voltage) PIC on a single AA battey? I have an application for which I'd like to use an 18F252. The application itself will have very low power draw.
Is there a way I can power this with a single AA? Are there 1.5 to 5 volt DC-DC converters?
Depending on budget for your design you could use ST ST5R.
**broken link removed**
also have alook at Ricoh website as they also do micropower step-up converters.
Take a look at DC/DC Boost Converters from TI, e.g. TPS6101x (**broken link removed**) or the new TPS6102x (**broken link removed**). These device are ideal for powering a uC with a single cell because they have a very good efficiency.
You can use the MAX1724 switched mode power supply from Maxim. It is cheap, small and you´ll need to add only a small external inductor and a filter capacitor to have a complete regulated power supply. Probably the capacitors you are using for decoupling could replace the one needed by the switcher. It works down to 0.9V has good efficiency. Self consumption is the lowest I`ve ever seen for this kind of application.