I'm a UBC engineering student entering my second year this fall, found this forum and looks like a pretty sweet resource.
I guess I'll jump right into it. What I'm trying to do is add an external MOSFET (or other switching device) to the 34063 buck/boost converter. I plan to use a very basic setup (an example from the datasheet) to power an inverter from several li-poly battery packs I have lying around. So the requirements for the power supply are ~7.4v boosted to 13.8v, at several amps (up to 10 likely).
My question is: what would be a good choice for the switching device? Are there any other considerations that should be taken when using this IC for higher current applications?
The MC34062 can either sink OR source current. To efficiently drive a power Mosfet you need to sink AND source current; in other words a device with a totem pole output.
In the past I've used the TC1410 Mosfet driver from Microchip with good results.