As an example, an alkaline battery cell has a nominal voltage of . A voltage doubler using ideal switching elements with zero voltage drop will output double this, namely . However, the drain-source voltage drop of a diode-wired MOSFET when it is in the on state must be at least the gate threshold voltage which might typically be . This voltage "doubler" will only succeed in raising the output voltage by about to . If the drop across the final smoothing transistor is also taken into account the circuit may not be able to increase the voltage at all without using multiple stages. A typical Schottky diode, on the other hand, might have an on state voltage of . A doubler using this Schottky diode will result in a voltage of , or at the output after the smoothing diode, .