[caf]

Yes, it's called a charge pump.

There's one specific sub-type called a Cockroft-Walton voltage amplifier.

[pfdietz]

They won the Nobel prize using this invention (which wasn't theirs).

https://circuitcellar.com/resources/quickbits/cockcroft-walt...

Cockcroft went on to great acclaim for "Cockcroft's Folly".

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-29803990