Transistor Power Amplifiers Unit 6 – The Darlington Pair
UNIT 6 – THE DARLINGTON PAIR
UNIT OBJECTIVE
At the completion of this unit, you will be able to demonstrate the operation of a typical
Darlington pair by using measured circuit conditions.
UNIT FUNDAMENTALS
Transistors can be connected in many ways to allow you to take advantage of different
characteristics or to make best use of a particular parameter.
A Darlington pair consists of two NPN or PNP transistors (NPN shown) with the emitter of the
first stage directly connected to the second stage base.
This circuit shows a PNP Darlington pair in a common emitter configuration.
The Darlington pair acts as a single transistor with an overall current gain (ED) equal to the
product of the individual transistor current gains (E).