Darlington transistor configuration

E83410

The Darlington transistor configuration is an electronic circuit design that pairs two bipolar transistors to function as a single device with very high current gain and input impedance.


Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf bipolar junction transistor configuration
electronic circuit
transistor configuration
appliedIn logic level interfaces
motor drivers
power amplifiers
relay drivers
switching regulators
consistsOf two bipolar junction transistors
hasAdvantage ability to drive high current loads directly
simplified biasing for high gain stages
very high current gain from low base current
hasAlternativeName Darlington pair
Darlington transistor pair
hasConnection collectors of both transistors connected together
emitter of first transistor connected to base of second transistor
emitter of second transistor used as composite emitter output
hasDisadvantage higher saturation voltage than single transistor
increased power dissipation in saturation
reduced efficiency in low-voltage applications
slower turn-off time
hasFunction amplify current
drive high current loads from low current sources
provide high input impedance interface
hasParameter base-emitter voltage approximately sum of two VBE drops
input impedance increased compared to single transistor
overall current gain β ≈ β1 × β2
saturation voltage approximately sum of two VCE(sat)
hasProperty composite transistor
high input impedance
high overall current gain equal to product of individual gains
increased saturation voltage
low input current requirement
single transistor-like behavior
slower switching speed compared to single transistor
very high current gain
namedAfter Sidney Darlington NERFINISHED
relatedTo BJT common-emitter configuration
Sziklai pair
complementary Darlington pair
usedIn analog circuits
digital switching circuits
usedWith discrete transistor implementations
integrated Darlington transistor packages
usesComponent NPN transistor
PNP transistor
bipolar junction transistor

Referenced by (6)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Darlington transistor configuration ("Darlington pair")
Darlington transistor configuration ("Darlington transistor pair")
hasAlternativeName
Sidney Darlington
developed
Sidney Darlington ("Darlington pair")
knownFor
Sidney Darlington
notableWork
Darlington transistor configuration ("complementary Darlington pair")
relatedTo

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