Name : S Pranav Ram

Roll Number : 25BST0026

Light intensity control of head lamp of Vehicles

AIM
To design a circuit to vary the intensity of the lamp using Darlington pair of BJT

Apparatus Required

S. No. Name of the apparatus Range / Type Quantity

1 BJT BC547 2 Nos.
2 RPS 0 – 30 V 1 No.
3 Diode 1N4007 1 No.
4 Potentiometer 1 kΩ 1 No.
5 Resistors 330 Ω 3 No.
6 LED - 3 No.
7 Breadboard - 1 No.
8 Wires - Few

Theory:
A Darlington pair is two transistors that act as a single transistor but with a much higher current
gain. This mean that a tiny amount of current from a sensor, micro-controller or similar can be used
to drive a larger load. An example circuit is shown below:

The Darlington Pair can be made from two transistors as shown in the diagram or Darlington Pair
transistors are available where the two transistors are contained within the same package.
Transistors have a characteristic called current gain. This is referred to as its hFE. The amount of
current that can pass through the load in the circuit above when the transistor is turned on is:

Load current = input current x transistor gain (hFE)

The current gain varies for different transistors and can be looked up in the data sheet for the device.
For a normal transistor this would typically be about 100. This would mean that the current
 available to drive the load would be 100 times larger than the input to the transistor. In some
applications the amount of input current available to switch on a transistor is very low. This may
mean that a single transistor may not be able to pass sufficient current required by the load. As
stated earlier this equals the input current x the gain of the transistor (hFE). If it is not possible to
increase the input current then the gain of the transistor will need to be increased. This can be
achieved by using a Darlington Pair.

A Darlington Pair acts as one transistor but with a current gain that equals:

Total current gain (hFE total) = current gain of transistor 1 (hFE t1) x current gain of transistor 2
(hFE t2)

So for example if you had two transistors with a current gain (hFE) = 100:

(hFE total) = 100 x 100

(hFE total) = 10,000

You can see that this gives a vastly increased current gain when compared to a single transistor.
Therefore this will allow a very low input current to switch a much bigger load current.

Normally to turn on a transistor the base input voltage of the transistor will need to be greater than
0.7V. As two transistors are used in a Darlington Pair this value is doubled. Therefore the base
voltage will need to be greater than 0.7V x 2 = 1.4V.

It is also worth noting that the voltage drop across collector and emitter pins of the Darlington Pair
when the turn on will be around 0.9V Therefore if the supply voltage is 5V (as above) the voltage
across the load will be will be around 4.1V (5V – 0.9V)

Circuit:

Darlington
BJT Pair
BJT
1kΩ
Potentiometer
RPS
(0-30)V 330 Ω
LED
Bank
Procedure:
1. Connect the elements of circuit in the breadboard as given in the circuit diagram.
2. Connect the circuit to the Regulated Power Supply, turn it on and set the voltage value to
5V.
3. Now vary the voltage using the variable resistor.
4. Observe the intensity variation in the LED bank.

Circuit Diagram

SNAP SHOT
Working Principle

A Darlington pair is a combination of two transistors connected together in such a

way that the current amplified by the first transistor is further amplified by the
second transistor.

How it Works:

1. The emitter of the first transistor (Q1) is connected to the base of the
second transistor (Q2).

2. The collectors of both transistors are connected together.

3. When a small base current is given to Q1, it causes a larger current to flow
from its collector to emitter.

4. This increased current then goes into the base of Q2, causing even more
current to flow through Q2.

5. As a result, the overall current gain is very high (it is approximately the
product of the gains of both transistors).

Applications of Darlington Pair:

1. Current Amplifier:

Used to amplify very small input currents into larger output currents.

2. Switching Devices:

Used in relay drivers and LED drivers where a small control signal switches a
larger current.

3. Sensor Signal Amplification:

Used with temperature, light, or touch sensors to amplify weak signals.

4. Audio Amplifiers:
Helps boost audio signals in low-power audio devices.

5. Voltage Regulators:

Used in power supply circuits for voltage regulation and boosting output current
capacity.

6. Motor Controllers:

Used to control small DC motors where high current is needed from a low-power
control circuit.

Result:

The intensity of the headlamp was successfully controlled by varying the input
voltage to the Darlington pair. As the input (base) voltage increased, the output
current increased, and the lamp glowed brighter.

Inference:

The experiment proves that a Darlington pair effectively amplifies small input
signals to control higher current loads, such as a vehicle headlamp. It allows
smooth and efficient control of light intensity using a low-power input.