This circuit can be used where a high current is required with a low-ripple voltage (such as in a high-powered class AB amplifier when high-quality reproduction is necessary). Q1, Q1 and R2 can be regarded as a power Darlington transistor. ZD1 and R1 provide a reference voltage at the base of Q1. ZD1 should be chosen thus: ZD1=Vout-1.2 . C2 can be chosen for the degree of smoothness as its value is effectively multiplied by the combined gains of Q1/Q2, if 100uF is chosen for C2, assuming minimum hfe for Q1 and Q2, C=100x15(Q1)x25(Q2)=37,000uF.
