Interstage Darlington Circuit

An apparatus comprising:

• an amplifier circuit including an input port and an output port, the amplifier circuit comprising:
• a driver amplifier including a driver amplifier input and a driver amplifier output, the driver amplifier input coupled to the input port;
• a power amplifier including a power amplifier input and a power amplifier output, the power amplifier output coupled to the output port;
• an interstage matching network coupled between the driver amplifier output and the power amplifier input;
• and
• means for clamping a power of a signal flowing through the interstage matching network between the driver amplifier and the power amplifier.

A method comprising:

• amplifying, using a driver amplifier, a signal to produce a first amplified signal;
• propagating the first amplified signal through an interstage matching network;
• clamping, in conjunction with the propagating, the first amplified signal to produce an intermediate signal using two or more transistors that are coupled together in a Darlington transistor arrangement;
• and
• amplifying, using a power amplifier, the intermediate signal to produce a second amplified signal.