Static Induction Transistors

Static Induction Transistors are remarkably like triodes, both in electrical characteristics and sound character. There was a brief period when Sony and Yamaha produced SITs for audio. Nelson Pass took matters into his own hands and commissioned the design and manufacturing of a run of SITs by SemiSouth Corp. Aptly christened the PASS-SIT-1, this device allows the design of single-ended amplifiers with many triode chracteristics but with power supply voltages and currents more in line with solid state designs. In this article, Nelson provide an overview of the design considerations for the PASS-SIT-1 and compares implementations with vintage SITs.