A diode-connected transistor is a method of creating a two-terminal rectifying device (a diode) out of a three-terminal transistor. A characteristic of diode-connected transistors is that they are always in the saturation region for metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and junction-gate field-effect transistors (JFETs), and in the active region for bipolar junction transistors (BJTs). A diode-connected transistor is made by connecting
the base and collector of a BJT the drain and source of a JFET the gate and drain of a MOSFET Diode-connected transistors are used in current mirrors to provide a voltage drop that tracks that of the other transistor as temperature changes. They also have very low reverse leakage currents.
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