Cascode
The cascode therefore, are BJT transistors inserted in series in the drains of the JFET. Their bases are maintained at a constant Voltage potential. As the potential of the base is constant (in the order of 10V for UGS), potential of the Drains will also be fixed, and 0,7V will be less than the potential of the bases. What makes that is ultimately drains the JFET will be at a constant potential. The VGS of JFET in normal operation is relatively low, we will quickly say that the VDS voltage at the terminals of JFET remained stable, or at least varies very little.
With this little trick we have three very interesting conclusions:
First, that the voltage of the JFET is within the 10V, that means we have reduced the power dissipated in the JFET: for example, for a current of 3.5mA, a JFET will dissipate 35mW, while without cascode, it should remove more than 65mW. It has therefore gained in overall thermal stability.
Second, as VDS is roughly constant, it will have the effect of linearization of the behavior of the JFET.
For an ideal transistor, the various "rights" to VGS = CSTE are parallel and slope zero. In reality, they are not, and the slope is not zero. So if the voltage of the drain JFET varies, the current drain of the JFET will also vary ... And where is the problem, you say? Well, is that we would like the current drain of JFET depends only on the input voltage, and not something else. (I remind you that had asked id = gm*vgs)
The cascode, setting the potential drain, thus to minimize this non-linearity, and working on a much closer these curves (in red zone ☺), where you can take that will variation of drain current negligible according to VDS.
Okay. Purists will tell me that VDS is to be maintained constant, and not only the drain voltage, as is done in the hope that the voltage source does not move too much. That's true. But I have not wanted to break the head, and you are free to try both versions, after all.
With all that, I forget to mention the last effect of the cascode, the extension of the bandwidth. B