Electrical – How to increase the current in this circuit

bjtcurrent-limitinginfraredled

Im trying to build a circuit to send information using IR led, using pulse signals (Im trying to mimic a home appliance remote control).

My leds (datasheet) operate at 1.3V, and their maximum pulse current is rated 200mA

I need a very strong signal and since the "commands" I send are quite short, I understand that there's not much harm in operating it at higher currents.

I tried to use two IR leds in series, aiming to 300~mA current flow trough the leds.

I did the following calculation:

Vs = 5V
I = 300mA
Vdrop of each led = 1.3V
so R = 5v - 2.6v / 0.300A.

I managed to build 22Ohm || 10Ohm = 7~ Ohm
Im controlling the base of my BJT 2N2222A transistor using my controller gpio, which is rated at 3.3V.
In reality, I measured 80mA, which isn't what I expected.
I expected it to be in saturation, since:

Vb = 3.3V
Vc = 0V
Ve = 0
Ve < Vb > Vc => Sat.

schematic

simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab

What am I doing wrong here?

Best Answer

Ok, thanks to being reminded to use an N-MOSFET, I came up with this circuit for you:
LED Driver

The N-MOSFET should have a drain-source impedance of ~1.5ohm @ Vgs=3.3V (from your GPIO pin), so taking 5Vdrive - 2.7V for 2x 1.35V LED drops, that leaves 10ohm for the resistor to give: 2.3V/11.5ohm=200mA through your LEDs.