PNP Transistor

Sunday, July 14, 2019

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PNP Transistor
The PNP Transistor is the exact opposite to the NPN Transistor device we looked at in the previous
tutorial.

Basically, in this type of transistor construction the two diodes are reversed with respect to the NPN
type giving a Positive-Negative-Positive type of configuration, with the arrow which also defines the
Emitter terminal this time pointing inwards in the transistor symbol.
Also, all the polarities for a PNP transistor are reversed which means that it “sinks” current into its Base
as opposed to the NPN transistor which “sources” current through its Base. The main difference
between the two types of transistors is that holes are the more important carriers for PNP transistors,
whereas electrons are the important carriers for NPN transistors.
Then, PNP transistors use a small base current and a negative base voltage to control a much larger
emitter-collector current. In other words for a PNP transistor, the Emitter is more positive with respect
to the Base and also with respect to the Collector.
The construction of a “PNP transistor” consists of two P-type semiconductor materials either side of an
N-type material as shown below.
A PNP Transistor Configuration
(Note: Arrow defines the emitter and conventional current flow, “in” for a PNP transistor.)

The construction and terminal voltages for an NPN transistor are shown above. The PNP Transistor has
very similar characteristics to their NPN bipolar cousins, except that the polarities (or biasing) of the
current and voltage directions are reversed for any one of the possible three configurations looked at in
the first tutorial, Common Base, Common Emitter and Common Collector.

PNP Transistor Connection

The voltage between the Base and Emitter ( VBE ), is now negative at the Base and positive at the Emitter
because for a PNP transistor, the Base terminal is always biased negative with respect to the Emitter.
Also the Emitter supply voltage is positive with respect to the Collector ( VCE ). So for a PNP transistor to
conduct the Emitter is always more positive with respect to both the Base and the Collector.
The voltage sources are connected to a PNP transistor are as shown. This time the Emitter is connected
to the supply voltage VCC with the load resistor, RL which limits the maximum current flowing through
the device connected to the Collector terminal. The Base voltage VB which is biased negative with
respect to the Emitter and is connected to the Base resistor RB, which again is used to limit the
maximum Base current.
To cause the Base current to flow in a PNP transistor the Base needs to be more negative than the
Emitter (current must leave the base) by approx 0.7 volts for a silicon device or 0.3 volts for a
germanium device with the formulas used to calculate the Base resistor, Base current or Collector
current are the same as those used for an equivalent NPN transistor and is given as.
We can see that the fundamental differences between a NPN Transistor and a PNP Transistor is the
proper biasing of the transistors junctions as the current directions and voltage polarities are always
opposite to each other. So for the circuit above: Ic = Ie – Ib as current must leave the Base.
Generally, the PNP transistor can replace NPN transistors in most electronic circuits, the only difference
is the polarities of the voltages, and the directions of the current flow. PNP transistors can also be used
as switching devices and an example of a PNP transistor switch is shown below.
A PNP Transistor Circuit

The Output Characteristics Curves for a PNP transistor look very similar to those for an equivalent NPN
transistor except that they are rotated by 180o to take account of the reverse polarity voltages and
currents, (that is for a PNP transistor, electron current flows out of the base and collector towards the
battery). The same dynamic load line can be drawn onto the I-V curves to find the PNP transistors
operating points.
Transistor Matching
Complementary Transistors
You may think what is the point of having a PNP Transistor, when there are plenty of NPN Transistors
available that can be used as an amplifier or solid-state switch?. Well, having two different types of
transistors “PNP” and “NPN”, can be a great advantage when designing power amplifier circuits such as
the Class B Amplifier.
Class-B amplifiers uses “Complementary” or “Matched Pair” (that is one PNP and one NPN connected
together) transistors in its output stage or in reversible H-Bridge motor control circuits where we want
to control the flow of current evenly through the motor in both directions at different times for forward
and reverse motion.
A pair of corresponding NPN and PNP transistors with near identical characteristics to each other are
called Complementary Transistors for example, a TIP3055 (NPN transistor) and the TIP2955 (PNP
transistor) are good examples of complementary or matched pair silicon power transistors. They both
have a DC current gain, Beta, ( Ic/Ib ) matched to within 10% and high Collector current of about 15A
making them ideal for general motor control or robotic applications.
Also, class B amplifiers use complementary NPN and PNP in their power output stage design. The NPN
transistor conducts for only the positive half of the signal while the PNP transistor conducts for negative
half of the signal.
This allows the amplifier to drive the required power through the load loudspeaker in both directions at
the stated nominal impedance and power resulting in an output current which is likely to be in the order
of several amps shared evenly between the two complementary transistors.
Identifying the PNP Transistor
We saw in the first tutorial of this transistors section, that transistors are basically made up of two
Diodes connected together back-to-back.
We can use this analogy to determine whether a transistor is of the PNP type or NPN type by testing its
Resistance between the three different leads, Emitter, Base and Collector. By testing each pair of
transistor leads in both directions with a multimeter will result in six tests in total with the expected
resistance values in Ohm’s given below.
 1. Emitter-Base Terminals – The Emitter to Base should act like a normal diode and conduct one
way only.
 2. Collector-Base Terminals – The Collector-Base junction should act like a normal diode and
conduct one way only.
 3. Emitter-Collector Terminals – The Emitter-Collector should not conduct in either direction.
Terminal Resistance Values for PNP and NPN Transistors
 Between Transistor Terminals PNP NPN
Collector Emitter RHIGH RHIGH
Collector Base RLOW RHIGH
Emitter Collector RHIGH RHIGH
Emitter Base RLOW RHIGH
Base Collector RHIGH RLOW
Base Emitter RHIGH RLOW

Then we can define a PNP Transistor as being normally “OFF” but a small output current and negative
voltage at its Base ( B ) relative to its Emitter ( E ) will turn it “ON” allowing a much large Emitter-
Collector current to flow. PNP transistors conduct when Ve is much greater than Vc.
In other words, a Bipolar PNP Transistor will ONLY conduct if both the Base and Collector terminals are
negative with respect to the Emitter
In the next tutorial about Bipolar Transistors instead of using the transistor as an amplifying device, we
will look at the operation of the transistor in its saturation and cut-off regions when used as a solid-state
switch. Bipolar transistor switches are used in many applications to switch a DC current “ON” or “OFF”,
from LED’s which require only a few milliamps of switching current at low DC voltages, or motors and
relays which may require higher currents at higher voltages.

Read more Tutorials inTransistors

 1. Bipolar Transistor
 2. NPN Transistor
 3. PNP Transistor
 4. Transistor as a Switch
 5. Junction Field Effect Transistor
 6. The MOSFET
 7. MOSFET as a Switch
 8. Transistor Tutorial Summary
 9. Darlington Transistors

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