PNP Transistor Full Form

PNP Transistor Full Form

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on Apr 18, 2023 04:53 PM IST

What is Full Form of PNP Transistor ?

Semiconductors are the building blocks of the transistor. Any electrical circuit is incomplete without a transistor. A transistor acts as a gate or switches for electrical signals. The switch or gate is opened and closed many times per second by the transistor. These Transistors are made up of three layers of semiconductor regions. Transistors are classified as bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) and field effect transistors (FETs). Further, there are two types of BJT transistors- PNP and NPN. Where PNP stands for Positive-Negative-Positive and NPN stands for Negative-Positive-Negative. In a PNP transistor, one N-type region is sandwiched between two P-type regions. These regions are referred to as the three terminals of the transistor- emitter, base, and collector.

Constituent Parts Of PNP Transistor

Emitter: One of the p-type regions is the emitter terminal in the PNP transistor. This supplies major charge carriers, which are holes in the PNP transistors. The emitter is highly doped and moderate in size.

Base: The central region is known as the base terminal, which is an N-type region in the PNP transistor. The base of a transistor is lightly doped, and its dimension is very thin.

Collector: the other P-type region is the collector terminal in the PNP transistor. The majority of charges emitted by the emitter are collected by the collector. The collector is moderately doped and large in size.

Differences Between PNP And NPN Transistors:

  1. Construction: In an NPN transistor, the base region is made of a thin layer of P-type semiconductor material, while the collector and emitter regions are made of N-type semiconductor material. In a PNP transistor, the base region is made of a thin layer of N-type semiconductor material, while the collector and emitter regions are made of P-type semiconductor material.

  1. The direction of current flow: In an NPN transistor, the current flows from the collector to the emitter, and the base-emitter junction is forward-biased. In a PNP transistor, the current flows from the emitter to the collector, and the base-emitter junction is reverse-biased.

  1. Biasing: NPN and PNP transistors require different biasing arrangements. For an NPN transistor, the base-emitter junction is forward-biased and the collector-base junction is reverse-biased. For a PNP transistor, the base-emitter junction is reverse-biased and the collector-base junction is forward-biased.

  1. Voltage polarity: The voltage polarities for the power supplies and input/output signals are reversed for PNP and NPN transistors. For an NPN transistor, the collector is typically connected to a positive supply voltage, while for a PNP transistor, the collector is typically connected to a negative supply voltage.

  1. Signal amplification: NPN and PNP transistors can both be used for signal amplification, but the polarity of the input and output signals will be opposite for the two types of transistors.

  1. Applications: PNP and NPN transistors are commonly used in different types of electronic circuits. NPN transistors are often used in digital and analogue circuits, such as amplifiers, switching circuits, and voltage regulators. PNP transistors are often used in applications such as current mirrors, complementary symmetry amplifiers, and push-pull amplifiers.

Application Of PNP Transistor

  • PNP transistors are used to source current.

  • PNP transistors are used as current switches.

  • These are used in the amplifying circuits.

  • PNP transistors are used when we need an emergency shutdown.

  • Used in matched pair circuits to produce continuous power.

  • Used in heavy motors to control current flow.

  • Used in robotic applications.

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