Electronic – What’s the difference between NPN and PNP transistors

bjtpnptransistors

Suppose that I know how an NPN transistor works.

How different is a PNP transistor? What are the operational differences between a PNP and a NPN?

Best Answer

PNP transistors work the same way as NPNs do but all voltages and currents are reversed. You connect the emitter to the higher potential, source current from the base and the main current flows into the emitter and then exits through the collector.

\$V_\rm{BE}\$ will be \$-0.7\,\rm{V}\$ but it's magnitude should be the same in both PNP and NPN if you use complementary parts.