You can replace the LED and resistor with whatever you want to control. Since an LED should always have a resistor in series with it, let’s add a resistor too. So, let’s connect what we want to control: An LED. When the transistor turns on, the current can flow from the emitter to the collector. This way, you know what voltage you have on the emitter. For a simple circuit like this, it’s common to connect the emitter to the plus from your power source. Step 1: The Emitterįirst of all, to turn on the PNP transistor, you need the voltage on the base to be lower than the emitter. With this circuit you can use to turn on an LED when it gets dark. Let’s see how to create a simple PNP transistor circuit. I know this can sound a bit confusing, so read on to see how you can design a circuit with the PNP transistor.

Since the current goes from emitter to base, the base needs to be 0.7V lower than the emitter.īy setting the base voltage of a PNP transistor to 0.7V lower than the emitter, you “turn the transistor on” and allow for current to flow from emitter to collector. To get current running from emitter to base, you need a voltage difference of about 0.7V. And this channel can carry a much larger current.

When I say “turn on”, I mean that the transistor will open up a channel between emitter and collector. The PNP transistor has the same leg names as the NPN:Ī PNP transistor will “turn on” when you have a small current running from emitter to base of the transistor. Note: This topic is much easier with an understanding of current flow and voltages. They work pretty much in the same way, with one major difference: The currents in the PNP transistor flow in the opposite directions of the currents in the NPN transistor. If you understand the NPN transistor, it will make it easier to understand the PNP transistor.

If you haven’t already, I’d really urge you to read that article first. In my article how transistors work, I explained how a standard NPN transistor works. If you want to design circuits with transistors, it’s really worth knowing about this type of transistor.įor example: Want to automatically turn on a light when it gets dark? The PNP transistor will make this easy for you.

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