2N3906 PNP General Purpose Transistor is a PNP transistor, not an NPN transistor, so it will be in saturation when the base is ground potential and it will allow the current to flow but when it provided some voltage, it will stop conducting. It is very similar to BC557 PNP transistor but it has a higher collector to emitter voltage. It has a gain of 110 to 300 but the maximum current that can flow through the collector pin is 200mA but to bias the base-collector junction, you need to provide 5mA current to the base terminal. It can be used in switching high voltage low current applications like inverter and converter circuits, and in Darlington Pair, etc.
Specifications
- 2N3906 PNP General Purpose Transistor
- DC Current Gain (hFE): 300 max
- Continuous Collector current (IC): 200mA
- Base- Emitter Voltage (VBE): 6V
- Collector-Emitter Voltage (VCE): 40V
- Collector-Base Voltage (VCB): 60V
- Package: TO-92
Product Description
To use the PNP transistor, you need to connect the base terminal to Ground potential to make the transistor operate in a saturation region, and to make it operate in cut off region, you need to provide voltage to the base pin. Make sure that the maximum current flowing via the Collector pin is 200mA and you should add current limiting resistors to make sure.
Additional Resources
Datasheet of 2N3906 PNP Transistor
ATmega based project with 2N3906 PNP Transistor
