The 2N3904 is a common NPN bipolar junction transistor used for general-purpose low-power amplifying or switching applications. [1] [2] [3] It is designed for low current and power, medium voltage, and can operate at moderately high speeds. It is complementary to the 2N3906 PNP transistor. Both types were registered by Motorola Semiconductor in the mid-1960s.
The construction of the 2N3904 and 2N3906 in the 1960s represented a significant performance and cost improvement, with the plastic TO-92 case replacing metal cans. This transistor is a low-cost device, widely available and sufficiently robust to be of use by experimenters and electronics hobbyists. [4] When looking at the flat side with the leads pointed downward, the three wires emerging from the bottom are connected to, from left to right, the emitter, the base and the collector. [5] Some manufacturers mark "EBC" on the molded part, but all are required to have those connections for a part which is a "2N3904". [6]
It is a 200 mA, 40 V, 625 mW transistor with a transition frequency of 300 MHz, [1] with a minimum beta, or current gain, of 100 at a collector current of 10 mA.
Electrically similar devices, such as the MMBT3904, are available in a variety of small through-hole and surface-mount packages, including TO-92, SOT-23, and SOT-223, with package-dependent thermal ratings from 625 milliwatts to 1 watt.
The complementary PNP transistor is 2N3906. [7]
The 2N3904 (NPN) and 2N3906 (PNP) are complementary transistor pairs. These transistors are available in package styles TO-92, SOT23, SOT223 with different prefixes.
| BJT | Thru-hole | Surface-mount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| TO92 | SOT23 | SOT223 | |
| NPN | 2N3904 [1] | MMBT3904 | PZT3904 |
| PNP | 2N3906 [7] | MMBT3906 | PZT3906 |
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semiconductor material, usually with at least three terminals for connection to an electronic circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals controls the current through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be higher than the controlling (input) power, a transistor can amplify a signal. Some transistors are packaged individually, but many more in miniature form are found embedded in integrated circuits. Because transistors are the key active components in practically all modern electronics, many people consider them one of the 20th century's greatest inventions.
In electronics, a multi-transistor configuration called the Darlington configuration is a circuit consisting of two bipolar transistors with the emitter of one transistor connected to the base of the other, such that the current amplified by the first transistor is amplified further by the second one. The collectors of both transistors are connected together. This configuration has a much higher current gain than each transistor taken separately. It acts like and is often packaged as a single transistor. It was invented in 1953 by Sidney Darlington.
In electronics, emitter-coupled logic (ECL) is a high-speed integrated circuit bipolar transistor logic family. ECL uses an overdriven bipolar junction transistor (BJT) differential amplifier with single-ended input and limited emitter current to avoid the saturated region of operation and the resulting slow turn-off behavior. As the current is steered between two legs of an emitter-coupled pair, ECL is sometimes called current-steering logic (CSL), current-mode logic (CML) or current-switch emitter-follower (CSEF) logic.
A TRIAC is a three-terminal electronic component that conducts current in either direction when triggered. The term TRIAC is a genericised trademark.
The 555 timer IC is an integrated circuit used in a variety of timer, delay, pulse generation, and oscillator applications. It is one of the most popular timing ICs due to its flexibility and price. Derivatives provide two or four timing circuits in one package. The design was first marketed in 1972 by Signetics and used bipolar junction transistors. Since then, numerous companies have made the original timers and later similar low-power CMOS timers. In 2017, it was said that over a billion 555 timers are produced annually by some estimates, and that the design was "probably the most popular integrated circuit ever made".
In electronics, derating is the operation of a device at less than its rated maximum capability to prolong its life. Typical examples include operations below the maximum power rating, current rating, or voltage rating.
The TO-92 is a widely used style of semiconductor package mainly used for transistors. The case is often made of epoxy or plastic, and offers compact size at a very low cost.
The 2N3055 is a silicon NPN power transistor intended for general purpose applications. It was introduced in the early 1960s by RCA using a hometaxial power transistor process, transitioned to an epitaxial base in the mid-1970s. Its numbering follows the JEDEC standard. It is a transistor type of enduring popularity.
In electronics, the Sziklai pair, also known as a complementary feedback pair, is a configuration of two bipolar transistors, similar to a Darlington pair. In contrast to the Darlington arrangement, the Sziklai pair has one NPN and one PNP transistor, and so it is sometimes also called the "complementary Darlington". The configuration is named for George C. Sziklai, thought to be its inventor.
Texas Instruments Power, known more popularly by its acronym TIP, is a series of bipolar junction transistors manufactured by Texas Instruments. The series was introduced in the 1960s, and still sees some use today due to their simplicity, their durability, and their ease of use. A Texas Instruments catalog in 1966 lists the TIP04 and TIP14 part numbers.
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The 2N2907 is a commonly available PNP bipolar junction transistor used for general purpose low-power amplifying or switching applications. It is designed for low to medium current, low power, medium voltage, and can operate at moderately high speeds. This transistor was made by several manufacturers; Texas Instruments released a data sheet for their version of this part dated March 1973. An "A" suffix indicates a slightly higher breakdown voltage. These transistors have an enduring popularity with electronics hobbyists.
The 2N3906 is a commonly used PNP bipolar junction transistor intended for general purpose low-power amplifying or switching applications. It is designed for low electric current and power and medium voltage, and can operate at moderately high speeds. It is complementary to the 2N3904 NPN transistor. Both types were registered by Motorola Semiconductor in the mid-1960s.
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TO-126 is a type of semiconductor package for devices with three pins, such as transistors. The package is rectangular with a hole in the middle to allow for easy mounting to a board or a heat sink. On one side of the package typically a metal sheet is exposed, with the transistor die bonded to the other side of the metal sheet inside the package. This allows for an efficient heat transfer from the transistor die to an external heat sink but also implies that the metal sheet is electrically connected to the die.
The BC107, BC108 and BC109 are general-purpose low power silicon NPN bipolar junction transistors found very often in equipment and electronics books/articles from Europe, Australia and many other countries from the 1960s. They were created by Philips and Mullard in 1963 and introduced in April 1966. Initially in metal (TO-18) packages, the range expanded over time to include other package types, higher voltage ratings, and a better selection of gain groupings, as well as complementary PNP types. Some manufacturers have specified their parts with a higher power dissipation rating (Ptot) than others.
