A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and electrical power. It is composed of semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current flowing through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be higher than the controlling (input) power, a transistor can amplify a signal.
Bipolar transistors are so named because their operation involves both electrons and holes. These two kinds of charge carriers are characteristic of the two kinds of doped semiconductor material. In contrast, unipolar transistors such as the field-effect transistors have only one kind of charge carrier.
PNP is one of the two types of bipolar transistors, consisting of a layer of N-doped semiconductor (the "base") between two P-doped layers. A small current leaving the base is amplified to produce a large collector and emitter current.