# 2N2222
The 2N2222 is a general-purpose NPN silicon bipolar junction transistor introduced by Motorola in 1962, rated for a continuous collector current of 800 mA and still in volume production more than sixty years after its registration with the EIA on March 5, 1962[1](https://semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/Motorola/Corrigan/Corrigan_TransistorMuseum_Interview.htm) • [2](https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/how-two-motorola-transistors-became-the-worlds-default-npns/). It was designed for linear amplification and fast switching, and it became one of the most widely used discrete transistors in the industry, with billions of units sold across its metal-can, plastic, and surface-mount versions[1](https://semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/Motorola/Corrigan/Corrigan_TransistorMuseum_Interview.htm) • [3](https://www.semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/Motorola/Haenichen/Haenichen_Page13.htm).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type and origin | NPN silicon epitaxial annular ring transistor, introduced by Motorola in 1962; EIA registration March 5, 1962; improved 2N2222A registered February 17, 1964[1](https://semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/Motorola/Corrigan/Corrigan_TransistorMuseum_Interview.htm) • [2](https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/how-two-motorola-transistors-became-the-worlds-default-npns/) |
| Current rating | 800 mA continuous collector current (2N2222/2N2222A in TO-18); 600 mA for the P2N2222A in TO-92[4](https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee133/datasheets/2n2222.pdf) • [5](https://www.onsemi.com/pdf/datasheet/p2n2222a-d.pdf) |
| Voltage ratings | VCBO 60 V for the 2N2222 and 75 V for the 2N2222A, VEBO 6 V; VCEO is 30 V for the original 2N2222 and 40 V for the 2N2222A per the Philips specification, while onsemi's military 2N2222A datasheet lists 50 V[4](https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee133/datasheets/2n2222.pdf) • [6](https://www.onsemi.com/download/data-sheet/pdf/2n2222a-d.pdf) |
| Speed | Transition frequency fT of 250 MHz (2N2222) or 300 MHz (2N2222A) at IC = 20 mA, VCE = 20 V[4](https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee133/datasheets/2n2222.pdf) |
| Switching | Turn-on time 35 ns and turn-off time 250 ns at IC = 150 mA; VCE(sat) 0.3 V max at 150 mA with 15 mA base drive[4](https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee133/datasheets/2n2222.pdf) |
| Packages | TO-18 metal can (2N2222/2N2222A), TO-92 plastic (PN2222/P2N2222A), SOT-23 surface mount (MMBT2222A)[3](https://www.semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/Motorola/Haenichen/Haenichen_Page13.htm) |
| Military status | Qualified to MIL-PRF-19500/255 and available as JAN, JANTX, and JANTXV versions[6](https://www.onsemi.com/download/data-sheet/pdf/2n2222a-d.pdf) |
## History
Jack Haenichen, an engineer who came to Motorola in 1959—at a time when the company's transistor lineup consisted solely of germanium devices—created the 2N2222. Under Haenichen's direction, the group brought Motorola into the manufacture of silicon NPN devices by adopting a refined annular technique, permitting dependable operation at high voltages on a small die. In March 1962 the line of transistors made its public debut at the IRE convention, and on March 5 of the same year it received its EIA registration; the enhanced 2N2222A version was added on February 17, 1964[2](https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/how-two-motorola-transistors-became-the-worlds-default-npns/).
Wilf Corrigan, who worked on the device at Motorola and later led Fairchild and [LSI Logic](https://www.edgepedia.org/lsi-logic), described the original 2N2222 as the high-beta version of the STAR chip in the TO-18 package, a general-purpose amplifier with a 40 V specification. He credited the part's competitiveness to a specified beta linearity, meaning the current gain held nearly constant from 100 microamps to 100 milliamps of collector current, a property competitors had difficulty matching[1](https://semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/Motorola/Corrigan/Corrigan_TransistorMuseum_Interview.htm).
At introduction the metal-can device sold for about $4 each. Motorola deliberately assigned different 2N numbers to later plastic devices so that customers paying $4 for the metal-can part could not simply substitute a 25-cent plastic unit and consider it identical[1](https://semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/Motorola/Corrigan/Corrigan_TransistorMuseum_Interview.htm).
## Packages and naming
**Three package generations.** When first introduced in 1962, the 2N2222 was available only in the TO-18 metal case, and that version has been available continuously since. In 1965 Motorola introduced the low-cost TO-92 plastic case; the 2N2222 was not immediately offered in it, but the device later became commonly available in plastic as the PN2222. With the spread of surface-mount technology, the part also appeared as the MMBT2222 in the SOT-23 case[3](https://www.semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/Motorola/Haenichen/Haenichen_Page13.htm).
The naming is not fully standardized. Conventionally a plastic-packaged device takes a P prefix, giving PN2222A, but plastic parts marked 2N2222A are also seen, and onsemi's plastic TO-92 version carries the distinct number P2N2222A[7](https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/component-data/transistors/2N2222.php) • [5](https://www.onsemi.com/pdf/datasheet/p2n2222a-d.pdf). The package change affects the ratings: the P2N2222A is rated at 600 mA continuous collector current and 625 mW dissipation at 25 °C ambient (1.5 W at 25 °C case), against 800 mA and 500 mW at ambient for the TO-18 2N2222A[5](https://www.onsemi.com/pdf/datasheet/p2n2222a-d.pdf) • [6](https://www.onsemi.com/download/data-sheet/pdf/2n2222a-d.pdf). Pin order also differs between packages: the onsemi TO-18 2N2222A places the emitter at pin 1, base at pin 2, and collector at pin 3, while the P2N2222A TO-92 pinout runs collector, base, emitter from pin 1 to pin 3, so parts from different families cannot be dropped into the same footprint without checking the datasheet[6](https://www.onsemi.com/download/data-sheet/pdf/2n2222a-d.pdf) • [5](https://www.onsemi.com/pdf/datasheet/p2n2222a-d.pdf).
## Electrical characteristics
The 2N2222A is specified for high-speed saturated switching and linear amplification. The Philips product specification gives a DC current gain hFE of at least 75 at 10 mA collector current and 10 V, a transition frequency of 250 MHz for the 2N2222 and 300 MHz for the 2N2222A, and switching times of 35 ns turn-on (10 ns delay plus 25 ns rise) and 250 ns turn-off (200 ns storage plus 60 ns fall) at 150 mA collector current[4](https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee133/datasheets/2n2222.pdf). The collector-emitter saturation voltage is at most 0.3 V at 150 mA with 15 mA of base drive, rising to a 1.0 V maximum at 500 mA with 50 mA of base drive[4](https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee133/datasheets/2n2222.pdf) • [8](https://goodarksemi.com/docs/datasheets/transistors/2N2222A.pdf).
Voltage ratings differ between the original and revised parts and between manufacturers' datasheets. The Philips specification lists VCEO of 30 V for the 2N2222 and 40 V for the 2N2222A, with VCBO of 60 V and 75 V respectively[4](https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee133/datasheets/2n2222.pdf). The onsemi 2N2222A datasheet, which covers the MIL-PRF-19500/255 qualified military part, lists VCEO of 50 V, VCBO of 75 V, VEBO of 6.0 V, 800 mA continuous collector current, 500 mW dissipation at 25 °C ambient, 1.0 W at 25 °C case, and a junction temperature range of −65 to +200 °C[6](https://www.onsemi.com/download/data-sheet/pdf/2n2222a-d.pdf). [Thermal resistance](https://www.edgepedia.org/thermal-resistance) is 325 °C/W junction to ambient and 150 °C/W junction to case in that datasheet[6](https://www.onsemi.com/download/data-sheet/pdf/2n2222a-d.pdf).
The PNP complement is the 2N2907A, and Motorola's 1963 catalog already listed both devices as preferred parts[4](https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee133/datasheets/2n2222.pdf) • [2](https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/how-two-motorola-transistors-became-the-worlds-default-npns/).
## Applications and legacy
The combination of several hundred megahertz of transition frequency, 800 mA of current handling, and low cost made the 2N2222 the default general-purpose NPN almost immediately, used for switching, small-signal RF work, relay and LED drivers, audio preamp stages, and logic-level interfacing[2](https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/how-two-motorola-transistors-became-the-worlds-default-npns/) • [7](https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/component-data/transistors/2N2222.php).
**Military and commercial life.** The part is qualified to MIL-PRF-19500/255 and supplied as JAN, JANTX, and JANTXV screened versions in the TO-18 package[6](https://www.onsemi.com/download/data-sheet/pdf/2n2222a-d.pdf). More than sixty years after registration it remains in volume production from at least half a dozen manufacturers, stocked by every major distributor, and used as the default NPN small-signal transistor in hobby projects, university labs, and United States military supply chains; the Department of Defense maintains 22 separate National Stock Numbers across the family. Current pricing spans from roughly $1.88 per unit for the metal-can commercial part to upwards of $60 each for mil-spec hermetic TO-18 versions[2](https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/how-two-motorola-transistors-became-the-worlds-default-npns/).
## References
1. [Transistor Museum interview with Wilf Corrigan, September 2006](https://semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/Motorola/Corrigan/Corrigan_TransistorMuseum_Interview.htm)
2. [How Two Motorola Transistors Became the World's Default NPNs, All About Circuits (April 2026)](https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/how-two-motorola-transistors-became-the-worlds-default-npns/)
3. [Transistor Museum oral history, Jack Haenichen, Motorola 2N2222, page 13](https://www.semiconductormuseum.com/Transistors/Motorola/Haenichen/Haenichen_Page13.htm)
4. [Philips Semiconductors product specification, 2N2222; 2N2222A NPN switching transistors (May 1997)](https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee133/datasheets/2n2222.pdf)
5. [onsemi P2N2222A datasheet, Amplifier Transistors NPN Silicon](https://www.onsemi.com/pdf/datasheet/p2n2222a-d.pdf)
6. [onsemi 2N2222A datasheet, Small Signal Switching Transistor, MIL-PRF-19500/255 (Rev. 2, November 2013)](https://www.onsemi.com/download/data-sheet/pdf/2n2222a-d.pdf)
7. [2N2222 & 2N2222A Transistor Data, Electronics Notes](https://www.electronics-notes.com/articles/component-data/transistors/2N2222.php)
8. [Good-Ark Semiconductor 2N2222A datasheet](https://goodarksemi.com/docs/datasheets/transistors/2N2222A.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Computing and digital systems › Computer hardware › Semiconductor devices & fabrication › Discrete semiconductor device families*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license