2SA1015 — PNP General Purpose Bipolar Junction Transistor

Overview

The 2SA1015 (often stamped as A1015) is a classic general-purpose PNP bipolar junction transistor (BJT) manufactured originally by Toshiba. Packaged in a compact TO-92 plastic housing, it is one of the most widely used small-signal PNP transistors in Japanese and Asian audio and consumer electronics.

Designed for low-noise audio frequency amplification, small-signal high-side switching, and LED drive circuits, the 2SA1015 operates with collector-emitter voltages up to $-50\text{ Volts}$ and continuous collector currents up to $-150\text{ mA}$ . It is the direct PNP complementary transistor to the 2SC1815.

Quick reference


Transistor Type	PNP Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)
Package	TO-92 (Flat face front, leads pointing down)
Collector-Emitter Voltage ( $V_{CEO}$ )	$-50\text{ V}$ max
Collector-Base Voltage ( $V_{CBO}$ )	$-50\text{ V}$ max
Emitter-Base Voltage ( $V_{EBO}$ )	$-5.0\text{ V}$ max
Continuous Collector Current ( $I_C$ )	$-150\text{ mA}$ continuous ( $-500\text{ mA}$ peak)
DC Current Gain ( $h_{FE}$ )	70 to 400 (Ranks: O: 70–140, Y: 120–240, GR: 200–400)
Transition Frequency ( $f_T$ )	$80\text{ MHz}$ min ( $200\text{ MHz}$ typical)

Pinout (TO-92 Package)

Looking at the flat face of the TO-92 package with leads pointing down:

text

        ┌─────────────┐
        │   A1015     │  (Flat Package Face)
        └─┬───┬───┬───┘
          1   2   3
          E   C   B

Pin	Name	Description
1	`EMITTER` (`E`)	Emitter terminal (High-side power rail $+V_{CC}$ )
2	`COLLECTOR` (`C`)	Collector terminal (Load output connection)
3	`BASE` (`B`)	Base terminal (Active LOW control input via base resistor)

Warning

Pinout Warning: 2SA1015 Japanese E-C-B Pinout!

2SA1015 (TO-92): Pin 1 = Emitter, Pin 2 = Collector, Pin 3 = Base (E-C-B).
2N2907 (TO-92): Pin 1 = Emitter, Pin 2 = Base, Pin 3 = Collector (E-B-C).
BC557 (TO-92): Pin 1 = Collector, Pin 2 = Base, Pin 3 = Emitter (C-B-E).

Specifications

Parameter	Symbol	Min	Typ	Max	Unit	Conditions
Collector-Emitter Voltage	$V_{CEO}$	-50	—	—	V	$I_C = -1\text{mA}, I_B = 0$
Collector Cutoff Current	$I_{CBO}$	—	—	-100	nA	$V_{CB} = -50\text{V}, I_E = 0$
DC Current Gain	$h_{FE}$	70	—	400	—	$V_{CE} = -6\text{V}, I_C = -2\text{mA}$
Collector Saturation Volts	$V_{CE(sat)}$	—	-100	-300	mV	$I_C = -100\text{mA}, I_B = -10\text{mA}$
Base Saturation Voltage	$V_{BE(sat)}$	—	-850	-1100	mV	$I_C = -100\text{mA}, I_B = -10\text{mA}$
Power Dissipation	$P_C$	—	—	400	mW	$T_A = 25^\circ\text{C}$

Common mistakes

Miswiring pin leads when substituting for Western BJTs: The 2SA1015 uses Japanese E-C-B pinout. Plugging a 2SA1015 directly into a PCB footprint designed for 2N2907 (E-B-C) or BC557 (C-B-E) causes wrong pin connections.

Notes

2SA1015 vs 2SC1815: 2SA1015 is PNP; 2SC1815 is its complementary NPN pair used in audio preamplifier input stages and push-pull output drivers.