Transistor:

Introduction:

The semiconductor device known as a transistor is used to switch or amplify electrical impulses. The transistor is one of the fundamental components of contemporary electronics.  It has at least three terminals for connecting to an electronic circuit and is made of semiconductor material. The current flowing through another pair of the transistor's terminals is controlled by the voltage or current provided to one set of those terminals. A transistor can magnify a signal because the regulated (output) power can be greater than the controlling (input) power. Although many more transistors are found embedded in integrated circuits, some are packaged individually.

 

Transistor

Julius Edgar Lilienfeld, an Austro-Hungarian physicist, first presented the idea of a field-effect transistor in 1926, but it was not feasible to create a functional device at that time. The point-contact transistor, created in 1947 by American physicists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain while working for William Shockley at Bell Labs, was the first functional electronic device. For their accomplishment, the three were awarded a joint 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics.

 

The metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), developed by Dawon Kahng and Mohamed Atalla at Bell Labs in 1959, is the most used form of transistor.  Transistors changed the electronics industry and made it possible for items like smaller and less expensive computers, calculators, and radios.

 

The majority of transistors are composed of extremely pure silicon, although some are also built of germanium. However, other semiconductor materials are sometimes occasionally utilised. In field-effect transistors, a transistor can only have one type of charge carrier; however, bipolar junction transistors can have two types of charge carriers. Transistors often use less power to function and are smaller than vacuum tubes. When running at very high operating frequencies or high operating voltages, some vacuum tubes are preferable over transistors. Numerous manufacturers produce various transistor types following defined criteria.

 

Background:

The thermionic triode, a vacuum tube created in 1907, made it possible to use long-distance telecommunications and amplified radio technologies. However, the triode was a delicate component that used a lot of electricity. The crystal diode oscillator was discovered by scientist William Eccles in 1909. In 1925, the Austro-Hungarian physicist Julius Edgar Lilienfeld submitted a Canadian patent application for a field-effect transistor (FET), which he intended to use as a solid-state alternative to the triode. In addition, Lilienfeld submitted similar patent applications in the US in 1926 and 1928.

 

However, neither Lilienfeld's patents nor any research publications he published about his inventions included any particular instances of a functional prototype. Even if such a device had been created, Lilienfeld's solid-state amplifier ideas would not have found widespread application in the 1920s and 1930s since the production of high-quality semiconductor materials was still decades away. A comparable invention was patented in Europe in 1934 by German inventor Oskar Heil.

Transistor

The Value of the Transistor:

The essential active elements in almost all contemporary electronics are transistors. As a result, the transistor is regarded by many as one of the 20th century's greatest innovations.

 

Bell Labs' development of the first transistor was recognised as an IEEE Milestone in 2009. The 1948 invention of the junction transistor and the 1959 development of the MOSFET are likewise included on the list of IEEE Milestones.

 

The MOSFET, also known as the MOS transistor or metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor, is by far the most frequently used transistor, found in everything from computers and electronics to communications technologies like cellphones. The MOSFET is regarded as the most significant transistor, conceivably the most significant electronic invention, and the forerunner of contemporary electronics. Since the late 20th century, the MOS transistor has served as the core component of contemporary digital electronics, ushering in the digital era.

 

It is a "groundbreaking invention that altered life and culture around the world," according to the US Patent and Trademark Office. Its capacity to be mass-produced via a highly automated method (semiconductor device fabrication) that delivers astoundingly low per-transistor costs underlies its significance in today's society. With almost 13 sextillion made by 2018, MOSFETs are the most widely produced artificial objects ever.It is a "groundbreaking invention that altered life and culture around the world," according to the US Patent and Trademark Office. Its capacity to be mass-produced via a highly automated method (semiconductor device fabrication) that delivers astoundingly low per-transistor costs underlies its significance in today's society. With almost 13 sextillion made by 2018, MOSFETs are the most widely produced artificial objects ever.

 

The vast majority of transistors are now produced in integrated circuits (often abbreviated to IC, microchips, or simply chips), along with diodes, resistors, capacitors, and other electronic components, to produce complete electronic circuits, even though several companies each produce over a billion discrete MOS transistors annually. An advanced microprocessor, as of 2021, can use as much as 39 billion transistors, compared to a logic gate's up to twenty transistors (MOSFETs)

 

Because of the transistor's affordability, adaptability, and dependability, it is a commonplace gadget. Electromechanical devices have been superseded by transistorised mechatronic circuits in the control of equipment and appliances. A conventional microcontroller and a computer software may typically perform a control function more quickly, easily, and affordably than designing an equivalent mechanical system.