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Questions and Answers
What is the primary function of a transistor in an electronic circuit?
What is the primary function of a transistor in an electronic circuit?
What is the typical material used to make most transistors?
What is the typical material used to make most transistors?
Who proposed the concept of a field-effect transistor (FET) in 1926?
Who proposed the concept of a field-effect transistor (FET) in 1926?
What is the name of the transistor type invented by Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs in 1959?
What is the name of the transistor type invented by Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs in 1959?
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What is a characteristic of transistors compared to vacuum tubes?
What is a characteristic of transistors compared to vacuum tubes?
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What is the main difference between a field-effect transistor and a bipolar junction transistor?
What is the main difference between a field-effect transistor and a bipolar junction transistor?
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Who invented the first working transistor in 1947?
Who invented the first working transistor in 1947?
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What was the impact of the transistor on the field of electronics?
What was the impact of the transistor on the field of electronics?
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What type of vacuum tubes have advantages over transistors at very high operating frequencies or high operating voltages?
What type of vacuum tubes have advantages over transistors at very high operating frequencies or high operating voltages?
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Who invented the thermionic triode in 1907?
Who invented the thermionic triode in 1907?
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In what year did Julius Edgar Lilienfeld file a patent for a field-effect transistor (FET) in Canada?
In what year did Julius Edgar Lilienfeld file a patent for a field-effect transistor (FET) in Canada?
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Why did Lilienfeld's solid-state amplifier ideas not find practical use in the 1920s and 1930s?
Why did Lilienfeld's solid-state amplifier ideas not find practical use in the 1920s and 1930s?
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Who coined the term transistor as a contraction of the term transresistance?
Who coined the term transistor as a contraction of the term transresistance?
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What was the outcome of the experiments performed by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at AT&T's Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, from November 17 to December 23, 1947?
What was the outcome of the experiments performed by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at AT&T's Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, from November 17 to December 23, 1947?
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What type of transistors were worked on by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at AT&T's Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, from November 17 to December 23, 1947?
What type of transistors were worked on by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at AT&T's Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, from November 17 to December 23, 1947?
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Who worked to greatly expand the knowledge of semiconductors after observing the potential in John Bardeen and Walter Brattain's experiments?
Who worked to greatly expand the knowledge of semiconductors after observing the potential in John Bardeen and Walter Brattain's experiments?
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Study Notes
Transistor Overview
- A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power.
- It is composed of semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an electronic circuit.
- A voltage or current applied to one pair of terminals controls the current through another pair of terminals.
- Because the controlled power can be higher than the controlling power, a transistor can amplify a signal.
History of Transistor Development
- Physicist Julius Edgar Lilienfeld proposed the concept of a field-effect transistor (FET) in 1926, but a working device could not be constructed at that time.
- The first working transistor was a point-contact transistor invented in 1947 by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley at Bell Labs.
- The three inventors shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for their achievement.
- Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs invented the metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) in 1959.
Transistor Characteristics
- Transistors are generally smaller and require less power to operate compared to vacuum tubes.
- Transistors may have only one kind of charge carrier (field-effect transistor) or two kinds of charge carriers (bipolar junction transistor devices).
- Most transistors are made from very pure silicon, with some from germanium, and sometimes other semiconductor materials.
- Many types of transistors are made to standardized specifications by multiple manufacturers.
Pre-Transistor Era
- The thermionic triode, a vacuum tube invented in 1907, enabled amplified radio technology and long-distance telephony.
- Physicist William Eccles discovered the crystal diode oscillator in 1909.
- Lilienfeld's solid-state amplifier ideas would not have found practical use in the 1920s and 1930s due to the lack of high-quality semiconductor materials.
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Description
Learn about transistors, semiconductor devices used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power. Understand their composition, terminals, and voltage control.
