Transistor - Revision history

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‎External links: typo

Jnc: /* External links */ Crystal Fire - Theme: Sources

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‎External links: Crystal Fire - Theme: Sources

Jnc: /* Further reading */ add link to online copy of the wonderful chapter 6

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‎Further reading: add link to online copy of the wonderful chapter 6

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‎Further reading: +Crystal Fire

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‎External links: +"The Surface State Job"

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Proper cat

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Add some links

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clarify

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‎Details: typo

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 * [https://computerhistory.org/blog/the-surface-state-job/ "The Surface State Job"]
-* [https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sts-340j-introduction-to-the-history-of-technology-fall-2006/a96089fb1b0343cb358c982a9bb3c072_fox_crystalfire.pdf - Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age - Theme: Sources] - interesting detail on the sources used for 'Crystal Fire'
+* [https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sts-340j-introduction-to-the-history-of-technology-fall-2006/a96089fb1b0343cb358c982a9bb3c072_fox_crystalfire.pdf Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age - Theme: Sources] - interesting detail on the sources used for 'Crystal Fire'
 [[Category: Electronics]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:55, 6 December 2023
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	* [https://computerhistory.org/blog/the-surface-state-job/ "The Surface State Job"]		* [https://computerhistory.org/blog/the-surface-state-job/ "The Surface State Job"]
		+	* [https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sts-340j-introduction-to-the-history-of-technology-fall-2006/a96089fb1b0343cb358c982a9bb3c072_fox_crystalfire.pdf - Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age - Theme: Sources] - interesting detail on the sources used for 'Crystal Fire'

	[[Category: Electronics]]		[[Category: Electronics]]

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 ==Further reading==
-* Michael Riordan, Lillian Hoddeson, ''Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age'' - the definitive history of the invention of the transistor
+* Michael Riordan, Lillian Hoddeson, ''Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age'', Norton, New York, 1997 - a wonderful history of transistors and ICs, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120627121017/http://laimbio08.escet.urjc.es/docencia/FOTONICA/origins_p_n_junction_IEEE_spectrum_34_1997.pdf Chapter 6] contains the definitive history of the invention of the transistor
 ==External links==

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		+	==Further reading==
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		+	* Michael Riordan, Lillian Hoddeson, ''Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age'' - the definitive history of the invention of the transistor

	==External links==		==External links==

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		+	==External links==
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		+	* [https://computerhistory.org/blog/the-surface-state-job/ "The Surface State Job"]

	[[Category: Electronics]]		[[Category: Electronics]]

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		+	[[Category: Electronics]]

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-A '''transistor''' is the now-ubiquitous device used to control (i.e. switch), and also possibly amplify, signals in an [[electronic]] system. It replaced an earlier generation of technology which performed the same function, [[vacuum tube]]s. They are made out of [[semiconductor]]s, solid materials that are intermediate between conductors (such as metals) and [[insulator]]s in their ability to carry electicity.
+A '''transistor''' is the now-ubiquitous device used to control (i.e. switch), and also possibly [[amplifier|amplify]], signals in an [[electronic]] system. It replaced an earlier generation of technology which performed the same function, [[vacuum tube]]s. They are made out of [[semiconductor]]s, solid materials that are intermediate between conductors (such as metals) and [[insulator]]s in their ability to carry electicity.
 A transistor generally has two inputs and an output: one input where the main signal (or power) comes in, another input which controls the electrical flow through the transistor, and an output where the main signal flows out. Specialized transistors can have more.
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 The latter type is now the kind used in most ICs, implemented in [[Metal Oxide Semiconductor|CMOS]].
-{{stub}}
+{{semi-stub}}

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-A '''transistor''' is the now-ubiquitous device used to control (i.e. switch), and also possibly amplify, signals in an electronic system. It replaced an earlier generation of technology which performed the same function, [[vacuum tube]]s. They are made out of [[semiconductor]]s, solid materials that are intermediate between conductors (such as metals) and insulators in their ability to carry electicity.
+A '''transistor''' is the now-ubiquitous device used to control (i.e. switch), and also possibly amplify, signals in an [[electronic]] system. It replaced an earlier generation of technology which performed the same function, [[vacuum tube]]s. They are made out of [[semiconductor]]s, solid materials that are intermediate between conductors (such as metals) and [[insulator]]s in their ability to carry electicity.
 A transistor generally has two inputs and an output: one input where the main signal (or power) comes in, another input which controls the electrical flow through the transistor, and an output where the main signal flows out. Specialized transistors can have more.
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 ==Details==
-The first transistor design to reach mass production was the 'bipolar junction transistor', which can amplify a current flow. Its two inputs and an output are the 'collector' (where the main current flows in), the 'base' (an input which controls the current flow through the transistor), and the 'emitter' (where the main current flows out).
+The first transistor design to reach mass production was the '[[bipolar]] junction transistor', which can amplify a current flow. Its two inputs and an output are the 'collector' (where the main current flows in), the 'base' (an input which controls the current flow through the transistor), and the 'emitter' (where the main current flows out).
-Another transistor design, theorized in the 1920s, but not actually constructed until after the bipolar transistor, was the 'field effect transistor', which can use a voltage to control current flow. Its two inputs and an output are the 'source' (where the main current flows in), the 'gate' (an input which controls the current flow through the transistor), and the 'drain' (where the main current flows out).
+Another transistor design, theorized in the 1920s, but not actually constructed until after the bipolar transistor, was the '[[field effect transistor]]', which can use a voltage to control current flow. Its two inputs and an output are the 'source' (where the main current flows in), the 'gate' (an input which controls the current flow through the transistor), and the 'drain' (where the main current flows out).
-The latter type is now the kind used in most ICs.
+The latter type is now the kind used in most ICs, implemented in [[Metal Oxide Semiconductor|CMOS]].
 {{stub}}

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 A '''transistor''' is the now-ubiquitous device used to control (i.e. switch), and also possibly amplify, signals in an electronic system. It replaced an earlier generation of technology which performed the same function, [[vacuum tube]]s. They are made out of [[semiconductor]]s, solid materials that are intermediate between conductors (such as metals) and insulators in their ability to carry electicity.
-A transistor generally has two inputs and an output: one input where the main signal comes in, another input which controls the electrical flow through the transistor, and an output where the main signal flows out. Specialized transistors can have more.
+A transistor generally has two inputs and an output: one input where the main signal (or power) comes in, another input which controls the electrical flow through the transistor, and an output where the main signal flows out. Specialized transistors can have more.
-The first transistors were individually packaged; some transistors (particularly those used for power systems) are still sold in this format. However, the physical nature of transistors allows them to be made very small, and technology was developed to allow creating more than one transistor on a single piece of semiconductor, the [[integrated circuit]] (IC).
+The first transistors were individually packaged; some transistors (particularly those used for power systems) are still produced in this format. However, the physical nature of transistors allows them to be made very small, and technology was developed to allow creating more than one transistor on a single piece of semiconductor, the [[integrated circuit]] (IC).
 Over time, the technology of making transistors on ICs smaller has improved to where the number of transistors in which can be included in a single IC has grown to almost unbelievable levels, such that the largest modern ICs can contain more than a billion transistors. At the same time, the speed of operation has increased, and the power used has decreased.