In the analog world of continuously varying signals, a transistor is a device used to amplify its electrical input. In the digital world of computing, a transistor is mostly a binary switch and the fundamental building block of digital circuitry. Like a light switch on the wall, the transistor acts as a simple on/off switch, either preventing or allowing current to flow through.
Made of Semiconductor Material
The active part of the transistor is made of silicon or some other semiconductor material that can change its electrical state when pulsed. In its normal state, the material may be nonconductive or conductive, either impeding or letting current flow. When voltage is applied to the transistor's gate, it changes its state.
Transistors to Gates to Circuits to Systems
Transistors, as well as resistors, capacitors and diodes, are wired in patterns that make up logic gates. Logic gates wired in patterns make up circuits, and circuits wired in patterns make up electronic systems. To learn more about the transistor, see chip. See phototransistor and High-K/Metal Gate.
Conceptual View of a Transistor
In an "enhancement mode" transistor, the semiconductor material normally acts as an insulator. In a digital circuit, it works like an on/off switch becoming conductive for a moment when it is pulsed with electricity. However, it can also function like a relay to amplify analog signals such as from an audio source, transferring a low voltage at the gate to a larger voltage at the drain.
The First Silicon Transistor
The first transistors had five times the mass of an entire chip today. In 1954, Texas Instruments pioneered the commercial production of silicon transistors. (Image courtesy of Texas Instruments, Inc.)
Transistors Get Smaller
When IBM announced the System/360 in 1964, its Solid Logic technology tied three transistors together. With the top of the module removed, you can see the three silvery transistors. This half-inch square space today can hold millions of transistors. (Image courtesy of International Business Machines Corporation. Unauthorized use not permitted.)
Made of Semiconductor Material
The active part of the transistor is made of silicon or some other semiconductor material that can change its electrical state when pulsed. In its normal state, the material may be nonconductive or conductive, either impeding or letting current flow. When voltage is applied to the transistor's gate, it changes its state.
Transistors to Gates to Circuits to Systems
Transistors, as well as resistors, capacitors and diodes, are wired in patterns that make up logic gates. Logic gates wired in patterns make up circuits, and circuits wired in patterns make up electronic systems. To learn more about the transistor, see chip. See phototransistor and High-K/Metal Gate.
Conceptual View of a Transistor
In an "enhancement mode" transistor, the semiconductor material normally acts as an insulator. In a digital circuit, it works like an on/off switch becoming conductive for a moment when it is pulsed with electricity. However, it can also function like a relay to amplify analog signals such as from an audio source, transferring a low voltage at the gate to a larger voltage at the drain.
The First Silicon Transistor
The first transistors had five times the mass of an entire chip today. In 1954, Texas Instruments pioneered the commercial production of silicon transistors. (Image courtesy of Texas Instruments, Inc.)
Transistors Get Smaller
When IBM announced the System/360 in 1964, its Solid Logic technology tied three transistors together. With the top of the module removed, you can see the three silvery transistors. This half-inch square space today can hold millions of transistors. (Image courtesy of International Business Machines Corporation. Unauthorized use not permitted.)
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Will the GPU become the new CPU?
- No mention of OpenCL?Oh well...Not right now, but will come soon.Not right now, but maybe will come soon.The current generation of GPUs are fantastically powerful, BUT:-Current GPUs use a technology called "stream processing," which essentially pre-loads the instructions into the processors and starts streaming data.This is unlike CPUs, where both...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-27
- News to know: AT&T; Apple; Google; Verizon; Microsoft
- Here are today’s notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily. For continuous updates see BNET’s around-the-Web tech coverage. Dancho Danchev: Weak passwords dominate statistics for Hotmail's phishing scheme leak Larry Dignan: The Android army: Verizon Wireless, Google...
- Blog posts 2009-10-07
- Can IBM's DNA transistor someday take genetic sequencing mainstream?
- sweet!is the genome xprize over? I lost track of it... it doesn't seem to be in the news as much...RE: Can IBM's DNA transistor someday take genetic sequencing mainstream?Oh, come on. To control the speed the DNA strand passes through the reader, it's just a matter of using...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-06
- Can IBM's DNA transistor someday take genetic sequencing mainstream?
- IBM Research on Tuesday unveiled plans to create a "DNA transistor" that would result in personalized genetic testing for about $100 to $1,000. If successful, IBM could take genetic testing mainstream. In other words, your future Best Buy shopping list may look like this: PC, digital camera,...
- Blog posts 2009-10-06
- The 10 biggest moments in IT history
- Missing: Tim Berners-Lee?The Mouse, and the GUI ...... without the invention of the mouse or the GUI/WYSIWYG there would not be as many users as there are today, and I would hazard a guess that it would be restricted to business applications like accounting, and Data Analysis.LudoRE: The 10...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-21
- Chip industry's boom/bust cycles and the failure of business intelligence
- The chip industry appears to be recovering from its bust cycle and beginning to enter into its boom cycle - it's a repetitive cycle of around four years in length. The Semiconductor Industry Association reports a 20 percent drop to $51.7 billion for the second...
- Blog posts 2009-08-03
- Illinois researchers create fastest LED ever; aid computing efficiency
- Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created the fastest LED ever, setting a a new record with a signal-processing modulation speed of 4.3 gigahertz, breaking the previous record of 1.7 GHz. Why is this important? Engineering professor Nick Holonyak Jr....
- Blog posts 2009-07-10
- Five ways to keep the dust bunnies out of a PC
- Five ways to keep the dust bunnies out of a PCTypo?When you mentioned environments where stuff is bound to get dirty anyway, did you mean to say "these tips are [b]not[/b] for them" ?Aside from that, good article!RE: Five ways to keep the dust bunnies out of a PCIronically (to...
- Discussion threads 2009-06-05
- Prime View International acquires E Ink for $215 million
- E Ink, the company behind the e-paper displays on the Kindle and Sony e-book lineup, has been acquired by Prime View International, which makes e-paper displays. The deal was valued at $215 million. E Ink and Prime View PVI were already partners. The goal is to combine...
- Blog posts 2009-06-01
- Basic transistor flaw could hobble chip design
- Basic transistor flaw could hobble chip designNist?Since when does an acronym become a word? The article throughout uses "Nist" instead of "NIST" and that just seems wrong.RE: Basic transistor flaw could hobble chip designObviously the diametric flow of the transistors' compulsion modules are being chopped into negative intervals, thereby reversing...
- Discussion threads 2009-05-29
- News to know: Google Wave; Bing; Palm webOS; Verizon Wireless CEO; AOL
- Here are today’s notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily. For continuous updates see BNET’s around-the-Web tech coverage. Sam Diaz: Meet Google Wave: a new way to communicate and collaborate Google Wave: It's still a work in...
- Blog posts 2009-05-29
- (Photos: Integrated circuit celebrates 50th birthday)
- (Photos: Integrated circuit celebrates 50th birthday)Integrated CIrcuit 50th BirthdayInteresting photo essay. I was an EE undergraduate in the late 50s. We had only a few transistors for the entire semiconductor class. Interesting to see the history and photos of the legends of the time. I would have liked more...
- Discussion threads 2009-05-11
- Nanowires, nanoribbons and 'graphane' among materials that'll revolutionize computers
- Architects of the next generation of computers are developing a variety of nanostructures to meet the demand for increasingly smaller features for semiconductors, microprocessors, and other components. These tiny building blocks are quite extraordinary-some even self-assemble. And they'll help overcome many of the limitations of today's microelectronics...
- Blog posts 2009-04-24
- Nehalem servers could spark a $27bn feeding frenzy
- Nehalem servers could spark a $27bn feeding frenzyItanium doesn't stand a chance to NehalemOne things for sure (and probably why Intels Tukwila/Itanium has slipped by about a year) is that Itanium doesn't stand a chance against Nehalem and even when Tukwila does arrive, will have a tough ride against Nehalem-EX....
- Discussion threads 2009-03-26
- America's lag-time in alternative energy
- I just blogged about San Francisco applying for a permit to build an offshore wave farm to generate electricity. That's but the second step after deciding to try this tech. It's many more steps before anything is actually placed in the Pacific. And this is San Francisco, positioned next...
- Blog posts 2009-03-01
- The PSP Model in RF CMOS Design
- While the Penn State Philips PSP transistor model is rightly hailed as an excellent alternative to traditional BSIM models for RFIC design, RF designers need to be aware of how PSP models relate to actual device behavior. PSP models do require some judgment on the part of model developers. Equally...
- White papers 2009-03-01
- The U.S. is losing it
- The U.S. is losing itDrop the politics. The private sector has innovated plenty as well."Seems that public policy and government supported-research are crucial to innovation, despite what the anti-government partisans keep repeating about the supremacy of the private sector."I see plenty of innovation coming from nVidia, Intel, Microsoft, Apple, AMD,...
- Discussion threads 2009-02-25
- New microchip uses 30 times less power
- Scientists at Rice University have created a microchip that uses 30 times less electricity while running seven times faster than today's best technology. The U.S.-Singapore team developing the technology, named PCMOS, revealed results at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference ISSCC, the world's premier forum for engineers working...
- Blog posts 2009-02-09
- TDMA Technology: Bringing Increased Capacity and Functionality to Professional Digital Two-Way Radio
- Licensed, professional two-way radio is on the verge of making the biggest leap forward since the invention of the transistor - the move from analog to digital. Digital radio offers many advantages over analog, including improved voice quality at greater range, better privacy, sophisticated call-control features, the ability to easily...
- White papers 2009-01-19
- Is the PlayStation Doomed?
- Sony, putting aside the human toll of massive restructuring, is a fascinating example of the carnage happening in the business world today, and the stifling of innovation in large companies. Today's multinational conglomerate had humble origins in post WWII Japan: Masaru Ibuka started a radio repair...
- Blog posts 2009-01-06
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- New Online Dashboard for IT Leaders
-
Read about top issues IT decision-makers face every day, plus get cost-effective solutions to real-life IT problems.
- Learn more >>
- Keep Up With The Latest In Document Management with The DocuMentor.
-
Doc delivers the scoop on today's enterprise content management, printer maintenance, and all other issues related to document management. It's the DocuMentor Blog.
- Learn more >>
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online - Free Six-Month Trial for Eligible Organizations
-
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online provides fast online access, simple contact management and better sales performance for a low monthly cost - the best value on the market today.
- Learn more about the free, six-month trial offer>>
-
-
Smart Tech
Expert advice on innovations in healthcare and the green technologies that make it happen.
Find out more
-
Smart Business
Discussion and advice on management issues that revolve around making your world smarter and more useful.
More Smart Advice
-
Smart People
The best and worst moves in the management and strategy trenches.
Learn More
