Transistor

Article By:

Neudeck, Gerald W. Department of Electrical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.

Artaki, Michael Engineering Research Center, AT&T, Princeton, New Jersey.

Fox, Robert M. Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Last reviewed:January 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.705300

A solid state device involved in amplifying small electrical signals and in processing of digital information. Transistors act as the key element in amplification, detection, and switching of electrical voltages and currents. They are the active electronic component in all electronic systems which convert battery power to signal power. Almost every type of transistor is produced in some form of semiconductor, often single-crystal materials, with silicon being the most prevalent. There are several different types of transistors, classified by how the internal mobile charges (electrons and holes) function. The main categories are bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) and field-effect transistors (FETs).

The content above is only an excerpt.