SEMICONDUCTOR TRANSISTOR Meaning and
Definition
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A semiconductor transistor is a crucial electronic component that primarily belongs to the category of semiconductors. It is a three-layer device made of semiconductor material, typically either silicon or germanium. This device has two pn junctions formed within its structure, and it serves as an essential building block for many electronic devices, especially in the field of telecommunications and computer technology.
Transistors work on the principle of amplifying or switching electronic signals. The three layers of a semiconductor transistor are named as emitter, base, and collector. It is typically constructed with two types of transistors: NPN and PNP. The NPN transistor has two n-type layers with one p-type layer in the middle, while the PNP transistor is formed by sandwiching two p-type layers with an n-type layer in the center.
A semiconductor transistor features three key modes of operation: active mode, cutoff mode, and saturation mode. In the active mode, the transistor amplifies the input signal. In cutoff mode, the transistor does not allow any current to flow through it. Lastly, in saturation mode, the transistor permits maximum current to flow through it.
Transistors have a wide range of applications since they can perform numerous functions. They are extensively used in computers, radios, televisions, mobile phones, and audio amplifiers. Additionally, transistors play a vital role in logic gates and microprocessors, which form the fundamental basis of modern-day digital electronics. Without the invention and utilization of the semiconductor transistor, the advancement and sophistication of electronic devices would have been severely impeded.
Common Misspellings for SEMICONDUCTOR TRANSISTOR
- aemiconductor transistor
- zemiconductor transistor
- xemiconductor transistor
- demiconductor transistor
- eemiconductor transistor
- wemiconductor transistor
- swmiconductor transistor
- ssmiconductor transistor
- sdmiconductor transistor
- srmiconductor transistor
- s4miconductor transistor
- s3miconductor transistor
- seniconductor transistor
- sekiconductor transistor
- sejiconductor transistor
- semuconductor transistor
- semjconductor transistor
- semkconductor transistor
- semoconductor transistor
- sem9conductor transistor
Etymology of SEMICONDUCTOR TRANSISTOR
The word "semiconductor transistor" consists of two main terms: "semiconductor" and "transistor".
The term "semiconductor" comes from the combination of two Latin words: "semis", meaning "half", and "ductor", meaning "to lead". In the late 19th century, the concept of a semiconductor was introduced to describe materials with intermediate electrical conductivity, which fell between conductors (such as metals) and insulators (such as non-metals). These materials were found to have conductivity characteristics that could be modified by certain external factors like temperature, light, or electric field.
The word "transistor" is a combination of "transfer" and "resistor". It was coined in the late 1940s when the first practical transistor was developed by scientists John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley at Bell Labs.
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