How Did Transistors Revolutionize The World Of Computers

The basic element of the modern computer is an integrated circuit, or electronic chip. It is a circuit combining in a very small volume several elementary electronic components, including a colossal number of transistors. These integrated circuits are shaped on the surface of a silicon wafer 30 centimeters in diameter. At the end of a long series of operations (photo-engraving, chemical or heat treatment of surfaces, etc.), a wafer of several hundred chips is obtained.

The story of the discovery of the transistor is the story of how small details change the world . It is also the point of no return, the threshold of the Information Age, and therefore a moment that is already indicated in the books. And it also marks the first great application of quantum mechanics: the moment when what could have been considered almost esoteric becomes in the palm of our hand.

The chips thus manufactured from a silicon wafer are in theory all identical. In practice, this is not the case. Within the reaction chambers, the local conditions inevitably vary, hence the greater or lesser differences between the circuits produced. In addition, the heating and cooling cycles as well as the intense electrical currents undergone by a chip during its use can also, over time, modify it. Calculation circuits must therefore be able to function correctly despite differences between their components, which are only nominally identical.

It is significant that the word “transistor” was also used to name small radios that could be carried from one place to another: despite its undoubted importance for the entire industry, the invention of that “crystal fire” was particularly popular because it could be applied directly on the general public in very different ways. It was and still is a technology made to change the way of living. It was, of course, history.

What is the role of the transistor in the computer?
In electronic computers, the component acting as a switch is the transistor, a component that has only two states “on” and “off” corresponding to the numerical data 0 or 1 to be transmitted. It therefore behaves like a switch.

What is the transistor effect?

Biasing the reverse PN junction with a small electric current (sometimes called a transistor effect) can “control” a much larger current, following the principle of current amplification.

What is a transistor in computing?
Transistor is an electronic component that is used in most electronic circuits (logic circuits, amplifier, voltage stabilizer, signal modulation, etc.)

What are the characteristics of a transistor?
The transistor is considered a quadrupole; it has two input terminals and two output terminals (one leg will then be common to the input and the output) and will be defined by 4 signals: input current and voltage, output current and voltage.

What are the types of transistors?
There are different types of transistors: bipolar, unipolar (FET, JFET, JUGFET, IGFET), unijunction (UJT, formerly called filamentary transistor).

What is the role of a PDF transistor?

Its role is to inject electrons into the base.Base (B) is lightly doped and very thin. It transmits most of the electrons coming from the emitter to the collector.

How does a transistor amplify current?
Most of the resistors in the assembly and the voltage source form a bias circuit, whose role is to put the input and the output at a non-zero voltage. The transistor is then in saturation mode and can operate as an amplifier for small signals.

What is the main component of a transistor?
The transistor is a component with three terminals which is made up of two PN diodes glued back to back so as to form either an NPN series) or a PNP series if they are put together in the other direction. NPN and PNP are two types of transistors.

When was the transistor invented?
February 1948 The decisive experiment took place shortly before Christmas 1947 when Bardeen and Brattain, following a long experimental journey, implanted two electrodes on a crystal of germanium and obtained an amplification phenomenon. In order to master all the data, the patent was not filed until February 1948.

How does a switching transistor work?

A transistor is said to operate in switching, when it passes from the saturated state to the blocked state or vice versa. In this case, the passage from one state to another must be done very quickly, therefore very rapid transition. In any case, the transistor can only take 2 states (0 or 1), this is called binary.

What is the size of a transistor?
Down to 5 nanometer gate length – high-end transistors on the market today are some 20 nanometers, but 10 nanometer chips should soon see day – if all goes well. Below this, a quantum phenomenon called the tunnel effect is triggered. 11-Oct-2016

When the transistor is blocked?
A transistor is said to be off when its collector current is zero A transistor is said to be saturated when its Vce is close to 0v (in practice 0.4v) and its base current is 0v. ©el is less than the base current defined by the transistor bias

What is the power of a transistor?
Power bipolar transistors are mainly used for amplification and switching. The voltages involved range from a few tens of Volts to a few hundred Volts, while the currents involved are several Amps.

How to calculate the power of a transistor?

A power transistor crossed by collector current IC and supporting a collector-emitter voltage VCE dissipates a power P=VCE. IC (neglecting the control power Vbe. Ib) and becomes a heat generator.

How to plot the characteristic of a transistor?
To plot the characteristic relative to IB = 0, it suffices to open the input circuit (the base is in the air). Then, VCE is varied using resistor R2; For example from volt to volt (0, 1, 2, 3… volts). For each value of VCE, the value of the corresponding current IC is measured.

What is the role of a diode in a circuit?
A diode is a semiconductor device that primarily acts as a one-way switch of current. It allows current to flow easily in one direction, but severely restricts current from flowing in the opposite direction.

How do you know if a transistor is NPN or PNP?
If the transistor is an NPN type, current will flow when the multimeter’s red lead is on the base, and the black lead is in contact with the emitter and then the collector. If the transistor is of the PNP type, it will be the reverse (red wire reversed with the black wire).

Why are transistors used?

It can be used to regulate the flow of electric current in which a small amount of current in the base controls a larger current between the collector and the emitter. It is possible to use the transistors to amplify a weak signal, like an oscillator or like a switch.

What are the 2 types of bipolar transistors and draw their symbols?
Bipolar transistor Positive in the direction of the arrow and negative in the opposite direction. There are two kinds of bipolar transistors (PNP and NPN) and it is the direction of the current, which they allow to pass in one direction and block in the other, which differentiates them.

What is the difference between a bipolar transistor and a field effect transistor?
In a bipolar transistor it is the base current at the input which controls the collector current at the output. In a field effect it is the gate voltage at the input which controls the drain current at the output. Besides these differences: The input resistance is much larger in a field effect.

How Did Transistors Revolutionize The World Of Computers

The first direct consumer use product to use a transistor was a sonotone . But it didn’t take long for someone who was interested in something further to appear. And, curiously, it came from outside the US: while the electronics industry in this country focused on the military uses of the invention, it was the Japanese Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita who saw the definitive business: they founded Sony and specialized in producing small portable radios . The “other” transistors.

The basic element of the modern computer is an integrated circuit, or electronic chip. It is a circuit combining in a very small volume several elementary electronic components, including a colossal number of transistors. These integrated circuits are shaped on the surface of a silicon wafer 30 centimeters in diameter. At the end of a long series of operations (photo-engraving, chemical or heat treatment of surfaces, etc.), a wafer of several hundred chips is obtained.