transistor

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NMOS transistorNegative-channel metal-oxide semiconductors (NMOS) employ a positive secondary voltage to switch a shallow layer of p-type semiconductor material below the gate into n-type. For positive-channel metal-oxide semiconductors (PMOS), all these polarities are reversed. NMOS transistors are more expensive, but faster, than PMOS transistors.

How the Elliott 803 transistorized computer works

electron hole: movement

forward-biased p-n junction

cross section of an n-p-n transistor

MESFET transistorIn a metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET), current is normally on (used to represent “true” or “1”). A secondary voltage is applied to the gate to deplete charge carriers beneath it, thereby pinching off the current, or changing the state to off (“false” or “0”).

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transistor summary

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transistor: Media

electronics

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How the Elliott 803 transistorized computer works

How the Elliott 803 transistorized computer works

Learn about the Elliott 803, a transistorized computer made in the United Kingdom...

Video: © Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Images

NMOS transistorNegative-channel metal-oxide semiconductors (NMOS) employ a positive secondary voltage to switch a shallow layer of p-type semiconductor material below the gate into n-type. For positive-channel metal-oxide semiconductors (PMOS), all these polarities are reversed. NMOS transistors are more expensive, but faster, than PMOS transistors.

NMOS transistorNegative-channel...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

transistor

transistor

The first transistor, invented by American physicists John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain,...

© Windell Oskay, www.evilmadscientist.com (CC BY 2.0)

CMOS

CMOS

A complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) consists of a pair of semiconductors...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

electron hole: movement

electron hole: movement

Movement of an electron hole in a crystal lattice.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

p-n junction

p-n junction

A barrier forms along the boundary between p-type and n-type semiconductors...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

forward-biased p-n junction

forward-biased p-n junction

Adding a small primary voltage such that the electron source (negative terminal)...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

cross section of an n-p-n transistor

cross section of an n-p-n transistor

An n-p-n transistor and its electronic symbol.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

MESFET transistorIn a metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET), current is normally on (used to represent “true” or “1”). A secondary voltage is applied to the gate to deplete charge carriers beneath it, thereby pinching off the current, or changing the state to off (“false” or “0”).

MESFET transistorIn a metal-semiconductor...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Moore's law

Moore's law

Moore's law. Gordon Moore observed that the number of transistors on a computer chip...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

first transistor

first transistor

The transistor was invented in 1947 at Bell Laboratories by John Bardeen, Walter...

Lucent Technologies Inc./ Bell Labs

A transistor is a sandwich of dissimilar semiconductors to which are attached three electrodes. Because of the unique electrical properties that occur at p-n junctions, current between two of the electrodes may be turned on or off like a switch by varying the voltage applied to the third electrode. In the metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) shown, current flows between the source and drain electrodes and is regulated by the gate electrode. The n-type semiconductor regions have an excess of electrons, but are separated from each other by the p-type region, which has an excess of positive charge, called “holes.” If a positive voltage is applied to the gate (top), electrons in the p-region will be attracted to the area under the oxide, forming a channel of negative charge between the source and drain. If a positive voltage is then applied to the drain, a current of electrons flows through the device and the transistor is on. If the gate voltage is removed (bottom), the electron channel is broken and the transistor is off.

A transistor is a sandwich of dissimilar semiconductors to which are attached three...

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