A transistor is a semiconductor device that amplifies and switches electronic signals. It has three terminals and replaced vacuum tubes in electronic devices. A CPU transistor is part of an integrated circuit and can be a switch or amplifier. Transistors are smaller and cheaper than vacuum tubes and were invented in the 1950s. The first patent was filed in 1925, and the first silicon transistor was built in 1954.
A transistor is a semiconductor device that switches and amplifies electronic signals. It has a minimum of three terminals that connect it to an electronic circuit. The transistor was invented in the early 1950s and quickly replaced vacuum tubes in electronic devices. These devices are now an essential component of almost any electronic device, such as a computer’s central processing unit (CPU). A CPU transistor is usually part of an integrated circuit, although it can also be purchased individually.
The terminals in a CPU transistor have specific names depending on the type of transistor. The terminals of a simple bipolar transistor are called the collector, emitter and base. The current or voltage applied to the base affects the current flow from the collector to the emitter.
The voltage at the base of the transistor can be used to turn the current flow from the collector to the emitter on and off. This type of transistor is a switch and is a common type of CPU transistor called a logic gate. A switch generally does not allow current to pass unless the voltage at the base exceeds a minimum threshold. The voltage at the base is controlled by other components in the circuit.
A CPU transistor can also be an amplifier. This type of transistor uses the voltage across the base to control the amount of current flowing through the amplifier. This means that a small change in the voltage at the base can produce a large difference in the voltage between the collector and the emitter.
Transistors offer significant advantages over vacuum tubes in computers. A CPU transistor is much smaller than its vacuum tube equivalent, allowing for the miniaturization of computers. The production of transistors can be automated to a greater extent than that of vacuum tubes, meaning that transistors are cheaper than vacuum tubes.
The first patent for a transistor was filed by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in 1925, although he did not actually build such a device. Herbert Matare discovered the effects of semiconductors while working on a Doppler radar system in 1942. Then the technology advanced and in 1947, while working at AT&T’s Bell Labs, Walter Brattain and John Bardeen discovered that a crystal of germanium could amplify an electric current . Gordon Teal built the first silicon transistor for Texas Instruments in 1954, and the CPU transistor, which is a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor, was first built at Bell Labs in 1960.
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