1948

Transistor Invented
American physicists Walter H. Brattain, John Bardeen, and William B. Shockley develop the transistor, a
solid-state electronic device consisting of a tiny piece of semiconducting material. The transistor
replaces the vacuum tube in computers and calculators, and the three scientists share the 1956 Nobel
Prize in physics for their work.

polar Junction Transistors

The bipolar junction transistor consists of three layers of highly purified silicon (or germanium) to which small
amounts of boron (p-type) or phosphorus (n-type) have been added. The boundary between each layer forms a
junction, which only allows current to flow from p to n. Connections to each layer are made by evaporating
aluminum on the surface; the silicon dioxide coating protects the nonmetalized areas. A small current through the
base-emitter junction causes a current 10 to 1000 times larger to flow between the collector and emitter. (The
arrows show a positive current; the names of layers should not be taken literally.) The many uses of the junction
transistor, from sensitive electronic detectors to powerful hi-fi amplifiers, all depend on this current amplification.
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Transistor
Transistors are electronic devices that are used as amplifiers, oscillators, or switches in communication, control,
and computer systems. A transistor consists of small layers of silicon or germanium that have been "doped," or
treated with impurity atoms, to create n-type and p-type semiconductors. The diagram shows the structure of
various kinds of transistors.
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A single crystal containing both n-type

and p-type regions may be prepared by introducing the donor and acceptor impurities into molten
germanium or silicon in a crucible at different stages of crystal formation. The resultant crystal
has two distinct regions of n-type and p-type material, and the boundary joining the two areas is
known as an n-p junction. Such a junction may be produced also by placing a piece of donor-
impurity material against the surface of a p-type crystal or a piece of acceptor-impurity material
against an n-type crystal and applying heat to diffuse the impurity atoms through the outer layer.

Figure 1: N-P Junction

Figure 1: N-P Junction

An n-p junction (also known as a diode) will only allow current to flow in one direction.
The electrons from the n-type material can pass to the right through the p-type material, but
the lack of excess electrons in the p-type material will prevent any flow of electrons to the
left. Note that the current is defined to flow in a direction that is opposite to the direction of
the flow of the electrons.
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When an external voltage is applied, the n-p junction acts as a rectifier, permitting current to
flow in only one direction (see Rectification). If the p-type region is connected to the positive
terminal of a battery and the n-type to the negative terminal, a large current flows through the
material across the junction. If the battery is connected in the opposite manner, as shown in the
diagram in Fig. 1, current does not flow.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Bipolar Junction Transistors

The bipolar junction transistor consists of three layers of highly purified silicon (or germanium)
to which small amounts of boron (p-type) or phosphorus (n-type) have been added. The
boundary between each layer forms a junction, which only allows current to flow from p to n.
Connections to each layer are made by evaporating aluminum on the surface; the silicon dioxide
coating protects the nonmetalized areas. A small current through the base-emitter junction causes
a current 10 to 1000 times larger to flow between the collector and emitter. (The arrows show a
positive current; the names of layers should not be taken literally.) The many uses of the junction
transistor, from sensitive electronic detectors to powerful hi-fi amplifiers, all depend on this
current amplification
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.