Description

On June 30, 1948, AT&T Bell Labs unveiled the transitor to the world, creating a spark of explosive economic growth that would lead into the Information Age. William Shockley led a team of researchers, including Walter Brattain and John Bardeen, who invented the device. Like the existing triode vacuum tube device, the transistor could amplify signals and switch currents on and off, but the transistor was smaller, cheaper, and more efficient. Moreover, it could be integrated with millions of other transistors onto a single chip, creating the integrated circuit at the heart of modern computers.

Today, most transistors are being manufactured with a minimum feature size of 60-90nm--roughly 200-300 atoms. As the push continues to make devices even smaller, researchers must account for quantum mechanical effects in the device behavior. With fewer and fewer atoms, the positions of impurities and other irregularities begin to matter, and device reliability becomes an issue. So rather than shrink existing devices, many researchers are working on entirely new devices, based on carbon nanotubes, spintronics, molecular conduction, and other nanotechnologies.

Learn more about transistors from the many resources on this site, listed below. Use our simulation tools to simulate performance characteristics for your own devices.

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1. High-Aspect-Ratio Micromachining of Titanium: Enabling New Functionality and Opportunity in Micromechanical Systems Through Greater Materials Selection

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   09 Apr 2007 | | Contributor(s):: Masa Rao

   Traditionally, materials selection has been limited in high-aspect-ratio micromechanical applications, due primarily to the predominance of microfabrication processes and infrastructure dedicated to silicon. While silicon has proven to be an excellent material for many of these applications, no...

2. High-Aspect-Ratio Micromachining of Titanium: Enabling New Functionality and Opportunity in Micromechanical Systems Through Greater Materials Selection

   out of 5 stars 

   18 Jun 2008 | | Contributor(s):: Masa Rao

   Traditionally, materials selection has been limited in high-aspect-ratio micromechanical applications, due primarily to the predominance of microfabrication processes and infrastructure dedicated to silicon. While silicon has proven to be an excellent material for many of these applications, no...

3. History of Semiconductor Engineering

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   28 Jun 2006 | | Contributor(s):: Bo Lojek

   When basic researchers started working on semiconductors during the late nineteen thirties and on integrated circuits at the end of the nineteen fifties, they did not know that their work would change the lives of future generations. Very few people at that time recognized the significance of...

4. Illinois ABE 446: Biological Nanoengineering

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   29 Jan 2010 | | Contributor(s):: Kaustubh Bhalerao

   Nanodevice design through organization of functional biological components; bio-molecular function and bioconjugation techniques in nanotechnology; modulation of biological systems using nanotechnology; issues related to applying biological nanotechnology in food energy, health, and the...

5. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 1 Introduction

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   26 Nov 2008 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

   Introduction to Solid State Electronic Devices

6. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 10-11: Optical Absorption and Direct Recombination

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   30 Sep 2009 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

7. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 12: Quasi-Fermi Levels; Photoconductivity

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   05 Jan 2009 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

8. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 13: Diffusion

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   01 Oct 2009 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

   ECE 440: Lecture 13Diffusion Current

9. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 14-15: Diffusion with Recombination

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   08 Oct 2009 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

   •Diffusion with recombination•The diffusion length (distance until they recombine)

10. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 16-17: Diffusion

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    20 Oct 2009 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

    So far:•Energy bands, Doping, Fermi levels•Drift (~n*v), diffusion (~dn/dx)•Einstein relationship (D/μ = kT/q)•“Boring” semiconductor resistors (either n- or p-type)•Majority/minority carriers with illuminationToday, our first “useful” device:•The P-N junction diode in equilibrium (external...

11. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 18: P-N Diode Electrostatics

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    21 Oct 2009 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

    Last time, we talked about p-n junction built-in voltage V¬0.Today: more about p-n electrostatics.

12. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 19: Current Flow in P-N Diode

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    28 Oct 2009 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

    Last time, we talked about unbiased p-n junction.Today: biased (Vext ≠ 0) p-n junction & current flow

13. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 20: P-N Diode in Reverse Bias

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    30 Oct 2009 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

    Recap diode (forward, zero, reverse) bias diagrams.Recap some of the equations.

14. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 21: P-N Diode Breakdown

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    04 Mar 2010 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

15. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 22&23: P-N Junction Capacitance; Contacts

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    03 Mar 2010 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

16. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 24: Narrow-base P-N Diode

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    03 Mar 2010 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

17. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 25: Intro to BJT

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    03 Mar 2010 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

18. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 26: Narrow-base BJT

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    03 Mar 2010 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

19. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 27: BJT Gain

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    03 Mar 2010 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

20. Illinois ECE 440 Solid State Electronic Devices, Lecture 28&29: All Modes of BJT Operation

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    02 Mar 2010 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Pop

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