A transistor is a device that can either switch an electric current on and off, or amplify an electric current. (http://www.pbs.org/transistor/teach/teacherguide_html/lesson3.html)
The main component in a microchip is the transistor. Computers operate on a binary system, which uses only two digits: 0 and 1, all kinds of information are converted into combinations of 1s and 0s. As transistors can act as a switch, therefore their application in a computer microchip is to either let current through, representing the binary digit 1, or cut it off, representing 0. (http://www.pbs.org/transistor/teach/teacherguide_html/ lesson3. html) All aspects of modern Western Society rely on computers. Computers cannot operate without microchips, which’s main component is a transistor. Hence, the transistors impact on modern Western Society is immeasurable.
The transistor brought about the beginning of solid state electronics, which resulted in the silicon chip. The silicon chip enabled advancements in methods of data capture and processing, as well as information collection and sharing. The flow...
The Tesla coil is an electrical circuit made of the resonant transformer and developed by the famous inventor Nikola Tesla around 1891 as a power supply for his "System of Electric Lighting". The project mentioned above was designed to produce a current that alternates with high frequency, low-current and high voltage. Tesla experimented with a number of different configurations consisting of two, or sometimes three, coupled resonant electric circuits.
To begin with, the microchip was invented with the first microcomputer in 1973 which revolutionized the business world drastically. Personal computers then began to appear in homes and the computers changed many things like banking systems, assembly plants, and business offices which replaced jobs like bank tellers in the bank. On the other hand, the invention of industrial robots allowed jobs to be done more efficiently than the average factory
The first transistor was demonstrated on Dec. 23, 1947, at Bell Labs by William Shockley. This new invention consisting of P type and N type semiconductive materials (in this case germanium) has completely revolutionized electronics. Transistors quickly replaced vacuum tubes in almost all applications (most notably those in discrete logic). Today when we think of transistors the first thing that comes to mind is computers. Advances in transistor technology and manufacturing processes as well as new materials being used for the semiconductor matrix and wiring have led to smaller, faster, cheaper, lower power transistors. Some of the basic principles behind semiconductor behavior and the restrictions currently faced by modern transistors will be discussed in the following pages.
As the microelectronic and VLSI technologies matured, the number of components on a single silicon chip also increased, reaching a point in which a complete electronic system fits in a single integrated circuit. At that moment, the System on Chip was born.
In the modern world, we have many devices that help us with our daily lives. These devices include the cellular phone, the music player and many more but none of these devices would exist without the invention of the transistor. The transistor is essentially the most important device ever created. Not because of what it does but because of what size it is. The transistor is absolutely necessary for our day-to-day lives.
In 1906, L.D Forest invented the first vacuum tube which was used for rectifying, amplifying and switching electrical signals [1]. Vacuum tubes had played an important role in the development of electronics before the advent of semiconductor transistor. In 1947, J. Brattain and W. Bardeen invented the first point contact junction transistor [2,3] and in 1948 W. Schokley proposed bipolar junction transistor (BJT) [4]. In 1951, W. Shockley invented junction field-effect transistor (JFET) [5]. JFET replaced the vacuum tube by a solid state device and found the path for smaller and cheaper electronic devices. In 1958, j. Kilby invented the first integrated circuit and received the Nobel physics prize for his innovative work [6].For the first time, In 1960, D. Kahng fabricated metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) on silicon(Si)-substrate using silicon oxide(SiO2)[7].MOSFETs rapidly replaced the JFET and had become core of microelectronics. Due to single polarity of MOSFET, it suffered large power dissipation. In 1963, the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) field effect transistor (FET) which uses both n-type and p-type MOSFETs [8].
In 1947 with the invention of the transistor, the role of the interconnect has proven to be a critical component in the design and manufacture of integrated circuits1. Various metals and manufacturing techniques have been employed, from pure Aluminum to Tungsten plugs to the metal that is used in the High Volume Manufacture of integrated circuit today, Copper.
Semiconductors were being studied in laboratories as early as the 1830's. The materials were usually poor conductors if heated and often carried photoelectric properties. (Electrical production by shining light on the material.) Soon, this property of changing conductivity would become of vital importance to the world of electronics and communications. (Micron) Common semiconductors include silicon, zinc and germanium; however, silicon is by far the most widely implemented due to its abundance. Also, its reasonable speed, simple processing, and useful temperature range make it a good choice among other semiconductors. (Wikipedia - Semiconductor Device) This element has been used to make cast iron, bricks, and pottery, and glass, but it found a new technological purpose. Silicon is extracted from sand and altered using small amounts of impurities (more on that later) so the electrical current across the silicon can be regulated depending on the polarity of the electrical charge applied to it. Before semiconductors (1600's to 1800's), the vacuum tube dominated electronics. Radios, and even computers used vacuum tubes in their circuits. However, semiconductors in the form of transistors, replaced vacuum tubes because they were smaller, lighter, less power consuming, more durable, more reliable, and generated less heat. (Xiao) Semiconductors are now used in almost any electronic component imaginable.
In the past few decades, one field of engineering in particular has stood out in terms of development and commercialisation; and that is electronics and computation. In 1965, when Moore’s Law was first established (Gordon E. Moore, 1965: "Cramming more components onto integrated circuits"), it was stated that the number of transistors (an electronic component according to which the processing and memory capabilities of a microchip is measured) would double every 2 years. This prediction held true even when man ushered in the new millennium. We have gone from computers that could perform one calculation in one second to a super-computer (the one at Oak Ridge National Lab) that can perform 1 quadrillion (1015) mathematical calculations per second. Thus, it is only obvious that this field would also have s...
Born on November 8, 1923 in Jefferson City, Missouri, Jack Kilby was a determined intellectual. After receiving a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Mr. Kilby decided to get his M.S. in the same field from the University of Wisconsin. He then began his career in Milwaukee in 1947, working in the Centralab Division of Globe Union Inc. “developing ceramic-base, silk-screen circuits for consumer electronic products.” 1958 was significant for Jack Kilby due to the fact that he began working in Dallas for Texas Instruments (TI) early that year. During the summer of that same year, using borrowed materials, Mr. Kilby envisioned and constructed the very first electronic circuit in which “all of the components, both active and passive, were fabricated in a single piece of semiconductor material half the size of a paper clip.” On September 12, 1958, history was made in a TI laboratory after he successfully demonstrated the ability of that first microchip. Mr. Kilby showed the TI management a piece of germanium with an oscilloscope attached, turned it on, and the oscilloscope demonstrated a continuous sine wave, “proving that his integrated circuit worked.”
First off let’s get something straight. When I refer to computers in this essay I am not referring only to the microprocessor sitting on your desk but to microprocessors that control robots of various structure.
The field of electrical & electronics engineering has always fascinated me. I picked up the rudiments of electronics field and electrical engineering. The reason for choosing Electronics and Communication stream was not a hasty decision. My interest started developing in the early stage of my life, when I studied about the invention of computers, moreover about its large size. The transformation from the large size to small palmtops enticed me to know about the factors that are responsible for making computers, also the electronic gadgets so small. I was taken aback after seeing a small chip for the first time in my school days, furthermore when it came to my knowledge that this single chip contains more than 1000 transistors, it really became impossible for...
Experimental discoveries led to know that semiconductor devices could work much better than vacuum tubes. So with the advancement of technology fabrications of semiconducting devices were done; large numbers of tiny transistors were incorporated in a small chip. This was the birth of IC.
...othing like what are computers are today, it still started the ball rolling for the invention of many practical and useful computers today.
Siegel, L., and Markoff, J. (1985) The Dark Side of the Chip: The High Cost of High Tech. New York: Harper and Row.