Introduction
A transistor can be described as a semi-conductor device which can be used to amplify the input signal or to switch electronic signals/power. It was developed back in 1947 by John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain and resulted in the manufacturing of smaller and less expensive radios, calculators and computers. IEEE milestones in electronics include transistors and the inventors were given the Nobel Prize in Physics for creating the transistor.
How Does A Transistor Work?
The transistor is made up of a semi-conductor material and has three terminals for connection to an external circuit. The input signal provided to one pair will result in a change in the other pair of terminals and therefore, output signal can be much higher compared to the input signal. The property of transistor to convert input signal into higher output signal is known as gain.
Types Of Transistor
- Bipolar junction transistor (BJT)
- Darlington Transistor
- Field-effect transistor (FET)
- IGBT Transistor
- Field-effect transistors
- MOSFET Transistor
Applications Of Transistors
- Microphone
- Light operated Switch
- Heat operated Switch
- Integrated Circuits
- Regulators
- Amplifiers
Precautionary Measures
- Be careful about the reverse blocking properties.
- Gate to source voltage spikes need to be attended to.
- Switching can induce drain/collector voltage spikes.
- Don’t exceed the peak current rating.
