What is a CPU Transistor?

A transistor is a semiconductor device that switches on and off and amplifies electronic signals. It has at least three terminals that connect it to electronic circuits. The transistor was invented in the early 1950s and quickly replaced vacuum tubes in electronic devices. These devices are now an important part of almost all electronic devices, such as the central processing unit (CPU) of computers. A CPU transistor is usually part of an integrated circuit, although it can also be purchased separately.

A central processing unit (CPU).

Terminals in CPU transistors 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 flow of current from the collector to the emitter.

The voltage at the base of the transistor can be used to turn on and off the current flowing from the collector to the emitter. This type of transistor is a switch and is a common type of CPU transistor called a logic gate. Switches generally do not allow current to flow unless the voltage of the base is above the minimum threshold. The voltage at the base is controlled by other components in the circuit.

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A CPU transistor can also be an amplifier. This type of transistor uses the voltage at the base to control the amount of current flowing through the amplifier. This means that a small change in the base voltage can make a huge difference in the voltage between the collector and the emitter.

Transistors have obvious advantages over vacuum tubes in computers. A CPU transistor is much smaller than its vacuum tube equivalent, allowing computers to be miniaturized. Transistors can be manufactured more automatically than vacuum tubes, which means that transistors are cheaper than vacuum tubes.

The first transistor patent was filed by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in 1925, although he had not actually built such a device. Herbert Matare discovered the semiconductor effect in 1942 while researching Doppler radar systems. The technology then progressed, and in 1947, while working at AT&T's Bell Laboratories, Walter Brattain and John Bardeen discovered that germanium crystals could amplify current. Gordon-thiel built the first silicon transistor for Texas Instruments in 1954, and the CPU transistor, known as a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor, was first made at Bell LABS in 1960.