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transistor

A semiconductor device

Also known as transistors

Instance of: type of electronic component
Subclass of: semiconductor device
, active electronic component

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semiconductor material, usually with at least three terminals for connection to an electronic circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals controls the current through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be higher than the controlling (input) power, a transistor can amplify a signal. Some transistors are packaged individually, but many more in miniature form are found embedded in integrated circuits. Because transistors are the key active components in practically all modern electronics, they are considered one of the 20th century's greatest inventions.

Overview

All data

72 statements · 15% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Members / parts: p–n junction quantity: 2
Follows: semiconductor diode
vacuum tube
gas-filled tube
Discovered: December 1947
Developer: Bell Labs

On other databases

56 identifiers linking transistor across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

15%

externally sourced

Source last edited September 20, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). transistor (Q5339). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/transistor-Q5339