transistor: Types of Transistors

The transistor is an arrangement of semiconductor materials that share common physical boundaries. Materials most commonly used are silicon, gallium-arsenide, and germanium, into which impurities have been introduced by a process called “doping.” In n-type semiconductors the impurities or dopants result in an excess of electrons, or negative charges; in p-type semiconductors the dopants lead to a deficiency of electrons and therefore an excess of positive charge carriers or “holes.”

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Invention and Uses of the Transistor
• The Field-Effect Transistor
• The Junction Transistor
• Types of Transistors

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