Memorandum

To:
From:
Date:
Subject:

Professor Aaron Schab

Stephen Wayne
22 Feb 2015
Technical Definitions and Descriptions

Here is my response to your request for an Extended Technical Definition and Developed
Technical Description on a topic of my choice. I will be writing about an electronic transistor.
Audience
This technical definition and description is directed towards an audience that has completed a
basic education, and has some level of familiarity with electronics. It is targeted specifically to
those that wish to understand the basic building blocks of electronic devices, what they are, and
how they work. This paper is not intended for an audience with an electrical engineering
background, as it will provide little or no useful information for a design project.
Purpose
A vast majority of consumers familiar with electronic devices have likely heard about transistors
whether it be for a radio or the newest iPhone release but they lack a basic understanding of
what they are and how they function. This document aims to define what a transistor is, explain
how it works, and discuss its implementation in todays digital world.
Placement
This document would likely fit well into an Engineering Basics document, along with a
compilation of definitions and descriptions of other engineering devices. Since it is intended to
be informative without being overly technical, it could also be converted to a poster and used to
advertise a universitys electrical and computer engineering department to potential incoming
students because it explains a fundamental device that everything today is based around. This
could also be used in an introductory course for electrical and computer engineers, such as the
University of Idahos ECE101: Foundations of Electrical and Computer Engineering to give
students a broad overview of the different components of the discipline. Finally, the technical
definition and description could be converted into a website link for technology companies to
explain the basics of how their components work.
Image Choice
I chose images that will give the audience a point of reference, enabling me to write shorter,
simpler descriptions that are easier to understand. Figure 1 shows the audience a circuit
schematic, allowing me to discuss the terminals on the transistor. Figure 2 and Figure 3 show
how the charge carriers (electrons and holes) move when the transistor is turned on and off.
Without this image I would have had to write a much longer description to explain how they
work.
Approach

Wayne 2

For my technical definition I explained fundamental terms, and then defined a transistor as a
switch and then an amplifier. For my technical description, I explained how two common types
of transistors work, and then how they can be implemented in a digital (computer) system.

Wayne 3

Extended Technical Definition

At its core, a transistor is a tiny switch or amplifier. Transistors were first invented by three
scientists at Bell Laboratories in 1947, and consist of three separate layers of a semiconductor
material, such as silicon. [1] The layers each have different electrical properties to allow an
electric current to flow (or not flow) through it easily.
To properly understand how a transistor works, one must have basic knowledge of a few other
terms. An electron is a subatomic particle that carries a tiny amount of charge, and a flow of
electrons is called a current. An insulator is a material that does not allow current to flow
through it easily, and a conductor is a material that does. A semiconductor is a substance with
electronic properties somewhere between that of a conductor and an insulator, in that current can
either flow through it or be blocked by it, depending on the physical properties. An active device
is a component that has the ability to control current flow based on another electronic signal, and
a passive device cannot control current flow based on another electronic signal. A terminal is a
conductive connection to either an input or output of an electronic device. A logic state is a
binary value, which equates to a 1 or 0. A 1 is typically considered on or high and a
0 is considered off or low.
A transistor is considered an active device, as opposed to something like a resistor, which is a
passive device. Transistors can either be voltage-controlled current sources, or a currentcontrolled current sources, depending on the structure. From Figure 1 a), a voltage-controlled
current source accepts a tiny input voltage at the G terminal to allow a current to flow from the D
terminal through the S terminal, as a function of the voltage applied. From Figure 1 b), a
current-controlled current source accepts a tiny current at the B terminal, and allows a current to
flow from the C terminal through the E terminal, as a function of the amount of current supplied
to the input terminal.
In laymans terms, a transistor is a switch. From an engineering and design perspective, a
transistor represents a logic state. It can do so in multiple ways. A logic high could result from
a current flowing through the device, or it could result from the device being turned off, creating
a high voltage on the D or C terminal, dependent on the type of transistor. Likewise, a logic
low could mean that current is not flowing through the device (device is not powered on) or it
could mean that current is flowing, and therefore there is a lower voltage on the D or C terminal.
A transistor can also function as an amplifier, but the explanation for that is beyond the scope of
this document. Essentially, a tiny change in voltage could be applied to the G terminal (or current
to the B terminal) to create a current that varies with the voltage change. That current causes a
variation in the voltage at the D (or C) node which is greater in magnitude than the input voltage.

Figure 1: a) Field Effect Transistor (FET) [2] b) Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) [3]
Developed Technical Description

Wayne 4

This description will begin by explaining how a transistor is made, including various additional
definitions. It will then describe the Field Effect Transistor from Figure 1: a), and then the
Bipolar Junction Transistor from Figure 1: b). It will conclude by describing how they work in a
logic system.
Transistors are typically made from silicon, but can also be made from more exotic materials if
unique properties are required. The silicon is treated with impurities to change its electrical
properties, making it more or less conductive. N-type silicon can be made by treating regular
silicon with arsenic, phosphorus, or antimony, and p-type silicon can be made by treating with
boron, gallium, or aluminum to add free electrons or holes. These free electrons and holes
are what allows current to flow through the material. Various electronic components including
the two types of transistors mentioned above can be built by layering n-type and p-type silicon.
Field Effect Transistors, pictured below in Figure 2, use an electric field to create a channel of
free electrons to allow current to flow through. When a voltage is applied to the gate, free
electrons are attracted to the surface of the p-type silicon, just below the gate. This creates a
bridge for current to flow through, thus making a voltage-controlled current source, and
turning the transistor on.

Figure 2: FET Diagram [4]

The Bipolar Junction Transistor consists of layers of silicon configured as p-n-p, or np-n as in Figure 3. When the transistor is turned off, no current flows into the base,
and there is an excess of holes in the p-type silicon. This prevents electrons
(current) from flowing from the emitter to the collector. When a voltage and current
are applied to the base, the emitter becomes negatively charged, and the collector
becomes positively charged, allowing electrons to flow from the emitter into the
base, and then from the base into the collector and out of the transistor. The
transistor is then a current source, and on.

Figure 3: BJT Diagram [4]

Transistors are the basic building block of modern computer systems. By using them as switches,
a computer can perform logical operations on various inputs. Transistors can be arranged into
AND gates, OR gates, NOT gates, or a variety of other logical expressions. For example, if a
system has n inputs, an AND gate would return a logic high if all inputs are high, an OR
gate would return high if any or all of the inputs are high, and a NOT gate would return
high if the inputs are low. Transistors can also be connected to logic gates so their input
terminals are connected to their output terminals. In this fashion, the transistor will remain on
even when its input voltage is removed. The outputs will remain in their high or low states
until a new input changes it. This system represents a rudimentary method of storing data in a
circuit as a series of switches that are on and off.

Wayne 5

Works Cited
1. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/transistor
2. http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/416/426185/13fig2.gif
3. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_c1Lxc3Tfj20/TBmeljqthlI/AAAAAAAAAAc/_5LU76bLy3E/s
320/Untitled-1.jpg
4. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/howtransistorswork.html