Potenzialgesteuerte

Potenzialgesteuerte is a term used in German-language technical literature to describe processes, devices or systems whose behavior is controlled by electrical potential differences or by electric fields. The term emphasizes that the control parameter is voltage rather than time or other stimuli.

In electronics, potenzialgesteuerte Elemente or Schaltungen are those whose state or transfer behavior varies with the applied potential. This includes circuits in which the output is set by an input voltage, such as voltage-controlled oscillators and voltage-controlled switches, as well as transistor-based amplifiers and field-effect devices in which the gate voltage modulates conductivity.

In biology and physiology, the concept occurs in discussions of membrane processes governed by membrane potential. However, German texts more often distinguish spannungsabhängige or potenzialabhängige Ionenkanäle and other excitability phenomena, rather than using the general term potenzialgesteuert.

In materials science and electrochemistry, potenzialgesteuerte effects describe phenomena where reaction rates, adsorption, or deposition are modulated by applied potentials, such as field-assisted surface reactions or electrochemical deposition under different electrode potentials.

Limitations: potenzialgesteuerte is a descriptive, cross-disciplinary term rather than a single precise technical definition; its exact meaning depends on context. In translations, the closest equivalents are voltage-controlled or potential-driven.