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Transistors are semiconductor devices that can amplify and switch electronic signals. They are the fundamental building blocks of modern electronics, enabling the creation of amplifiers, oscillators, and logic circuits. A transistor controls current flow by using a small input signal to regulate a larger current between two terminals. This ability to modulate signals with minimal power made possible the miniaturization of electronic equipment and the rise of computers.

Historically, transistors were invented in 1947 at Bell Labs by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley. Early devices were point-contact and later bipolar junction transistors (BJT). The development of field-effect transistor (FET) technology, including MOSFETs, further enhanced performance and scalability, leading to integrated circuits containing billions of transistors on a single chip.

Types include bipolar junction transistors (NPN and PNP), field-effect transistors such as MOSFETs and JFETs, and high-power variants like IGBTs. BJTs rely on current at the base to control current from collector to emitter; FETs rely on voltage at the gate to control current in a channel between source and drain.

Applications span analog amplification, switching in digital logic, radio frequency front ends, and power electronics. Modern integrated circuits mix vast numbers of transistors to perform computation, signal processing, and control tasks.

Manufacturing involves semiconductor wafers, cleanroom processing, and packaging. The trend known as Moore’s Law tracked the doubling of transistor density roughly every two years, driving declines in cost per function and enabling portable, energy-efficient devices. Ongoing research explores new materials, three-dimensional architectures, and better thermal management to sustain performance gains.