Course description
In Introduction to Transistors, you'll learn ...
- What is a transistor and how it operates
- How a transistor amplifier works
- How to select proper circuit-biasing conditions for an amplifier
- Amplifier classes of operation
Overview
Credit: 3 PDH
Length: 58 pages
A transistor is a small electronic device that amplifies a signal or can turn electricity on or off. Invented in 1948 at Bell Labs, transistors have become the key ingredient of all digital circuits, including computers.
A transistor consists of three layers of silicon or germanium semiconductor material. Impurities are added to each layer to create a specific electrical positive or negative charged behavior: There are essentially two basic types of point-contact transistors, the NPN transistor and the PNP transistor, where the N and P stand for negative and positive, respectively. The only difference between the two is the arrangement of bias voltages.
To understand how a transistor works, you have to understand how semiconductors react to an electric potential. Some semiconductors will be N-type, or negative, which means that free electrons in the material drift from a negative electrode (of, say, a battery it's connected to) toward the positive. Other semiconductors will be P-type, in which case the electrons fill "holes" in the atomic electron shells, meaning that it behaves as if a positive particle is moving from the positive electrode to the negative electrode. The type is determined by the atomic structure of the specific semiconductor material.
This course provides a basic understanding of the physical concepts needed to understand the fundamentals of semiconductor devices.
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Who should attend?
Certificate of Completion
You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 20 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.
Training content
This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:
- Define the term "transistor" and give a brief description of its construction and operation
- How the transistor can be used to amplify a signal
- The four classes of amplifiers
- The three different transistor circuit configurations and how they operate
- The precautions to be taken when working with transistors, as well test methods
- How integrated circuits are constructed and the advantages they offer over conventional transistor circuits
- The two types of circuit boards
- The purpose and function of modular circuitry
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