Transistor
Importance

Because transistors are the key active components in practically all modern electronics, many people consider them one of the 20th century's greatest inventions.

The invention of the first transistor at Bell Labs was named an IEEE Milestone in 2009. Other Milestones include the inventions of the junction transistor in 1948 and the MOSFET in 1959.

The MOSFET is by far the most widely used transistor, in applications ranging from computers and electronics to communications technology such as smartphones. It has been considered the most important transistor, possibly the most important invention in electronics, and the device that enabled modern electronics. It has been the basis of modern digital electronics since the late 20th century, paving the way for the digital age. The US Patent and Trademark Office calls it a "groundbreaking invention that transformed life and culture around the world". Its ability to be mass-produced by a highly automated process (semiconductor device fabrication), from relatively basic materials, allows astonishingly low per-transistor costs. MOSFETs are the most numerously produced artificial objects in history, with more than 13 sextillion manufactured by 2018.

Although several companies each produce over a billion individually packaged (known as discrete) MOS transistors every year, the vast majority are produced in integrated circuits (also known as ICs, microchips, or simply chips), along with diodes, resistors, capacitors and other electronic components, to produce complete electronic circuits. A logic gate consists of up to about 20 transistors, whereas an advanced microprocessor, as of 2022, may contain as many as 57 billion MOSFETs. Transistors are often organized into logic gates in microprocessors to perform computation.

The transistor's low cost, flexibility and reliability have made it ubiquitous. Transistorized mechatronic circuits have replaced electromechanical devices in controlling appliances and machinery. It is often easier and cheaper to use a standard microcontroller and write a computer program to carry out a control function than to design an equivalent mechanical system.
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