An operational amplifier is a DC-coupled electronic voltage amplifier with a differential input, a (usually) single-ended output, and an extremely high gain. Its name comes from its original use of performing mathematical operations in analog computers.
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semiconductor material, usually with at least three terminals for connection to an electronic circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals controls the current through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be higher than the controlling (input) power, a transistor can amplify a signal. Some transistors are packaged individually, but many more in miniature form are found embedded in integrated circuits. Because transistors are the key active components in practically all modern electronics, many people consider them one of the 20th century's greatest inventions.
A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a type of transistor that uses both electrons and electron holes as charge carriers. In contrast, a unipolar transistor, such as a field-effect transistor (FET), uses only one kind of charge carrier. A bipolar transistor allows a small current injected at one of its terminals to control a much larger current between the remaining two terminals, making the device capable of amplification or switching.
In electronics, a Darlington configuration is a circuit consisting of two bipolar transistors with the emitter of one transistor connected to the base of the other, such that the current amplified by the first transistor is amplified further by the second one. The collectors of both transistors are connected together. This configuration has a much higher current gain than each transistor taken separately. It acts like and is often packaged as a single transistor. It was invented in 1953 by Sidney Darlington.
In electronics, emitter-coupled logic (ECL) is a high-speed integrated circuit bipolar transistor logic family. ECL uses an overdriven bipolar junction transistor (BJT) differential amplifier with single-ended input and limited emitter current to avoid the saturated region of operation and the resulting slow turn-off behavior. As the current is steered between two legs of an emitter-coupled pair, ECL is sometimes called current-steering logic (CSL), current-mode logic (CML) or current-switch emitter-follower (CSEF) logic.
Pro Electron or EECA is the European type designation and registration system for active devices.
The breakdown voltage of an insulator is the minimum voltage that causes a portion of an insulator to experience electrical breakdown and become electrically conductive.
The TO-92 is a widely used style of semiconductor package mainly used for transistors. The case is often made of epoxy or plastic, and offers compact size at a very low cost.
The 2N3055 is a silicon NPN power transistor intended for general purpose applications. It was introduced in the early 1960s by RCA using a hometaxial power transistor process, transitioned to an epitaxial base in the mid-1970s. Its numbering follows the JEDEC standard. It is a transistor type of enduring popularity.
In electronics, the Sziklai pair, also known as a complementary feedback pair, is a configuration of two bipolar transistors, similar to a Darlington pair. In contrast to the Darlington arrangement, the Sziklai pair has one NPN and one PNP transistor, and so it is sometimes also called the "complementary Darlington". The configuration is named for George C. Sziklai, thought to be its inventor.
Integrated injection logic (IIL, I2L, or I2L) is a class of digital circuits built with multiple collector bipolar junction transistors (BJT). When introduced it had speed comparable to TTL yet was almost as low power as CMOS, making it ideal for use in VLSI (and larger) integrated circuits. The gates can be made smaller with this logic family than with CMOS because complementary transistors are not needed. Although the logic voltage levels are very close (High: 0.7V, Low: 0.2V), I2L has high noise immunity because it operates by current instead of voltage. I2L was developed in 1971 by Siegfried K. Wiedmann and Horst H. Berger who originally called it merged-transistor logic (MTL). A disadvantage of this logic family is that the gates draw power when not switching unlike with CMOS.
Open collector, open drain, open emitter, and open source refer to integrated circuit (IC) output pin configurations that process the IC's internal function through a transistor with an exposed terminal that is internally unconnected. One of the IC's internal high or low voltage rails typically connects to another terminal of that transistor. When the transistor is off, the output is internally disconnected from any internal power rail, a state called "high-impedance" (Hi-Z). Open outputs configurations thus differ from push–pull outputs, which use a pair of transistors to output a specific voltage or current.
Texas Instruments Power, known more popularly by its acronym TIP, is a series of bipolar junction transistors manufactured by Texas Instruments. The series was introduced in the 1960s, and still sees some use today due to their simplicity, their durability, and their ease of use. A Texas Instruments catalog in 1966 lists the TIP04 and TIP14 part numbers.
The 2N3904 is a common NPN bipolar junction transistor used for general-purpose low-power amplifying or switching applications. It is designed for low current and power, medium voltage, and can operate at moderately high speeds. It is complementary to the 2N3906 PNP transistor. Both types were registered by Motorola Semiconductor in the mid-1960s.
The 2N2222 is a common NPN bipolar junction transistor (BJT) used for general purpose low-power amplifying or switching applications. It is designed for low to medium current, low power, medium voltage, and can operate at moderately high speeds. It was originally made in the TO-18 metal can as shown in the picture.
The 2N2907 is a commonly available PNP bipolar junction transistor used for general purpose low-power amplifying or switching applications. It is designed for low to medium current, low power, medium voltage, and can operate at moderately high speeds. This transistor was made by several manufacturers; Texas Instruments released a data sheet for their version of this part dated March 1973. An "A" suffix indicates a slightly higher breakdown voltage. These transistors have an enduring popularity with electronics hobbyists.
The 2N3906 is a commonly used PNP bipolar junction transistor intended for general purpose low-power amplifying or switching applications. It is designed for low electric current and power and medium voltage, and can operate at moderately high speeds. It is complementary to the 2N3904 NPN transistor. Both types were registered by Motorola Semiconductor in the mid-1960s.
The BC548 is a general-purpose NPN bipolar junction transistor commonly used in European and American electronic equipment. It is notably often the first type of bipolar transistor hobbyists encounter and is often featured in designs in hobby electronics magazines where a general-purpose transistor is required. The BC548 is low in cost and widely available.
The Blackmer gain cell is an audio frequency voltage-controlled amplifier (VCA) circuit with an exponential control law. It was invented and patented by David E. Blackmer between 1970 and 1973. The four-transistor core of the original Blackmer cell contains two complementary bipolar current mirrors that perform log-antilog operations on input voltages in a push-pull, alternating fashion. Earlier log-antilog modulators using the fundamental exponential characteristic of a p–n junction were unipolar; Blackmer's application of push-pull signal processing allowed modulation of bipolar voltages and bidirectional currents.
The TL431 integrated circuit (IC) is a three-terminal adjustable precise shunt voltage regulator. With the use of an external voltage divider, a TL431 can regulate voltages ranging from 2.495 to 36 V, at currents up 100 mA. The typical initial deviation of reference voltage from the nominal 2.495 V level is measured in millivolts, the maximum worst-case deviation is measured in tens of millivolts. The circuit can control power transistors directly; combinations of the TL431 with power MOS transistors are used in high efficiency, very low dropout linear regulators. The TL431 is the de facto industry standard error amplifier circuit for switched-mode power supplies with optoelectronic coupling of the input and output networks.
