The Birth of Transistors

Semiconductors are a type of substance with conductivity intermediate between conductors and insulators. Compared to conductors and insulators, the discovery of semiconductor materials was the latest, and it was not until the 1930s, when the purification technology of materials improved, that the existence of semiconductors was truly recognized by the academic community.

Semiconductors are mainly composed of four components: integrated circuits, optoelectronic devices, discrete devices, and sensors. Due to the fact that integrated circuits account for over 80% of the devices, semiconductors and integrated circuits are usually equivalent. Integrated circuits are mainly divided into four categories according to product types: microprocessors, memory, logic devices, and analog devices. Usually, we collectively refer to them as chips.