Basic CMOS transistor

Transistor – A simple on/off switch that processes the ones and zeroes of electrical data. Digital chips, such as microprocessors, consist of millions of such transistors connected together by copper wires in a specific pattern. The current Intel® Core™2 quad-core processor has more than 500 million tiny transistors. As technology advances, the objective is to make these transistors smaller, faster, cheaper and less energy-hungry, all of which leads to more powerful chips. Current flow from the source to the drain is determined by whether the gate is at high or low voltage, much as a light switch’s state (up or down) controls whether or not current flows to a light bulb.

Source – The part of the transistor from which the current flows. It consists of doped silicon – meaning silicon containing impurities that lower resistance.

Drain – The part of the transistor to which the current flows. It is doped with impurities in the same way as the source. A transistor is completely symmetrical, meaning current can flow from source to drain, or drain to source.

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