Transistor

The transistor used most commonly in the microelectronics industry is called a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). It contains two n-type regions, called the source and the drain, with a p-type region in between them, called the channel. Over the channel is a thin layer of nonconductive silicon dioxide topped by another layer, called the gate. For electrons to flow from the source to the drain, a voltage (forward bias) must be applied to the gate. This causes the gate to act like a control switch, turning the MOSFET on and off and creating a logic gate that transmits digital 1s and 0s throughout the microprocessor.