Transistor circuits and applications

Junction-transistor circuits are reviewed, and new concepts and trends in design are discussed. Improvements in transistor ratings are described, but special transistor types such as tetrodes, p-n-p-n and unipolar devices are not considered. Basic applications surveyed include low-level and power amplifiers, square-wave and sinusoidal oscillators, power convertors and regulators, waveform-shaping and computing circuits, and low-level and power-switching circuits. Numerous references are given. Transistors are capable of supplanting thermionic circuits in all except high-frequency applications (above 10 Mc/s with currently-available units). High temperatures will continue to present limitations in military applications, until silicon transistors become widely available. In more general applications, such as the entertainments field, cost is at present an important limiting consideration.