#field-effect transistor

[scitechman]

Bigger, Better Conductive Crystals a Boon for Electronics

Bigger, Better Conductive Crystals a Boon for Electronics

Electronic devices are becoming smaller in size, yet the number of functions each gadget can perform is constantly increasing. Driving these improvements is an essential component known as field-effect transistor (FET). The most common FET in modern times—called MOSFET, short for metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor—was built using silicon around the end of the 1950s.

However,…

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[scitechman]

Making the new silicon

Making the new silicon

Shown here is a prototype laptop power adapter made by Cambridge Electronics using GaN transistors. At 1.5 cubic inches in volume, this is the smallest laptop power adapter ever made. Courtesy of Cambridge Electronics

An exotic material called gallium nitride (GaN) is poised to become the next semiconductor for power electronics, enabling much higher efficiency than silicon.

In 2013, the…

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