Summary: IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, VOL. 48, NO. 11, NOVEMBER 2001 2455
Bipolar Transistor Technology: Past and Future
IT IS now more than 50 years since the invention of the
bipolar transistor. The emergence of the transistor from Bell
Laboratories in late 1947 and early 1948 was the first step in
the development of today's semiconductor electronics industry.
Currently transistor production is on the order of 10 /year.
Although CMOS has acquired an ever-increasing role, the
bipolar transistor retains its position as a premier technology
for high speed circuits, power amplifiers, mixed-signal and
precision analog components, and in other applications. In
the intervening years, bipolar technology went through many
changes, some evolutionary and some revolutionary. It was
the topic of a great deal of energetic and insightful research. It
continues today to be a topic of great excitement.
This Special Issue provides an unusual mix of papers. It con-
tains the following.
1) Historical papers that give insight into the personal and
organizational side of past developments. These are issues