{ "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-13T00:18:36Z", "providers": [ "Claude" ], "breadth": "written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify", "pass": 2, "wave": 3, "engine": "claude", "enrichment": { "pass": 3, "engine": "claude", "producedAt": "2026-10-06T10:00:00Z", "ingestedAt": "2026-10-06T07:01:01+00:00", "fields": [ "agent_conduct", "ethics", "owners" ] }, "revisions": [ { "at": "2026-10-06T22:54:37+00:00", "engine": "codex", "fields": [ "definition", "visual_identification" ], "answering_review": "34a643001c210056f1979096a2d6f99f4b4ed1260924f34b3d5fb13c3926fe49" } ], "gate": { "passed": true, "version": "1.0", "at": "2026-10-07T10:10:31+00:00", "evidence": [ "completeness 1.00", "sense: Wikidata description", "2 live sources", "review by codex: pass" ] } }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q5339", "registryId": "vr.tr.transistor", "name": "transistor", "version": "0.2.0-wave.3", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "PHY.OBJ" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q5339/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.transistor", "name": "transistor", "purpose": "Let an agent explain how transistors work and their families, relay specifications, packages and applications from datasheets and references, describe history and manufacturing, and distinguish transistors from diodes and integrated circuits.", "definition": "A semiconductor device that amplifies or switches electrical signals, typically with three or more accessible terminals, although some variants such as phototransistors can have only two accessible terminals, invented at Bell Labs in 1947, in main families of bipolar junction transistors and field-effect transistors including MOSFETs, with variants such as phototransistors and light-emitting transistors, and packages such as small-outline transistor packages; transistors are the basic building block of modern electronics, with billions integrated on single chips and discrete parts used in power and signal circuits.", "what_it_is_for": "Amplifying and switching electrical signals.", "affordances": [ "explain operation and families", "relay specifications and packages", "describe manufacturing and scaling", "distinguish from related devices" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "Amplification and switching", "Bipolar and field-effect families", "Extreme miniaturisation", "Foundation of digital electronics" ], "appearance": "A small three-legged component, or a surface-mount package, or microscopic structures on a chip.", "visual_identification": [ "A transistor is a semiconductor amplifier or switch, typically with three accessible terminals, although some phototransistors have only two.", "Examples include BJT, FET, MOSFET and phototransistor devices in various packages.", "Diodes have two terminals, but terminal count alone does not distinguish them from all transistors, and integrated circuits contain many transistors." ], "physical_properties": [ { "quantity": "invention", "typical_range": "1947", "unit": "year", "note": "Bell Labs" }, { "quantity": "transistors per chip", "typical_range": "over 100 billion", "unit": "count", "note": "largest chips" }, { "quantity": "gate length", "typical_range": "a few", "unit": "nm", "note": "advanced nodes" } ], "families_and_kinds": [ "bipolar junction transistors", "field-effect transistors including JFET and MOSFET", "power transistors including IGBTs", "phototransistors and light-emitting transistors", "packages such as SOT-23 and SOT-223", "transistors in integrated circuit series" ], "related_models": [ { "relation": "is a kind of", "target": "active electronic component", "why": "in registry terms" }, { "relation": "is a kind of", "target": "semiconductor device", "why": "in registry terms" }, { "relation": "is the building block of", "target": "integrated circuit", "why": "in digital electronics" }, { "relation": "is contrasted with", "target": "diode", "why": "a two-terminal device" } ], "identifiers": [ { "scheme": "JEDEC", "value_or_pattern": "part numbering", "note": "2N series" }, { "scheme": "Pro Electron", "value_or_pattern": "part numbering", "note": "BC series" } ], "standards_and_regulation": [ "JEDEC and IEC component standards", "RoHS and materials rules", "Export controls on advanced semiconductor technology" ], "failure_modes_and_hazards": [ "Thermal and electrical overstress", "Electrostatic discharge damage", "Confusing families and pinouts" ], "in_scope": [], "out_of_scope": [], "characteristics": [], "agent_conduct": { "may": [ "Explain how transistor families work and compare their characteristics.", "Measure, test and report transistor parameters on equipment it is authorized to use." ], "must_not": [ "Operate a transistor beyond its rated voltage, current or temperature.", "Substitute a part in safety or medical equipment without qualification of the change.", "Present counterfeit or untraced parts as genuine and qualified.", "Work on live circuits where the voltage can injure a person." ], "requires_human": [ "Approving a component change in safety-critical or medical equipment." ] }, "ethics": { "considerations": [ "Counterfeit semiconductors have caused failures in medical and aerospace equipment.", "Semiconductor fabrication uses hazardous chemicals and large amounts of water." ], "affected_parties": [ "Users of the equipment", "Technicians", "Communities near fabrication plants" ] }, "owners": { "steward": "The manufacturer for the part; the owner of the equipment it sits in.", "master_systems": [] } }, "sources": [ { "id": "wikidata", "title": "Wikidata item Q5339: transistor", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5339", "url_status": "live", "what_it_supports": "identity and sense of the item", "checked_by": "wikidata-api" }, { "id": "wikipedia-en", "title": "Wikipedia: Transistor", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor", "url_status": "live", "what_it_supports": "general description of the item", "checked_by": "wikidata-api sitelink" } ], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "understand", "name": "Understand", "description": "How transistors work.", "rationale": "Science.", "layers": [ { "id": "operation", "name": "Operation", "description": "Operation.", "findings": [ { "id": "operation-finding", "name": "Operation", "description": "Operation.", "questions": [ { "text": "How do bipolar and field-effect transistors amplify and switch?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "Is the device a transistor, a diode or an integrated circuit?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "families", "name": "Families", "description": "Families and variants.", "findings": [ { "id": "families-finding", "name": "Families", "description": "Families.", "questions": [ { "text": "What families and variants exist, and how do they differ?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "Which entry fits the specific type?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "use", "name": "Use", "description": "Design and application.", "rationale": "Practice.", "layers": [ { "id": "specs", "name": "Specs", "description": "Specifications.", "findings": [ { "id": "specs-finding", "name": "Specs", "description": "Specs.", "questions": [ { "text": "How are transistors specified in datasheets, and how are packages chosen?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which references are standard?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] }, { "id": "circuits", "name": "Circuits", "description": "Circuits.", "findings": [ { "id": "circuits-finding", "name": "Circuits", "description": "Circuits.", "questions": [ { "text": "How are transistors used in amplifiers, switches and logic gates?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits the specific circuit?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "make", "name": "Make", "description": "Manufacturing and scaling.", "rationale": "Industry.", "layers": [ { "id": "fabrication", "name": "Fabrication", "description": "Fabrication.", "findings": [ { "id": "fabrication-finding", "name": "Fabrication", "description": "Fabrication.", "questions": [ { "text": "How are transistors fabricated on silicon, and what do advanced nodes involve?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits semiconductor fabrication?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "scaling", "name": "Scaling", "description": "Moore law and limits.", "findings": [ { "id": "scaling-finding", "name": "Scaling", "description": "Scaling.", "questions": [ { "text": "How has transistor scaling progressed, and what limits exist, with sources?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which sources are cited?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "context", "name": "Context", "description": "History and industry.", "rationale": "Context.", "layers": [ { "id": "history", "name": "History", "description": "History.", "findings": [ { "id": "history-finding", "name": "History", "description": "History.", "questions": [ { "text": "How was the transistor invented and developed, from Bardeen, Brattain and Shockley to the MOSFET?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits the history of electronics?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "industry", "name": "Industry", "description": "Industry and policy.", "findings": [ { "id": "industry-finding", "name": "Industry", "description": "Industry.", "questions": [ { "text": "How is the semiconductor industry structured, and what policy issues exist, with positions attributed?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits semiconductor industry?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Should MOSFET and BJT be separate primary entries?", "How should datasheet sources be linked?", "The registry entry has merged aliases naming packages and IC series; should they be split off?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 4, "layers": 8, "findings": 8, "questions": 16 } }