|
Historical
Background
The transistor was invented at Bell Labs in late 1947. This
first transistor technology was known as “point contact”, a term which
referred to the construction process of two pointed wires or contacts that
were physically pressed down onto a germanium block. Point contact
technology was quickly superceded by more stable and manufacturable
transistor types, such as grown junction and alloy junction. By the mid
1950s, point contact units were obsolete. Western Electric continued to
manufacture a few point contact types (such as the 2N110) into the 1960s.
The 2N110 was introduced by Western
Electric in 1955, and was listed as a point contact transistor triode in a
hermetically sealed enclosure. The 2N110 was initially identified as the Model
2031 Developmental device. It was designed for use over a wide temperature
range in switching circuits where large-signal parameters of the active
device are of primary interest. Electrically, it is similar to the 2N21 Western
Electric device.
The 2N110 was used by Western Electric
in phone company equipment and also by the U.S. Military. It was manufactured
and sold well into the 1960s.
|
