{
  "patent_number": "US 2524035",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "The Invention of the Transistor",
  "original_title": "Three-electrode circuit element utilizing semiconductive materials",
  "summary": "Bell Labs' 1950 patent for the point-contact transistor, the fundamental electronic component that makes all modern computing possible.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes the first working transistor, a three-electrode circuit element that controls the flow of electricity through a semiconductive material. By applying a small voltage to a control electrode, the device can amplify or switch a much larger current flowing between two other electrodes. This mechanism replaced bulky, fragile, and power-hungry vacuum tubes with a tiny, solid-state component. It effectively functions as an electronic gate, allowing binary data to be processed at high speeds.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover junction transistors, which were developed later and use different internal structures.",
    "Does not cover integrated circuits, which combine many transistors onto a single chip.",
    "Does not cover field-effect transistors (FETs) that use an insulated gate structure.",
    "Does not cover modern silicon-based manufacturing processes like photolithography."
  ],
  "filed": "1948-06-17",
  "granted": "1950-10-03",
  "expires": "1968-06-17",
  "status": "expired",
  "holder": "Bell Telephone Laboratories Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/bell-telephone-laboratories-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Walter H Brattain",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/walter-h-brattain"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bardeen John",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/bardeen-john"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 130,
  "tags": [
    "semiconductors",
    "telecommunications",
    "consumer_electronics"
  ],
  "abstract": null,
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2524035/point-contact-transistor",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2524035/point-contact-transistor/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US2524035",
  "relatedPatents": [
    {
      "patentNumber": "2569347",
      "countryCode": "US",
      "title": "The Invention of the Junction Transistor",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2569347/junction-transistor"
    },
    {
      "patentNumber": "3102230",
      "countryCode": "US",
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      "countryCode": "US",
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  ]
}