hot-electron transistor

hot-electron transistor

[¦häti ′lek‚trän ‚tran′zis·tər] (electronics) A transistor in which electrons tunnel through a thin emitter-base barrier ballistically (that is, without scattering), traverse a very narrow base region, and cross a barrier at the base-collector interface whose height, controlled by the collector voltage, determines the fraction of electrons coming to the collector.