The transistor as a network element

The development of the transistor has provided an active element having important advantages in space and power. As a result, the question arises whether strategic insertion of such active elements in passive networks might lead to interesting results. This paper describes a theoretical analysis, confirmed by experiment, of certain possible network applications of transistors. Four general areas are considered in which transistors are used as follows: to reduce the detrimental effects of dissipative reactive elements, to eliminate the necessity for inductors in frequency selective circuits, to produce two terminal envelope delay structures having zero loss, and to invert the impedance of reactive structures. The conclusion is drawn that judicious interspersion of transistors in a transmission network enables the achievement of performance which would otherwise be unobtainable or uneconomical.