A new manufacturing technique has successfully "self-assembled" transistors, diodes and wires at the nanoscale Julia Chang/NC State University View 5 Images ...

You probably also have a working knowledge that a germanium diode or a Schottky diode will have a lower forward voltage, and you’ll know in turn that a bipolar transistor will begin to turn on ...

integrating hundreds or even thousands of transistors on one integrated circuit revolutionized electronics of all types. Transistors got better. Parameters become less variable and yields increased.