gate (redirected from get the gate)

(1) An open/closed switch.

(2) A pattern of transistors that makes up an AND, OR or NOT Boolean logic gate. See gate array.

(3) In a field effect transistor (FET), the element that acts as a trigger to cause the transistor to switch. In a bipolar transistor, the gate is called the "base." See transistor, FET and MOSFET.

The Gate in an NMOS Transistor

The gate is the trigger line. When pulsed, an electromagnetic field causes the switch to close.

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1.		GATE - GAT Extended? Based on IT. [Sammet 1969, p. 139].
2.	(hardware)	gate - A low-level digital logic component. Gates perform Boolean functions (e.g. AND, NOT), store bits of data (e.g. a flip-flop), and connect and disconnect various parts of the overall circuit to control the flow of data (tri-state buffer). In a CPU, the term applies particularly to the buffers that route data between the various functional units. Each gate allows data to flow from one unit to another or enables data from one output onto a certain bus.