Field Effect Transistor

electronics engineering
 History
FET are thought long before bipolar
junction transistor.

J.E. Lilienfeld applied for

patent for a FET principle in
1925 and granted in 1930.
Dr. Oskar Heil patented
another FET in 1934.

J.E. Lilienfeld and Dr. Oskar Heil

failed to build the device.
 History
William Shockley and co-worker
at Bell labs, Gerald Pearson, had
built operational versions from
Lilienfeld’s patent.
SHOCKLEY

In 1960s, FETs become

commercially available.

FETs are used in most computer

ICs.
PEARSON
Field Effect
Transistor
§ Unipolar device
§ Three terminal device
containing one basic PN
junction
General Characteristics
§ Unipolar device depends on only one type
of charge, either free electrons or holes. It
has majority carriers only.
§ The conduction of the carrier is controlled
by the electric field.
§ It has high input impedance which is
important in some linear application.
§ Most preferred device in switching
application because there are no minority
carriers. It can switch off faster since no
stored charge has to be removed from the
junction area.
 BJT VS FET
E C S D

B G

SOURCE – equivalent to the EMITTER of the

transistor
DRAIN – equivalent to the COLLECTOR of the
transistor
GATE – equivalent to the BASE of the
transistor
 General Comparisons
between FET and BJT
1. The FET has extremely high input
resistance with about 100 M ohms
typical (BJT input resistance typically
2k ohms)
2. The FET has no offset value when
used as a switch
3. The FET is relatively immune to
radiation , but the BJT is very sensitive
 General Comparisons
between FET and BJT
4. The FET is less noisy than BJT
5. The FET can be operated to provide
greater thermal stability than BJT
6. FET is smaller than BJT
7. FET has smaller gain bandwidth than
BJT
8. FET has greater susceptibility to
damage in handling
 FET FAMILY
Field Effect
Transistor

Junction Insulated-gate
(JFET) (MOSFET)

Depletion Depletion Enhancement

 JFET Constructions and
Symbols
Drain Drain
D
D
G G
Gate Gate
P N P N P N
S S

Source Source

There are two types of JFET’s: n-channel and p-channel.

The n-channel is more widely used.
JFET Constructions and
Symbols

NJFET

PJFET
 JFET Operation

Channel

Drain
IDS
DIDS 1
m= =G=
DVDS R
E

N DIDS

DVDS

Source
VDS

Channel acts as a resistor.

 JFET Operation
ID OHMIC REGION

Shorted Gate

BREAKDOWN
IDSS
D

REGION
N
ACTIVE REGION

G
P P
vP vDS(max)
VDS

If VGS = 0 and VDS is further

increased to a more positive
S voltage, then the depletion
zone gets so large that it
pinches off the n-channel.
 JFET Operation

VP – Pinch-off voltage. This

ID OHMIC REGION
is the minimum voltage
Shorted Gate
that produces constant

BREAKDOWN
IDSS

REGION
current in FET.
ACTIVE REGION
VDS(max) = Breakdown
voltage. The current ID
vDS(max)
increases without limit.
vP VDS

IDSS = drain to source current with shorted gate.

= the maximum (saturation) current of JFET
can produce.
 JFET Operation
OHMIC REGION
ID
IDSS VGS = 0
10mA
D
VGS = -1
5.6mA

VGS = -2
2.5mA
G
0mA VGS = - 4
P P
4V 30V
vP vDS(max) VDS

N As VGS becomes more negative,

S
JFET has lower pinch-off voltage
(Vp) and maximum drain current
(ID) decreases.
 Drain – Source
Characteristic
ID
(mA) VP VGS

IDSS 0V

ID4 -1V

ID3 -2V

ID2 -3V

ID1 -4V

0 VDS (V)
0 5 10 15 20
 JFET Transfer
Conductance Curve
Saturation ID
Current (IDSS) (mA)
40

30
Pinch off
Voltage (VP) 20

10
VGS
(V)
-4 -3 -2 -1 0
 JFET Characteristics
ID ID
(mA) (mA)

VGS
IDSS IDSS 0V

ID4 ID4 -1V

ID3 ID3 -2V

ID2 ID2
-3V
ID1 ID1 -4V

0 0
VGS -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 0 5 10 15 20 VDS
(V) (V)
 2
æ VGS ö
ID = IDSS ç 1 - ÷
è VP ø
IDSS : drain – source
saturation current
Vp, Vgs(off) : pinch – off voltage
ID : drain – source current
VGS : gate source voltage
Device Transconductance

2IDSS æ VGS ö
gm = ç1- ÷
VP è VP ø
gm : device transconductance

æ VGS ö
gm = gmo ç 1 - ÷
è VP ø
gmo : max. ac gain parameter
example # 1
Determine the drain current of
an n channel JFET having a
pinch off voltage VP = - 4 V and
drain – source saturation
current = 12 mA at VGS = 0 V
and VGS = -3V

ID = 12 mA ID = 750 µA
example # 2
Calculate the transconductance,
gm, of a JFET with IDSS = 12mA
and VP = - 4V at bias point
VGS = - 1.5 V

gm = 3.75 mS
example # 3
What is the value of IDSS for an n
channel JFET with gmo = 4.5 mS
and VP = - 3V?

IDSS = 6.75 mA
example # 4

What is the value of Vp of a

P channel JFET having IDSS =
12 mA and gmo = 6500 μS?

VP = +3.692 V
example # 5
Determine the value of gmo for a
P channel JFET having Vp = 3.8 V
and IDSS = 6.8 mA.

gmo = 3.579 mS
example # 6

A P- channel JFET with IDSS = 13.5

mA , Vp = 5 volts is operated at
ID = 9.5 mA. What is the value
of gm at this operating point?

gm = 4.53 mS
example # 7
What is the maximum value of
transconductance of a JFET
(VP = -4V) if the transconductance is
4500 μS when operated at VGS=-1 V?

gmo = 6 mS
 MOSFET
- It has no PN junction structure
- The gate of the MOSFET is
insulated from the channel by a
silicon dioxide (SiO2) layer. Thus,
the input resistance is extremely
high.
- It is sometimes called
Insulated-Gate FET (IGFET).
 2 Types of MOSFET
1. Depletion MOSFET
2. Enhancement MOSFET
DEPLETION MOSFET

Channel is physically
constructed and current
between drain and source
will result if a voltage is
connected across the drain
source
 D-MOSFET Construction
and Symbol
(Drain) n-channel D
SiO2 SiO2
D
n p

Substrate (Substrate)

Substrate
(Gate)
n SS p

N
P

G G SS

n p

S
(Source)
S
D D
G G

S S
 D-MOSFET Operation
The negative charges
D
on the gate repel
RD conduction electrons
n
from the channel,
SS
Substrate

n
leaving positive ions in
P

G their place. Thereby,

n the n channel is
depleted of some of its
electrons, thus
S
decreasing the
channel conductivity.
 D-MOSFET Operation

The positive
D RD
charges on the gate
n attracts conduction
SS electrons from the
Substrate

channel, thus
P

n
increasing
(enhancing) the
S
channel
conductivity.
 Drain – Source
Characteristic
ID VGS
(mA)
1V

IDSS 0V

ID4 -1V

ID3 -2V

ID2 -3V

ID1 -4V

0 VDS (V)
0 5 10 15 20
 D-MOSFET Transfer
Conductance Curve
Formulas for JFET still
Enhancement applicable in D-MOSFET.
Mode
2
æ VGS ö
ID = IDSS ç 1 - ÷
Depletion Mode IDSS ç VGS ( off ) ÷
è ø

æ VGS ö
gm = gm0 ç 1 - ÷
ç VGS ( off ) ÷
è ø
- VGS VGS(off) 0
VGS 2IDSS
gm0 =
For n-channel D-MOSFET
VGS ( off )

If VGS increases to positive value, ID increase. If VGS

decreases to negative value, ID decrease.
 Characteristics
ID ID
VGS
(mA) (mA)
1V

IDSS IDSS 0V

ID4 ID4 -1V

ID3 ID3 -2V

ID2 ID2
-3V
ID1 ID1 -4V

0 0
VGS -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 0 5 10 15 20
VDS
(V)
 ENHANCEMENT
MOSFET
No channel is formed when the
device is constructed. A voltage
must be applied to the gate to
develop a channel so that a
current results when a voltage is
applied across the drain – source
terminal.
 E-MOSFET Construction
and Symbol
(Drain) SiO2 D
SiO2
D
n p
(Substrate)
Substrate
(Gate)

Substrate
SS
P

N
G SS

n p
S
(Source) S
D D

G G

S S
E-MOSFET Operation
ID

P-SUBSTRATE
VDS

VGS
 Drain – Source
Characteristic
ID VGS
(mA)
ID6 6V

ID5 5V

ID4 4V

ID3 3V

ID2 2V

ID1 1V

0 VDS (V)
0 5 10 15 20
Transfer Characteristics

IDS IDS = k(VGS - VGS( TH) ) 2

mA
k = 0.3 2
V

IDS1 gm = 2k ( VGS - VGS(TH) )

VGS
VGS(TH) VGS1
N Channel E MOSFET
example # 1

A depletion MOSFET with IDSS =

12 mA, VP = - 4 V is operated at
VGS = - 0.5 V. What is the value
of transconductance at this
operating point ?

gm = 5.25 mS
example # 2
What is the value of threshold
voltage for an n channel
enhancement MOSFET that
operates at ID = 4.8 mA when biased
at 7 Volts?

VGS(TH) = 3 V
example # 3

An enhancement MOSFET
having threshold voltage of 3.5 V
Is operated at VGS = 5 volts.
What current results?
2
Use k = 0.3 mA /V

ID = 0.675 mA
example # 4
Determine the value of circuit
transconductance for an n
channel enhancement MOSFET
having V TH= 2.8 volts when
operated at 6 volts.

gm = 1.92 mS
example # 5

An enhancement MOSFET
operated at VGS = 7.5 volts
has transconductance of 2.5
mS. What is the value of a
device threshold voltage?

VGS(TH) = 3.333 V
example # 6
Measurements taken with an
E–MOSFET indicate that when
VGS = + 4V, ID = 8 mA and when
VGS = +6 V, ID = 32 mA.
Determine the value of k.
2
k = 0.002 A/V
CONSIDER THE
FOLLOWING
FEATURES OF E-
MOSFET THAT
ARE COMMON
WITH D-MOSFET
1. Charge-carrier flow is
from source to drain.
2. The type of semiconductor
material used for the
channel is opposite the
type of material used for
the substrate.