Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor
Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor
a field-effect transistor (FET with an insulated gate) where the voltage determines the
conductivity of the device.
It is used for switching or amplifying signals. The ability to change conductivity with the amount
of applied voltage can be used for amplifying or switching electronic signals.
MOSFETs are now even more common than BJTs (bipolar junction transistors) in digital and
analog circuits.
The silicon dioxide forms the Gate of the MOSFET. It is used to provide isolation by preventing
the direct flow of charges on the gate to the conducting channel.
A MOSFET is by far the most common transistor in digital circuits, as hundreds of thousands or
millions of them may be included in a memory chip or microprocessor.
Since they can be made with either p-type or n-type semiconductors, complementary pairs of
MOS transistors can be used to make switching circuits with very low power consumption, in the
form of CMOS logic.
MOSFETs are particularly useful in amplifiers due to their input impedance being nearly infinite
which allows the amplifier to capture almost all the incoming signal. The main advantage is that
it requires almost no input current to control the load current and that’s why we choose MOSFET
over BJT.
Structure:
MOSFET Structure
It is a four-terminal device with Source (S), Drain (D), Gate (G), and body (B) terminals. The
body (B) is frequently connected to the source terminal, reducing the terminals to three. It works
by varying the width of a channel along which charge carriers flow (electrons or holes).
The charge carriers enter the channel at the source and exit via the drain. The width of the
channel is controlled by the voltage on an electrode called Gate which is located between the
source and the drain. It is insulated from the channel near an extremely thin layer of metal oxide.
1. Depletion Mode: The transistor requires the Gate-Source voltage (VGS) to switch the device
“OFF”. The depletion-mode MOSFET is equivalent to a “Normally Closed” switch.
2. Enhancement Mode: The transistor requires a Gate-Source voltage (VGS) to switch the
device “ON”. The enhancement mode MOSFET is equivalent to a “Normally Open” switch.
P-Channel MOSFET
P Channel
MOSFET Depletion and Enhancement Mode
The drain and source are heavily doped p+ region and the substrate is in n-type. The current
flows due to the flow of positively charged holes, and that’s why known as p-channel MOSFET.
When we apply negative gate voltage, the electrons present beneath the oxide layer experience
repulsive force and are pushed downward into the substrate, the depletion region is populated by
the bound positive charges which are associated with the donor atoms.
The negative gate voltage also attracts holes from the P+ source and drain region into the channel
region.
N-Channel MOSFET
N-
channel MOSFET Enhancement and Depletion Mode
The drain and source are heavily doped N+ region and the substrate is p-type. The current flows
due to the flow of negatively charged electrons and that’s why known as n-channel MOSFET.
When we apply the positive gate voltage, the holes present beneath the oxide layer experience
repulsive force, and the holes are pushed downwards into the bound negative charges which are
associated with the acceptor atoms.
The positive gate voltage also attracts electrons from the N+ source and drain region into the
channel thus an electron-rich channel is formed.
When we apply positive gate voltage, the holes present under the oxide layer experience a
repulsive force, and holes are pushed downward with the substrate.
The depletion region is populated by the bound negative charges that are associated with the
acceptor atoms. The electrons reach, and the channel is formed. The positive voltage also attracts
electrons from the n+ source and drain regions into the channel.
Now, if a voltage is applied between the drain and source, the current flows freely between the
source and drain and the gate voltage controls the electrons in the channel. If we apply negative
voltage, a hole channel will be formed under the oxide layer.
Applications
Amplifiers