FET Amplifiers
Maryam Al Shami & Sondos Farran
Introduction
• Field-effect transistor amplifiers provide an excellent voltage gain with the
added feature of a high input impedance.
• They are also considered low-power consumption configurations with
good frequency range and minimal size and weight.
• Both JFET and depletion MOSFET devices can be used to design
amplifiers having similar voltage gains.
• The depletion MOSFET circuit, however, has a much higher input
impedance than a similar JFET configuration.
• While a BJT device controls a large output (collector) current by means of
a relatively small input (base) current, the FET device controls an output
(drain) current by means of a small input (gate-voltage) voltage.
Introduction
• BJT is a current-controlled device and the FET is a voltage-controlled
device.
• Because of the high input characteristic of FETs, the ac equivalent model
is somewhat simpler than that employed for BJTs. While the BJT had an
amplification factor (beta), the FET has a transconductance factor, gm.
• The FET can be used as a linear amplifier or as a digital device in logic
circuits.
• FET devices are also widely used in high-frequency applications and in
buffering (interfacing) applications.
• The common-source configuration is the most popular providing an
inverted, amplified signal, one also finds common-drain (source-follower)
circuits providing unity gain with no inversion and common-gate circuits
providing gain with no inversion.
Introduction
• Due to the very high input impedance, the input current is generally
assumed to be 0 A and the current gain is an undefined quantity.
• While the voltage gain of an FET amplifier is generally less than that
obtained using a BJT amplifier, the FET amplifier provides a much higher
input impedance than that of a BJT configuration.
• Output impedance values are comparable for both BJT and FET circuits.
• FET ac amplifier networks can also be analyzed using computer software.
• Using PSpice, one can perform a dc analysis to obtain the circuit bias
conditions and an ac analysis to determine the small-signal voltage gain.
• Using PSpice transistor models, one can analyze the circuit using specific
transistor models. On the other hand, one can develop a program using a
language such as BASIC that can perform both the dc and ac analyses and
provide the results in a very special format.
FET small-signal model
FET small-signal model
Example 9.1
Example 9.1
Mathematical Definition of gm
Example 9.2
Example 9.2
Example 9.2
Example 9.4
