THE MOSFET AS AN AMPLIFIER AND AS A SWITCH MOSFET AS A SWITCH Figure 1.

15 (a) shows the basic structure of the most commonly used common-source circuit. Figure 1.15 (b) shows the voltage transfer characteristic of the CS circuit of Fig. 1.15 (a).

Since vGS = vI, the MOSFET will be effectively cutoff for vI< Vt. Thus, for vI< Vt, iD will be negligibly small, and vO will be equal to the supply voltage VDD. When the vI Vt, MOSFET is turned on, iD will be increases, and vO will be equal to the zero.

Figure 1.15 (a) Basic structure of the common-source amplifier. (b) Transfer characteristic showing operation as an amplifier biased at point Q.

When the MOSFET is used as a switch, it is operated at the extreme points of the transfer curve. Specifically, the device is turned off by keeping vI < Vt resulting in vo = VDD. The switch is turned on by applying a voltage close to VDD, resulting in vo very small. From the transfer characteristic curve we observe that the common-source MOSFET circuit can be used as a logic inverter with the "low" voltage level close to 0 V and the "high" level close to VDD. MOSFET AS AN AMPLIFIER

Figure 1.16 (a) Basic structure of the common-source amplifier. (b) Transfer characteristic showing operation as an amplifier biased at point Q.

To operate the MOSFET as an amplifier we make use of the saturation-mode segment of the transfer curve. The device is biased at a point located somewhere close to the middle of the curve. The dc bias point is also called the quiescent point

Q. The voltage signal to be amplified vI is then superimposed on the dc voltage VIQ as shown in Fig. 1.16(b). By keeping vI sufficiently small to restrict operation to an almost linear segment of the transfer curve, the resulting output voltage signal v0 will be proportional to vI. That is, the amplifier will be very nearly linear, and vQ will have the same waveform as vI except that it will be larger by a factor equal to the voltage gain Av of the amplifier at Q. The i-v relationships that describe the MOSFET operation in the three regionscutoff, saturation, and triodecan be easily used to derive analytical expression for the three segments of the transfer characteristic in Fig. 1.16(b). In the Cutoff-Region, vI Vt, and vo = VDD. In the Saturation-Region, vI Vt and v0 vI - Vt. Neglecting channel-length modulation and substituting for iD from

From the above equation the voltage gain is proportional to the RD, the transconductance parameter k'n and the transistor aspect ratio W/L, and the overdrive voltage (effective voltage) at the bias point Q, is VOV = VIQ-Vt.