Maha George Zia

Assistant Professor
Electrical Engineering Department
 Introduction to MOSFET
Enhancement MOSFET (E-MOSFET)
Depletion MOSFET (D-MOSFET)
E-MOSFET Transfer Characteristic
D-MOSFET Transfer Characteristic
MOSFET biasing
E-MOSFET Bias
D-MOSFET Bias
 The MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field-effect
transistor) is another category of field-effect transistor.
The MOSFET, different from the JFET, has no pn
junction structure; instead, the gate of the MOSFET is
insulated from the channel by a silicon dioxide (SiO2)
layer.
The two basic types of MOSFETs are enhancement
(E) and depletion (D).
The enhancement MOSFET is more widely used.
Because polycrystalline silicon is now used for the
gate material instead of metal, these devices are
sometimes called IGFETs (insulated-gate FETs).
 The E-MOSFET operates only in the enhancement mode and
has no depletion mode. it has no structural channel. Notice in
Fig.1(a) that the substrate extends completely to the SiO2 layer.
For an n-channel device, a positive gate voltage above a
threshold value induces a channel by creating a thin layer of
negative charges in the substrate region adjacent to the SiO2
layer, as shown in Fig.1(b).

Fig. 1 Representation of the

basic E-MOSFET
construction and operation
(n-channel).
 The conductivity of the channel is enhanced by increasing the
gate-to-source voltage and thus pulling more electrons into the
channel area.
For any gate voltage below the threshold value VGS(th), there is
no channel.
The schematic symbols for the n-channel and p-channel E-
MOSFETs are shown in Fig.2.
An inward pointing substrate arrow is for n channel, and an
outward-pointing arrow is for p channel

Fig.2 E-MOSFET schematic symbols.

 Fig. 3 shows the depletion MOSFET (D-MOSFET). The drain
and source are diffused into the substrate material and then
connected by a narrow channel adjacent to the insulated gate.
Both n-channel and p-channel symbols are shown in Fig.4
The p-channel operation is the same, except the voltage
polarities are opposite those of the n-channel.

Fig. 3basic structure of D-MOSFETs. Fig.4.D-MOSFET

schematic symbols.
 The D-MOSFET can be operated in either of two modesthe
depletion mode or the enhancement modeand is sometimes
called a depletion/enhancement MOSFET. Since the gate is
insulated from the channel, either a positive or a negative gate
voltage can be applied.
The n-channel MOSFET operates in the depletion mode when
a negative gate-to-source voltage is applied. With a negative
gate voltage, the negative charges on the gate repel conduction
electrons from the channel, leaving positive ions in their place.
Thereby, the n channel is depleted of some of its electrons,
thus decreasing the channel conductivity. The greater the
negative voltage on the gate, the greater the depletion of n-
channel electrons.
At a sufficiently negative gate-to-source voltage, VGS(off ), the
channel is totally depleted and the drain current is zero.
These devices are generally operated in the depletion mode.
 The n-channel MOSFET operates in the enhancement mode
when a positive gate-to-source voltage is applied. With a
positive gate voltage, more conduction electrons are attracted
into the channel, thus increasing (enhancing) the channel
conductivity.
The operation of n-channel D-MOSFET is shown in fig. 5

Fig.5 Operation
of n-channel D-
MOSFET.
 Fig.6 shows the general transfer characteristic curves for both
types of E-MOSFETs. There is no drain current when VGS= 0.
Therefore, the E-MOSFET does not have a significant IDSS
parameter, as do the JFET and the D-MOSFET.
There is ideally no drain current until VGS reaches a certain
nonzero value called the threshold voltage, VGS(th).

Fig. 6 E-MOSFET
general transfer
characteristic
curves.
 The equation for the E-MOSFET transfer characteristic curve is

where The constant K depends on the particular MOSFET and can be

determined from the datasheet by taking the specified value of ID, called ID(on),
at the given value of VGS and substituting the values into the above equation.

Q1. The datasheet for a 2N7002 E-MOSFET gives ID(on) =500

mA (minimum) at VGS=10 V and VGS(th) =1 V. Determine the
drain current for VGS = 5 V.
 The D-MOSFET can operate with either positive or negative gate
voltages. This is indicated on the general transfer characteristic
curves in Fig.7 for both n-channel and p-channel MOSFETs.
The point on the curves where VGS= 0 corresponds to IDSS. The
point where ID=0 corresponds to VGS(off) .

Fig. 7 D-MOSFET general transfer

characteristic curves.
Q2.
 Because E-MOSFETs must have a VGS greater than the
threshold value, VGS(th) , zero bias cannot be used. Fig.8
shows two ways to bias an E-MOSFET (D-MOSFETs can
also be biased using these methods).

For n-channel MOSFET, in either

the voltage-divider or drain-
feedback bias arrangement, the
purpose is to make the gate voltage
more positive than the source by an
amount exceeding VGS(th).

Fig.8 Common E-MOSFET biasing

arrangements.
 For a voltage divider circuit:

where

In the drain-feedback bias circuit in Fig.8 (b), there is negligible

gate current and, therefore, no voltage drop across RG. This
makes VGS = VDS

Q3. Determine VGS and VDS for the E-MOSFET circuit in

Fig.9. Assume this particular MOSFET has minimum
values of ID(on) = 200 mA at VGS = 4 V and VGS(th) = 2 V.
Fig.9
 The D-MOSFETs can be operated with either positive or negative
values of VGS. A simple bias method is to set VGS= 0 so that an ac
signal at the gate varies the gate-to source voltage above and below
this 0 V bias point.
A MOSFET with zero bias is shown in Fig.10(a). Since VGS= 0, ID=
IDSS as indicated. The drain-to-source voltage is:

The purpose of RG is to accommodate

an ac signal input by isolating it from
ground, as shown in Fig10 (b). Since
there is no dc gate current, RG does not
affect the zero gate-to-source bias.
Fig.10 Zero biased D-MOSFET
 Q4. Determine the drain-to-source voltage in the circuit
shown below. The MOSFET datasheet gives VGS(off) = -8 V
and IDSS = 12 mA.