FIELD EFFECT

TRANSISTORS(FET)

Transistor has 2 main draw backs

a)Low input impedance
b)Noise level

These drawbacks can be overcome to a great extent

in FET

FET is a 3 terminal device and the conduction is by

only one type of charge carries

The another name for FET is Electric field(voltage)

controlled device

The 3 terminals of FET are,

a) DRAIN(D)
b) SOURCE(S)
c) GATE(G)

FET is classified in to 3 types

a)Junction Field Effect Transistor(JFET)
b)Metal semiconductor FET(MSFETS)
c) Metal Oxide semiconductor
FET(MOSFET)

JUNCTION FIELD EFFECT

TRANSISTOR(JFET)

An N-type silicon bar referred to as

CHANNEL, has 2 similar pieces of P-type
silicon material diffused on opposite sides of
middle part forming PN junction

The PN junctions are internally connected

through a common terminal called as GATE

Ohmic contacts are made at two ends of the

channel is called SOURCE and DRAIN

JUNCTION FIELD EFFECT

TRANSISTOR(JFET)

JFET is again classified in to 2 types

a)N-Channel JFET
b) P-Channel JFET

Source(S):Majority charge carriers enter the channel(S) and current

is (Is)

Drain(D):The majority carriers are leave the channel is called drain

(D) and current is Id.

Gate(G): 2 internally connected heavily dopped impurity regions by

diffusion is called Gate

Channel:The region between source and drain sandwitched

between 2 gates is called Channel

Schematic symbols:
P-Channel
DRAIN
(D)
SOUR
CE(S)

JFET

The voltage between gate and source is such that

gate is reverse biased

Drain and Source terminals re interchangeable.

For N-channel JFET S is connected to the negative

terminal w.r.t to D

For P-Channel JFET, S is connected to the positive

terminal w.r.t D

For N-channel JFET Id and Vds are positive and Vgs is

Negative

For P-channel JFET Id and Vds are negative and Vgs is

positive.

OPERATION OF N-CHANNEL JFET

When neither any bias is applied to
gate(Vgs=0),and Vds=0 the depletion
region around PN junctions are equal
thickness and symmetrical
When positive voltage is applied at D with
respect to S

The electrons will flow from S to D

The conventional Current (Id) flows from D
to S

There is voltage drop across channel

resistance from D to S
This voltage drop reverse bias the diode
The gate is more negative with respect to D
than to S
Depletion region penetrates more deeply in
to
the channel at points closer to D than S
WEDGE shaped depletion regions are
formed

N channel JFET: (a) Depletion at gate diode. (b) Reverse biased gate diode increases
depletion region.
(c) Increasing reverse bias enlarges depletion region. (d) Increasing reverse bias
pinches-off the S-D channel.

Variation of depletion region width

with variation of Gate voltage:
When gate is reverse biased
PN junctions are reverse biased and
depletion regions are formed
P regions are dopped heavily compared
to N-Channel
Depletion regions penetrate deeply into
the channel(this is act as insulator)

Due to this channel becomes narrrowed,the

resistance is increases and drain current is
reduced
If the negative voltage is further
increased,depletion region meet at the
center and drain current is cut off
completely
The gate source voltage at which the drain
current Id is Cut-off completely is called
pinch-off voltage (Vp)

CHARACTERSTICS OF JFET:
JFET

Drain Characteristics

Drain chara with

shorted gate

Transfer
Characteristics

Drain chara with

external bias

Drain current in the pinch-off region is given

by shockleys equation is,
2
I I
(1-V
/V
)
D= DSS
GS
P

DRAIN CHARACTERSTICS WITH

EXTERNAL BIAS:
As Vgs is increases,
a)Maximum saturation drain current becomes
smaller because conducting channel
becomes narrower
b)Pinch-off voltage is reached at lower value
of drain current(Id)
c)The ohmic region portion decreases
d)Value of Vds for the avalanche breakdown
of the gate junction is reduced.

TRANSFER
CHARACTERSTICS:

Drain current is decreases with the increase

in ve gate source bias

Drain current Id=Idss when Vgs=0

Drain Current Id=0,when Vgs=Vp

Merits and Demerits of

JFET:
It is a unipolar device
It is simple to fabricate,smaller in size
It has high input impedance
It is called voltage driven circuit
Gate terminal is used to control the drain current
This gain is characterised by
TRANSCONDUCTANCE
It is immune to radiation
It has ve temp coefficient so it has better
thermal stability

It has high power gain,low off set voltage

and zero drain current
It has high frequency response

confiuratio
n

Input
Terminal

Output
terminal

BJT
configurato
n

Common
Gate

Source

Drain

CB

Common
source

Gate

Drain

CE

Common
Drain

Gate

Source

CC