Bob York

Tr ansi st or Basi c s - MOSFETs

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Tr ansi st or s, Conc ept ual l y
Control
Terminal
I(V)
I(V, V
c
)
I(V, I
c
)
or
V
V
V
c
or I
c
FETs
BJTs
So far we have considered two-terminal devices that are described by a
current-voltage relationship I=f(V)
Transistors add a third terminal to control the current flow through the device.
The two most common types of transistors are:
Field-Effect Transistors (FETs):
voltage-controlled current flow
Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs):
current-controlled current flow
In ECE 2, we will not discuss the physics of device operation in depth.
The transistor is simply a black box with certain well-defined terminal properties.
Resistors:
Capacitors:
Inductors:
Diodes:
/ I V R =
dV
dt
I C =
1
L
I Vdt =
}
/
1
T
V nV
s
I I e
(
=

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MOSFETs
V
gs
Gate
Source
Drain
I
ds
(V
gs
,V
ds
)
V
ds
I
d
V
gs
V
ds
I
g
0
Gate
Source
Drain
G
D
S
NMOS
There are many types of FETs but all share some
common features and nomenclature.
Key points:
Every FET has a gate, drain, and source
Current flows between the drain and source.
The gate is the control terminal.
The DC gate leakage current is negligible, I
g
0
Start with n-channel enhancement MOS (NMOS)
(MOS=Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor).
If we take the source as the voltage reference
(ground), the drain current will depend on the
gate voltage and drain voltage as shown :
V
gs
V
ds
I
d
Current-Voltage Characteristic for NMOS
D
r
a
i
n

C
u
r
r
e
n
t
D
r
a
i
n

V
o
l
t
a
g
e
G
a
t
e

V
o
l
t
a
g
e
Common-source configuration
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Common-Sour c e NMOS Char ac t er i st i c
Saturation region
I
D
Ohmic or
Triode region
V
ds
V
gs
= V
tn
+ 0.5
V
gs
= V
tn
+ 1.0
V
gs
= V
tn
+ 1.5
V
gs
= V
tn
+ 2.0
I
n
c
r
e
a
s
i
n
g

V
g
s
I
d
vs V
ds
for specific values of V
gs
V
ds
= V
gs
-V
t
V
gs
V
tn
(cutoff)
I
d
V
gs
V
ds
I
g
= 0
G
D
S
I
d
V
gs
V
ds
I
g
= 0
G
D
S
I
D
V
gs
V
t
Important observations:
No current flows for V
gs
< V
tn
. V
tn
is called the
Threshold voltage
Once the drain voltage exceeds V
gs
-V
tn
, a
constant current flows that depends on V
gs
For enhancement-mode NMOS the gate
threshold voltage is positive V
tn
>0
D
e
v
i
c
e

i
s

o
f
f

n
o

c
u
r
r
e
n
t

f
l
o
w
s
I
d
vs V
gs
in saturation:
2
2
2( )
( )
0
n gs tn ds ds ds gs tn
d n gs tn ds gs tn
gs tn
K V V V V V V V
I K V V V V V
V V

(
< +

= > +

<

ds gs tn
V V V > +
I-V Curves are described analytically by:
2
( )
d n gs tn
I K V V =
N-channel Enhancement MOS
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MOSFET Sat ur at i on Regi on
( )
2
d n gs t
I K V V =
The saturation region is especially important.
The NMOS device is in saturation when the following conditions are satisfied:
( )
d n gs t
I K V V
o
=
ds gs t
V V V >
gs t
V V >
When the device is in saturation the drain current is given by:
K
n
and V
t
are the important device parameters.
K
n
depends on some material constants and
the device size/geometry
It is difficult to control K
n
and V
t
precisely, so
two different discrete devices may have
significant differences in these parameters
Later we will explore some circuit techniques
to deal with this issue
Note: state-of-the-art devices may follow a different behavior:
where is closer to 1
I
D
V
gs
V
t1
V
t2
Device #1
Device #2
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NMOS Sat ur at i on - Ex ampl es
V
g
=3V
I
d
+10 V
V
out
5 mA
+5 V
2
1V 5mA/V
t n
V K = = In the following, the devices have parameters:
Consider:
( )
( )
2
2
5mA/V 3V 1V 20mA
d
I = =
10V
ds
V = Here we have: 3V
gs
V =
so
ds gs t
V V V >
gs t
V V > and
Thus device is in saturation and
( )( )
2
2
5mA=5mA/V 1V
d gs
I V =
ds gs out
V V V = = Here we have:
so
ds gs t
V V V >
Device is in saturation so
From this we find 2V
gs
V =
V
gs
V
ds
V
gs
V
ds
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Common-Sour c e PMOS Char ac t er i st i c
P-channel Enhancement MOS
Similar characteristics to PMOS except
currents and voltages are reversed
Saturation region
I
D
Ohmic or
Triode region
V
sd
V
sg
= V
tp
+ 0.5
V
sg
= V
tp
+ 1.0
V
sg
= V
tp
+ 1.5
V
sg
= V
tp
+ 2.0
I
n
c
r
e
a
s
i
n
g

V
s
g
V
sd
= V
sg
+V
tp
V
sg
V
tp
(cutoff)
I
D
V
sg
-V
tp
D
e
v
i
c
e

i
s

o
f
f

n
o

c
u
r
r
e
n
t

f
l
o
w
s
I
d
vs V
sg
in saturation:
I
d
V
sg
V
sd
I
g
= 0
G
D
S
By convention the threshold voltage for
enhancement-mode PMOS is taken as negative
2
2
2( )
( )
0
p sg tp sd sd sd sg tp
d p sg tp sd sg tp
sg tp
K V V V V V V V
I K V V V V V
V V

(
+ < +

= + > +

<

2
( )
d p sg tp
I K V V = +
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PMOS Sat ur at i on - Ex ampl es
V
g
=6V I
d
+10 V
2
1V 5mA/V
tp p
V K = = In the following, the devices have parameters:
Consider:
( )
( )
2
2
5mA/V 4V 1V 45mA
d
I = =
10V
sd
V = Here we have: 4V
sg
V =
so
sd sg tp
V V V > +
sg tp
V V > and
Thus device is in saturation and
( )( )
2
2
20mA=5mA/V 1V
d sg
I V =
sd sg out
V V V = = Here we have:
so
sd sg tp
V V V > +
Device is in saturation so
From this we find 3V
sg
V =
V
out
20 mA
+5 V
5V 3V 2V
out
V = =
V
sg
V
sd
V
sg
V
sd
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Depl et i on-Mode FETs
Enhancement-mode devices are normally off devices, since no current flows when V
gs
=0. A
certain applied gate voltage is required to turn on the device and get current flowing
Depletion-mode devices are normally on. They conduct current at V
gs
=0, and an applied
gate voltage is required to stop the current flow and turn them off
I
D
V
gs
D
e
v
i
c
e

i
s

o
f
f

n
o

c
u
r
r
e
n
t

f
l
o
w
s
2
( )
d n gs tn
I K V V =
I
d
V
gs
V
ds
I
g
= 0
G
D
S
N-channel Depletion-mode MOS
symbol
V
tn
I
d
vs V
gs
in saturation:
Threshold
voltage has the
opposite sign in
comparison to
enhancement
devices.
Otherwise the
characteristics
are similar.
dss
I
P-channel Depletion-mode MOS
I
d
V
sg
V
sd
I
g
= 0
G
D
S
symbol
I
D
V
sg
-V
tp
D
e
v
i
c
e

i
s

o
f
f

n
o

c
u
r
r
e
n
t

f
l
o
w
s
I
d
vs V
sg
in saturation:
2
( )
d p sg tp
I K V V = +
dss
I
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MOSFET Const r uc t i on
Semiconducting substrate
L
g
Source
Drain
Gate
Body connection
Gate oxide
W
g
Key parameters:
:gate length : gate width
: oxide capacitance density
: carrier mobility in semiconductor
g g
ox
L W
c

Enhancement Devices
No charge carriers exist
under the gate, so no
current flow is possible
An applied field allows
charge to accumulate
under the gate allowing
current to flow
0
gs
V =
gs t
V V >
Depletion Devices
Charge carriers
naturally accumulate
under the gate, allowing
current to flow
The applied field
depletes the charge in
the channel, cutting off
the flow of current
0
gs
V =
gs t
V V <
1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2
g g g g
n n ox n p p ox p
g g g g
W W W W
K c k K c k
L L L L
' ' = = = =
Saturation current parameter:
N-channel P-channel
Engineers control whether a device is an enhancement or depletion device by adding
carefully-controlled amounts of impurities (dopants ) in the semiconductor
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J FETs
V
gs
Gate
Source
Drain
I
ds
(V
gs
,V
ds
)
V
ds
I
d
V
gs
V
ds
I
g
= 0
Gate
Source
Drain
Saturation region
I
D
V
gs
V
t
(cutoff)
Ohmic or
Triode region
V
ds
V
gs
= V
t
+ 0.5
V
gs
= V
t
+ 1.0
V
gs
= V
t
+ 1.5
V
gs
= 0
G
D
S
I
dss
I
n
c
r
e
a
s
i
n
g

V
g
s
N-ch JFET
N-ch JFET
JFETs are another type of depletion-mode FET. They are
constructed differently but otherwise behave much like a
depletion MOSFET, except that V
gs
can never exceed zero
volts. The maximum current at V
gs
=0 is I
dss
.
JFETs can be made in both n-channel and p-channel
versions. Some high-speed compound semiconductor
devices (GaAs MESFETs and HEMTs) behave like JFETs
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FET Fami l y Tr ee
Field-Effect Transistors
JFET, MESFET
Depletion-mode
(normally on)
n-ch p-ch
MOSFET
Depletion-mode
(normally on)
Enhancement-mode
(normally off)
n-ch p-ch n-ch p-ch
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Di sc r et e Devi c e Ex ampl e: 2N7000
2N7000
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2
Vgs, Volts
I
d
,

m
A
Data
Model
2
2.35V
220mA/V
t
n
V
K
=
=
This is a popular discrete NMOS device
that we will use in the ECE 2 lab.
From the data sheet:
I
D
Gate
Source
Drain
V
gs
A
V
ds
2N7000
V
ds
I
D
Gate
Source
Drain
V
gs
A
V
ds
2N7000
V
ds
Measured Data
The data sheet specifies that V
t
is between
0.8V and 3V, with a typical value of 2.1V.
Such a wide range of expected V
t
is typical
of many discrete devices.
Representative data for small currents is
shown at left