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Mesfet
Mesfet
2
2
(3.6.1)
where
i
is the built-in potential and d is the thickness of the doped region. This threshold
voltage can also be written as a function of the pinch-off voltage V
P
:
P i T
V V (3.6.2)
Where the pinch-off voltage equals:
s
d
P
d qN
V
2
2
(3.6.3)
The derivation of the current in a MESFET starts by considering a small section of the device
between y and y + dy. The current density at that point can be written as a function of the
gradient of the channel voltage:
dy
y dV
qN qN qnv J
C
n d n d
) (
E
(3.6.4)
The drain current is related to the current density and the part of the MESFET channel that is not
depleted.
)) ( ( y x d JW I
n D
(3.6.5)
Where the depletion layer width at position y is related to the channel voltage, V
C
(y), by:
d
C G i s
n
qN
y V V
y x
)) ( ( 2
) (
+
(3.6.6)
The equation for the current can now be integrated from source to drain, yielding:
+
D
V
C
P
C G i
n d
L
D
dV
V
V V
dW qN dy I
0 0
) 1 (
(3.6.7)
Since the steady-state current in the device is independent of position, the left hand term equals
I
D
times L so that:
( )
) (
0
2 / 3
0
D
D
V
P
C G i
V
C n d D
V
V V
V
L
W
d qN I
+
(3.6.8)
Integration results in:
1
1
]
1
,
_
+
P
G i
P
D G i
D d n D
V
V
V
V V
V
L
W
d N q I
2 / 3 2 / 3
3
2
) ( ) (
(3.6.9)
This result is valid as long as the width of the un-depleted channel (d x
n
(y)) is positive, namely
for:
T G D
V V V (3.6.10)
This condition also defines the quadratic region of a MESFET. For larger drain voltage, the
current saturates and equals that at
sat D T G D
V V V V
,
(3.6.11)
The corresponding current is the saturation current, I
D,sat
:
1
1
]
1
,
_
P
G i
P T G d n sat D
V
V
V V V
L
W
d N q I
2 / 3
3
2
,
) (
(3.6.12)
An example of the resulting I-V characteristics is shown in
Figure 3.6.2. The corresponding device parameters are listed in Table 3.6.1.
Figure 3.6.2 Drain current versus Drain-Source voltage at a gate-source voltage of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6
0.8 and 1.0 Volt for a silicon MESFET with built-in potential of 1 V. Channel
parameters and device dimensions are listed in Table 3.6.1.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0 2 4 6
Drain-Source Voltage (V)
D
r
a
i
n
c
u
r
r
e
n
t
(
m
A
)
Parameter Symbol Value
Channel width W 1 mm
Channel length L 1 m
Channel mobility
n
100 cm
2
/V-s
Channel doping N
d
10
17
cm
-3
Channel thickness D 115 nm
Built-in potential
I
1 V
Table 3.6.1 MESFET parameters used to calculate
Figure 3.6.2.
The transfer characteristic of a MESFET is shown in Figure 3.6.3 and compared to a quadratic
expression of the form:
( )
2
2
,
T G s
n sat D
V V
L
W
w
I
(3.6.13)
where w is the average depletion layer width in the channel layer. The quadratic expression
yields the same current at V
G
=
i
for w = 3d/8. The close fit is at times used to justify using the
simpler quadratic equation.
0
0.005
0.01
0.015
0.02
0.025
0.03
-0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
Gate Voltage (V)
(
D
r
a
i
n
c
u
r
r
e
n
t
)
1
/
2
(
A
1
/
2
)
Figure 3.6.3 Transfer characteristic of a MESFET. Shown is the square root of the drain
current of the MESFET (solid line) and a quadratic fit with w =3d/8 (dotted line).