You are on page 1of 4

JFET

The junction gate eld-eect transistor (JFET or


JUGFET) is the simplest type of eld-eect transistor.
They are three-terminal semiconductor devices that can
be used as electronically-controlled switches, ampliers,
or voltage-controlled resistors.

type). Ohmic contacts at each end form the source (S)


and the drain (D). A pn-junction is formed on one or both
sides of the channel, or surrounding it, using a region with
doping opposite to that of the channel, and biased using
an ohmic gate contact (G).

Unlike bipolar transistors, JFETs are exclusively voltagecontrolled in that they do not need a biasing current.
Electric charge ows through a semiconducting channel between source and drain terminals. By applying
a reverse bias voltage to a gate terminal, the channel
is pinched, so that the electric current is impeded or
switched o completely. A JFET is usually on when there
is no potential dierence between its gate and source terminals. If a potential dierence of the proper polarity is
applied between its gate and source terminals, the JFET
will be more resistive to current ow, which means less
current would ow in the channel between the source and
drain terminals. Thus, JFETs are sometimes referred to
as depletion-mode devices.

3 Function
I DS

VDS

SAT

VGS - VP
Saturation region

VGS0 = 0
VGS1 < VGS0
VGS2 < VGS1

Saturation
region
Channel
V o
GS

VP

Linear
region

VGS3 < VGS2


Channel o

VGS4 < VVp

VDS

IV characteristics and output plot of an n-channel JFET

JFETs can have an n-type or p-type channel. In the ntype, if the voltage applied to the gate is less than that
applied to the source, the current will be reduced (similarly in the p-type, if the voltage applied to the gate is
greater than that applied to the source). A JFET has a
large input impedance (sometimes on the order of 1010
ohms), which means that it has a negligible eect on external components or circuits connected to its gate.

I DS

Linear region

JFET operation can be compared to that of a garden hose.


The ow of water through a hose can be controlled by
squeezing it to reduce the cross section and the ow of
electric charge through a JFET is controlled by constricting the current-carrying channel. The current also depends on the electric eld between source and drain (analogous to the dierence in pressure on either end of the
hose).
Constriction of the conducting channel is accomplished
using the eld eect: a voltage between the gate and
the source is applied to reverse bias the gate-source pnjunction, thereby widening the depletion layer of this
junction (see top gure), encroaching upon the conducting channel and restricting its cross-sectional area. The
depletion layer is so-called because it is depleted of mobile carriers and so is electrically non-conducting for
practical purposes.[1]

History

A succession of FET-like devices were patented by Julius


Lilienfeld in the 1920s and 1930s. However, materials
science and fabrication technology would require decades
of advances before FETs could actually be made. In
1947, researchers John Bardeen, Walter Houser Brattain,
and William Shockley failed in their repeated attempts to
make a FET. They discovered the point-contact transistor
When the depletion layer spans the width of the conducin the course of trying to diagnose the reasons for their
tion channel, pinch-o is achieved and drain-to-source
failures. The rst practical JFETs were made a decade
conduction stops. Pinch-o occurs at a particular reverse
later.
bias (VGS) of the gate-source junction. The pinch-o
voltage (V ) varies considerably, even among devices of
the same type. For example, VGS for the Temic J202
device varies from 0.8 V to 4 V.[2] Typical values vary
2 Structure
from 0.3 V to 10 V.
The JFET is a long channel of semiconductor material, To switch o an n-channel device requires a negative
doped to contain an abundance of positive charge carriers gate-source voltage (VGS). Conversely, to switch o a
or holes (p-type), or of negative carriers or electrons (n- p-channel device requires positive VGS.
1

6 MATHEMATICAL MODEL

In normal operation, the electric eld developed by the symbol is usually drawn without the circle when drawgate blocks source-drain conduction to some extent.
ing schematics of integrated circuits. More recently, the
Some JFET devices are symmetrical with respect to the symbol is often drawn without its circle even for discrete
devices.
source and drain.

Schematic symbols

D
G
S

5 Comparison with other transistors


At room temperature, JFET gate current (the reverse
leakage of the gate-to-channel junction) is comparable to
that of a MOSFET (which has insulating oxide between
gate and channel), but much less than the base current of
a bipolar junction transistor. The JFET has higher gain
(transconductance) than the MOSFET, as well as lower
icker noise, and is therefore used in some low-noise,
high input-impedance op-amps.

6 Mathematical model

Circuit symbol for an n-Channel JFET

D
G

The current in N-JFET due to a small voltage VDS (that


is, in the linear ohmic region) is given by treating the
channel as a rectangular bar of material of electrical conductivity qNd n :[3]

ID =

bW
qNd n VDS
L

where
ID = drainsource current

S
Circuit symbol for a p-Channel JFET

In every case the arrow head shows the polarity of the PN junction formed between the channel and the gate. As
with an ordinary diode, the arrow points from P to N, the
direction of conventional current when forward-biased.
An English mnemonic is that the arrow of an N-channel
device points in".

b = channel thickness for a given gate voltage


W = channel width
L = channel length
q = electron charge = 1.6 x 1019 C
n = electron mobility
Nd = n-type doping (donor) concentration.

The JFET gate is sometimes drawn in the middle of the


channel (instead of at the drain or source electrode as in 6.1 Linear region
these examples). This symmetry suggests that drain
and source are interchangeable, so the symbol should Then the drain current in the linear region can be exbe used only for those JFETs where they are indeed in- pressed as:
terchangeable.
(
)
Ocially, the style of the symbol should show the com
aW
VGS
ponent inside a circle (representing the envelope of a dis- I = bW qN V
qNd n 1
VDS
D
d n DS =
L
L
VP
crete device). This is true in both the US and Europe. The

3
In terms of IDSS , the drain current can also be:

ID

6.2

2IDSS
=
VP2

(
)
VDS
VGS VP
VDS
2

Saturation region

The drain current in the saturation region is often approximated in terms of gate bias as:[3]

IDS

(
)2
VGS
= IDSS 1
VP

[1] For a discussion of JFET structure and operation, see for


example D. Chattopadhyay (2006). "13.2 Junction eldeect transistor (JFET)". Electronics (fundamentals and
applications). New Age International. pp. 269 . ISBN
8122417809.
[2] J201 data sheet
[3] Balbir Kumar and Shail B. Jain (2013). Electronic Devices
and Circuits. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. pp. 342345. ISBN
9788120348448.

9 External links
Physics 111 Laboratory -- JFET Circuits I pdf
Interactive Explanation of n-channel JFET

where
IDSS is the saturation current at zero gate
source voltage, i.e. the maximum current
which can ow through the FET from drain
to source at any (permissible) drain-to-source
voltage (see, e. g., the I-V characteristics diagram above).
In the saturation region, the JFET drain current is most
signicantly aected by the gatesource voltage and
barely aected by the drainsource voltage.
If the channel doping is uniform, such that the depletion
region thickness will grow in proportion to the square root
of the absolute value of the gatesource voltage, then the
channel thickness b can be expressed in terms of the zerobias channel thickness a as:

b=a 1

VGS
VP

where
VP is the pinch-o voltage, the gatesource
voltage at which the channel thickness goes to
zero
a is the channel thickness at zero gatesource
voltage.

8 References

See also
Constant-current diode
Fetron

10

10
10.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses


Text

JFET Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JFET?oldid=727059962 Contributors: Dcljr, Smack, Omegatron, Dina, Joe Kress, Jaan513,
Rparle, Ot, Discospinster, Pjacobi, Moki80, MBisanz, Alphax, Hooperbloob, Careysher, Pouya, Theodore Kloba, Peter B., Gene Nygaard, Nanite, Snaekid, Rjwilmsi, Seidenstud, FlaBot, Mongreilf, Jidan, Krishnavedala, Jaraalbe, Oh2mqk, YurikBot, Cate, Zimbricchio,
BorgQueen, SmackBot, GoodDay, CTho, Shields020, JorisvS, CyrilB, Rogerbrent, Dicklyon, Mikiemike, Safalra, Drpixie, CharlotteWebb,
MER-C, Maias, STBot, ChrisfromHouston, Zedh, Chiswick Chap, Rintluanga, Funandtrvl, ICE77, Chtaube~enwiki, Yume no Kishi, Andy
Dingley, Synthebot, Spinningspark, Why Not A Duck, Yasser986, Mike Shepherd, OKBot, Martarius, Helenabella, Mild Bill Hiccup, PixelBot, Andy80586, Brews ohare, Thingg, Addbot, Cxz111, Daltore, John s wiki, Numbo3-bot, Lightbot, Luckas-bot, AnomieBOT, Materialscientist, DSisyphBot, Nedim Ardoa, SCRECROW, Fabien.chraim, TheGrimReaper NS, Dalba, Lucheestiy, Timtempleton, K6ka,
Redav, Aaa1, Hoeksas, ClueBot NG, Tylerk10, Eceguy, Shivsagardharam, Comfr, Ajv39, Wuerzele, DaveeBlahBlah, SuleeeOuh, BacLuong, Sidjain1995 and Anonymous: 117

10.2

Images

File:BJT_NPN_symbol_(case).svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/BJT_NPN_symbol_%28case%29.


svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Zedh
File:JFET_N-dep_symbol.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/JFET_N-dep_symbol.svg License:
GFDL Contributors: Own work Original artist: Zedh
File:JFET_P-dep_symbol.svg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/JFET_P-dep_symbol.svg License:
GFDL Contributors: Own work Original artist: Zedh
File:JFET_n-channel_en.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/JFET_n-channel_en.svg License: CC BYSA 3.0 Contributors:
JFET_n-channel.svg Original artist: JFET_n-channel.svg: Phirosiberia
File:Jfet.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Jfet.png License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Transferred
from en.wikipedia to Commons by User:Wdwd using CommonsHelper. Original artist: Rparle at en.wikipedia
File:Nuvola_apps_ksim.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Nuvola_apps_ksim.png License: LGPL
Contributors: http://icon-king.com Original artist: David Vignoni / ICON KING
File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0
Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007

10.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

You might also like