BENEMERITA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE PUEBLA 1

Field effect transistors

Román Basurto Espinoza Roman.basurto@correo.buap.mx,
Luis Antonio Ramos Rodrı́guez luis.ramosro@alumno.buap.mx

Abstract—The objective of this study is to analyze the behavior

of a ”Transistor” so we will begin with the question that starts
this topic: ”What is a transistor?”
Index Terms—Transistor

I. I NTRODUCTION
transistor is a device that regulates the flow of current
A or voltage over a circuit by acting as a switch and/or
amplifier for electrical or electronic signals (voltages and
currents). Figure 1: FET terminals.
The transistor, invented in 1951, is the star electronic
Terminals:
component, as it initiated a real revolution in electronics that
has surpassed any initial prediction. It is also called Bipolar • Gate, G

Transistor or Electronic Transistor. • Drain, D

It is an electronic component made up of semiconductor • Source, S

materials, which is very common, as we can find it in any of

the everyday devices such as radios, alarms, cars, computers,
etc.
They come to replace the old thermionic valves of a few
decades ago. Thanks to them it was possible to build portable
radio receivers commonly called ”transistors”, televisions that
were turned on in a couple of seconds, color televisions, etc.
Transistors are the elements that have facilitated the design of
small electronic circuits.

II. D EVELOPMENT
A. Field Effect Transistors(FET) Figure 2: Structure of the FET.
Unlike the BJT, it is now a tension (i.e. a electric field)
who controls the flow of carriers (current) on a driving 2) Operation: VDS and VGS voltage: VGS voltage at-
channel. Unlike the BJT, it is now a tension (i.e. a electric tracts electrons from the substrate to the SiO2 insulation
field) who controls the flow of carriers (current) on a driving layer, creating a channel. The iD current begins to circulate
channel. They use only one type of carrier (electrons or holes), when the VDS voltage exceeds a VTR threshold. Substrate
therefore are called unipolar (or monopolar) devices, they p is connected to the source. On transistors used in I.C. the
have an infinite input resistance that generates a lower power substrate may be connected to another voltage.
consumption.
They are used in Digital Electronics as they reach higher
processing speeds than BJTs (wider band). The evolution of iD
microprocessors has increased thanks to higher IC integration
densities with FETs Similarity between the equations and
characteristic curves of different types of FET (JFET and
MOSFET).
1) Operating principle: Symmetrical component (between
+ +
S and D). Vgs − − Vds
The unipolar (monopolar) cable channel is regulated by the
G-voltage. The channel can thicken, thin or even disappear
depending of VGS
BENEMERITA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE PUEBLA 2

This operation was simulated in Virtuoso. For this we R EFERENCES

added the voltage sources and the transistor and made the
connections.
[1] N. Storey, Electronics: A system Approach Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2009.
[2] Area-Tecnologica, (01/02/2020) https://www.areatecnologia.com/
TUTORIALES/EL%20TRANSISTOR.htm#%C2%BFQu%C3%A9 es
un Transistor
[3] J. Ortuño, INACAP (01/02/2020) https://es.slideshare.net/garfilo/
el-transistor-jfet

Figure 3: Circuit connected in Virtuoso.

First it was used with the default values that this transistor
handles which are l = 180n and w = 240n. This gave us the
following curves:

Figure 4: Virtuous graphical curves of the default param-

eters.

Then the values of l and w were changed, being these l=3.6u

and w=10u, obtaining the following curves:

Figure 5: Virtuous graphical curves of modified parame-

ters.

III. C ONCLUSION
The transistor is a major element in today’s analogue and
digital circuits. Since with them you can make devices of
diverse utilities. They are devices of very low cost, easy to
understand or use and mainly their manufacture is common.
They are solid state devices that have three or four terminals.
The flow of charges is controlled by the electric field. The flow
of carriers is of only one type (electrons or holes). They can
operate in different polarization regions. Depending on which
polarization region they are in, they function as:
• Voltage-controlled resistors.
• Current or voltage amplifiers, main characteristic due to
their high input impedance with levels that can be from
one to several hundred mega ohms, compared to BJTs.
• Current sources.