Field Effect Transistors (npn)

Transcription

1 Field Effect Transistors (npn) gate drain source FET 3 terminal device channel e - current from source to drain controlled by the electric field generated by the gate base collector emitter BJT 3 terminal device emitter to collector e- current controlled by the current injected into the base extremely high input impedance for base Field Effect Transistors, Spring There are many types of transistors in addition to the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) that we have discussed so far. An important class of 3 terminal transistors is the field effect devices. For these the control parameter is the electric field over the junction, as opposed to the current of the BJT. Since an electric field is associated with a voltage, the important advantage of the field effect devices is that there does not need to be a current into the control element (the gate). This results in a very high input impedance and a very low leakage current. The easiest to understand are the junction field effect transistors (JFETs) which we will discuss first and in some detail. The metal oxide semiconductor FET (MOSFETs) are very important for digital logic implementations. 1

2 Types of FETs In addition to carrier type (N or P channel), there are differences in how the control element is constructed (Junction vs Insulated) and those devices must be used differently npn Depletion mode junction FETs (JFET) pnp Metal oxide semi-conductor FET (MOSFET) depletion/enhancement mode enhancement mode npn pnp (insulated gate FETs, IGFETs, are the same as MOSFETs) Field Effect Transistors, Spring As with the BJTs there are always two flavors of transistors, npn and pnp. The difference is the majority carrier (electrons or holes). Since FETs are controlled by variations of the electric field over the jmction, it is possible to build a capacitor into the control element and thus to further reduce the leakage current. The metal oxide of a MOSFET forms the capacitor at the input of the control element (the gate). 2

3 Basic FET Operation #1 The simplest example of a JFET starts with N-doped Si. source N drain source - terminal into which the carrier current is injected (n-type \ e - carriers) At this level, the device is simply a resistor. Therefore, current flows through the channel in proportion to the drain/source voltage Field Effect Transistors, Spring We will start by describing the operation and control of a JFET. The basic action of a JFET may be understood by considering a conducting channel. Start with n-doped silicon and add two terminals on either end. The device is now a resistor whose resistance is given by the doping level. The three terminals of the JFET are labeled source, drain and gate. The source is analogous to the emitter of the BJT. The source is the source of the majority carrier. So in an n-type material, the carriers are electrons and the source is thus the source of electrons. The drain is analogous to the collector of the BJT, and so the majority carrier current flows from the source to the drain. Again in n-type material the carriers are electrons and the conventional current flows in the opposite direction. 3

4 Basic FET Operation #2 Add a gate structure to form a channel. gate P source N drain gate The two gate regions are actually connected together to define a channel for the carrier current. The control of the FET current (resistance) is gained by changing the size of the depletion zones surrounding the gates Field Effect Transistors, Spring The gates are two regions of p-type material that are arranged to create a channel for conduction from the source to the drain. The two gate regions are almost always connected together so that the user sees only one gate connection. Notice, the above device is an npn JFET since the source is n-type, the gate is p-type and the drain is n-type. Do not look down from the gate, channel, gate and call this a pnp junction. 4

5 Basic FET Operation #3 Surrounding each gate is a depletion zone, as there is for any PN junction. gate depletion zone P source N drain depletion zone gate The depletion zone reduces the effective size of the N-doped channel and thus increases the apparent resistance of the channel. By modulating the drain to gate potential, the electric field in the depletion zone between the gate and drain varies and thus the size of the depletion zone Field Effect Transistors, Spring As with every pn junction there is a depletion zone surrounding the gate. This depletion zone of course reduces the cross-sectional area of the n-type channel that is available for electron conduction. The action of the JFET is governed by varying the gate to drain potential and thus by modifying the size of the depletion zone. 5

6 Basic FET Operation #4 P depletion zone N V DS Here the drain to source voltage, V DS, is equal to the drain to gate voltage. As V DS increases, the depletion zones move together; and the source resistance increases Field Effect Transistors, Spring A simple example is to ground the gate voltage to the source so that the drain to gate voltage is equal to the drain to source voltage. As the drain to gate voltage is increased, the depletion zone increases and thus the conduction of the channel decreases. For small voltages the resistance increases with voltage and this is described as the ohmic region. Above the pinch-off voltage the channel is saturated and the resistance becomes constant. The pinch-off voltage may be pictured as the voltage where the depletion zones from the two gates meet. 6

7 Basic FET Operation #5 Define an apparent resistance across the FET, the channel resistance R C. P N I D V DS P I D R C = V I V DS Field Effect Transistors, Spring We will characterize the device by the junction s effective resistance. Now of course the typical measurement to characterize a transistor is to measure the drain current as a function of the drain-source voltage for a set of currents (or voltages) applied to the gate. Recall that this is exactly how we ran the tests on the BJT. Once we have measured the drain current as a function of the drain-source voltage we have the information to calculate an effective DC resistance for this operating point. 7

8 Channel Resistance of FET I D R C I P V DS V P V BR V P V BR V DS As V DS increases, the depletion zone grows and the effective resistance slowly increases. As V DS = V P (the pinch-off voltage) the two depletion zones meet, no additional current can flow and the resistance increases rapidly with V DS. At V BR there is a drain-to-gate avalanche, which we will describe later Field Effect Transistors, Spring At left is the drain current vs the drain to source voltage for a grounded gate. The region from zero to the pinch-off voltage is the ohmic region, the flat region is the saturation area and at higher voltages there is a breakdown region where the conduction of the channel increases quickly. Many devices will be destroyed if operated in this breakdown region, though (just like zener diodes) there are devices that are designed to function in this avalanche region. The plot at right shows the corresponding resistance. In the ohmic region the resistance increases only slowly, and then in the saturation region the resistance increases more quickly. It is important to notice that the drain current of the JFET is independent of the drain-source voltage in the saturation region. As we will see shortly, in this region the drain current remains very sensitive to the drain-gate potential. So, if we want to obtain control via the gate then typically we will design the device to operate in the saturation region. If however we are looking for control based on the drain voltage, then the device will be positioned in the ohmic region. 8

9 I D Gate Control of FET The size of the depletion zone can be increased by reverse biasing the PN junction at the gate, therefore the gate bias controls I D, and since the gate is reverse biased there is essentially no gate current. V GS =0-1V -2V V DS N I B V P V DS P -V GS V GS N P V GS Field Effect Transistors, Spring Here we show the variation of the IV curve as a function of the gate voltage. Recall that at pinch-off the depletion zones of the two gates have met, and so as the gate voltage is changed this operating point is moved. It is most common to reverse bias the gate (as shown in the circuit) thus increasing the field over the PN junction and correspondingly increasing the size of the depletion zone for a constant drain-source voltage. Notice that as the gate is reverse biased the pin 9

10 I D I DSS ohmic region V GS = 0 V GS = -1V V GS = -2V saturation region JFET Specification ohmic region - JFET acts as a variable resistor. saturation region - JFET is independent of the drain source voltage, but strongly dependent on gate voltage. V OFF,GS cut-off voltage, gateto-source voltage where the V DS JFET acts as an open circuit. BV DS drain-to-source voltage that leads to current break through of the JFET channel. I DS drain current for zero gate bias. breakdown Field Effect Transistors, Spring

11 È Ê I D = I DSS Í -2Á 1- Î Í Ë Ê = I DSS 1 - V GS Á Ë JFET Performance V GS V GS,OFF V GS,OFF ˆ 2 ˆ V Ê DS -Á V GS,OFF Ë V DS V GS,OFF ; saturation region 2 ˆ ; ohmic region Some typical values: I DSS ~ 1mA Æ 1A V GS,OFF ~ -0.5V Æ -10V BV DS ~ 6V Æ 50V Field Effect Transistors, Spring The design of FET circuits is usually performed with relatively simple equations for the drain current in terms of device parameters and the operating conditions. These of course depend on if the operating point is in the ohmic or saturation region. Since the device performance should not depend critically on the circuit parameters, a few simplifying shortcuts are often taken and at the end the circuit is evaluated with a simulation package (like spice). It helps greatly to be able to break a design down into its functional parts and then to roughly see how each should operate. This of course takes practice and here we will lead you through the process. 11

12 Transconductance g m = I D V GS V DS : the rate of change of the drain current with a change of the gate bias The transconductance is useful for the mode of a JFET as a voltage controlled resistor, and has units of (1/resistance), mhos. g m = 1 R DS V DS = g m0 I D I DSS V DS g m0 = - 2I DSS V GS,OFF transconductance of a shorted gate Field Effect Transistors, Spring An important, but not easy to understand, characteristic of a three parameter device is the transconductance, gm. Recall the we are modeling the FET as a voltage controlled resistor, therefore, the drain current is a function of the gate to source voltage. This of course is seen in the IV plots of the FET for the saturation region. The transconductance is the rate of change of the drain current with a change in the voltage at constant drain-source voltage. The units of transconductance are inverse ohms (mhos). Generally the data sheets report both the transconductance for a shorted gate. Often in the analysis of FET circuits the circuit properties can be reduced to a function of the transconductance. 12

13 18V I D JFET Example Find I D I DSS = 8mA, V GS,OFF = -4V 1kW Since V DS appears to be greater than a few volts and less than the breakthrough voltage,we will assume that the JFET is in the saturation region. Ê \ I D = I DSS 1- V GS Á Ë V GS,OFF ˆ 2 Ê = 8mA 1- V ˆ GS Á Ë -4V Note that the gate voltage is zero, and therefore the gate to source Voltage is minus the source voltage. V GS = V G - V S = -V S = -I D 1kW \ I D = -V GS /1kW Field Effect Transistors, Spring Here we explore a simple example of a JFET derived current source. The gate is shorted to ground (note it is not shorted to the source). The source resistor introduces a source voltage and thus there is a negative gate-source voltage. Let s find the drain current as a function of the source resistor. The drain voltage is large enough that we can assume that the device is working in the saturation region. Therefore we can immediately write down the drain current as a function of the gate-source voltage. The gate source voltage is just minus the source voltage, and the source voltage is the voltage drop of the drain current through the source resistor. 13

14 JFET Example (continued) So substituting into the above equation: \ I D = -V GS 1kW = 8mA Ê 1- V ˆ GS Á Ë -4V This has solutions of V GS = -2V and -8V. Note V GS,OFF = -4V \ the only valid range of V GS is 0 Æ -4V If V GS = -2V, then I D = 2mA V S = 2V, R JFET = 16V/2mA = 8kW V DS = 16V Field Effect Transistors, Spring We set the two equations equal to each other and end up with a quadratic equation for the drain current. Since the FET turns off at -4V the -8V solution is not physical and we choose the -2V solution giving a drain current of 2 ma. From this we can also calculate the drain-source resistance of the device and the voltage drop across the FET. 14

15 Light Dimmer V DD V GS,OFF = -4V, I DSS = 12mA Ê \ I D = I DSS 1- V GS Á Ë V GS,OFF ˆ 2 Ê =12mA 1- V ˆ GS Á Ë -4V 2 12mA I D lamp off dimmer lamp on Field Effect Transistors, Spring V GS A second example of a FET application is as a voltage controlled resistor. Here we look at the variation of the voltage drop across the FET to control the brightness of the lamp (the brightness is a non-linear function of the current through the lamp). When the gate is shorted to the source the drain current is high and the lamp is on. As the gate is negatively biased, then the drain current is reduced and the lamp dims. This continues until it is essentially off. You could combine this circuit with the pervious one to make a lamp dimmer that functions via a variable resistor, but it is often convenient to have a device that is voltage controlled. 15

16 Source Follower V in V DD R S V out Analogous to the bipolar emitter follower amplifier. Provides no voltage gain, but does give a change in impedance, therefore provides a current gain. Where R S < R load, then V S ª R S I D I D = g M V GS = g M (V in - V S ) \ V S = g M V in -V S R S ( ) or V S = g R V M S in ( ) 1+ g M R S Note V out = V S, the gain is g M R S ( ) 1+ g M R S Field Effect Transistors, Spring The JFET source follower is functionally similar to the BJT emitter follower. It also provides no voltage gain but does provide a change in impedance and thus a current (and power) gain. Now we still use good design practices, so thinking of the source follower as a voltage source, we arrange that the source resistor is much smaller than the load resistor and thus we can ignore the load in our analysis. The voltage drop over the source resistor is thus the source resistance times the drain current. We can relate the drain current to the gate-source voltage via the transconductance. And we see that the source voltage is also the output voltage. Notice, that the typically the transconductance corresponds to a smaller resistor (about 200 ohms) than the source resistor and thus the gain is about 1. 16

17 Source Follower Amplifier V DD V in V out R B R S R load gain = V out R = S ; V in R S + 1 gm The capacitors are for filtering. R B sets the bias of the JFET Field Effect Transistors, Spring A common amplifier configuration of the source follower. If we strip it down to the essentials, the capacitors are for removing DC, the gate resistor is for biasing, and the load resistor can be ignored given the source resistance. Therefore, we see the same gain. 17

18 Common Source Amplifier V DD R D V in V out R load R B R S gain = V out V in = -g M R D R B R D + R B Field Effect Transistors, Spring An amplifier with gain is the common source configuration, here the voltage is split over a drain resistor, the FET and a source resistor. The source resistor only sets the DC operating point, notice that it is bypassed by a capacitor and so for high frequencies the source resistor is not in the circuit. 18

19 When to use JFETs JFET have much higher input impedances and much lower input currents than BJTs. BJTs are more linear than JFETs. The gain of a BJT is much higher than that of a JFET Field Effect Transistors, Spring In general JFETs are only used when a BJT would not conveniently work, such as when the leakage current into the base of a BJT is too high. For digital logic applications it has been important to use FETs, since they can be much faster and they can dissipate less power. Most of these applications however use MOSFETs which have even higher input impedances than JFETs. 19

20 JFET, Voltage Controlled Resistor V DD R 1 Operate in the linear ohmic region I D V out V control È Ê I D = I DSS Í -2Á 1- Î Í Ë V GS V GS,OFF ˆ V Ê DS -Á V GS,OFF Ë V DS V GS,OFF 2 ˆ V DS V DS = V DD - R 1 I D ; V GS = V control È Ê I D = I DSS V ˆ control ( Á V DD - R 1 I D ) Ê ( - V 2 DD - R 1 I D ) ˆ Í Á Î Í Ë V GS,OFF V GS,OFF Ë V GS,OFF Field Effect Transistors, Spring Occasionally it is more convenient to operate in the ohmic region than in the saturation region. The analysis does not in any way change, but the equations are bit messier. Here we calculate the behavior of a JFET used as a voltage controlled resistor. As expected you end up with a quadratic function again. 20

21 Ê \ R 1 Á 2 Ë JFET, Voltage Controlled Resistor (continued) 2 I DSS V GS,OFF È 2V = -I DD DSS Í Î ˆ È I 2 D + 1-2R Ê 1I DSS 1- V control -V Í DD Á Î V GS,OFF Ë V GS,OFF V GS,OFF Ê 1- V ˆ control Á + Ë V GS,OFF ( ) V 2 DD 2 V GS,OFF ˆ I D For I DSS = 12mA, V GS,OFF = -5V, V DD = 10V, R1 = 2kW: I D (ma) V control (V) Field Effect Transistors, Spring The curve was drawn with Mathematica to show the variation in the drain current with the input voltage. This can be a useful means of providing a precise and controllable offset. 21

22 The Effective Resistance of the JFET R JFET = V DS I D = V DD I D - R 1 R JFET (W) V control (V) Field Effect Transistors, Spring Given the variation in current it is a simple enough process to report it as a resistance, again via mathematica. Notice that in the ohmic region we can permit the gate - source voltage to be positive. It usually is wise in any application to also calculate the power dissipated in the FET, which of course will be a function of the control voltage. Here of course the maximum power is dissipated when the FET resistance is equal to the drain resistor. 22

23 Electronic Gain Control V in R C R F V out gain = R C + R F R C \We can achieve an electronic control by replacing the control resistor by a JFET: V in V out V control R F Field Effect Transistors, Spring We will see next lecture that op-amps provide convenient differential amplifiers and that their gain is controlled by the feedback resistors. A JFET makes a very convenient voltage controlled resistor and thus a voltage controlled gain. 23

24 Frequency Dependence of y fs V DD bypass R L V out V DS recall y fs = DI DV GS V DS V in 1MW V in = V GS ; I d = y fs V in V DS = V DD - I d R L ; V DS = V DD - y fs V in R L V out AC part of V DS = y fs V in R L Field Effect Transistors, Spring Here is a test circuit for measuring the frequency dependence of the transconductance (here yfs as it is often reported for high frequencies). The large gate resistor is only for stability. 24

25 JFET Symbols drain drain gate source gate source NPN PNP Often the gate areas are doped to different extents leading to the specifications of drain/source. For some devices the drain and source are interchangeable. Occasionally, the two gates are not interconnected leading to a four-terminal device Field Effect Transistors, Spring As with BJTs there are both npn and pnp type JFETs, the NPN are often called n-channel to avoid any confusion with the gate configuration. The drain and source may be interchangeable, or not depending on their relative dopant levels. 25

26 JFET data sheet Field Effect Transistors, Spring

27 JFET data sheet Field Effect Transistors, Spring

28 JFET data sheet Field Effect Transistors, Spring

29 MOSFET #1 Metal-oxide-semiconductor-field-effect-transistors are quite different than JFETs and come in a potentially confusing set of varieties. The defining feature is that the gate is capacitively coupled. insulator source N gate P N drain metal enhancement-mode, npn MOSFET absence of gate field source drain \ very low leakage current Field Effect Transistors, Spring MOSFETs are today more common than JFETs, but there are also a confusing array of them and it is too much to cover in detail. The basic clever step was to realize that if you only cared about the electric field from the gate to drain, then there was no need for a galvanic connection and a capacitive connection would work as well. So in the MOSFET there is a layer of insulator (glass) between the gate connector and the p-doped semiconductor. Notice that in the absence of a gate voltage the semiconductor is arranged such that there is a NPN junction between the drain and source, and so this looks like two back to back diodes and thus there is a very low drain to source current. Contrast this with the BJT (where the gate region is small), and the JFET (where the drain and source form a conducting channel). 29

30 Enhancement Mode MOSFET A positive gate substrate voltage induces negative charge between the source and the drain and creates a n-type channel. Current can now flow. N N V G P substrate connector Field Effect Transistors, Spring In exploring the action of a MOSFET we start by looking at the capacitive junction of the gate and ask what the charge distribution in the semiconductor will be for various gate potentials. Notice that we are now interested in a potential difference between the gate electrode and the substrate (at this moment we have not invoked the source or drain). If the gate to substrate is positively charged, then we will concentrate electrons between the n-type channels of the source and drain and current can flow. This is of course majority carriers in the source and drain regions and minority carriers in the gate region (but we have concentrated them). This is the normal conduction mechanism for so called enhancement mode MOSFETs. 30

31 MOSFET Symbols gate drain substrate source N-channel gate drain substrate source P-channel Depletion Mode gate drain drain substrate substrate gate source source N-channel P-channel Enhancement Mode Field Effect Transistors, Spring In addition to enhancement mode MOSFETs there are also depletion mode devices. The various symbols are shown above. In using these devices it is important to pay attention to the substrate connection since this forms the second terminal of the gate capacitor. 31

32 Depletion Mode MOSFET source gate drain insulator N + N N + P The source and drain regions are more heavily doped than the channel, but at zero gate bias there is a current Field Effect Transistors, Spring In depletion mode devices the second side of the gate capacitor is a small region of n-type material. Now with no gate bias there is an n-type channel from the drain to the gate and current flows. This gate region is lightly doped and the electric field in the gate capacitor is used to manipulate the carrier concentrations in this region and obtain control of the drain-source current. 32

33 Depletion Mode MOSFET #2 A negative voltage between the gate and substrate induces a p-type channel into the n-doped gate region and turns off the source-drain current. N P N N Field Effect Transistors, Spring A negative bias across the gate substrate capacitor pulls holes from the p-type material into the conduction channel and reduces the drain source current. In this operation the device looks like a JFET, where a negative gate potential retards the drain current. 33

34 N-channel Depletion-mode MOSFET Cutoff voltage, V GS,OFF - gate/source voltage where I D ª0. Breakdown voltage, BV DS - drain/source voltage for current break-through of the channel. Drain current for zero bias, I DSS - Transconductance, g m - rate of change of drain current with with the change of the gate/source voltage at a particular drain/source voltage Field Effect Transistors, Spring The IV plot for a depletion mode MOSFET data sheet, the other parameters are always given somewhere in the data sheet. 34

35 Formulas: Depletion-Mode MOSFET È Ê I D = I DSS Í -2Á 1- Î Í Ë In ohmic Ê I D = I DSS Á 1- Ë In active R DS = 1 g m ; V GS V GS,OFF V GS V GS,OFF ˆ ˆ V Ê DS -Á V GS,OFF Ë Drain-source resistance 2 V DS V GS,OFF 2 ˆ g m = g mo I D I DSS ;g mo = 2I DSS V GS,OFF Field Effect Transistors, Spring As with the JFET there are a series of formula relating the drain current to the device and circuit parameters. These are used just like those of the JFET. 35

36 Formulas: Enhancement-Mode MOSFET V GS = 14V V GS = 12V V GS = 10V V GS = 8V V GS = 6V V GS = 4V V GS,th - Threshold voltage for start of conduction. k - construction paramater. I D,ON = ( V GS,ON -V GS,th ) 2 Ohmic: Active: g m = g mo [ ] I D = k 2( V GS -V GS,th )V DS V 2 DS I D = k( V GS -V GS,th ) 2 I D I D,ON ;R DS = 1 g m Field Effect Transistors, Spring The formulas for enhancement mode are quite similar, but include the socalled construction parameter that describes the channel capacity. This is often explicitly listed on the data sheet, so it is not necessary to calculate. 36

37 Transfer Characteristics of Three FET Types Field Effect Transistors, Spring Here we show the transfer characteristics of the three types of MOSFETs, (1) depletion, (2) enhancement, and (3) both. The IV plots at right show the drain current vs drain source voltage for various gate potentials. This is what is normally found in the data sheets. The curves at left show how the drain current varies as a function of the gate potential in the active region. This is not often shown, but it is a good way of viewing the differences between the three types of devices. It also helps to see where the operating points should be set. 37

38 Example: N-channel, depletion-mode MOSFET Amplifier V DD R D V out V in 1MW The problem is to find the gain. MOSFET characteristics: I DSS = 10mA V GS,OFF = -4V V DD = 4V R D = 200W The action of the MOSFET is to be a voltage divider and to share V DD over R D and R DS. V in will control the value of R DS. The 1MW resistor is only included for stability and to correct for leak Currents into the gates; so, let s ignore it Field Effect Transistors, Spring As an example we look at the operating point of a depletion-mode MOSFET amplifier. The FET and drain resistor share the voltage and as the gate is reverse biased the the FET shuts down and the voltage grows across the FET (the output voltage increases). 38

39 Example (continued) Calculate the gain in the neighborhood of V in =0, then I D = I DSS = 10mA and V out = V DD - I D R D = 4V - (10mA)(200W) = 2V To see how this changes with V in, let s calculate the Transconductance at V in = 0. g mo = 2I DSS V GS,OFF = 20mA -4V = W Recall that the transconductance g m =1/R DS. Ê R and V out = DS ˆ Á V DD Ë R DS + R D Field Effect Transistors, Spring Since we are looking for a change in current (resistance) with the control voltage, we nee to think about the transconductance, but first we need to decide about which point to calculate the gain. Let s look in the neighborhood of zero input voltage. Now the drain current can be taken from the data sheet and the output voltage is found to be 2 V (conveniently in the middle). We can also directly calculate the transcoductance which is 200 mohs. Since this gives us the drain source resistance we can calculate the gain. 39

40 Example (continued) From our formulas, Ê g m = g m0 1- V ˆ GS Á = Ê 1+ V ˆ in Á Ë V GS,OFF W Ë 4V This gives the change in R DS with a change in V in. Now assume that R DS varies slowly so that DR DS << R DS ª R D. Under this case, Ê V out ª 2V + DR ˆ DS Á 4V Ë 400W and the change in V out with DR DS is DV out ª DR DS 100 From gm = 1/R DS, we find R DS = 200W(1+V in /4) Field Effect Transistors, Spring In this case lets assume a small signal and look for a linear solution around zero input voltage. We will make a few assumptions and throw away a few terms to keep from have a quadratic problem. Either way works and of course will give essentially the same answer. Recall that all of the circuit parameters vary. We rewrite the output voltage for small changes in the drain source resistance, and find that the output voltage varies slowly with this. 40

41 Example (continued) DR DS = 200W - 200W 1+ V = 200W V in in 4 + V in 4 Again we look around V in ª 0, so V in << 4 and DR DS ª 50W V in.pulling this together then, DV out ª 50W 100 V Ê in = Á 1ˆ V Ë 2 in So the gian is -1/ Field Effect Transistors, Spring Expand the drain-source resistance in terms of the input voltage and then use the fact that the input voltage is small to simplify this. The result is that the device is an attenuator (has a gain of one half) rather than an amplifier. You should recognize that if we increased the voltage (or reduce the drain resistor) we could increase the gain. 41

42 MOSFET Field Effect Transistors, Spring One of the most important uses of MOSFETs is to build logic circuits that dissipate very little power. If we build the above MOSFET configuration we see that in one configuration there is a current into the load, and not in the other. Notice that the substrate is grounded to the source. 42

43 MOSFET Field Effect Transistors, Spring In a p-channel device the current is associated with the on state. Here notice that the substrate is still grounded to the source (which is now at a positive voltage). 43

44 MOSFET inverter Field Effect Transistors, Spring In complementary MOSFET logic (CMOS) the same gate is built from a combination of p and n channel devices in such a fashion that there is no current flow in either logical state. Of course no current means no power is dissipated. 44